European Charm: Self-Launched Vienna to Amsterdam

Arrive in Vienna and check into a hostel in the 6th or 7th district — walkable to the centre and cheaper than the 1st. Spend the afternoon wandering the Innere Stadt: Stephansdom, Graben and Kohlmarkt, the Hofburg exterior and the MuseumsQuartier courtyard for a cheap coffee. Pick up a 24/48-hour Vienna public transport pass (Wiener Linien, ~£6.50 for 24h) or just walk — the centre is compact. Evening: drinks in the Bermuda Triangle bar streets near Schwedenplatz. Book the rest of your trip's train and bus tickets tonight if you haven't already.

🚌Airport train (S-Bahn S7 or CAT) from Vienna Airport to the centre, ~£4-5

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse in Districts 6/7 (e.g. hostel near Westbahnhof or Mariahilf)

• →Self-guided walk of Innere Stadt: Stephansdom, Hofburg, Graben
• →MuseumsQuartier evening
• →Bermuda Triangle bar district

Do the panoramic city tour the coach group gets, but on foot and by tram. Take tram 1 or 2 around the Ringstrasse for a cheap circular sightseeing loop (included in your transport pass), then walk the Ring's highlights: Staatsoper, Parliament, Rathaus, Burgtheater and the University. In the afternoon visit Schönbrunn Palace gardens (free) or pay ~£22 for the Grand Tour interior. In the evening head out to Grinzing (tram D to the terminus) — the old wine-village suburb the tour visits — and do a Heuriger wine-tavern evening: a glass of Sturm or Gruner Veltliner plus a cold plate for around £15-20.

🚌Tram 1/2 Ringstrasse loop and tram D to Grinzing, covered by a 24h Wiener Linien pass (~£6.50)

🛏Same Vienna hostel

• →Ringstrasse self-guided walk
• →Schönbrunn Palace gardens (optional interior ~£22)
• →Heuriger wine tavern evening in Grinzing

Take the morning RegioJet or OBB Railjet train from Vienna Hauptbahnhof to Budapest Keleti, roughly 2h40 and about £12-20 booked ahead. Check into a hostel in District VII (Jewish Quarter) — the best-value and most sociable area. Do a free walking tour of Pest in the afternoon (tip-based, ~£5-8 tip), then take a public Danube river boat: the BKK line D11/D12 commuter boats run along the river for the price of a normal ticket (~£1), or join a 1-hour sightseeing cruise from ~£9 on GetYourGuide. Finish with a ruin-bar crawl in the Jewish Quarter — Szimpla Kert is the classic.

🚌Train Vienna Hbf to Budapest Keleti, ~£12-20 booked ahead; BKK day pass ~£4.50

🛏Hostel dorm in District VII (Jewish Quarter) or budget guesthouse in District VIII

• →Free walking tour of Pest (tip-based)
• →Danube river boat ride (public BKK boat ~£1 or sightseeing cruise ~£9)
• →Ruin bar evening in the Jewish Quarter

This is a long travel day on the coach tour — do it cheaper and more comfortably by splitting it. Take an early train from Budapest Nyugati to Bratislava (about 2h20, £10-15), drop bags at the station lockers (~£3) and walk the compact old town: St Michael's Gate, the Main Square, the Blue Church and the UFO bridge viewpoint. Grab a cheap lunch (bryndzove halusky or a trdelník) for £5-7. Then take a RegioJet train from Bratislava to Prague (about 2h15, ~£10-14) arriving in the evening. Check into a hostel in Zizkov or Vinohrady — cheaper than Old Town and 15 minutes by tram.

🚌Train Budapest to Bratislava ~£10-15; RegioJet Bratislava to Prague ~£10-14

🛏Hostel dorm or budget guesthouse in Zizkov/Vinohrady, Prague

• →Bratislava old town self-guided walk (St Michael's Gate, Main Square, Blue Church)
• →UFO Bridge viewpoint
• →Evening arrival and dinner in Zizkov

Start early to beat the crowds at Prague Castle — take tram 22 up to Pohorelec and walk down through the castle complex (free courtyards; the full circuit ticket including St Vitus Cathedral is about £12 — buy on site). Walk down Nerudova to Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. In the afternoon take a public Prague Boats commuter ferry across the Vltava (~£2) or a 1-hour sightseeing cruise from about £12 via GetYourGuide as a direct replacement for the tour's included Vltava ride. Evening: cheap Czech dinner in a hospoda (gulas and dumplings ~£9) and a beer for ~£1.80.

