Grand European River Voyage 2013
(Istanbul to Amsterdam)

Day 1: Istanbul 
Arrive at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, where you will be transferred to the hotel.

Day 2: Istanbul 
Featured Excursions: Istanbul city tour and Grand Bazaar

Today’s panoramic tour takes you to the Hippodrome; the Blue Mosque, with its distinctive minarets and blue Iznik tile walls; spectacular Hagia Sophia, the “Church of Holy Wisdom,” which was built in 535 AD; and Topkapi Palace, a magnificent Ottoman residence. Then wind your way through the maze of interconnecting vaulted passages and more than 6,000 merchant stalls that make up the Grand Bazaar. (BB)

Note: Sultanahmet (Blue Mosque) is a place of active worship. Religious ceremonies might restrict visitors from entering at times. At other times, please obey mosque etiquette.

Note: Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays and Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays. The city tour of Istanbul will be arranged in accordance with the days they are open. If Hagia Sophia is not available during your stay, we will offer the harem visit in Topkapi Palace instead.

Day 3: Istanbul 
Spend today in leisurely exploration of Istanbul’s many charms. Stroll through the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum or take in the eerie Basilica Cistern, which features a veritable forest of marble columns. (BB)

Day 4: Istanbul, fly to Bucharest, transfer to Giurgiu (embark), Rousse 
Featured Excursion: Bucharest city tour

Leave Istanbul and fly to the Romanian capital of Bucharest for a tour of this eclectic city, with its mix of monumental Communist buildings and French-influenced architecture. Enjoy a local lunch before your motorcoach takes you to Giurgiu, where you will board your Uniworld ship and head toward Rousse. (BB, L, Captain’s Welcome Gala)

Day 5: Rousse (Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanassi OR Rusenski countryside) 
Featured Excursions: Choice of full-day Veliko Tarnovoand Arbanassi with authentic Bulgarian lunch OR Ivanovo and Basarbovo monasteries and Rusenski Lom Nature Park with lunch onboard

In Veliko Tarnovo, see the majestic ruins of Tzarevetz Castle. You’ll visit Arbanassi and the Nativity Church, which has glorious 14th-century frescoes, and stop at a village restaurant for a typical Bulgarian lunch, complete with live folk music. Or opt for a tour of the countryside, which will include the rock-hewn cave churches of Ivanovo and Basarbovo in the craggy precincts of a national forest. (BB, L, D)

Day 6: Cruising the Iron Gates 
Cruise the majestic Iron Gates, an 83-mile-long stretch of scenic gorges carved out of the Carpathian and Balkan mountains over the millennia by the Danube River. (BB, L, D)

Day 7: Belgrade 
Featured Excursion: Belgrade city tour with Kalemegdan Fortress

Enjoy a panoramic drive through Belgrade, explore the vast Kalemegdan Fortress on foot, and see a bit of a city that loves to shop and party. (BB, L, D)

Day 8: Vukovar (Osijek) 
Featured Excursion: Full-day tour of Osijek, school visit, and home-hosted lunch

Children will perform for you at their school before you take in a tour of the town and savor a home-hosted lunch with a Croatian family. (BB, L, D)

Note: School visit not available during school holidays.

Day 9: Mohács (Pécs) 
Featured Excursion: Excursion to Pécs with exclusive wine tasting in Villány Hills

Pécs, a 2010 European Capital of Culture, boasts a fascinating array of Ottoman mosques-turned-churches and Roman ruins. The region is famous for its vinoculture, and you’ll taste the celebrated ruby-red wines produced in the Villány Hills on an exclusive wine excursion. (BB, L, D)

Day 10: Budapest 
Featured Excursions: Choice of Budapest city tour OR Budapest walking discovery of national treasures

A panoramic coach tour shows you all of Budapest’s grand sights, from Castle Hill to the Grand Market. Or discover some of Hungary’s national treasures with a walk through the heart of the city and a visit to the Hungarian Parliament building. (BB, L, D)

Note: Parliament may be closed for official business without prior notice. If the Parliament is closed, we will visit St. Stephen’s Basilica instead.

