From Vienna to Budapest: 5-Day Sightseeing Tour

The hotel was okay, but offered no dinner or snacks aside from breakfast and was outside of city limits. We found one Italian restaurant near hotel In Vienna that was open on the weekend. I asked for and paid for 4 star hotels but did not expect to be on the outskirts of city. The lions garden hotel in Budapest is nice but still so far away that even the hop on hop off buses to not go close by. The taxis are very expensive and I feel I should have arranged for hotels, train and tours on my own. I feel I would have saved money and enjoyed the city more. The train was not reserved and it is a nightmare finding seats...I feel this should be clearly explained and I do not think this tour is really well planned. We loved the Vienna city tour but found the Budapest tour was only fair.

Airport pickup was good. Vienna city hotel was excellent. Breakfast outstanding. City tour adequate,hotel pickup helpful .tour slow to get started but adequate but not fantastic. Budapest,train tickets arrived but seats should be reserved. Budapest hotel just about ok .it was not in a very nice location and services were simple ,clean but not great. Food was very disappointing, Budapest itself was also disappointing. 2 days was enough, the city tour was not as good as we expected.

The customer service on the part of Andrea from Viator was outstanding! All issues were resolved promptly and to my satisfaction. However, there were 2 disappointing items that resulted in me giving this experience only a 3-star rating: 1) No one picked me up at Vienna airport, contrary to the tour description. I arrived on time, yet the driver left after not even waiting 15 minutes. Had to call Viator to resolve the issue. 2) The Vienna sightseeing tour was disappointing in that it was restricted too much to the bus, and there is a certain detachment when you attempt to experience a city from behind the glass of the bus. The Budapest tour was much more engaging, in large part because we got out and walked more.

This is billed as a “5 day round trip tour from Vienna to Budapest.” What we got was airport pickup upon arrival (the driver had no idea what the agenda was for the next day), four star hotels for two nights each in Vienna and Budapest (the hotels were very nice, but nowhere near sites or transportation), one city tour each in Vienna and Budapest (we were picked up in Vienna, but had to fend for ourselves in Budapest) and a one way train ticket to Budapest from Vienna (travel from the train station to our hotel was at our own expense). The return train trip to Vienna was also at our own expense. For us, it would have been more cost effective and enjoyable, and much less frustrating, had we booked the hotels, tours and train separately on our own. The limited information left at the Vienna hotel indicated we would be picked up at 9:00 for the tour of Vienna. We were picked up at 9:00 am, taken to the central tour bus location and informed by those in charge that our tour had started at 7:00 am. We called the tour operator who suggested we take the next City Tour, pay for it ourselves and they would reimburse us. Of course we had to present our paid voucher before they would reimburse. When we finally located their office, at our expense, tour operator company personnel were decidedly unhelpful. Somehow the train ticket to Budapest was not included in the packet delivered to our Vienna hotel. We were given the one way ticket and were informed, after much questioning from us, that the return trip would be at our expense (so much for the round trip tour). Additionally, we were informed we would not be met in Budapest and travel to the hotel would be at our expense, but they did give us a voucher for the hotel and Budapest City Tour. We’re trying not to be too judgmental, but frankly this event, as a tour, is not recommended. A definite NO STAR Rating.

The 3-hour Summer Palace tour is fine.

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The four star hotels we stayed in were comfortable and clean, and staff were very accommodating. The tour guides were very knowledgeable and insightful. We got to see the highlights of the city and were able to figure out which areas we wanted to further explore on our own. A great way to spend a few days in both cities. The tour company also worked with our travel schedule and allowed us to have some freedom with planning the trip. I would love to return to Vienna for another look at the city if have more time, as well as BudaPest. It was a very pleasant surprise from what I expected.