NZ
New Tour
Tours
European Christmas Markets
featuring Prague, Vienna & Budapest
8 DAYS
$5,249
pp*
*Rate is per person, land only, double occupancy, tour inclusions and available options may vary based on departure date.
Please select a date below for more details.
Please select a date below for more details.
Getting Prepared
Know Before You Go
Accommodation
Grandior Hotel
Nights 1-3
Intercontinental Hotel Wien
Nights 4-5
Up Hotel Budapest
Nights 6-7
Need More Information?
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Trip Reviews
Live, Unedited, & Independent Traveler Reviews
Rating
121 reviews
4.3
Out of 5
Based on 121 independent reviews
Filter Reviews: All
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Overall a wonderful tour.
Reviewed on
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The tour manager was exceptional and so were the first two hotels. The local guide in Vienna was very hard to understand. It especially was unhelpful that she didn't seem to think the placement of her mic mattered. The hotel in Budapest was sub standard.Ronnie Meek
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
While I loved visiting the countries and participating in some of the events, I was disappointed in the Christmas markets. The decorations were nice but the markets were mainly food and drink and the quality of the gifts was less than I expected. In hindsight, I would have been better off visiting the local shops and skipping the markets.
Reviewed on
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Too expensive for what you get on tour. Last hotel was not good. Too much free time. Too far away from Christmas markets.
Reviewed on
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You could had more program at night and some days.Michael Lockstone
Reviewed on
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It was a beautiful and historical tour and experience and I would recommend to anyone. All the cities were magnificent in their own ways. Also, our tour guide (Dariusz)
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The tour experience was amazing overall! I loved having Jana as our Tour Guide- she was very knowledgeable and kind. She was very quick to think on her toes in any type of unforeseen situation and just went with it calmly. The hotels and experiences were amazing. Our Bus Driver was fantastic- I felt like he was a long lost cousin that has always been a part of my family! I also loved the people on our trip- they were a great group of people to travel with. We truly lucked out overall!Jacqueline Ryczek
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Jana and all of our gods were fabulous. Also loved our bus, driver and accommodations.Mary Francis
Reviewed on
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Nice mix of things to see and do
Reviewed on
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First night was beautiful with it snowing, great local guides with great amount of information!Keli Greene
Reviewed on
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Great local tours telling us history of each country.
Reviewed on
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Awesome experience! Great Christmas Markets
Reviewed on
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In my opinion I thought it was a great trip.James Benton
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
This was a magical holiday experience and Collette made sure everything went smoothly!
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The entire trip was great from beginning to end .
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
An enjoyable romp through 5 European countries visiting a different Christmas market each day, while also seeing the significant sights of the city. Our tour guide added so much to the trip with him recounting his time living under communist rule and how that compares the current environment. Trip was perfection.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Tour was great and I would recommend it. 2 improvements. It would be helpful to know the daily itinerary before the trip and know what attractions are included in the price of the tour as well as which dinners are included as well as how much free time we have in each destination for planning purposes Also in one hotel we were asked to leave our passports with the tour guide. This is not a good practice in my opinion I was not at all comfortable in doing this I have traveled a lot abroad but only 2 tours but this practice should be re-evaluated. The hotel in Hungary was mediocre at best
Reviewed on
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Darius was a fantastic tour guide. He’s knowledgeable and kept everyone informed. His historical knowledge, personal history & sense of humor added a lot to our trip.Linda Ciotti
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I couldn't have asked for a better experience than what I received traveling with Collette. The Christmas Markets, and the many opportunities to experience the history of Europe through castles and churches was incredible.
Reviewed on
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Worst tour I have ever been on!Martha Adkins
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Christmas markets were only about 15 percent of the tourKay Flowers
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All of city’s , markets, sightseeing, hotels and food were excellent!Susan Koerner
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going in the snow having hot wine and crackersSandy Bade
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We had a wonderful time. The experience was great and the tour ran very smoothly. The hotels selected for our stay in Prague and Vienna were amazing and very well located. Budapest hotel was off the beaten path and the rooms were very small.Donald Davis
Reviewed on
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Excellent and knowledgeable tour guides. Very helpful and considerate of weather issues for those with mobility concerns.CAROL MILLER
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Too many countries in too short a time. Exhausting!Carol Bowling
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It was fantastic tour, however, the Christmas markets in several cities were closed and did not open until days after we were leaving!Ana Viteri
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Was to fast of a pace for older adults.
