Rome to Berlin
19 D/ 18 N - $1976*
Express yourself on this camping tour of Eastern Europe
Visiting 10 countries: Italy, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium
Explore the stunningly beautiful Adriatic region and the rest of Eastern Europe on this fantastic camping adventure. Visit the vibrant, yet under-explored Eastern European cities and enjoy three days sailing in the striking waters of the Greek Med, all while making your way from majestic Rome to funky Berlin by way of the awesome Adriatic. An affordable camping tour in Europe has never been so exciting, or so luxurious!
Bucket List Inclusions
- 3 nights flotilla sailing in Greece
- Local guide Tirana
- Local guide Dubrovnik
- Visit former concentration camp Mauthausen
More Inclusions
- 18 breakfasts, 10 lunches, 11 dinners
- 11 nights in European campsites in spacious twin-share dome style tents with air mattresses, 1 night hotel upgrade, 2 nights multi-share hostel upgrade, 3 nights sailing in Greece & 1 night in a cabin on overnight ferry from Italy to Greece
- Modern air-conditioned coach
- Guided tours of all major cities
- Trip Leader + Driver + Topdeck Chef
Worth Noting
This trip makes up a part of the 30-day European Adventure. So when you join up with your fellow travellers, don’t worry that some of them began a little further up the road, the real fun starts now you’re here!
Group Size
Average 35, maximum 48
Transport
Modern air-conditioned coach, including power points for charging electronics.
During peak season, some coaches will not have Wi-Fi
Itinerary
Day 1: Rome
Meet your Trip Leader and step back to 753 BC in one of the world’s oldest open-air museums on a walking tour and give that bucket list a workout. Make like Caesar (the emperor, not the salad) and work up a colossus hunger as you pass by the Pantheon, throw your two cents in the Trevi Fountain, sit on the Spanish Steps and visit ancient history’s version of the Hunger Games set at the Colosseum. Tonight, you’re in Disneyland for foodies. Have fun.
Included today:
-Welcome meeting with Trip Leader
-Walking tour of Rome
Meals: Dinner.
Did you know:
-Wishful thinkers throw about €3,000 into the Trevi Fountain every day so it’s illegal to remove coins from the fountain. Not that it stopped the notorious Mr. d’Artagnan. He stole from the fountain for 34 years before he was caught in 2002.
-Real Italians never drink cappuccinos after 10am.
-Also, the frothy joy in a cup takes its name from the hood or ‘capuccio’ worn by Capuchin monks. Obviously.
Day 2: Overnight Ferry to Igoumenitsa, Greece
Travel Day: Rome to Greece (overnight ferry).
Play connect-the-dots with the stars or let the swell rock you to sleep as we ferry from Bella Italia to Greece. Restaurants, bars, and cosy cabin rooms will keep you comfortable.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch.
Day 3: Sailing in Greece
A short drive along the Greek coastline, then onto our flotilla of yachts for three days of sun, sand and sailing on the Ionian Sea. By night, flaunt those european tan lines as we drop anchor and hop between authentic Greek tavernas for a night of feasting, table dancing and a splash of ouzo. You know the saying, too much of a good thing? Neither do we.
Included Activities:
-Yacht life
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Did you know:
-In Ancient Greece, the only men considered to be great leaders were those with potbellies.
-Some of the entrants at the first modern Olympic games in 1896 were tourists who happened to be in Athens at the time. Talk about right place right time.
-Greek mythology says the goddess Atalanta versed all her suitors and won every race, lest she have to marry them. #womendoitbetter
Day 4: Sailing in Greece
A free day to sail, swim, eat, sleep, repeat.
Included Activities:
-Yacht life
Meals: Breakfast, lunch.
Day 5: Sailing in Greece
More turquoise water. More swimming. More diving off boats. More epic Instagram shots. You could probably get used to this.
Included Activities:
-Yacht life
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Day 6: Igoumenitsa to Tirana, Albania
Travel Day: Greece to Tirana, Albania.
What happens when you paint a former communist capital in vivid colours? According to Tirana’s artist-turned-mayor-turned-TED speaker Edi Rama, people start paying taxes and crime rates plummet. True story. Kick off with a driving tour and a group dinner before we let you loose in the night.
Included today:
-Tour of Tirana with a local guide
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Day 7: Tirana to Dubrovnik, Croatia
Travel Day: Tirana, Albania to Dubrovnik, Croatia.
