Zagreb to Budapest travel

Why did the hotel discourage the train? Was it something other than scheduled travel time? I see that most departures take a very long time, but there's a 4:38 PM train scheduled to reach Budapest at 10:24 PM. Has the hotel had feedback about significant and frequent rail delays that calls into doubt that scheduled 5 hr. 46 min. running time?

I've taken a lot of buses in Europe, and the major inter-city buses have all been comfortable enough--definitely more comfortable than coach seat on an airplane. However, I think I've only taken one Flixbus, and I don't believe I've ever used Eurobusways.

For international routes I do not wait until my travel date to buy the ticket. Those buses can sell out; most of my border-crossing buses have headed out pretty close to full; I'm often sold something like Seat 44, which gives you an idea. I wouldn't hesitate to take a bus on this route if it was substantially faster than the train or if the train departure time wasn't workable for me.

You might check with mydaytrip.com to see what it would cost to rustle up private transportation, and how long the trip would take. The route appears to travel near the south shore of Lake Balaton. I'm not familiar with that area, but there may be nice scenery, and I think MyDayTrip offers the possibility of sightseeing stops and detours (at an extra cost). That would be worth exploring if you have that entire day free and are not pressed for time in Budapest.

Yeah, I'd take the train. There are several ways to get there, and not all of them show up on Rome2Rio.

There's a direct line, and there's an indirect approach.

We took the train to Pecs, itself a nice little town worth 2 full days (pottery museum, christian churches, art museum). Then it is possible to go to Osijek in Slavonia on regional trains, where you have to switch lines. In Osijek, you get the train to Zagreb. Simple as pie, if your pie has 3 fruits and 4 kinds of crust.

We have taken Flixbus at least 6 times, and it has never been a problem. Never for more than 3 hours, however. You might get a bit stir-crazy on this trip.

I've taken FlixBus once. It was late, but otherwise, it was fine, as far as a bus goes - and I dislike long bus rides. I've heard plenty of positive reviews of FlixBus from others. I'm sure you can dig up negative reviews of any bus company out there if you look.

But...I would most likely take the train, too, just because of how much I dislike those long bus rides and love trains. I'd take the bus only if it were a lot cheaper or at a more convenient time than the train.

More info on the train here:

https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Croatia.htm#Zagreb-Budapest