An enjoyable trip up and down the river. We joined at Republic Square as directed, but simply got dropped off at the boat and left - no pick up was included, so we had to walk back into the centre. Buffet lunch was fine, plenty of choice. There were only about 30 people on the boat, so there was no rush or queuing. Only complaint was that the boat "idled" for quite a while, eeking out the time until its allotted finish - this is due, in part, to the need to get through the lock both ways - as it happened, we had no delays, hence the circling.

A really good (and long) day out - about 3 hours each way - and we stopped for a toilet break on the way out (but not on the way back). Plenty to do and see in this fabulous UNESCO World heritage site town. Our guide did seem to want us following him like sheep the whole time, but we did manage to get an hour or so to explore on our own whilst some spaniards had an arranged lunch, even though he directed the rest of us to another restaurant he obviously had ties with. We escaped and had a fabulous bowl of goulash soup in a bread bowl at a small place by the riverside, then went perusing the qaint little shops that we had previously been hurried by in his ever-zealous search for yet another "roccoco", "gothic" or "rennaisance" example of architecture. The actual castle/palace visit was worth every minute spent, with examples of 14th, 16th and 19th century rooms, portraying the three different families that held sway during its heyday. The town itelf, below the castle and on the banks of a curve in the river Vlatava, is picturesque to the max! Highly recommended

An excellent trip to a very nice location. Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable, but her German was better than her English. The guide who took us round the castle was excellent - we got to see the "Crown jewels" - or a copy of them. However, the unlocking and locking of doors as we moved from room to room was farcical - as was a stray in-costume musician, playing the lyre, sat in one of the rooms - flogging his CD and with a bowl for donations!
WE had a choice of how to get from the coach park to the castle - you coudl walk for free but its very steep. Taxi was the safest, but the route was about 5km in a strange roundabout way. Horse and cart seemed too cold for mid-October. We all walked down into a sweet village area - some cafes, restaurants and food stalls available as well as shops, mostly tourist rather than craft.
A long half day though - we didn't get back to Prague until gone 2.30

Quite a full boat, and quite a chilly night, but an enjoyable trip. We were escorted by the guide onto and off the boat and transfers from the meeting place were included (some people were piced up at hotels). The trio of musicians were lively and not too obtrusive - they had to play both upstairs and downstairs, so we'd get some respite. the food, buffet style, was good for mass catering, although there were queues as it hadn't been logically placed - soups at the end of the serving area, bread in the middle. Most people ended up with plates stacked high with a mix of non-complementary items to avoid having to return for more! The boat was quite big - plenty of room to move about inside and out. Sights and sounds of Prague in the evening excellent.

Don't book on htis if you've gone on the Danube bend tour, as you've already done Szentendre. (local tour company) were very helpful and we substituted the jewish Synagogue and quarter tour AND the Parliament tour at no extra cost - both highly recommended, but a lot of walking on both.

THis trip could have been improved by changing one or two details - it is also slightly misleading. The first stop, at Szentendre, was excellent - plenty of time to look around sights and shops - a lovely little town. The only stop at Eszetrom was at the Basilica - and there we were simply left to our own devices, to pay for tour or to go up the Basilica if we wanted to. A bit too much time for just wandering around inside and out. Views across to SLovakia superb. We didn't stop at the stated 3rd place - merely had lunch at a restaurant on the mountaintop - there was a castle on the hill that was not included - and in fact was dismissed by the tour guide out of hand. We had to persuade the driver to stop so we could take pictures of the Danube Bend - the title of the tour. A useless visit to a diamond factory was a complete waste of time and we were back in Budapest inside 8 hours - a bit disgruntled really. Becuase it was March we didn;t get the river option, but the price is the same, so including the castle would have made up for it.

Brilliant, fairly whistle-stop tour of the main sights. Our tour guide, Judith, was priceless - so funny and knowledgeable, too. Really enjoyed this one.