Pittwater Life March 2017 Issue

New take on River cruising
& touring Eastern Europe
Combining the joys of small
group touring with Back-
Roads and the delights of a
Danube River Cruise with Riviera
Travel River Cruises, how’s
this for a 20-night holiday that
ticks all the boxes!
Fly from Australia to Prague
on August 29 to join Back-Roads
Touring for a 10-night exploration
all the way to Budapest.
“It’s a region of ancient cities,
time-honoured culinary customs
and ever-changing landscapes
– Eastern Europe rewards those
ready to explore,” says Chris
Riou of Newport Travel. “You
can discover the highlights of
the Czech Republic, Poland,
Slovakia and Hungary on this
diverse tour. Back-Roads offers
unique experiences like taking
part in a traditional Polish
Pierogi (dumplings) making
class; sampling Czech beer
culture on a tour of Prague’s
local pubs; and travelling by traditional,
wooden rafts through
the Dunajec Gorge.”
Chris said the beauty of
travelling with Back-Roads was
that the size of your luxury mini
coach gets you into places the
large buses just can’t manage.
And travelling with a group
of only 15 guests means new
friends and quick loading and
unloading of your coach.
After your tour ends in
Budapest, you spend two
nights in a local hotel before
stepping aboard the MS Emily
Bronte River Cruise Ship. “You
will appreciate the superb
surroundings of your floating
luxury hotel for the next
seven nights with spacious
and well-appointed cabins or
suites, with private bathrooms
and meticulously prepared fine
cuisine,” Chris said. “The Emily
Bronte hosts up to 169 guests
and was launched in 2017,
making her brand new.”
Riviera travel is predominately
English-speaking, with
majority of guests hailing from
the UK, she added.
From Budapest, the ship
heads north to Esztergom
spending the morning exploring
its historic centre, which once
was Hungary’s capital, before
continuing westwards to the
beautiful old town of Bratislava,
the capital of Slovakia. It then
navigates through Lower Austria
to reach the romantic town of
Dürnstein, where Richard the
Lionheart was imprisoned, with
a visit to the remarkable monastery
in Melk, with its 200m-long
Emperor’s Gallery.
“Next is Linz from where you
will take the short drive to Salzburg,
the birthplace and residence
of Mozart, then on your
way back eastwards enjoy a
visit to Vienna, home of Strauss
and many great composers,”
Chris added.
Finally, cruising into Hungary,
you arrive back in imperial
Budapest, straddling the picturesque
Danube.
Riviera Travel River Cruises
offers elegant accommodations,
all shipboard main meals and
a full range of included shore
excursions.
This sensational offer, exclusive
to Newport Travel, is priced
at $10,695 per person, twin
share – including airfares (ends
March 31 or until sold out).
More info on 9997 1277.
MARCH 2017 73
Travel Life