Lots more stunning gets pushed past the window as we head up the gorgeous coast of Montenegro and make for the most famous walled city in Europe (nope, not history. See: Game of Thrones). Wander Dubrovnik’s tiny cobblestoned streets and explore hidden cafés and shops before grabbing some dinner and checking out the glitzy nightlife. #itwasalwaysgoingtohappen.
Included today:
-Visit to Budva en route
-Tour of Dubrovnik with a local guide
Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Day 8: Dubrovnik
Free day in King’s Lan… sorry, Dubrovnik. Check out the residential homes further up in the old town for awesome views and a local perspective. Then: a cold beer on the wall as the sun sets over the Adriatic. This is the good life.
Meals: Breakfast.
Did you know:
-The word for the local currency ‘kuna’ is also Croatian for ‘marten’, a ferret-like animal prized for its luxurious fur.
-Apparently 23 people is enough to sustain a small town in Croatia. The smallest in the world in fact. It’s called Hum. Hmm.
Day 9: Dubrovnik to Plitvice Lakes
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Day 10: Plitvice Lakes
Today is brought to you by Mother Nature. Made up of 16 lakes connected by streams and waterfalls and surrounded by 300 square kilometres of national park, Plitvice Lakes didn’t make it onto the UNESCO World Heritage list without reason. Hike up to see the tallest waterfall in Croatia or glide across the crystal blue lakes in a rowboat. Mindfulness just got a whole new meaning.
Included today:
-Transfer to and from Plitvice Lakes
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Optional activities:
-Entrance into Plitvice Lakes
Did you know:
-Plitvice Lakes is mostly made of chalk, created after years of sedimentation, and has a blue-green colour due to the limestone of the surrounding rocks.
Day 11: Plitvice Lakes to Budapest, Hungary
Travel Day: Plitvice Lakes, Croatia to Budapest, Hungary.
Your house in Budapest awaits. Meet your Trip Leader and set off on a driving tour to get down and Danube (that be the river) with twin cities, Buda and Pest. Check out Hero’s Square, Parliament House, the National Palace, Fisherman’s Bastion and swanky Andrássy Ave. Then it’s time to meet the major food groups: goulash, cabbage rolls and dumplings, oh my!
Included today:
-Guided tour of Budapest
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Optional activities:
-Entrance into Plitvice Lakes
Day 12: Budapest
Free day = Put down your Rubik’s Cube and take on a city with enough baroque, neoclassical and art nouveau architecture to keep you puzzled for hours. Take to the waters at the art nouveau Gellert Baths and don’t leave til you’re pruny.
There are 80+ thermal springs in Budapest but this is its most famous. Wave pool, anyone?! Indulge in a spa treatment then visit the Buda Castle or House of Terror Museum. Tonight, hang with the hipsters and drink local fruit brandy at Szimpla Kertmozi – the original ruin bar.
Included today:
-Free day
Meals: Breakfast.
Did you know:
-Keen to improve your writing? Rock up to the main gate of the Vajdahunyad Castle in the City Park and touch the pen held by the Statue of Anonymous Rock. It’s supposed to help.
-Both the noiseless match and Rubik’s cube were invented by Hungarians.
Day 13: Budapest to Vienna, Austria
Travel Day: Budapest, Hungary to Vienna, Austria (via Bratislava).
So long Budapest, we’re off to strudel town. Pick your Baroque from Rococo as we slide into The City of Dreams (kudos, Freud). The Vienna Orchestra provides the soundtrack while we check out Europe’s classiest capital on a driving tour.
Wave hello to the President as we go past the Hofburg Palace. And because one palace isn’t enough, we also take peek at the Schönbrunn. Top off your day with a schnitzel and apple strudel at Cafe Central, the regular hangout of Freud, Trotsky and Lenin.
Included today:
-Visit to Bratislava en route
-Guided tour of Vienna
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Optional activities:
-Vienna orchestra
-Vienna orchestra with dinner
Did you know:
-Josip Broz Tito, Freud, Hitler, Vladimir Lenin, and Trotsky were all patrons of the same Viennese cafe (Café Central) in January 1913. #somethinginthecoffee?
-Vienna has a cat cafe, so if you want some real-life LOL cats in your life, grab a coffee and cake at Cafe Neko while stroking the oh-so-cute felines (and making the most of the free WiFi).
-When asked why they were taking Finnish as a language, 97% of students at the University of Vienna answered so that they could understand heavy metal music.
Day 14: Vienna
Vienna is yours for the day. Walk the grounds of the Schönbrunn Palace, see the Spanish Riding School train (if it’s in town) or feed your brain exploring the Museum Quarter. Primp your pinkie for an optional Schnapps Museum visit to taste the local aperitif. Classical music fans, opt in for a night out to hear the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and Strauss at the Viennese Chamber Orchestra. #adulting
Included today:
-Free day
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Optional activities:
-Schnapps Museum Excursion
-Viennese Chamber Orchestra
Day 15: Vienna to Prague, Czech Republic
Travel Day: Vienna, Austria to Prague, Czech Republic.
Bohemia’s cobblestones are calling but first, a visit to Mauthausen concentration camp for a lesson in the resilience of humanity. Then, fuel up on trdelník (pastry deliciousness) before a walking tour amongst spires and cobblestone streets of Prague.
Suss out the castle deemed worthy by Guinness World Records as being the largest ancient castle in the world, cross medieval Charles Bridge and watch ‘Death’ toll the hour on an astronomical clock that’s over 600 years old.
Included today:
-Mauthausen concentration camp
-Prague walking tour
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Did you know:
-The monasteries of Prague brewed the first beer in the Czech Republic and it was so good the King paid his tithe in hops.
-Five steps to a successful “cheers” in Czech: raise your glass, make eye contact, say “Nazdravi”, touch your glass to the table, then drink.
-In black light theatres scattered throughout the city, performers put on shows in pitch-black spaces with fluoro clothing and props. Daft Punk, eat your heart out.
Day 16: Prague
Another free day for the win. Channel your inner bohemian and seek out the John Lennon memorial wall, then soak up some more Czech history at the National or Communist Museum or get a taste of the quirky local culture at a marionette puppet opera (you gotta see it to believe it).
Snap a selfie at Prague’s own Eiffel Tower, visit a miniatures museum, eat roast pork from one of the street vendors lining Old Town Square and drink beer. Good beer.
Included Activities:
-Free day
Meals: Breakfast.
Optional activities:
-Traditional marionette puppet opera show
Did you know:
-There’s a bar in Prague where your beer is delivered on a miniature train. #efficiency
-The act of throwing someone out of a window is known as defenestration. It caused a thirty year war to break out after two Catholic officials were thrown out of a window in Prague Castle in 1618.
-In black light theatres scattered throughout the city performers put on shows in pitch black spaces with fluoro clothing and props. Daft Punk, eat your heart out.
Day 17: Prague to Berlin, Germany
Travel Day: Prague to Berlin, Germany.
Get acquainted with 800 year-old Dresden – a city virtually destroyed in WWII and then rebuilt – and ogle the Frauenkirche before making your beard all the more ironic in Berlin. Prep yourself for currywurst, absinthe and more hipsters per capita than anywhere else. We’ll drive you around to see (what’s left of) the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building before making your food baby sing with a hearty German meal.
Included today:
-Dresden walking tour
-Berlin driving tour
Meals: Breakfast, dinner.
Did you know:
-The Doner Kebab was invented in 1972 by the Turkish immigrant, Kadir Nurman, in West Berlin, obviously knowing it would make an ideal midnight snack.
-Berlin is said to have more museums than rainy days, boasting an impressive 175 to choose from.
-Ein berliner is, in fact, a local donut-like pastry. Not, as JFK mistakenly assumed, what you call a citizen of the city.
Day 18: Berlin
Shake off last night with a wander around the German capital. Optional: Third Reich walking tour and local insight into what the city was like under Nazi rule during World War II. Hackescher Markt is a hit for lunch. Afternoon suggestion? Have a picnic at the historic Tempelhof airport turned public park #picniconthetarmac. Tonight: hit the hot spots on an optional nightlife tour.
Meals: Breakfast.
Optional Activities:
-Third Reich walking tour
-Berlin nightlife tour
Did you know:
-101 artists across 21 countries have contributed to the East Side Gallery. Spanning 1.3km, it’s the longest open air gallery in the world.
-Michael Jackson dangled his son ‘Prince Michael II” out of one of the windows of the luxurious Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, just steps away from the Brandenburg Gate.
-Germany has a hotline specifically set up for people who needs to let off some steam and swear at a real person.
Day 19: Berlin to Amsterdam, Netherlands
Like all good things, this trip ends after breakfast. Auf wiedersehen pet.
Meals: Breakfast
