Visa required for Danube River Cruise?

[elklemi]

Looking at Danube River cruise and bus tour next September at goes to Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Germany.  Will be my first time to Europe and do I need some special visa to visit these countries?  Thanks for any help.

[JerseyGem]

September is a lovely time for a river cruise (and bus tour) of that area.  Not too hot, not too cold and fewer crowds.  Since you live in Tennessee, I assume you are a USA citizen traveling with a USA passport, so you will not need visas for any of those countries.  Of course, the way the world is changing, who knows what will happen in a year?  But whichever cruise line or travel company you use, they will give you updated information if a visa becomes necessary.

 

Come back with any questions as you plan your trip!  We all love river cruising. 

[elklemi]

Thank you so much for your quick and informative reply.  Realize it is a year away but 

thought I would check that off and I am sure I will have many questions as this is whole new experience but I am looking so forward to this experience.

[dogs4fun]

59 minutes ago, elklemi said:

Looking at Danube River cruise and bus tour next September at goes to Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, and Germany.  Will be my first time to Europe and do I need some special visa to visit these countries?  Thanks for any help.

As previously stated, US citizens need only a valid passport for your travel dates in 2021. However, from the end of 2022 onward, US citizens will need to apply for an ETIA (similar to the ESTA that the USA requires from EU and various other nationals).

https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-requirements/americans

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

As previously stated, US citizens need only a valid passport for your travel dates in 2021. However, from the end of 2022 onward, US citizens will need to apply for an ETIA (similar to the ESTA that the USA requires from EU and various other nationals).

https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-requirements/americans

 

The start date keeps receding into the future.  If you follow several rabbit holes within the website link above, you finally learn that the start date is now expected to be the end of 2022 [i.e. actually Jan. 1, 2023].  But it will not be mandatory for the first six months [i.e. July 1, 2023] and there will be a 6-month grace period after that [i.e. Jan. 1, 2024], followed by a second, slightly more restrictive grace period and the possibility of a third grace period.  So the bottom line is that nobody will be forced to get an ETIAS before Jan. 1, 2024 at the earliest.  And between now and then a lot can change...

https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-news/etias-mandatory-end-2022