Time in Vienna?

[japiscopo]

My husband and I are going on a Uniworld River Cruise, Vienna to Amsterdam in October. We're thinking of leaving a couple of days early to get over jet lag and to also spend a couple of days more in Vienna, than the 1 day the cruise ship has scheduled. Is 2 days extra enough, or too much? How is the weather there in October? Is there anything out of the usual sites that would be worth our time? Does the ship tour in Vienna do anything besides St. Stephan's. Any info on Vienna or the cruise ports you can give me would help a lot. For example, is the time spent in each port enough to see highlights? Are the ship tours good or should we spend time on our own in the ports. Do you have time to shop in ports? which of the ports is the best for shopping? any recommendations on shops? (I like to do my Christmas shopping during our travels). Does anyone know of any websites that would give me some tourist information?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Mary Lou

[Flick]

We did this trip last July from Amsterdam to Vienna with a 3 day post cruise in Vienna. That was enough time to thoroughly enjoy the city. A suggestion-go and tour the Hofburg BEFORE you go tour Schoenbrunn Palace. They explain a lot at the Hofburg that they just "show" at Schoebrunn and it will help to better understand what you are seeing.

We found the best gift shopping for Xmas was in the port of Rudesheim. They had the best prices for the quality. We were not impressed with the items for sale in Germany-high prices, low quality.

Another suggestion-go with the ship tours-they really hit everything and you often had very little time for exploring because the ship must keep appointments with the locks and there are 87 of them on this route (locks, that is>)

One final suggestion- go to the library and get a biography of the Habsburg Family. They ruled this part of Europe for over 600 years and your trip will retrace the places and events of their reign. The research you do now will greatly enhance your enjoyment of this trip!

[Carhut]

I did the Vienna to Amsterdam last summer with GCT. We did the pre-cruise 3 days in Vienna. It's always good to go a head of time to get used to the time change. We took all the ship's tours in Vienna and along the way. Being the first time in all these places, I think it's best to have the guides show us the way and tell us the history of different places. We usually had some time to shop on our own, but like Rick said there weren't any bargains, especially when you consider the money exchange. Our first day in Vienna was a blur as we were so tired from our long flight which actually started the day before. The second and third days we had tours by GCT and one afternoon one of our travel guides took us on a trip to Shoenbraun on our own time. We didn't have nearly enough time to see everything, but was still worth the trip. The 3 days went by very fast. There is plenty to see and do in Vienna, but I wouldn't know where to start on my own. Glad the tour company offered the optional tours. They were well worth the price. The tours that were included were a city tour by bus and a tour to a restaurant in the Grinzeng district (wine growing area). We had a ball there. The other optional tours were to see the opera house and the famous ferris wheel (which we rode) that was used in the movie "The Third Man". Also we had a wonderful evening at a small palace with music and dancers. Hope this helps and gives you some ideas.