Travel from Vienna to Budapest via Bratislava

If you go by train (or bus) via Bratislava you don't go through Gyor and vice versa. You can go by train, bus or hydrofoil. You can also combine it. In summer I would take hydrofoil. If the weather is not ideal then train.

I would stay flexible. If things are better by the 24th then I would just take the train. If things don’t seem better than I would consider one of three options:

The Hydrofoil. I am not certain it stops in Bratislava any longer so you would have to check that. I have never ridden it but the few I have met that did were not impressed. BUT!! I doubt you will have to deal with the migrants on the hydrofoil. It is 5+ hours though.

Slovakia Sightseeing. Skip Bratislava except to get to the train station from whence you travel on to Kosice (5 hours). Spend the night in this remarkable town and then head to Budapest by train (3 hours) . I think this will keep you well out of the way of all the problems and you get to ride a train through some wonderful countryside.

Private driver. About $300 for a driver and a car.

Thanks for the info. Instead of using a driver and a car, would renting a car in Vienna then dropping it off in Budapest work? Possible travel through Slovakia on the way possibly via Kosice.
I like the idea of being flexible.

Unfortunately renting a car in Austria and dropping it in Hungary would probably cost almost as much as a car + driver, maybe more. Personally I would take a bus or train to Bratislava, spend a few hours, and then train to Budapest. That's if you're wanting to do it in one day.

Thank you. If traveling by train or bus, can you hop off enroute? Just wondering if we wanted to stop for meals or a bit of sight seeing on the way. Or would I need to buy an individual ticket for each stop?

At least as far as I know it's not like a hop-on hop-off train, you'd have to buy tickets to each destination. James will have a better answer on that. A lot depends on how long of a day you want to make it and how long of train rides from place to place you're willing to endure. You could stop at Bratislava for a couple of hours in the morning and then take the train to either Gyor (2-1/2 hrs) or to Vac (2 hrs) and visit that place for a few hours and then take train from there to Budapest. Gyor to Budapest a little over an hour, Vac to Budapest about 1/2 hr. It would be a full day and if you choose to go to Gyor from Bratislava there would be an add'l train change.

Personally I wouldn't make any future plans that include a train into or out of Hungary. The exception might be Kosice or towards Slovenia. At least not until Hungary has better control on the Serbian border.

Sounds like a bus or boat option is the best. Are those being affected?