In July, we sail again with Viking River Cruises on a 10-day itinerary titled the Elegant Elbe through eastern Germany and into the Czech Republic.  On a smaller Viking Longship, modified for the Elbe River, we’ll begin and end with overnights in Berlin and Prague.  Already proving popular with Viking’s well-traveled passengers, that same itinerary will be expanded to 16 days in 2016.

2015 Elegant Elbe Features Overnights On Both Ends

On our Elegant Elbe sailing, we begin in Berlin at a Viking-sourced hotel overnight before a motorcoach ride through the German countryside.  We’ll stop at Potsdam to tour either Sanssouci Palace, or the nearby New Chambers, both built by Prussian king Frederick the Great in the 18th century. After lunch on our own, we continue on to Magdeburg to embark our Viking Longship for a dinnertime departure.

The entire itinerary stacks up like this:

• Day 1 | Berlin, Germany
• Day 2 | Potsdam & Magdeburg, Germany
• Day 3 | Wittenberg, Germany
• Day 4 | Wittenberg & Torgau, Germany
• Day 5 | Meissen, Germany
• Day 6 | Dresden, Germany
• Day 7 | Saxon Switzerland, Germany
• Day 8 | Litoměřice, Czech Republic
• Day 9 | Mělník & Prague, Czech Republic
• Day 10 | Prague, Czech Republic

For additional details, browse the complete itinerary.

Suggestion: Come in at least one day in advance of sailing.  That puts the long travel day from North America behind, allowing a day to relax with nothing to do.  On this particular itinerary, that extra day can be added to the same hotel Viking will have travelers in anyway.

Viking 2016 Elbe River Itinerary Adds Land Tour, More Overnights

Titled Poland, Prague and the Elegant Elbe, the new for 2016 itinerary runs the first ten days exactly the same then keeps on going, deep into Poland by land, ending in Warsaw.  Along the way, Viking travelers will enjoy breathtaking stays in three magical cities on one inspiring cruisetour.

• Day 11 | Kraków, Poland
• Day 12 | Kraków, Poland
• Day 13 | Kraków, Poland
• Day 14 | Częstochowa & Warsaw, Poland
• Day 15 | Warsaw, Poland
• Day 16 | Warsaw, Poland
  

For additional details, browse the complete itinerary.

Longer Sailings Make Sense
We like longer sailings for a couple of reasons.  First, as long as we are taking the time to fly ‘across the pond’ for a European trip of any kind, we might as well be there as long as possible.  Also, longer sailings allow plenty of time to really settle in and get to know others we are traveling with.  I saw both of these factors in action when sailing Viking’s 15-day Grand European Tour from Budapest to Amsterdam.  If you can spare the time, this is the way to go.  Better yet, it often adds up to a best value if calculating on a cost per person, per day basis.

See more of the Elegant Elbe itinerary in this Viking video: