Hello everyone,
After couple of days in Salzburg we (group of 6 adults) plan to leave for Prague on Nov 1, 2024. 'Seat61' suggests using Czech rail website cd.cz. However, I do see OBB also have trains going to Prague. Has anyone had a better experience with one vs the other?
Also, just curious this route had any flood impact.
Thanks
Both sites will show the offers of both train companies. The point is that CD.cz often is cheaper for exactly the same connection.
The best connection is RJ641/EC332 with a change in Linz. Travel time is about 5:30 hours, departure at 10:11am.
Note that you need to buy separate seat reservations for either train.
Note also that November 1st is a public holiday in Austria (i.e. shops and some restaurants are closed).
@wmt1 - The train you listed is at 10:11 am, which is convenient. However, each ticket is 65.90 Euros/person. (Soooooo...Expensive!). I believe it is the first class ticket because the '1st class' box is checked by default at the bottom. I am guessing they are out of 2nd class ticket at this time.
@SlaO19 - I looked up the cd.cz trains. And for the same train combination (RJ641/EC332) I am getting the following message when I click on 'Find out the Price' button:
Unfortunately, we cannot sell a ticket for the selected connection in the ČD e-shop.
You can find out the price and conditions for purchasing a ticket at the listed contacts.
The train you listed is at 10:11 am, which is convenient. However, each ticket is 65.90 Euros/person. (Soooooo...Expensive!).
This is an absolute bargain. It is cheaper than the regular 2nd class ticket (€87) and 1st class ticket (€148).
Whenever there is 1st class checked already you can uncheck it right away.
If you are willing to travel 35 minutes longer (and having two changes instead of one) then you can go for €24 using the trains RJ645/S3/R708, departing at 12:11pm.
For the same price of €24 there is RJX767/EC334, departing at 14:07 (2:07pm), having the same travel time as RJ641/EC332.
You must decide what is more important for you, the price, the travel time, the number of changes, and the arrival time.
Maybe you could spend more time examining https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en/ where you can see the fares for several train connections for a selected route in comparison immediately.
Whenever there is 1st class checked already you can uncheck it right
away.
In this case 1st class is selected because it so happens that the cheapest ticket available is a Sparschiene 1st class. Standard tickets in 2nd class are still available (they are always available), but more expensive.
I am guessing they are out of 2nd class ticket at this time.
Austrian railways never runs out of tickets. There are always unlimited tickets available for every route. What they are however out of is discounted 2nd class tickets.
The first class option was offered at that price only for one seat (since I was just testing with one). Later, when I entered 6 seats, I could buy the tickets but couldn't reserve. In order to reserve the seats I had to pick first class.
It was odd ... Because, I was able to reserve the seats in 2nd class after I booked the tickets on cd.cz....??
Anyways, I was able to book the tickets on the 10:11 train finally... though it was little more than the best price!
I emailed CD to learn that they don't allow more than 5 tickets to be purchased online at a time. So, I booked them in two batches (at about $35/person). Luckily I was able to get all seats reserved together. However, this website would only reserve the seats for Linz to Prague. So, I reserved the seats on OBB for $18 for all 6 tickets. However, I noticed that OBB reserved on both legs (Salz to Linz & Linz to Prague). So, now I have two reservations on the second leg??
It is expensive on that day because Nov. 1 is a public holiday in Austria and everyone is trying to get out of town to make a nice 3 day weekend.
As noted above, seats don't sell out.
Also, you are buying a ticket for route, not for the carrier. You might buy through OeBB but end up on a Czech train, for example.
Emily good news about the seats. Not as good here. I was on a local train a few weeks back and on the entire train there could not have been more than 6 empty seats on one leg of th trip. Those without seat assignments were left standing for an hour. Of course it was the weekend and the train went to Balaton and on to Slovenia (or was it Croatia, dont remember). Guess there is no need to buy a seat assignment on an Austrian train.
As noted above, seats don't sell out.
Seat reservations do sell out. Tickets don't. What confuses many people is that train travel is unlike air travel. When you buy a ticket you do not buy a place in a vehicle, you buy transportation along a route. If you want a guaranteed seat get a reservation too.
Wengen - Exactly
Mr. E - we good?
All great information guys. Thank you!
Since we are talking about trains here, how do metros work? If I am only in Austria for 4 days (2 in Vienna and 2 in Salz), is it better to buy tickets as needed or a pass is worth it. We have 6 adults in our party and I have already booked the trains into and out of Austria.
It is just the local travel that I need to work on and the unknown is that I am not sure if we will be taking metro or a bus or a taxi (bolt) etc. I wish I had the patience to plan my trip to the T like Mr E does (his Salzburg trip itinerary was great). I know the sites I want to visit but I haven't figured out the logistics of it yet.
I would appreciate any recommendations. Thank you!
Public transport in both Salzburg and Vienna is easy to use and available everywhere.
I am not familiar with Salzburg's ticket system, but in Vienna the 48-hours or 72-hours pass would be the right choice for you, depending on how long you are actually staying in Vienna. Public transport passes are valid for all means of public transport (tram, metro [U-Bahn], busses, S-Bahn [local commuters]), day and night, unlimited use of. Going by taxi is discouraged.
Here is the information about the tickets:
https://www.wienerlinien.at/web/wl-en/24-48-72-hours-vienna
Here is the map of Vienna's public transport:
https://www.wienerlinien.at/documents/2424499/7499660/Tagnetz_2023-12.pdf/
Emily you are the best. Always good.
