Highlights of Eastern Europe with Uniworld

Enjoy complimentary airport lounge access before your flight from the UK to Bucharest. Upon arrival, a transfer will take you to your hotel (group or private transfers are available). Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Stay: Luxury hotel accommodation in Budapest

Get to know Romania’s capital city with a day to explore on your own. It's a city packed with impressive architecture, fascinating museums, beautiful parks and plenty of superb places to eat and drink. A stroll through the Old Town is a must, as is visiting the Palace of Parliament (the second-largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon), which offers a fascinating insight into the city's communist past. And if you fancy an escape to a green oasis within easy reach of the city, King Michael I Park (formerly known as Herăstrău Park) is a delightful spot for a leisurely wander. 

Stay: Luxury hotel accommodation in Budapest

Enjoy a guided city tour of Bucharest today, discovering its fascinating combination of communist grandiosity, elegant French-influenced 19th-century buildings, and even some surprising relics from the 16th century.

Later on, you will be transferred via motorcoach to Giurgiu, where your Uniworld cruise will begin. Enjoy the Captain’s welcome reception and your first dinner onboard this evening.

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

Ruse is sometimes called “Little Vienna” due to its abundance of elegant architecture. Today, you will be able to choose between two shore excursions. A walking tour includes Freedom Square, the grand theatre, a city museum, and more. Walk through the woods of Runeski Lom to UNESCO World Heritage Site Ivanovo Rock Monastery, famous for its 14th-century murals. Basarbovo Rock Monastery is the only rock monastery where monks still live and worship.

Alternatively, visit Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria’s former capital. Perched on hills above the Yantra River, remains of great stone walls and towers once formed the heart of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Discover handicrafts in the Samovod Marketplace before heading to Abanassi, home to six 17th-century stone churches. Hear a choir in a short concert and enjoy a three-course Bulgarian lunch with accompanying folk music.

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

Vidin is your base for a visit to the Belogradchik rock formations. Drive through scenic countryside to Belogradchik to explore the astonishing, 200-million-year-old rock formations. This is the stuff of legend. Learn the names of these weather-worn shapes, which once formed natural defences for the town. If you’re up for it, hike to the top with a local expert. Either way, you’ll experience incredible views. There will also be time to learn about Vidin’s rich heritage.

Alternatively, head to the village of Negovanovtsi to visit Dos Alamos Winery, a boutique estate, for a tasting. They make excellent use of the combination of sandy soil, continental weather and plenty of sunshine.

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

You’ll spend most of today enjoying the spectacular scenery along the Danube as you cruise a stretch of gorges known as the Iron Gates, among the most dramatic sights in all of Europe. Take time to unwind and watch these beautiful sights unfold before you. Later, head ashore to Lepenski Vir, a significant Palaeolithic site, and Golubac Castle, a well-preserved medieval fortress looming over the Danube. 

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

Belgrade dates back 7,000 years, making it one of Europe’s oldest cities. Serbia’s capital city bears plenty of scars from its tumultuous history, though the city’s vibrant present also shines through. Tonight, enjoy a private after-hours visit to the National Museum of Serbia. Explore the museum, which is the largest in Serbia and home to an impressive collection of Serbian art and archaeological findings. After exploring, take a seat and enjoy a special quartet performance.

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

Welcome to Croatia. Dock in Vukovar and choose between two shore excursions. Both options include a visit to the lovely village of Karanac for explorations of Croatian craftsmanship and then on to the Vučedol Museum. The entire structure was designed to be all but buried in the ground, with only the façade open to the landscape. Its serpentine shape follows the terrain, and its green roof is home to the archaeological sites over the museum. It is full of various archaeological findings. You can choose to either have lunch at a family restaurant afterwards or enjoy a home-hosted meal. You'll then return to the ship and cross the border to Mohács in Hungary.

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

The ship will dock in Budapest today, where you'll have the opportunity to learn about the history of the Hungarian capital on one of two tours. A panoramic tour shows you Budapest in a whistlestop way, visiting Andrássy Avenue and the former Jewish Quarter before hopping off the motorcoach at Dohány Street Synagogue. This is the largest synagogue in Europe and one of the most striking buildings in Budapest.

Alternatively, embark on a walking tour exploring Budapest’s communist past. Begin at the Budapest Retro Interactive Museum and drive by Heroes’ Square on the way to Gellért Hill. The monument here was erected to celebrate the “liberation” from Nazi occupation, but the statue’s inscription was later altered to celebrate Hungarian freedom from the Soviet Union.

The captain’s farewell dinner is served onboard this evening.

Stay: S.S. Beatrice or River Duchess

Disembark your Uniworld cruise today. You will be transferred to the airport for your onward flight back to the UK. Alternatively, why not extend your time in Budapest, we can arrange a two-night post-cruise extension for you including luxury accommodation. Please speak to a one of our specialists for more details.