Train Tickets Via MAV+ App

I think you can't buy tickets at MAV further out than 30 days.

I seem to be able to do it from the website for 6/15. Train only goes as far as Kelenfold.

No, that's probably not it.

Go to the MAV site on a laptop and I bet you can get the tickets. They will send you pdfs of the tickets and when you get to Europe i am pretty sure they will pop up on your app when you log in. The MAV App doesnt like to work outside the EU.

Try and see if I am correct.

Still having problems, wait until 16 April and try again.

EDIT. Yup just checked. 15 June is available. Its the App

Compare the price MAV offers with that of OeBB:
https://shop.oebbtickets.at/en/ticket

15 June 9:40 train
Oebb 43€
MAV 19€

Both with seats.

But RegioJet is an option. Probably cheaper than both, but you dont get to enter Budapest through Keleti Station and I like the old world entry through Keleti. I checked the RegioJet tickets and its a few days early for them. But checking for the 13th they arent any cheaper than MAV and that suprises me.

I also went back and checked the terms on the Obb vs MAV thinking maybe Obb was giving something useful for the additional money. Its a bit confusing with the Obb, it says the ticket is good from 09:40 until 12:19 but then it says its only good on the train it was sold for. Huh? Anyway the MAV is straight forward, only good for the train it was sold for. With Obb if you want a full flex ticket that train is 52.70€. Who would do that?

Then the question is always can i buy at the station just before the train leaves. To that at least one answer will be, heck yes, this is public transportation not a flight. But "public transportation" with Obb will cost you not less than 56€ for that train, and 31€ with MAV.

Thank you, everyone, for the suggestions. I will try to purchase tickets on my laptop and see if that works.

Also, special thanks to Mr. E for his advise on other questions regarding Austria. Your guidance has been a big help with planning my trip.

Leslie let us know how it works out, and what ever you do, don’t pay those OBB ticket prices. I have another solution, guaranteed to work, that i will share with you if the laptop doesn’t. But I know the laptop will work. TexasTravelMom and I tested the system when this first came up. As I recall she got through the booking for a ticket (but didn’t pay) and I have a way to make the world think my laptop is in the US and MAV let me go through the booking process. But we both got stopped with the phone Apps when using US internet IP addresses. I wrote MAV and they stated that because of security issues the US was blocked on their App. That might not be the real reason. The real reason might be that too many outside of Hungary are buying up the cheap tickets and this is a way to ensure Hungarians have access to their state subsidized tickets.

15 June 9:40 train MAV 19€ Oebb 43€

Mr. É, I don't understand wherefrom you get your price information. OeBB offers this train for €24 (+€3 for a seat reservation).

NON-FLEX
€24.00
Sparschiene
Seat reservation + €3.00

Cancellation not possible
Valid Mon, 15 Jun. 9:40 - 12:20.
Transports that cannot be changed: RJX 62

Wmt1, I absolutely believe you and I absolutely think I could be doing something wrong cause you are the train expert. So, I went back this morning and looked again. For context, yesterday I started looking on the MAV site first. I picked the 09:40 because it provided the most sleep and still got me to Budapest for lunch. But it does take about 10 minutes longer. And, the price on MAV, not the cheapest, was fine.

This morning I looked and here are the choices I get on my laptop from the two ticket agencies.

08:40
MAV 13€ + 2€ (no cancelation, that train only)
OBB 24€ + 3€ (cancelation not possible / valid Mon 15 June 8:40 – 11:26 / transports that cannot be changed EC141)

09:40
MAV 17€ + 2€ (no cancelation, that train only)
OBB 52,70€ + 3€ (cancelation free of charge until 14 June / Valid from 15 Juen till 16 June / Free choice of means of transport)

10:42 (to Budapest Kelenfold, not great, but okay)
MAV 15€ + 2€ (no cancelation, that train only)
OBB 24€ + 3€ (cancelation free of charge until 14 June / Valid from 15 Juen till 16 June / Free choice of means of transport)

So, if I am doing it correctly the cheap tickets from OBB are gone for the 09:40 train. But in all fairness, generally speaking, the starting price on OBB is 27€ with a seat vs 17€ with a seat on MAV. That makes OBB somewhat more competitive.

Oh, the seat reservation. No you dont have to. But I have been on that route several times over the years. Sometimes all the way to Vienna, sometimes just Budapest to Gyor to Budapest. Not always, but a few times the train has been pretty full. I have watched someone get displaced more than once when people with reservations boarded and I have had to put up with the dozen backpackers standing in the asile swinging their backpacks around and into the people sitting ... which is why First Class isnt a terrible idea. All three trains above are 29€ (including the seat) with MAV in First Class.

Keleti pályaudvar (East Station in English)
Opened in 1884 the station is in Pest District VIII: https://youtu.be/y-SgEhwIaJs?si=7I_N10uyQS1dvyR4
Taxi Service Location: Facing the front wall of the station, exit out the doors on the right-side wall and call your taxi from the curb.
Public Transportation Location: The M2 and M4 metro lines are located at the bottom of the stairs by the front station wall. If you don’t have too much luggage this is the way to go. You will have a Budapest TravelCard so this amounts to free.
Tickets and Service: At the bottom of the stairs near the front station wall are train and public transportation ticket machines and a BKK Service Center where you can purchase passes and tickets for public transportation. You will also find public restrooms here.

Kelenföldi vasútállomás (Kelenfold Station in English)
Serving MAV and RegioJet trains from Vienna & Prague (first Budapest stop).
A post war station located in Újbuda District XI: https://youtu.be/OKFFwdsXQ5E?si=uAMdmixSQqyXptjR
Taxi Service: Exit the station and go to the parking lot on the left to call for a taxi.
Public Transportation: Kelenföldi is served by the M4 metro line and the 1, 19 & 49 Trams. To reach Deák Ferenc tér (the center of downtown Pest) you can take the 49 Tram or the M4 metro with a transfer to the M3 metro at Kálvin tér.

It's interesting because OeBB at 1225 UK time (so 4 hours later) are still offering the 24 Euro sparscheine ticket on the 0940 train that day on my laptop. Now whether the Semi- Flex ticket at 31.70 Euro (includes the seat reservation fee, and cancellable for free until 31 May, then a 50% fee), that train only, is better value, is another debate.
You are basically paying 4.70 Euro for a bit of insurance about the unforeseeable, or 15.85 for a worst case scenario.

isn31c, I believe you. Trains are a mess to book. Booking a flight is so much easier. I am in Hungary so we are an hour apart, right? Let me look again and I will add it to this post.

EDIT: Here is a screen shot Obb.jpg at https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14ZOGD8i2grmyjU_slSBdp6PCQEesigdi?usp=sharing