Boat's excursion in Vienna or DIY?

Question for my experienced river cruising travelers: should we take the excursion Uniworld offers in Vienna or DIY? Vienna is only a one-day stop on our cruise from Budapest to Prague.

We are very excited about our first river cruise aboard Uniworld this coming summer along the Danube. We have cruised a number of times and traveled independently through parts of Europe, but we have never been to Vienna. We nearly always arrange private tours and DIY experiences. We look forward to taking some of Uniworld's excursions, but I was wondering whether we should arrange our own guide for Vienna or go with the ship's excursion.

Catherine

It's hard to say, what excursion are you considering with Uniworld while in Vienna? We've done many river cruises and first I'll say, if it's an included excursion such as a city walk, I'd do it then venture out on my own. These are usually only an hour or so, will give you an idea of what to see and give you a brief orientation of the city.

However, if you've been to Vienna before and/or have specifics you want to enjoy then DIY. Vienna is an easy city to navigate and you sound like you're independent travelers so it shouldn't be a problem for you.

Enjoy your first river cruise, they're addicting.

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Are you sure you don't overnight in Vienna?

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I took Uniworld's walking tour in Vienna and was very pleased with it. We had the afternoon free and 2 other ladies and I got a taxi and went to the Belvedere and saw Klimt's "The Kiss". It was good combination of the ship's excursion and DIY. I look at it this way - I'm paying for the excurusion in my fare, why not utilize them, especially if I've not visited the city before.

Roz

Depends what you wish to do in Vienna and what your interest is

You can arrange for a private tour of the Imperial Apartments at the Hofburg Palace along with the Sisi Museum or the Silver Treasury or a private tour of the Schönbrunn Palace organised by the museums themselves. You just agree a time by email with the museum and pay when you get there. You can take a taxi there and would be semi-independent. I am doing that this September.

If you are into art, there is Vienna’s Museum of Fine Arts with a decent selection by various artists, not just Klimt.

Public and Private tours of the Vienna Opera House are also available.

Vienna is very walkable apart from Schönbrunn Palace which is a hike away. You could hire a guide and walk around various sites that you are interested in.

If you are there at the weekends, try to get to see a performance at the Spanish Riding School. That is a marvellous experience. That will not be on any cruise line's excursion.

The Uniworld walking tour in Vienna shows you the main sights and finishes about 11am. We then had the option of continuing with the guide to see the palace. There were buses that took you back to the ship at noon, 2pm and 4pm. If you are considering a private tour why not arrange somthing for the afternoon and enjoy the walking city tour in the morning.

The Uniworld walking tour in Vienna shows you the main sights and finishes about 11am. We then had the option of continuing with the guide to see the palace. There were buses that took you back to the ship at noon, 2pm and 4pm. If you are considering a private tour why not arrange somthing for the afternoon and enjoy the walking city tour in the morning.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions on what to see and the excellent idea to mix the boat's tour with our own private tour in the afternoon. And alas, assuming I read our itinerary correctly, we are only in Vienna for one day, so I want to try to make the most of it.

Catherine