The tour will take us to beautiful and still little known corners of central Europe. You will be able to experience fascinating places such as impressive large meadows with numbers of unusual orchid flowers in White Carpathian mountains, you can meet local people in charming Moravian villages where folklore music and customs are still alive and places where tourists are real strangers. Beautiful places of architectural and archaeological importances as town of Cesky Krumlov, Telc or Dolni Vestonice give the tour also a culture flavour. We will visit vine cellars of local producers in Moravia and taste some of delicious local wines.
Private tours are a special opportunity to organize your own group or tour designed up your special inquiries and wishes and dates. Suggested hotels are just one of general option.
General information:
Accommodation: We stay in smaller first class 3-5star hotels. Hotels offer full range of services and are beautifully located. We chosen smaller hotels in historical buildings.
Meals: Full board or half-board. We will have always breakfasts in the hotel. Picnic lunches are prepared by our guides where we can not stop in suitable local restaurant. Typical picnic includes fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee and tea, bottle of red and white wines (local wines of the best quality), etc.
Local transport: Transfers by a private car or minivan (depends on size of group). The driving is never too long and leads mostly through beautiful and ever changing landscape. Where appropriate, we follow side roads with little traffic and unspoiled countryside.
Walks: Daily walks vary from 3-6 hours with more options for some days. Option of hikes will be discussed with our guides a day before.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Vienna to Mikulov. Arrive in Vienna, Austria. Your trip leader will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the small medieval town of Mikulov in southern Moravia. (If you have arrived a day or two early, the guide will pick you up at your hotel.) After checking into the hotel, you may explore the town and its noted Renaissance chateau that dominates the skyline. Within the chateau is a regional museum with many wine-making artifacts (this is the heart of the wine district). You can also take an easy walk to Pálava Hills, a group of limestone hills with unique flora and fauna along the Czech-Austrian Border that is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Later you can walk through the magnificent park in the town of Lednice, with its fountains, extensive views, castle ruins, and lake with 15 islands. Transfer one hour to the town of Uherske Hradiste. Welcome dinner with wine tasting. 4star hotel Slunce, Uh. Hradiste.
Day 2: Slovácko. In the morning you’ll take an easy walk through the beautiful orchid meadows of the White Carpathian Mountains. Later, you’ll travel to the village of Petrov and visit an interesting group of Baroque wine cellars from the 18th and 19th centuries where you may taste local wines. This area is also known for its folklore traditions—the area between the White Carpathians and Chriby Hills is called Slovácko and it is here where the most distinctive cultural traditions of the Czech Republic survive. The area below Chriby Hills is also known for its very good quality of wines. You’ll stop at an open air museum (locally called a skansen) in Straznice where you can view buildings from the last century, followed by wine tasting in a private wine cellar. 4star hotel Slunce, Uh. Hradiste.
Day 3: Buchlov Castle – Buchlovice Chateau – Velehrad. In the morning, you’ll walk through beech forests to Buchlov Castle, set on a hilltop and one of the oldest in Moravia, founded in the 13th century. Later, continue to Buchlovice, visiting Buchlovice Chateau, an 18th-century Italian chateau still containing most of its original Rococo furniture left behind by the family when they fled to Austria in 1945. The chateau’s wine cellar will give you another opportunity for wine tasting! Then, you’ll visit the little town of Velehrad with its beautiful cathedral from the 9th century. It is one of the most important pilgrimage sites of the Czech Republic. 4star hotel Slunce, Uh. Hradiste.
Day 4: Slavonice – Telc – Trebon. After breakfast, we leave Hradiste and continue to the beautiful town of Telc, another UNESCO World Heritage Site that’s noted for its Gothic castle. Later, we visit the handsome Renaissance town of Slavonice. After an hour of driving we reach the medieval town of Trebon, noted for its pretty red-roofed buildings. 4star hotel Zlata Hvezda, Trebon.
Day 5: Trebon – Cesky Krumlov. The countryside around Trebon is called Trebonsko, and it is an important Landscape Protected Area with a large network of interconnecting canals and fishponds dating from the 15th century. (Some of the local restaurants offer fish specialties that are really worth trying.) We’ll take a sightseeing tour around the town center, including the Neo-Gothic chapel of the Schwarzenberg family, the Regent brewery (one of the oldest Czech breweries, founded in 1379), and walk along the banks of the fish ponds. Later, we transfer to Cesky Krumlov, the best-preserved medieval town in the Czech Republic (and yet another World Heritage Site). Accommodations are at a hotel in the historical center of Cesky Krumlov. 4star hotel Seneca, Cesky Krumlov.
Day 6: Cesky Krumlov. We’ll enjoy a sightseeing tour of the town, including a tour of the Krumlov Chateau, the second largest residence (after Prague Castle) in Bohemia. It was built in the 13th century and converted into a Renaissance chateau in the 16th century. The large park, of French design, is another highlight of the town, as well as the 18th-century Rococo theater and the museum dedicated to Egon Schiele, the Austrian painter who moved to Krumlov in 1911. In the afternoon, we may walk to Zlata Koruna or visit Vyssi Brod, where a 13th-century Cistercian monastery and museum are situated. 4star hotel Seneca, Cesky Krumlov.
Day 7: Sumava National Park. Morning transfer to Sumava National Park, the largest national park in the Czech Republic. Most of the area was a military zone during Communist times and closed to the public for 40 years. Because of this it is now an area of almost untouched wildlife. We may visit Boubin forest, one of the first natural reserves in the Czech Republic. The springs of the Vltava river was a popular place of the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. Transfer back to Cesky Krumlov. 4star hotel Seneca, Cesky Krumlov.
Day 8: Cesky Krumlov – Prague. We’ll begin to make our way toward Prague, with a possible stop at the village of Holasovice, a wonderful example of a traditional central European village. Arrive in Prague in the afternoon and enjoy a sightseeing walk through the historical center.
Farewell dinner in traditional restaurant.
Extra days in Prague on request.
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Accommodation in first class 4star hotels
- Half-board
- All transfers
- Entrance fees
- Service of a guide
- Ground transport
- Wine tasting
Price Excludes:
- Air-fare
- Insurance
- Alcoholic drinks
- Personal expenses
Luxury option (Accommodations in Restored Castles) on request.
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Czech Republic
Austria
Cultural Journey
Walking Tours
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