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Great trip except it was too early for many of the Christmas marketsGail Dwyer
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Great tour.. great tour guide.. Collette is the best..
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Sold Christmas Markets that never happened. No markets in Prague or Dresden.Patricia Hanks
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Loved this tour and it was a lot in thanks to our tour guide Patryk who was unbelievably knowledgeable, kind, and entertaining. I only wish it was longer so we had more time in Vienna and Budapest! 10/10 would recommend!
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Budapest was wonderful. Vienna not so much especially hotel.Patricia Perry
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All was awesome
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I love going to the old cathedrals and seeing the magnificent architecture. The tour manager was not good. We've been on other tours with awesome tour managers, especially Mr. Donald Morrison in Scotland, but the manager on this tour should find another line of workJohn Easler
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They need to change the name of the tour which featured much more touring than market shopping. The architecture and history was amazing, but the short time for shopping in some places was very disappointing. My favorite place was Cesky Krumlov where we learned about garnets and moldavite. Beautiful gems! We bought several pieces for Christmas gifts.
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What an outstanding experience! Loved all of the locations! Loved the variety. If I had to choose, I’d pick Vienna. It was just magical and beautiful! Loved Budapest, Dresden, Cesky Krumlov, Bratislava, and Prague! Truly a trip of a lifetime!❤️
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Opera concert
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Enjoyed it all beautiful time to visit the cities xmas markets and tour other areas of the countries. Great tour enjoyed the companions travelling with us.David Shoemaker
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Christmas markets
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I found Collette to be a solid company. I liked everything included in one price and what was not included was clearly indicated before booking. Hotels were good not the Waldorf but not bargain basement, alll centrally located. I liked Petra and found her history lessons informative. Not a fan of cold weather but was Christmas after all! The countries are beautiful but was redundat.Kelly Scanlon
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Just had issue with the Air Condition in the rooms, which was reported by many in the group, but other than that it was an awesome trip.
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Excellent organization of events and good use of time. Tour manager Vili was fabulous at getting us where we needed to be, keeping us informed and available for help. Favorite was Prague and the Dresden market.
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The Christmas markets in Germany were outstanding. We were given plenty of free time to explore on our own.
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This was a wonderful trip!
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Excellent tripJami Heye
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It was a very busy, interesting tour. Our flights were right on time. Tour guides and bus drivers excellent. We saw a lot of country, food and accommodations more than adequate. The Vienna opera was the highlight of the trip for me.
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Local city tours including church in Budapest. The stop at the medieval restaurant and strudel making.Cindy Denison
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Excellent shopping opportunities, outstanding Tour Leader, a very unpleasant traveler (KD from Kentucky) among a relatively small group (24)…
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Great overall experience. Loved getting into the inferiors of the countries. Romanian tour guide was very enlightening especially interesting when speaking of personal experience during communist occupation. I loved the medieval cities and lower keyed markets. Lovely experience.
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Needed more time in Vienna.
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Would have liked to,have another day or half day in Vienna
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I was disappointed that two features advertised by both Collette and the State Employees Recreation Association were not included in the tour. We were not apprised of these changes until we actually arrived in Prague. Both the winery and the train ride were eliminated from our trip. Our tour manager informed us that these parts of the tour had been removed several years ago. I, and many others on the trip, felt that this was false advertising and were disappointed that no other options were substituted for these dropped events.Karena Parks
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What a beautiful time to be in Europe! We visited Prague, Dresden, Česky Krumlov, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. Each place had it’s own charm, but I loved the quaint little town of Česky Krumlov. The palace in Prague was amazing, and the downtown markets were stunning. Vienna was absolutely beautiful! My favorite city overall was Budapest. The history, beauty and markets were wonderful. We visited a cathedral in which the organist was playing beautiful music. What a treat! Our tour guide was wonderful and did a great job in taking care of 42 people. She made it a very special experience. She organized a local guide for each city we visited so we were able to learn about the history of the city, which I really enjoyed. All-in-all, it was a wonderful experience!Jamie Spellicy
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Tour manager, Javier Gimeno, was excellent. He was knowledgeable and made things fun! The hotels and breakfasts were very good. The included dinners were also very good and always took allergies into account. There is definitely a lot of walking! Would highly recommend!Becky Gunthert
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A nice holiday treatMelinda Harrington
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The tour was very enjoyable. Patryk, our tour manager, was the best. Loved the unique locations for our dinner nights, and the Mozart concert was a nice add. Overall great time.
