Trip Direction and Recommendations Poland, Czech, Hungary

Thankfully, there is now direct flight service between Budapest and Krakow. (Used to be your best choice besides a flight with connections was a long overnight train or a long bus ride.)

Otherwise, it's just seeing Krakow, Prague, and Budapest, with Cesky Krumlov as a side trip from Prague. Fly into one of the three, out of the other as an "open jaw" ticket (multi-city). You can even fly between Krakow and Prague, but there is direct train service. (And an overnight train option which might save you time, not something I'd consider personally.)

Two weeks probably means thirteen nights in Europe. So you could do:

Prague (4 nights)
Cesky Krumlov (1 night)
Krakow (4 nights)
Budapest (4 nights)

Some people would encourage you to take the train between Budapest and Prague and stop in Vienna in between. You could still do that but would need to take away a night or two from somewhere else.

Try using rome2rio.com to get an idea of point-to-point travel times and options.

Just a reminder to count your days and nights honestly. How much does jetlag affect you? How efficient are you at packing/unpacking, getting oriented? This trip means three languages and three currencies

Time of year? In the spring Budapest warms up just a bit earlier than the others, I believe. By the summer it probably doesn't make much difference, though I have not been to Cesky Krumlov.

Number of nights actually in Europe (not counting overnight plane trip) is key. Budapest, Prague and Krakow would easily fill a full 14-night trip (or more), and I suspect you may have only 12 nights. I wouldn't try to squeeze CK in, even if you have 14 nights available.

Well, since you are investing so much in airline tickets I am going to assume you will maximize that by making two week include the last weekend. So its 16 days.

Saturday, Depart US
Sunday, Arrive Prague
Monday, Prague
Tuesday, Prague
Wednesday Morning, Prague to Cesky Krumlov using Bean or CZ Shuttle service
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Thursday Afternoon, Cesky Krumlov to Budapest using CZ shuttle. For two to four people the cost is about $500 for the whole car. Time is about 5.5 hours. It think this is better than a trip to and from Prague to Cesky Krumlov, then flying to Budapest. All in all a few hours shorter and you can tailor the departure time to fit your needs.

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Friday, Budapest
Saturday, Budapest
Sunday, Budapest
Monday, Budapest (Really?, Yup, best stop on your trip)
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Tuesday, LOT nonstop to Krakow. Nonstop under $100 and i think an hour on a plane beats 6 hours on a bus. Another option if you have the $$$$ would be to hire a driver. Figure $500 to $600. I know a good service if you are interested. You go through Slovakia and its a beautiful country. Mountains, rivers, lakes, castles, forests.... worth the time.
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Wednesday, Krakow
Thursday, Krakow
Friday, Krakow
Saturday, Home

Okay this leaves one day unused. Do some research on the stops and decide where you would most enjoy another day. You could also add a night in Vienna but because the LOT flight to Krakow doesn't exist on Thursday it sort of messes up the planning and you dont get enough time in either Budapest or Krakow. Maybe if you run the route backward it would work. .... okay, lets see.

Saturday, leave the US
Sunday, arrive Krakow
Monday, Krakow
Tuesday, Krakow
Wednesday, Krakow to Budapest on LOT
Thursday, Budapest
Friday, Budapest
Saturday, Budapest
Sunday, Budapest (or afternoon train to Vienna)
Monday, train to Vienna (if you are not already there)
Tuesday, Shuttle to Cesky Krumlov
Wednesday, Shuttle to Prague
Thursday, Prague
Friday, Prague
Saturday, Prague
Sunday, Home

Thats much better.

To add to the above; we've booked CK Shuttle from Prague Airport to our CK b&b and back to our Prague hotel on different days using the “shared” option, which has set departure times in the morning and afternoon for less than $85 US each way. Online booking was easy and their reviews are very good.