INSIGHT VACATIONS BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY TOUR
(2014) In March, I was lucky enough to take part in Insight Vacations’ Luxury Bohemian Rhapsody Global Press Tour - a seven day spectacular taster of the company’s Easy Pace Budapest, Vienna & Prague tour (usually 10 days long).
Travelling via luxury coach, we made our way through these three beautiful - and very different - cities, our fantastic guide making sure we got the full local experience at each stop. With five star hotels and exclusive Insight experiences, we were treated to a steady smattering of luxury, fine dining and local culture along the way…
Firstly, the beauty of an Insight tour is that while you travel with friends or relatives, you also have the opportunity to meet and mingle with others on the tour. I wouldn’t hesitate to go on one of the tours alone and met a great mix of people on this one, many of whom I have kept in touch with.
I was also surprised by how nice it was to travel by coach. Seeing the landscape go by, while also having the luxury of plenty of room (and Wifi!) made the trip from city to city a pleasure, and having the coach ready to take us to and from different areas of each city was a real plus.
Flying from Gatwick to Prague to kick off the tour, we were met by an Insight driver at the airport and whisked straight off to the first stop on our tour, the Art Nouveau Palace Hotel, Prague. Only a five minute walk from Charles Square, the hotel (five star - the tour has ruined me for future holidays as I’m now far too accustomed to luxury…) was the jumping off point for guided tours around the city, including one of Insight’s signature experiences at the Strahov monastery, which also brews its own excellent beer. After some local food and Becherovka liquor (hold on to your taste buds...no, really) we were treated to a tour of the brewery and a beer, then taken into the depths of hell for our main meal. And by hell I mean the famous Peklo restaurant situated down in the wine cellars of the monastery - Peklo translates as hell, though the food was far from it.
The next morning, we were straight off to Prague Castle with another local guide, feeding us inside information that turned a stroll around a beautiful castle into a detailed and insightful (excuse the pun) experience. Insight’s Signature Experiences are mixed with chances to do your own exploring, which is important for me. Back in Prague centre we were treated to a glass blowing demonstration at a traditional glass workshop, headed to St Charles Square to see the famous astronomical clock in action and finished up with a tour of the unique Jewish Museum, before doing a bit of independent exploration.
A couple of hours on the coach, watching the Czech countryside go by brought us to Cesky Krumlov, a small medieval town, and a particular highlight for me. There’s little chance I would have ventured here if I hadn’t been on this tour, which is part of its advantage of one of these tours - they are built on local knowledge of the best places, the most interesting experiences and the small, little-known gems that tourists might otherwise miss. The town sits right on the Vltava river and is a vista of red roofs with the castle up on the hill. Again, we had a local expert ready and waiting to take us around the castle - which has actual bears living under the bridge that leads into it.
Like all of the accommodation on the tour, our hotel was picked specifically for its charm - a 16th century former Jesuit dormitory overlooking the town and river, complete with medieval figures and suits of armour in the lobby. The medieval theme extended to our dinner too, which was served in the banquet hall to a soundtrack of live musicians playing period music. One thing I would really recommend when in Cesky Krumlov is exploring the town at night. With the castle, river and cobbled lanes all lit up with soft light, it’s not to be missed.
Crossing the border into Austria, we made a stop in the Wachau Valley to take a tour of its vineyard and sample the fruits in their best form, before moving on to Vienna. Having arrived at the Hilton Vienna, we were taken off to (for me) the best experience of the trip. In a private concert hall that Mozart himself played in, one of Vienna’s best orchestras played many of imperial Vienna's best compositions, accompanied by ballet dancers.
The next morning saw us touring the Schonnbrunn Palace - one of the most stunning palaces I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a few) and touring the grounds, as well as visiting the Winter Palace treasury to see the crown jewels and one of the largest emeralds in the world.
The final stop on the tour was Budapest - my favourite city of the three. Our first night in the Hungarian capital was pretty special, as we boarded a riverboat and sailed down the Danube over a special Hungarian dinner (you‘ve never tasted real goulash until you’ve tasted home made goulash on the Danube river). Budapest really comes into its own at night, and the river city’s lights look incredible from the water.
We also toured the white Matthias Church in the medieval district, which looks a bit like something out of a fantasy book and gives a great view over the city. Then we moved on to something we’d been thoroughly enjoying throughout the tour - food. It’s not just Austria that knows its stuff when it comes to making strudel - as we found out during the demonstration at the First Strudel House in Pest, and more importantly by trying it for ourselves.
The Central Market Hall is one of the most colourful, vibrant places that we saw in Budapest, being a hub of food stalls mainly. It’s the perfect place both to see the local culture, and pick up a few specialties yourself - I made a beeline for the paprika and goulash kits, but I sincerely doubt my goulash will measure up to our host’s on the river cruise. While we were at the market there happened to be two groups of traditional dancers putting on a show in the market, one Hungarian and one from another country. Our guide found that the Hungarian dancers regularly invite groups from other countries and cultures to take part in shows.
Our last night was spent at the exclusive Gundel restaurant - which has welcomed royals from all over Europe - serenaded by the string band and plied with some of the best food in the city. Says it all really, doesn’t it? Completely lavish and a great way to end a fantastic experience.
Every potentially stressful aspect of travelling through multiple countries was taken care of by the Insight team, who were always on hand for information or to sort any problems, and the journeys between countries and cities were smooth and comfortable (the coach has extra legroom, screens and WIFI). I wouldn’t hesitate to try another of Insight’s tours, knowing that I would get a tailored experience, meet some great people and travel in the style I am now accustomed to…
This trip was undertaken by a member of the GNHQ team and was a complimentary press trip.
10/10 (from anon)