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Our tour leader, Patryk Preiss, was outstanding. He was incredibly knowledgeable, well organized, and super friendly! Our bus driver was excellent as were the local guides!Stephanie Faulkner
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All the places were spectacular. The tour guide Patryk was absolutely phenomenal!! He made it terrific with his knowledge and personality. Very personable!Francesca Locicero
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The tour was very good and we were very happy with our tour guide. We had one problem. Medicine was lost during this trip. We can only guess that housekeeping at one of the hotels took our medicine (Ivermectin), or it was taken by a TSA staffer at the airport. We don't know exactly when or where it was taken. I did not need the medicine while on the tour, its inclusion with my luggage was precautionary only, (In case one of us became sick on the trip). I only noticed it missing after arriving home.John Sherwood
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I most enjoyed the theater in Vienna. The city was quite cosmopolitan and the shopping was amazing. The local guides were highly skilled in their knowledge of history. Our individual tour guide was knowledgeable, personable and made sure we got to see it all. I was most impressed with the the variety of restaurants on our schedule...Every dinner was great and the staff took pride in their presentations... love traveling with Colette and plan to do more of it in the future.Gail Sonatore
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Small city stops. Especially Slovocia. Enjoyed it all.
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Ended the small towns we stopped at. Loved the big cities too. It was good variety.
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I would have preferred more time to explore the Christmas Markets. I was not impressed by the walking tour in Prage - it was too long. Otherwise, I enjoyed the included tours. Tomas was amazing. He was on top of everything and let us know what we were doing every step of the way. I would definitely recommend the trip to others. This was our first Colette Tour and we will consider taking another one.
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Incredible views in all countries. Not enough time spent at the various Christmas Markets for this to be called a Christmas Market Tour. Budapest in December was beautiful and this tour should include a riverboat experience at night in Budapest.Kathy Cumbie
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All of it was great
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A very organized and well planned trip. The bus was very clean and the bus driver was very professional. Our tour guide was excellent and handled any problems that we had. The accomodations were excellent and situated in good places for us to have free time and sightsee and visit the Christmas markets.
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Excellent tour guide and city guides. Saw and enjoyed many sites that I would have never seen if I went off alone. Most memorable...the "shoe monument" in Budapest. the group meals were fun and memorable.
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Markets
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The trip was too rushed. Not enough time to sightsee and not enough interesting places to see. Too many guides which became confusing and generally nothing is retained. I would have preferred time on my own rather than another guided lecture. To me it was basically one Christmas market after another. I would have recommended less markets and better ones. It became redundant. It was an expensive trip for what offered in the end. The highlight was the castle and the classical music concert.Sylvia Pryzant
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Pedro Pais was the absolute best guide we could ask for. Our driver Lukasz was an Amazing driver. The activities and local tours were outstanding! Did not like the Budapest hotel - too spartan; glad it was only for one night. I would highly recommend.
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There were too many things to see, a good problem to have.
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Our tour director Petra made the trip! Everything was great. Wish we could have had another day in Vienna. Also was disappointed that we didn’t get to go on the train ride and nothing equivalent was added.
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I loved our tour guide and her knowledge of history. She was excellent at giving us directions when we ventured out on her own. Always felt safe and comfortable venturing out. This is definitely not just a job for Petra , but a passion!Julia King
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Trip Rating:
Was a good experience. Only one day of very poor weather. Would like to have had an "indoor" opportunity on that day rather than be out in the weather. Hotel accommodations were very good and travel on the bus was excellent. The only reason I would not repeat this tour is the chance of bad weather at that particular time of the year.
