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Budapest to Amsterdam or Amsterdam to Budapest


Bea3
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Was looking to plan a last minute trip this summer. Looks like most trips from Amsterdam to Budapest are close to sold out yet most reverse trips starting in Budapest are plentiful. (only standard rooms available starting in Amsterdam) There has to be some reason for this? Wondering if we would be better to wait until next summer.

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Bea,

 

I think both Amsterdam and Budapest are world class cities, and would recommend a pre- and post- cruise in either city. Don't know why Amsterdam is the more popular jumping off point. Maybe someone else will come along with an explanation.

 

Roz

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My first thought was to do with flights....one can usually get from north america directly to Amsterdam, but would probably have to change planes before getting to Budapest.

Or...maybe people would prefer to finish their cruise in Budapest and stay there on their own for a few extra days?

Bottom line, I don't think it would matter to me.

Have a great cruise,

RB

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It’s generally less complicated getting to or from Amsterdam than Budapest. You might prefer to put the most travel hassle at the beginning or end of your cruise.

 

Lately I’ve been thinking about the progression of the cruise. Do you want to end the cruise with the beauty of the Wachau valley or the hustle and bustle of the lower Rhine?

 

I have been planning a Basel - Amsterdam cruise. I initially focused on a northbound cruise because getting home from Amsterdam is simpler than from Basel. Lately I’ve been thinking we might prefer ending the cruise with the more scenic upper Rhine.

 

 

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Because of jet lag, we prefer to have the shorter and easier flight at the beginning -- so Amsterdam to Budapest would be our preferred direction. Coming home we can just crash, but arriving in Europe we want to be ready to go-go-go as soon as possible.

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We have done Amsterdam-Budapest with no problems. However, I have been told, going Budapest-Amsterdam is better as the weather comes from west to east. I guess the reasoning is if you hit rain, you will be out of it faster instead of following it. Haven't been back to check that reasoning out.

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if you can, do the Amsterdam to Budapest BECAUSE you pull in at night and it is unbelievably spectacular....they make a big deal out of it....Everything is lit and it is hard to describe.:)

 

 

 

If you do it from Budapest on AMA there is a cruise up the river for an hour after dinner to see the sights and then back down

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

For us it really doesn't matter since it will be our first, and most likely, our only voyage like this one so we can't compare it to anything. Since we are traveling with another couple who live in MI and we live in FL, our plan is to fly to Detroit and then fly with them to Amsterdam then on to Budapest. We spend a couple of days there pre-cruise and then a couple of days in Amsterdam post-cruise before flying directly back to FL.

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We did the Rhine - Amsterdam to Basel. I'm not quite sure why we picked that direction, except that we've been to Amsterdam before and felt more comfortable starting with that city. We are doing Budapest to Amsterdam on our next river cruise (also with Viking) because it's the opposite direction, because of the flights and because we want to wind down in Amsterdam after the cruise. It's one of our favorite cities.

 

Everyone has different reasons. I don't think there is any wrong way. I don't know about the other river cruise lines, but Viking always lists one direction first. then there is a tab for the other. Maybe many first time cruisers just hit that first tab and don't think about looking at the other.

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We did the Amsterdam to Budapest this past summer. We chose that direction because we had two full days in Vienna. Arriving in Amsterdam and going right to the ship was easy peasy. Trying to fly out of Budapest thru Amsterdam to the US was a nightmare. We had long lines (hour plus) getting to the ticket counter in Budapest, late arriving into Amsterdam and less than an hour and a half navigating the airport and customs and getting to the gate to board the US flight. Viking made our plane reservations and assured us that we had plenty of time for the connection in Amsterdam. By the time we got to the gate the US flight was already boarding. We knew of at least one couple who missed their US flight in Amsterdam because of short turn-around.

 

If we ever do this cruise again, we would do the opposite if for no better reason that the return flight to the US.

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We did Amsterdam to Basel this fall. One thing I heard mentioned was going upstream vs downstream, meaning how fast do you get to the next port (longer time in port) be how fast do you go thru the gorge where all the castles are. For some, these details seemed to matter. The first half of that trip was rather industrial. I’m glad we finished on the scenic end.

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  • 1 month later...
Because of jet lag, we prefer to have the shorter and easier flight at the beginning -- so Amsterdam to Budapest would be our preferred direction. Coming home we can just crash, but arriving in Europe we want to be ready to go-go-go as soon as possible.

 

Agree completely! If you miss the start of a cruise, you have to figure out how to catch up. If your return is delayed, it’s the airlines problem to get you home.

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The flight back to the east coast from Budapest is more likely to require a zero dark thirty wake up.

 

I see a non-stop on LOT from BUD to JFK, 10:30 am to 3:40 pm. Also many one-stops (Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Delta/KLM) leaving between 10:30 and 11:30 am which arrive in NY between 4:30 and 8 pm.

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If you can find a good deal that saves you some money I wouldn't worry about the direction. If that's not a deciding factor then I'd start in Amsterdam. The lower Rhine isn't the most scenic so that first sailing day can be spent exploring your ship and getting acquainted with your new shipmates. Save the beauty of the Danube for last.

 

Paul

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I see a non-stop on LOT from BUD to JFK, 10:30 am to 3:40 pm. Also many one-stops (Aer Lingus, Lufthansa, Delta/KLM) leaving between 10:30 and 11:30 am which arrive in NY between 4:30 and 8 pm.

 

I should have specified that I meant not JFK. There are more cities on the east coast with international flights than just New York, NY . . . ;)

There is little flexibility with PHL as one example. The later departure options from BUD require US connections and all the hassles that go with that.

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