2026: 10 Days in Central Europe

Vienna, Prague, and Budapest each offer unique experiences for LGBTQ+ travelers, with varying levels of visibility and openness. Vienna is widely considered one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in Europe, with a vibrant queer scene, inclusive attitudes, and strong legal protections. Prague also has a welcoming atmosphere, a growing LGBTQ+ community, and a fun nightlife scene, especially in the city center. Budapest is more mixed—while it has a lively and active LGBTQ+ nightlife, public attitudes and government policies can be less progressive. Overall, travelers generally feel safe and welcome, especially in central, tourist-friendly areas of all three cities.

The cuisine of Vienna, Prague, and Budapest is hearty, flavorful, and rooted in centuries-old traditions. Expect rich meats, savory stews, dumplings, and sauces, often paired with seasonal vegetables. Each city offers its own specialties - Vienna is famous for schnitzel and strudel, Prague for roast pork with sauerkraut and dumplings, and Budapest for its iconic goulash and paprika-spiced dishes. Bakeries and cafés are a big part of the culture, with plenty of sweet pastries and strong coffee. While traditional fare dominates, all three cities also offer modern takes and international dining options to suit every palate.

Our advice is simple. Pack your bag, then take half of those things out and leave them back home. It’s common to hear people wishing they’d packed less stuff, but we’ve never heard anyone complain that they didn’t bring enough. Even if you realize you forget to pack some crucial item you can always pick up a replacement once you arrive Europe. Just make sure to review the climate section above and remember that our trips are run in a casual style so you can leave your tuxedos at home. We'll include some trip-specific packing advice based on expected weather as part of our update email to you, sent 10 days prior to your trip.

While credit cards are commonly used in this part of the world, it's always good to have some local cash on hand. Here's a brief idea of what to expect in each spot along the way:

• Vienna (Austria) – The official currency here is the Euro (EUR). Credit cards are widely accepted, but we recommend bringing a small amount of cash for markets, cafés, or smaller purchases where cards may not be taken.
• Prague (Czech Republic) – The official currency here is the Czech Crown (CZK) and similar to Austria, we suggest bringing a bit of this too. Again, credit cards are widely accepted so don’t bring much cash, but it’s good to have a small amount on you.
• Berlin (Germany) – The official currency here is the Euro (EUR) and again we suggest having some Euros on you too. Basically, everywhere will accept credit cards so just a small amount of cash is good to have on hand.

It can sometimes be challenging to use large-denomination bills at shops and restaurants, so we encourage you to request small denomination bills when getting cash prior to your trip.

While tipping isn't a native custom in these destinations, those working in the tourism industry all over the world have come to expect gratuities when providing good service.  This extends to local guides, restaurant wait staff, bus drivers, and your Detours trip leader.  Of course the actual amount is left up to your discretion, if you've been provided excellent service we suggest leaving around 15% for restaurant/wait staff as well as the local equivalent of a few dollars to bus drivers and luggage porters, as well as around $10-15 USD per day for local guides and your Detours trip leader.

All Detours trips are led by one of our own Detours trip leaders.  They're there with you every day and their job is to help ensure that this is your trip of a lifetime by taking the hassle out of your trip and enabling you to experience everything you came to Europe for.  Consider them like a friendly concierge that's traveling along with you.  All of our trip leaders are gay and all are well-traveled and experienced in the destination they're leading in, so they'll be a great part of your experience!

Overall, we've found that approximately 60% of the travelers on trips join solo, while the other 40% or so join with their partner or a friend, and 90% of our travelers are in their 40s to 60s. Whatever the age of the guys on our trips everyone's already got something in common, an exciting new experience in a new country!   Each group is led by a Detours trip leader who is there to ensure everything goes off without a hitch, allowing you to focus on having the time of your life! We welcome both men and women onto our trips although it’s important to know that almost all groups are 100% gay men.

We have pretty high standards when it comes to choosing our accommodations, and trust us, we’ve done plenty of room-sniffing, pillow-patting, and bathroom inspections to make sure we stay at quality spots. To be approved as a Detours accommodations provider, a guesthouse must: be locally owned (to support the local community), be in an amazing location (close to the beach or other hot spots), AND be gay-owned or gay-friendly. We won't be staying in 5-star Ritz-Carltons but we also won't subject you to anything we wouldn't want to stay in ourselves. Clean, comfortable, well-located spots that'll put a smile on your face, you can count on that!

No problem! Don’t worry, lots of our travelers come solo and our trip will provide plenty of chances to meet great people both inside and outside of our group, including other solo travelers. As far as your accommodations go, you’ve got two choices. We can either pair you up with another solo group member in a two-bed room for no extra charge, or you can have your own room for a reasonable surcharge.

To ensure you don't lose connection along the way, your cell phone provider likely has several roaming options available.  We suggest reaching out to them prior to the trip to find out which package is right for you as it will depend on how much you intend to use your phone while traveling.  Keep in mind that all accommodation and most restaurants have free WiFi available as well.

All countries on this trip use the European plug known as a "type C" and "type F" plug, the same as most European countries and several other places in the world. The voltage is 230V with 50 Hz frequency. These days, the majority of items that are plugged into an outlet are built to handle varying voltage and frequency levels, but just to be sure, we suggest checking your item for its acceptable range