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Petra is fantastic! She provided a wealth of information about all the countries. This tour was jam-packed with historical sites. There was always free time to explore on your own.Tereasa Gooderham
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
You could had more program at night and some days.Michael Lockstone
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
It was a beautiful and historical tour and experience and I would recommend to anyone. All the cities were magnificent in their own ways. Also, our tour guide (Dariusz)
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
While I loved visiting the countries and participating in some of the events, I was disappointed in the Christmas markets. The decorations were nice but the markets were mainly food and drink and the quality of the gifts was less than I expected. In hindsight, I would have been better off visiting the local shops and skipping the markets.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The tour manager was exceptional and so were the first two hotels. The local guide in Vienna was very hard to understand. It especially was unhelpful that she didn't seem to think the placement of her mic mattered. The hotel in Budapest was sub standard.Ronnie Meek
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Overall a wonderful tour.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
The tour experience was amazing overall! I loved having Jana as our Tour Guide- she was very knowledgeable and kind. She was very quick to think on her toes in any type of unforeseen situation and just went with it calmly. The hotels and experiences were amazing. Our Bus Driver was fantastic- I felt like he was a long lost cousin that has always been a part of my family! I also loved the people on our trip- they were a great group of people to travel with. We truly lucked out overall!Jacqueline Ryczek
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Jana and all of our gods were fabulous. Also loved our bus, driver and accommodations.Mary Francis
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Nice mix of things to see and do
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
First night was beautiful with it snowing, great local guides with great amount of information!Keli Greene
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Too expensive for what you get on tour. Last hotel was not good. Too much free time. Too far away from Christmas markets.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great local tours telling us history of each country.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Awesome experience! Great Christmas Markets
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
In my opinion I thought it was a great trip.James Benton
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
This was a magical holiday experience and Collette made sure everything went smoothly!
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
The entire trip was great from beginning to end .
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
An enjoyable romp through 5 European countries visiting a different Christmas market each day, while also seeing the significant sights of the city. Our tour guide added so much to the trip with him recounting his time living under communist rule and how that compares the current environment. Trip was perfection.
Reviewed on
-
Trip Rating:
Tour was great and I would recommend it. 2 improvements. It would be helpful to know the daily itinerary before the trip and know what attractions are included in the price of the tour as well as which dinners are included as well as how much free time we have in each destination for planning purposes Also in one hotel we were asked to leave our passports with the tour guide. This is not a good practice in my opinion I was not at all comfortable in doing this I have traveled a lot abroad but only 2 tours but this practice should be re-evaluated. The hotel in Hungary was mediocre at best
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Darius was a fantastic tour guide. He’s knowledgeable and kept everyone informed. His historical knowledge, personal history & sense of humor added a lot to our trip.Linda Ciotti
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
I couldn't have asked for a better experience than what I received traveling with Collette. The Christmas Markets, and the many opportunities to experience the history of Europe through castles and churches was incredible.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
All of city’s , markets, sightseeing, hotels and food were excellent!Susan Koerner
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
going in the snow having hot wine and crackersSandy Bade
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Christmas markets were only about 15 percent of the tourKay Flowers
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
We had a wonderful time. The experience was great and the tour ran very smoothly. The hotels selected for our stay in Prague and Vienna were amazing and very well located. Budapest hotel was off the beaten path and the rooms were very small.Donald Davis
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Excellent and knowledgeable tour guides. Very helpful and considerate of weather issues for those with mobility concerns.CAROL MILLER
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Worst tour I have ever been on!Martha Adkins
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great tour.. great tour guide.. Collette is the best..
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Sold Christmas Markets that never happened. No markets in Prague or Dresden.Patricia Hanks
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Great trip except it was too early for many of the Christmas marketsGail Dwyer
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Was to fast of a pace for older adults.
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
It was fantastic tour, however, the Christmas markets in several cities were closed and did not open until days after we were leaving!Ana Viteri
Reviewed on
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Trip Rating:
Too many countries in too short a time. Exhausting!Carol Bowling
