Frequently Asked Questions

Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant questions on this same page. Email or call us if you have a question not answered here.

About Greenways Travel Club

Central European walking tours in general

  • What is the standard of your accommodations?

    We book a minimum of quality, comfortable 3-star hotels and pensions. All the rooms have private bathrooms. The accommodation is centrally located, in the old town center if not on the square itself. The hotels and pensions are often in historical buildings and because of this, many do not have a lift or air-conditioning. In the smaller places we use the best available accommodation in town.

  • Can you book extra nights before and after the tour?

    Yes we can. Get in touch with us and we will detail the hotels we use in a particular city. We can give the exact price after we book because of high and low season prices and possible differing prices for numbers of nights with the hotel. However, we can give you an approximate price for the extra nights.

  • I do not have enough time for the full tour. Can you shorten the itinerary for me?

    Email us – info@visitgreenways.com – detailing how much time you have and your preferences of places to visit. We only customize self-guided tours on the routes our tours cover. In most cases, we will be able to design a shorter itinerary for you. 

  • Can I join more than one route together into a longer tour?

    Yes, you can. Have a look at our tours in Central Europe. We can combine many routes.
    Most popular combinations are:


    Greenways and Elbe River Trail: Vienna – Prague – Dresden

    Danube Trail and Amber Trail: Melk – Vienna – Krakow

     

    We can offer you 10% discount from the tour cost if you combine two full tours into one longer trip.

  • How far will I walk each day?

    The daily walking distance varies from 10 – 20 km (6 – 12 miles) per day.

  • Will I be fit enough for the tour?

    We rate our tours as moderate, they are evenly distributed over hilly terrain and less demanding flat parts; and include 1 or 2 more challenging days of ascents and descents (crossing a mountain range). Our routes are suitable for people who walk regularly at home.

    We recommend looking at the daily walking distances in the detailed tour itineraries and checking out the elevation gain for each day.

  • What about safety in towns?

    Central Europe is as safe for tourists as Western Europe. So take the same precautions. Do not flash around your valuables and be careful of pickpockets in busy, tourist places.

  • I am a woman traveling on my own. Will I be safe?

    We have had solo travelling women on our tours and no problems with regard to their safety have ever occurred. In fact, on a tour in the countryside you will be safer than usual. This is because you will be in rural areas where the crime rate is low if non-existent. In cities you have to use your common sense and take precautions as any other tourist would. Our stand-by support service for self-guided tours includes a mobile phone. You can call us (24 hours) in case of any problems.

  • I am a vegetarian – is this fine in Central Europe?

    Central European cuisine is admittedly meat-heavy. Most restaurants will have vegetarian choices on the menu, but it is a good idea to say that you are vegetarian at the restaurant. Some dishes may contain meat and this might not be apparent from the menu. If you are not a strict vegetarian then we recommend that you try some of the meat dishes as these are dishes representative of the cuisine. You will get some information in your tour information materials about meals and options for vegetarians.

  • I have a particular allergy. Can you help me if I do a tour with you?

    Let us know what your allergy is and we will try our best to accommodate you on our tours. We have had people with wheat and gluten allergies on our tours. They brought special food with them and we provided a coolbox for storage each day. We also wrote notes people can show to waiters in restaurants to explain their allergies when they are ordering.

  • What is a good time to go?

    Our tour season is from April to October. We detail information on when to go on each individual tour page. Personally, we think May (flowers blooming) and September (ideal sunny weather) are the best times to tour in this region if you prefer to avoid the heat of summer. However, the other months are also good and if you are lucky you can have a week of perfect sunshine in July and August.

  • What will the weather be like in the area for my tour?

    The weather in continental Europe consists of hot summers and cold, snowy winters. We recommend checking weather.com. Basic advice – bring waterproofs just in case.

  • Do people speak English? / Will I be understood?

