Getting from Prague to Krakow by Train

You probably want an overnight train as it's about eight hours. The bahn.de and raileurope sites are good for doing this kind of research. People say the latter has a big markup. For overnight trains we have generally purchased through a travel agent. They might have a big markup too, I don't know, but we have always founds the prices to be reasonable when you consider you are saving on a hotel room.

There is one direct overnight train. Other connections are with train change(s). Schedules are among others on Deutsche Bahn website.

I did that train ride last July. Yes, it's a pretty long trip but only one easy change in Bohumin. There is a bus also but for that length of ride I prefer the train so I can get up and walk around. I had no desire to take the overnight train so I did it during the day, also there were no convenient flights available between the two cities. I think I left about 10:00 am and got to Krakow around 6:00 pm. It was very relaxing and I got caught up on my journal and organizing my photos.

Nancy, did you book these trains once you were in Prague? I can find the train connections on dBahn, and could book the first leg on the Czech site by pretending I wanted to go to Warsaw and then getting off at Katowice (like the Seat 61 site recommends). My problem is that I can't find the R43308/9 from Katowice (lv 16:22) to Krakow Glowny (ar 18:22) on the Polish website.

Please let me know how you managed this. I can't sleep on an overnight train and also want to avoid a bus. I'm concerned that the Polish schedule has changed, but maybe you just can't purchase that leg ahead of time?

Thanks for any advice.

Lauren, I did purchase my tickets at the train station in Prague the day before my trip. I was unable to purchase them online ahead of time but I don't remember why and I was also considering taking the bus instead but decided the train was better for me. I know I did have to pay full price for the tickets but I also don't remember how much they were.

Try Polski Bus (http://www.polskibus.com/en). Very inexpensive, but note that the Prague bound buses are routed through Wroclaw (not Krakow). Wroclaw itself is very much worth visiting.

Rail Europe has not had that overnight train ticket for sale online recently, so I would buy it a few days ahead at a European train station or travel agency that sells train tickets. RE may be able to process it as a phone order, but they charge more for those.

A few years ago we traveled by train from Krakow to Prague. No overnight trains or long single days for us, so we split the journey in half with a stop in Olomouc,CZ. The town is beautiful, and it was an easy affair. An afternoon/overnight/morning visit was ample for us. The town isn't too large, and it was easy to tram or bus from station to town and back. Just an alternative, if you have the time or inclination. Each train trip was about 4 hours as I recall.