Day 11: Budapest, Szentendre Island 
Featured Excursion: Exclusive Hungarian reception at Szentendre Island’s Bodor Mayor Horse Farm

You’ll take a motorcoach to Szentendre Island’s Bodor Mayor Horse Farm, where you will be treated to an exclusive horse show by Magyar cowboys. (BB, L, D)

Day 12: Bratislava 
Featured Excursion: Bratislava walking tour

Take a guided stroll through Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. (BB, L, D)

Day 13: Vienna 
Featured Excursions: Choice of Vienna city tour with National Library visit OR exclusive “Vienna, City of Arts” tour with an art historian guide

Get to know Vienna’s imperial history during a tour that takes you along the stately Ringstrasse to the beautiful Austrian National Library. Or opt to explore “Vienna, City of Arts,” with an art historian guide as you see the amazing collections at the Belvedere and the Museum of Fine Arts. (BB, L, D)

Note: The Austrian National Library is closed on Mondays. If the tour lands on a Monday, Mozarthaus will be visited instead.

Day 14: Vienna 
Enjoy free time exploring the “City of Waltzes.” (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)

Day 15: Vienna
Enjoy a day at leisure.

Day 16: Vienna, cruising the Wachau Valley 
Featured Excursions: Choice of Vienna city tour and National Library visit OR “See Vienna as the Viennese Do” on an exclusive waltzing discovery of Viennese daily life

Travel along Vienna’s Ringstrasse to magnificent St. Stephen’s Cathedral, and visit the stunning National Library. Or explore Vienna’s historic town center by foot and subway as the locals do, and stop at a traditional Viennese coffee house. Then cruise the UNESCO-designated Wachau Valley and enjoy the enchanting scenery. (BB, L, Captain’s Welcome Gala)

Note: On Mondays, Mozarthaus will be substituted for the National Library.

Day 17: Passau, cruising the Danube River
Featured Excursion: Passau walking tour and St. Stephan’s organ concert

Enjoy a scenic morning sail through the Schloegener Schlinge—an exceptionally pretty oxbow in the Danube. In the afternoon, discover the Medieval city of Passau with a walking tour that culminates in a concert on Europe’s largest pipe organ in Baroque St. Stephan’s Cathedral. (BB, L, D)

Note: Concert not available before May 2, after October 31, or on Sundays.  

Day 18: Regensburg 
Featured Excursion: Regensburg walking tour

On your tour of Regensburg, an unspoiled gem and UNESCO World Heritage Site, marvel at the town’s famous 12th-century Stone Bridge, Roman Porta Praetoria gate, Cathedral of St. Peter, and other treasures. (BB, L, D)

Day 19: Cruising the Main-Danube Canal, Nuremberg 
Featured Excursions: Choice of classic Nuremberg city tour OR Nuremberg WWII historical tour with Documentation Center visit

Cruise parts of the Main-Danube Canal, a marvel of modern engineering. Then discover Nuremberg, a Medieval gem with notable WWII history, during a city tour. Or turn back the pages of history with a guided tour of the city’s most important WWII sites, including the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds. You’ll also visit the newly opened Nuremberg Memoriam Trials, including Courtroom 600, venue of the Nuremberg Trials. (BB, L, D)

Note: Courtroom 600 is an active court. Visitors will only be permitted to see the courtroom during trial breaks.

Day 20: Bamberg 
Featured Excursion: Bamberg walking tour

Explore the UNESCO World Heritage-designated core of Bamberg, which retains its Medieval layout, Renaissance palaces, and Baroque houses. (BB, L, D)

Day 21: Würzburg (Rothenburg and Würzburg) 
Featured Excursions: Full-day tour of Rothenburg and Würzburg Residenz

Visit the best-preserved Medieval town in Germany, Rothenburg, with its imposing fortifications on your morning tour. In the afternoon, visit the Würzburg Residenz, an 18th-century Baroque palace. (BB, D)

Day 22: Miltenberg 
Featured Excursion: Miltenberg walking tour

Visit Miltenberg, with its fairytale half-timbered houses, Crooked House, and Royal Inn. (BB, L, D)

Day 23: Frankfurt 
Featured Excursions: Choice of Frankfurt walking tour OR guided visit to Städel Museum

Dive into the energy of sophisticated Frankfurt with your guide, roaming from its historic heart, Römer Square, to its landmark skyscraper, Main Tower. Take an elevator to the top for a view of 50 skyscrapers that reveal the importance of this European hub, which people from 200 nations call home. Visit the colorful Kleinmarkthalle to taste the famous local sausage and try the local cider, called ebblewoi. Or opt instead to see the newly reopened Städel Museum, with a brilliant collection of European art that spans 700 years. (BB, L, D)

