Our next trip is quickly approaching towards the end of the month. In 2017, we took our first cruise – Viking River’s 15-day Grand European cruise – from Budapest to Amsterdam. This begins on the Danube River, then continues primarily on the Main and the Rhine rivers. We weren’t sure what to expect, but by the time we arrived in Amsterdam, we wished we could just stay aboard and return in the opposite direction! I also somewhat wished we’d booked the 23-day European Sojourn from Bucharest to Amsterdam, but that seemed like too much for a first cruise experience, plus I wanted to spend extra time in Budapest visiting with former colleagues. Thus, after such a great experience with Viking, we decided to try to book the 11-day Passage to Eastern Europe (Bucharest to Budapest or reverse) sometime in the future to complete the experience.

On that 2017 trip, we met a couple, Keith and Paula, with whom we have now taken several trips. We planned a trip with them for the summer of 2020 which was to include the Passage to Eastern Europe cruise. As you know, that ended up not happening. Fast forward 5 years and we are now FINALLY going to take this cruise (although without our travel buddies)!

Itinerary

The 11-day Viking itinerary consists of 1 night at a hotel in Bucharest, 7 nights aboard the Viking Ullur longship, and 2 nights in a Budapest hotel. We will fly into Bucharest a couple of days early to allow for travel delays and ensure we are there before the official start of the cruise (and get in some additional excursions). 

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Our planned itinerary is as follows:

Day 1: Fly overnight from Houston to London.

Day 2: Fly London to Bucharest, Romania. Check-in JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel (used by Viking) two nights on us, third night on Viking.

Day 3: Private full-day customized version of this trip to the Transylvania region (yes, it is a real place) booked through Tours By Locals (TBL).

Day 4: Private half-day customized tour with the same TBL guide to Bucharest sites not part of our Viking itinerary. This is the official Viking itinerary arrival day.

Day 5: Hotel check-out. Viking optional 8-hour tour Bucharest and the Palace of Parliament, includes lunch, transfer to ship docked on the Danube at Giurgiu, Romania (about a 1-hour drive).

Day 6: Ruse, Bulgaria – almost directly across the river from our embarkation port of Giurgiu, Romania. Viking included 8.5-hour tour Veliko Tarnovo & Arbanasi.

Day 7: Vidin, Bulgaria – Viking 4-hour included tour Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress in the morning and Viking optional 3-hour tour Baba Vida Fortress & Bulgarian Wine in the afternoon.

Day 8: Cruising: The Iron Gates to Golubac, Serbia – Viking optional 4-hour tour Lepenski Vir and Viking included 1-hour tour Golubac Fortress by Foot.

Day 9: Belgrade, Serbia – Viking optional 6-hour tour Best of Belgrade (includes lunch), perhaps the Tesla Museum DIY afterwards.

Day 10: Osijek, Croatia – Viking optional 3.5-hour tour Croatian Countryside & Wine Tasting and Viking included 4.5-hour tour Osijek & Vukovar.

Day 11: Kalocsa, Hungary – Viking included 3.5-hour tour Kalocsa & Puszta.

Day 12: Budapest, Hungary – Disembark and check-in Viking hotel, Corinthia Hotel Budapest, for two nights on Viking. Free time. Dave wants to go to the Grand Market and buy some more paprika. Then we hope to meet up with one of my former Hungarian work colleagues.

Day 13: Budapest, Hungary – full-day private tour to Lake Balaton (aka the “Hungarian Sea”) which includes the Porcelain Museum of Herend booked via Viator.

Day 14: Early morning flight – Budapest to London to Houston.

Due to the vagaries of river cruising (docking times can vary wildly and you might be let off at one location and picked up further down/up the river later), we are only booking Viking tours while on the river cruise portion.

Countries and Currencies

We will be in 5 countries: Romania (3.5 days), Bulgaria (2 days), Serbia (2 days), Croatia (1 day), and Hungary (3 days). Budapest, Hungary is the only repeat location for us. Of the 5 countries, only Serbia is not a member of the European Union, nor is it part of the Schengen Area, so it will be interesting to see how our passports are processed entering and leaving Serbia on the river. Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary were all behind the Iron Curtain until 1989. Serbia and Croatia were formerly part of Yugoslavia until it fell apart in the early 90s. This area is traditionally also considered part of the so-called Balkan Peninsula. So, there will be lots of interesting recent history and well as centuries of history for us to learn about.  

Local currency will also be a challenge for this trip as only Croatia uses the Euro. Romania has the leu, Bulgaria the lev, Serbia the dinar, and Hungary the Forint. We have leftover Euros and Forint from prior trips. As we will be in Romania several days, we will hit an ATM near our hotel to get local currency there for sure. We aren’t sure yet about Bulgaria and Serbia as to our opportunity to find an ATM near where we dock or on the Viking tours we’ve selected. We would like to have some local currency to tip the local guides, so hopefully they will guide us past an ATM!

As of March 31, 2025, the rough conversion rates for $10 USD to the 5 currencies equals:

• 9.25 Euro
• 46 Romanian Leu
• 18 Bulgarian Lev
• 1084 Serbian Dinar
• 3725 Hungarian Forint

Expected Weather

I’m taking layers. Per timeanddate.com the average highs for April/May are mid-60s to low 70s with average lows in the 40s and 50s. It could also be rainy. I bought a new ScottEvest jacket for this trip and will probably take one of my vests, as well. I love these for all the pockets which can secure everything I need with me during a travel/touring day.

Reading Prep

In addition to skimming the pertinent sections of Lonely Planet’s Eastern Europe and Romania & Bulgaria books, I have Captivating History’s The Balkans: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Balkan Peninsula, Starting from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages to the Modern Period and Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula on the pre-trip reading list.

Now that everything is mostly researched and tours booked, we will soon be packed and on our way! I don’t know if I will have time (or decent internet) to post live daily as we go or not. I remember from our first river cruise, it was extremely busy and tiring every day, so we will see how it goes.