Eastern Europe... need help in finalizing the itinerary
 

Hello Fellow Travelers,
I’m planning for a trip for 2 in Sept 15 to Prague(3 nights)-Vienna(2 nights) –Budapest(3 nights).
Prague:
Day1: Powder Tower, Municipal House, Old Towne Square, Astronomical Clock, National Museum, Church of Our Lady before the Tyn, Climb the Old Town city hall tower, Charles Bridge, Climb the Old Town Bridge Tower, Vysehrad
Day 2 :Prague Castle and the Castle grounds (Vitus Cathedral, St. George Basilica, Golden Lane), St. Nicholas Churuch, Petrin hill, historical city center
Vienna:
Ringstrasse, Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn Palace , an easy trip from the center by UBahn - subway U-4., Fine Arts Museum ( Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Museum Quarter., Stephansdom - St Stephans Cathedral, walk along the pedestrian streets of Graben and Kohlmarkt. Tis can begin at Stephansdom and end at the Hofburg, Schönbrunn - the summer palace, Naschmarkt (Shopping), State Opera House, Belvedere Palace, Museum Judenplatz, Hofburg Palace
Budapest:
Hungarian Parliament Building, Castle Hill-Buda castle, The Museum of Fine Arts, The Hungarian National Museum, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Monument, Budapest's Busiest Boulevard - Andrássy út, Budapest's Inner Ring, The University Church, Hungarian National Gallery (Magyar Nemzeti Galéria), Fisherman's Bastion, Matthias Church.
I’m looking for good hotels around in these cities which is centrally located and easy access ( for sightseeing’s & train/bus to next destination).. After some research I found these:
Prague: The Golden wheel
Vienna: Am Konzerthaus
Budapest ; Continental Zara Budapest
any reviews /experience with these hotels?
We like Art & History, so anything we need to keep in mind while getting admission tickets (like some places basic admission is enough/some places more comprehensive) so that we don’t end up spending a lot on these.
Any feedback on the itinerary is welcome, Does number of days do justice for each place?
Considering this our first trip to Europe and we speak only English.. how difficult is it to navigate through cities on your own.
Thanks for all your help!( sorry for the long post!):confused:

Since your time is short, consider dividing the time between two cities. You will need more time in Vienna if you actually want to visit any of the museums on your list.

I think it's a nice trip you have planned. All three cities are very nice.

You might find that you don't have time to do all the things you have planned but you can adjust along the way.
You have probably squeezed to much into the Vienna part, if you want to save a little time you could visit the Belvedere Castle instead of Schönbrunn.
Add : just noticed you have both castles on your list - then consider leaving out Schönbrunn due to time restrains.
Also take a little time to relax, stroll around in each city, sit in a cafe etc.

No problem managing with English in either place in my opinion.

I don't know the hotels mentioned, so can't help you there.
In Prague, I most often stay in tbe Hilton Old City - very centrally located, very nice hotel and easy access to/from airport.
In Budapest I like the Hilton Budapest (Castle) but it is not very centrally located. I like the area though, fantastic views from Danube rooms - next to Fishermans Bastion, the church and close to the castle.

All three cities have very good public transport - look into buying day tickets, multiple day tickets or such.

We just did this last summer. Prague. Park City Inn (Carlson Property). Two blocks or so to the tram. Next door is a Tesco market. Great location to see the city. Inexpensive too.

Budapest. Look for an AirBnB near Linzt Ferenc Square. Great location to see everything either by foot or by public transportation. Good dentist nearby too. Wife had veneers put in for $600. Would have cost 5X that amount in the US. Dentist was highly recommended and very accommodating to our schedule.

Vienna was a bit harder. Stayed at the Hilton Danube. Metro is fairly close but it takes 15 mins or so to get to where the action is. We used Hilton points and got the hotel for $35/night.

The train from Budapest to Vienna to Prague is very nice. Fast and comfortable.

Just a small correction to the title of the thread. All three cities are located in Central Europe. There are 2500 km of Europe east of Budapest and the Atlantic coast is "only" about 1500 km to the West, in which part both Vienna and Prague are located! :)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions :) Unfortunately we don't have Hilton points so have to check the prices- we do have SPG Points which we are converting for air tickets.
edvasquez: thanks for dentist tip, good way to ensure you hav a dazzling smile in your holiday pictures ;)
which airline would you suggest out from Budapest to US( Seattle) which would be easy to use with points ( to Prague I found Delta using points). we are hoping to convert SPG points for that.
We are also contemplating on getting a hotel & train tickets booked through tour operators, any good suggestions?
KLouis: Central & Eastern Europe it is !! :D
You guys are awesome!!!!^^

While this is true, I think you can do all 3 cities in this time. My advice to the OP is to prioritize your "must-sees" in each city. Also, look at each on a map and try to group them by proximity.

My preference is for Schonbrunn over Belvedere :). OP - perhaps do a little research, as I agree with helosc that you likely can't fit both in.

But I agree completely that all 3 of these cities are great walking and cafe cities.

As others have said, English shouldn't be a problem anywhere, particularly in Vienna. In the city centers and tourist attractions in Budapest and Prague, you will be fine also.

Hotels:
Prague - I stayed at the Art Nouveau Palace hotel last time, and liked the location and the hotel. The Hilton Old Town or Marriott in the same area are also good choices.

Budapest - in another thread, the two winners were the Marriott on the Danube and the Intercontinental. Both perfectly located, nice hotels.

Vienna - my strategy here is usually to just find something that fits my budget :).

English will be fine in all three.

I stayed at the Graben in Vienna which was brilliantly located though a bit tired inside. Definitely a good hotel to stay at if you can get a good deal on it - but not worth the rack rate, which I can't remember offhand (I got a flights plus hotel deal from BA). Otherwise anywhere within the Ringstrasse would probably be ok.

In terms of what to do in Vienna, I would pare your expectation in terms of how many museums you want to visit way down. Pick one or two that you especially want to do and spend the rest of the time walking around the city centre and riding on trams. Personally I found the naschmarket a bit of a disappointment, good for cooking ingredients but not for street food.

We stayed at the Imperial in Prague which is a wonderful art-deco place.

In recommending Belvedere over Schönbrunn, I was only thinking of the time restraints - Belvedere is closer to central Vienna than Schönbrunn.
I have never been inside either of them, only enjoyed them and their gardens from outside.