🚌Tram 22 to the castle and metro/tram day ticket ~£4

🛏Same Prague hostel

• →Prague Castle and St Vitus Cathedral (circuit ticket ~£12)
• →Charles Bridge and Old Town Square walk
• →Vltava River boat ride (~£2 ferry or ~£12 cruise)

The tour's four-country day is doable independently but tight — pick either Pilsen or Rothenburg as your main stop and treat it as a long travel day. Fastest option: FlixBus or RegioJet Prague to Pilsen (1h10, ~£5), a 2-hour stop to see the Old Town Square, Cathedral of St Bartholomew and the Pilsner Urquell brewery tour (~£11), then continue by FlixBus/RegioJet to Nuremberg and a regional train to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (total ~£22-30). Walk the medieval walls and the Markus Tower, then take the evening regional train via Wurzburg to Frankfurt (~£20 with a Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket if travelling with others). Check into a hostel near the Hauptbahnhof.

🚌FlixBus/RegioJet Prague-Pilsen-Nuremberg plus regional trains to Rothenburg and Frankfurt, total ~£45-55

🛏Budget hotel or hostel near Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof

• →Pilsen Old Town Square and cathedral
• →Pilsner Urquell brewery tour (optional ~£11)
• →Rothenburg ob der Tauber medieval walls and old town

Take an early regional train from Frankfurt to Rudesheim (about 1h20, ~£9 with a Rheinland-Pfalz ticket). Hop on the KD Rhine passenger boat through the UNESCO gorge from Rudesheim to St Goar — the same stretch the tour cruises — for about £20-25 one way (roughly 2 hours; check k-d.com for the sailing timetable, summer only, so in winter take the train along the gorge instead). Train from St Goar to Koblenz, then stop in Cologne for 90 minutes to see the Cathedral, then take the fast ICE/IC train to Amsterdam (Cologne-Amsterdam ~2h40, £20-30 booked ahead). Check into a hostel in Amsterdam West or near Sloterdijk.

🚌Regional train Frankfurt-Rudesheim ~£9; KD Rhine boat Rudesheim-St Goar ~£22; train Cologne-Amsterdam ~£20-30

🛏Hostel dorm or budget hotel in Amsterdam West/Sloterdijk

• →Rhine Gorge cruise Rudesheim to St Goar
• →Cologne Cathedral
• →St Goar and the Rhine castles from the water

Do the tour's Dutch countryside day by public transport — it's easy and cheap. Take the train from Amsterdam Centraal to Zaandijk Zaanse Schans (~15 min, ~£4 return with an OV-chipkaart or contactless) and walk to the windmill village (free to enter, ~£5 for a windmill interior visit). Then bus 391 or the EBS bus to Volendam (~£4), walk the harbour, and take the Marken Express ferry across the water to Marken (~£8 return, seasonal) — the exact boat crossing the tour includes. Return to Amsterdam by bus 315 or the ferry plus bus. Back in the city, do a self-guided walk of the Museumplein, Rembrandtplein and the Jordaan; a diamond factory visit is free to browse.

🚌Train to Zaandijk ~£4 return, buses ~£8 day ticket, Marken Express ferry ~£8

🛏Same Amsterdam hostel

• →Zaanse Schans windmills (free village, ~£5 windmill entry)
• →Volendam fishing harbour
• →Marken Express ferry to Marken
• →Self-guided Amsterdam walk: Museumplein, Jordaan, Rembrandtplein

Last morning free in Amsterdam — either a canal-side breakfast in the Jordaan, a visit to the free Noordermarkt on Saturday, or a cheap 1-hour canal cruise (~£15) if you haven't done one. Optional: the Anne Frank House (book online weeks ahead, ~£14) or the Van Gogh Museum (~£20). Then take the train from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol Airport (~17 min, ~£5) for your flight home.

🚌Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol train ~£5

🛏None (departure day)

• →Jordaan and Noordermarkt morning
• →Optional Anne Frank House (~£14) or Van Gogh Museum (~£20)
• →Optional canal cruise ~£15