Day 24: Rüdesheim, cruising the romantic Rhine River, Boppard 
Featured Excursions: Siegfried’s Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments and guided Boppard village stroll

Visit a museum full of curious self-playing musical instruments before cruising the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. Walk with the Cruise Manager through charming Boppard,
then explore further on your own. (BB, L, D)

Day 25: Cologne 
Featured Excursions: Cologne walking tour and Cologne Cathedral visit

Stroll through Old Town on your walking tour as you make your way to Cologne Cathedral. From every angle, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is a masterpiece of Gothic art. (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)

Note: No inside tours of the cathedral are given on Sundays or Catholic holidays.

Day 26: Amsterdam 
Featured Excursions: Amsterdam city tour, including canal cruise, with choice of Rijksmuseum OR Van Gogh Museum visit

Experience the highlights of Amsterdam on a city tour and canal cruise, and then visit the world-famous Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh Museum, the latter of which houses not only the largest collection of this modern Dutch master’s work, but also works by an impressive selection of artists who influenced or were influenced by him. (BB, L, D)

Day 27: Amsterdam (disembark), transfer to the airport
Disembark the ship and transfer to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport for your flight home, or extend your stay in exciting Amsterdam. (CB/BB)

Start in the canals of Amsterdam and sail Europe’s grandest rivers to exotic Istanbul. Along the way, you will visit picturesque villages, vibrant cities, architectural masterpieces, and seven dynamic capitals. The natural wonders of the Main, Rhine, and Danube rivers will be your pathway to countless UNESCO World Heritage Sites from Bamberg’s charming Old Town and Cologne’s Gothic Cathedral to the castle-dotted romantic Rhine and the scenic Wachau Valley of the Danube.

You’ll experience Vienna’s stunning National Library and enjoy a range of pleasures, from pastoral riverside beauty to the colorful excitement of modern-day Istanbul. For 27 days, you will be treated to the flavors, sights, sounds, and cultures of this diverse swath of the continent. You will walk ancient cobblestones and modern boulevards on your intimate encounter with the people and traditions of Eastern and Western Europe.

• 23-night cruise in a riverview stateroom on the imperial River Duchess
• 3 nights in Istanbul at the Crowne Plaza Old City Hotel (or similar) with breakfast
• All transfers on arrival and departure days 
• All meals onboard, prepared using the finest and freshest ingredients
• 26 breakfasts, 22 lunches, 23 dinners
• 2 Captain’s Welcome Galas and 2 Farewell Dinners
• Complimentary fine wine, beer, and soft drinks during lunch and dinner onboard; bottled water replenished daily in your stateroom; and 24-hour specialty coffee and tea station
• Explore 10 countries
• 32 excursions, including 9 “Choice Is Yours” options, fully hosted by English-speaking local expert
• Exclusive Go Active Program and "Gentle Walking" Program
• 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
• Services of an experienced Uniworld Cruise Manager
• State-of-the-art Quietvox portable audio headset system on all shore excursions
• Use of bicycles and Nordic walking sticks throughout your cruise
• Captivating onboard local entertainment
• 2 Signature Lectures
• Exclusive Epicurean Adventurer Program™

Istanbul: Crowne Plaza Old City Hotel or similar
Cruising: Cabin onboard River Duchess

Amsterdam
3 days - $759 per person (single supplement $359)

Spend time discovering Holland’s best-known city, which is filled with history, art, architecture, canals, cobblestone streets, museums, bicycles, and so much more.

• Cabin upgrades are available.
• Hotel in Istanbul is subject to change.
• Above prices include all intra-tour air related charges.
• Prices exclude additional port charges of $460.
• A limited number of singles are available for an additional supplement.
• Please ask your Vacations To Go travel counselor for more information.

* The prices shown are U.S. dollars per person, based on double occupancy, and subject to availability. Prices quoted for land/cruise arrangements are subject to increase without notice. Once we have received your deposit, land/cruise prices are guaranteed. Air prices quoted via phone or email are subject to increase and are guaranteed only from the time that full payment is received. Also, air prices or air promotions mentioned on this site or on the phone do not include baggage fees imposed by airlines. Sorry, we are unable to offer air from countries other than the U.S. However, for those international customers who are able to arrange their own transportation to the trip origination city, we are able to offer the land/cruise portion of the package at the price quoted.