Prague, Budapest and Vienna in Oct-Nov 2022

Whether or not you have been to these wonderful towns, you will enjoy them. I strongly advocate for self-travel.

How many days do you have? If you have 7, you must stick with Vienna and Budapest. There is a quick train between them.

If you can extend your time, there are plenty of day trips around each. From Budapest, you can go to Szententre (St Andrew, artist colony), and several other places. Vienna has the great Melk-Krems loop - you take the train to Melk Abbey, take the boat to Krems, and train back to Vienna. Not sure if these run into Nov.

Do not overplan on stops. Both Vienna and Budapest merit 4-5 days. So many things to see!! Such good food and wine!!

I too had Bohemian Switzerland on my must see list for my trip next month but due to the forest fires last month, most of the park is closed. Here is the website for the park: https://www.npcs.cz/en

Ugh.

I always vote for independent travel but that’s personal.

Hard to say without knowing when you arrive and when you depart, but keeping it simple your flights are good.

fly to Prague and from Vienna to home

Before I will sit on a train for 6 hours I will fly every time. So, Arrive Prague, fly to Budapest non-stop in about 90 minutes usually about $125, on a discount carrier and then train up to Vienna would be my preferred route. I've done the math and you save 3 or 4 hours of travel time and you get to walk around and stretch your legs.

As far as points in-between, no one can help you without start and finish dates. I cant help you in the Czech Republic anyway. I've spent about a week there on two occasions, but that's not near enough to know what I am talking about. When you plan Budapest that I can help with. But I am with Paul-of-the-Frozen-North more or less. Vienna and Prague are each a 3 full day minimum and Budapest 4 full day minimum, just within the cities. Each offers lots of opportunities for interesting day trips with additional days tacked on. For the Vienna to Budapest train ride, get off in Gyor and see the old town and go out to the Archabbey at Pannonhalma. As good as Melk in my book. Maybe better because it is still primarily used for its intended purpose and an interesting winery on the premises. Its a spend the night stop, then back on the train to Vienna. No fuss, not muss, no backtracking.

Lets hope you will be in Budapest after 18 November so you can enjoy the markets. For that I would rebook my flights. If you are there around that time, I will buy you a drink.

Thanks James E. and Paul-of-the Frozen North!

I have 17 days to play with. As for exact dates, we arrive in Prague Oct 26 around 13:00 local time (that day is a catch-up day for us). We fly home from Vienna on Nov. 12, so we will miss the Christmas markets. Have already booked four nights in Prague, three nights in Budapest, and four nights in Vienna (all AirBnbs), and can add nights to each city or add stops on the way. I learned after booking that Fri Oct 28 is Czech Independence Day - not sure what we will encounter then, but it sounds fun! I love the idea of the Melk-Krems loop from Vienna and will check that we can do this in early November. It sounds like Vienna is a good place to set as a base for side trips, and had already planned to travel from Vienna to Moravský Krumlov in CR to see the Slav Epic. I will check out Gyor as a potential place to spend the night. We are not as nimble as we used to be and don't need to be in constant motion to enjoy our travels!

Independence Day can be great. Ive been fortunate to do it in a few countries, including Ukraine a couple of years ago.

We are not as nimble as we used to be and don't need to be in constant
motion to enjoy our travels!

I get it. I just spent 3 weeks in Budapest.

Have a safe trip

Wow, three weeks in Budapest. Lucky you! Really looking forward to our trip!

Look into Brno. It's more or less on the way. It was recommended to me as a good 2-3 night stay, but I didn't have the extra time to fit it into my itinerary.

Vienna is about a 3 hour train ride from Budapest

James E spends a lot of time in Budapest. I would love to spend more.

If you have 17 days, I would begin by blocking out 3-4 days in Vienna and Budapest (and reading your post above I see that you have done this). After that, you can fill in the additional days either going between them (Bratislava is a good stop) or taking short trips. From Vienna, it's not a long trip to Salzburg. From Budapest, there is the Danube bend area, Pecs, Eger.

A side trip to Czechia might be a way to fill the time as well. I would love to see the Slav epic as well.

Thanks all! I have put the following on my list of possibilities: Brno, Pecs, Eger, Gyor (spend the night there and see Archabbey at Pannonhalma), Szententre (St Andrew, artist colony), and Melk-Krems loop. However, I started researching some of these places/tours outside the large cities and learned that many shut down after October. Ugh - most of our trip is in the first 2 weeks of November. I will keep researching.

Szentendre is an easy day trip on a commuter train. Maybe $6 each way and a tad more than 30 minutes on the rails.
https://culturelocker.com/story/2012/Hungary-Szentendre.html

Pecs and Eger are each about a 3 hour train ride. You can do them in a day, but overnight is best In Eger the Senator Hauz, in Pecs Hotel Palatinus is interesting.

All tracks radiate from Budapest so going from one to the next really doesnt save time. Get an AirBnb, leave the heavy luggage behind and take a backpack for the over night trips.

Thanks James X!

If you need help on the Hungary leg, just let me know. Its really the only country I know anything about..