Budapest, Vienna, Prague 11 Night Itinerary Help Please

I don't know you or what you like, but I think the itinerary below is more balanced as 1) you will be tired when you arrive in Budapest and this weariness will effect your ability to see everything; 2) Prague doesn't need as much time as you think, in my opinion. I have not included Salzburg as travelling from Salzburg to Prague will take 6-8 hours. Too much. Travelling between these cities by train is the only way to do it as a car would be a major hindrance and expense.

Day 1 - Budapest, arrival day spend night in Budapest
Day 2 - Budapest; spend night in Budapest
Day 3 - Budapest; spend night in Budapest
Day 4 - Budapest; spend night in Budapest
Day 5 - Travel to Vienna; spend night in Vienna
Day 6 - Vienna; spend night in Vienna
Day 7 - Vienna; spend night in Vienna
Day 8 - Travel to Prague; spend night in Prague
Day 9 - Prague; spend night in Prague
Day 10 - Prague; spend night in Prague
Day 11 - Prague; spend night in Prague
Day 12 - travel home

Thank you Emily for responding so quickly!
Your suggested itinerary was exactly how I had planned it. However, the guide in Vienna told me that because of Jewish holiday on September 30th, resulting in some sites being blocked because of safety reasons, his suggestion was to take the private "Jewish" tour in Vienna is on Day 5 morning( 9/28) - which means we would have to leave Budapest on Day 4.
So my dilemma is do I take the private tour and leave Budapest on Day 4 or not take the private tour and see the Jewish sites on my own and come to Vienna on Day 5 as you suggest? Is there a way to find out what Jewish sites would be closed or blocked on 9/30?
Also, do you recommend booking our trains in advance?
Thank you so much.

Who is your guide? I know that Sukkot is during the week, but the only reason I can see that 9/30 would be a problem is that it is Shabbat.

On trains, if you book in advance for a specific train at a specific time, you will save a lot of money. If you buy your tickets on the day of travel, the tickets will be 2 or 3 times as much. Only use the official rail carriers for purchasing your tickets. Do not use RailEurope or any of their affiliates.

Budapest to Vienna instructions are here (fares from 13 Euro per person) - https://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Budapest.htm#Budapest-Austria

Vienna to Prague instructions are here (fares from 14 Euro per person) - https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/prague-to-vienna-by-train.htm

Walter Juraschek is the guide. We were given his name by someone we know. I have not booked with him yet and would be open to someone else if you have a recommendation. He told us that Simchat Torah is on Sunday but I just looked it up and it begins the next day. The last day of Sukkot is Sunday, Sept 30th so perhaps he is wrong. I will check further.

Regarding the train information you gave me, is that for the high speed trains? I have a post on trains and someone suggested that 1st class is not necessary and 2nd class is fine to take. Would you agree?

Thank you so much!!!!

I thought it might be Walter. He is a friend of mine and a great guide. Go with what he says! Maybe take the train early on Day 5 and start your tour immediately?

All trains are high speed (ok, not TGV as that doesn't exist in this part of Europe, but still fast). Second class is absolutely fine. I would purchase a seat reservation for both trips.

Perfect! I am so happy to hear that about Walter!
I am going to research today the sites I want to see in each city. If I want help organizing my routes and the order of what we see, is it best to post questions in the individual county forums, or should I continue here? When I do ask the routing questions it would be helpful for me to give the hotels that we are staying at, right?
Again, thank you!

Post on the individual country sites and, yes, knowing your hotel would be helpful.

Many, many thanks for all your help!

The dates for the Jewish holiday of Succoth are as follows:
Sept 24-25 First days. These are full holidays beginning on the evening of Sept. 23. Sights that are open on the 23rd may close early that day.
Sept. 26-29 Intermediate days, not technically holidays. Sights that are open on Fridays usually close early.
Sept. 30 Shabbat.
Oct. 1-2 Last day of Succot and Simchat Torah. These are full holidays.

Jewish sights that are run by the Jewish community will be closed on Shabbat and holidays. Sights that are run by civil authorities may be open. It is possible that some sights would close for the entire week of Succoth.

It looks like your last 2 full days in Prague are Oct 3-4. Expect the Jewish sights to be very crowded then, due to the backlog. If you can follow the prayers in Hebrew, consider going to services at one of the synagogues in Prague. If you can't follow the Hebrew, it may not be interesting. When I've visited synagogues in Europe (though I didn't in Prague), they are happy to let you in during services but they fully expect you to stay until the end of the service. The Shabbat service will not be longer than usual, but there are lots of extra prayers on the last days. I don't know what the Jewish community is like in Prague. In Budapest attendance on Yom Kippur was sparse to say the least.