    Your bilingual guide will help you on a guided tour. On a self-guided tour we include basic, useful phrases in your tour information materials. However, we recommend bringing a phrasebook as people always love it when you communicate in their language (or at least try).
    The numbers of people learning English in Central Europe are increasing. Generally, younger people will speak better English. Many Central Europeans also learn German, so this is a good language to try to communicate in. If all else fails, miming, pointing and smiling are always fun. People are generally helpful wherever you go in the world and they will help if you ask them.

  • What are the differences between self-guided and guided tours?

    For a side-by-side comparison, the table shows which services are common to a particular tour type and which services are unique. We arrange tours as packages and we do not break up the services.

    Service Self-guided Guided
    Welcome briefing upon arrival Yes Yes
    Stand-by support cellphone & contact person Yes No
    Professional bilingual guide No Yes
    Accommodation in selected hotels and pensions Yes Yes
    Buffet breakfast Yes Yes
    Dinner No Yes
    Luggage transfer Yes Yes
    Transportation by car according to program Yes Yes
    Support van No Yes
    English route descriptions Yes Yes
    Detailed hiking maps with highlighted route Yes Yes
    Town maps Yes Yes
    GPS device Yes Yes
    Guided tours at chateaux, castles, museums No Yes
    Special events, wine tasting, picnic No Yes
  • Do you have group discounts?

    We offer a 10% discount for groups of 8+ people provided you book directly with us.

  • Do you have any benefits for repeat customers?

    We offer a 10% discount on the tour cost for people who have toured with us in the past (provided you booked directly with us). Please get in touch with us. It will be good to hear from you again and a pleasure to arrange another tour for you.

Self-guided walking tours

Guided walking tours

Payment and Reservation

  • How do I sign up to a tour?

    You can book on our websites using an online reservation form.

  • How can I send you my completed reservation form?

    If you reserve your tour online then you will fill out an online reservation form and click a button to send it to us. We also have a PDF reservation form you can download, print out, fill in and either post or scan and email to us.

  • Do you require a tour deposit?

    Yes, this is 100 EUR per person. You can pay this by check, bank transfer or online by credit card on our 3-D Secure payment gateway.

  • When do you require the final payment of the tour?

    We require the whole tour balance to be paid 45 days before the start of the tour.
    You can read up more in our Terms & Conditions.

  • Is it OK if my other friends sign up to the tour later?

    Yes, however we will usually hold from reserving the accommodation until everyone has signed up. It is easier for us to reserve the accommodation “in one go”. Other people have until 45 days before the tour starts to sign up. This is the time when the final balance must be paid.

  • What currency can I use when paying via 3-D Secure payment gateway?

    You can make your payments in Euros (EUR), US Dollars (USD), British Pounds (GBP) or Czech Koruna (CZK). If your currency is different from one of the above you need to make a conversion to EUR. You will find the current exchange rate on the xe.com currency converter website. Use this website to make the currency conversion because it is continuously updated with the latest rates. The final exchange rate will be made by your bank.

  • I am having trouble paying by card on the 3-D Secure payment gateway. Any help?

    Apologies that things are not working. Below the steps of the payment process are explained in detail. Feel free to give us a call or tell us when we can call you.

    Basic steps for a successful payment by credit card on our 3-D Secure online payment gateway.

    1) Enter the amount with no punctuation marks into the “amount”
    box. Round it up or down to the nearest Czech crown.

    2) You will then be redirected from our website to a secure site of PayMuzo to enter your card information. After clicking “Pay” please wait. Do not press the refresh or back buttons.

    3) You may be directed to the Verified by Visa or MasterCard Secure Code site to enter the card password if you are a member of these programs. After you do that, you will be redirected back to our website. Please click “yes” if a message pops up asking if you would like to continue to a non-secure site (you are coming from the secure credit card site to our non-secure site). You will get a “payment successful” message.

    4) After you do the transaction, you will get an automatic email from root@topbicycle.com confirming that the payment was successful (as well as the obvious message on our website). Please check your Spam folder for this message if you do not see it because some email filters count automatically generated emails as Spam.