Hi Everyone,
A few friends and I are attempting to plan our fall break while studying abroad in Greece. We have about 5 days (six with travel) and are exploring the options of Prague, Budapest, and Slovenia (not sure if Bled, Ljubljana, or another city would be the best) as our destinations. We keep going back and forth on the three destinations and are trying to figure out if there is a way to fit in all three (with overnight trains as a form of travel because we are very set on fitting in as much as we can). We are looking for any suggestions on which cities would be the best, what top sights are a must see, and how we should split our time up. Is it worth it to spend one day in one of these cities and if so which city? Any advice would be extremely helpful.
Posted by
Green Bay
20924 posts
I can't help but say that, due to time limits and travel logistics, you should skip Slovenia. If by Greece, you are in the Athens area, Aegean has nonstops to Prague and Budapest and the 2 cities are connected by a night train. Prague and Budapest will keep you occupied for 5 days on the ground.
Posted by
Washington DC
27609 posts
I agree with Sam. Slovenia is great, but you barely have time to see Budapest and Prague.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
We are in Thessaloniki, so very north
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
19496 posts
On certain days of the week Wizzair flies between Budapest and Thessaloniki non stop for about $75 each way. So, if the dates work with the flight schedule, you could fly to Budapest, spend a few days, then train to Vienna for a few days, then back to Budapest for another day or two before returning to Greece. You could also look for other Wizzair connections (or other discount carriers) with in a few hour train ride out of Budapest and explore more options. I use Google Flights to find connections.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Thank you both so much! We have realized that two destinations may be the best option. Have either of you been to Croatia? We were debating between a city in Croatia or Prague and are still very back and forth on which destination. Definitely doing Budapest.
Posted by
Washington DC
27609 posts
Croatia has a lot of wonderful destinations, but most people consider Dubrovnik, Plitvice Lakes National Park and the islands to be the highlights. Unless you find a workable flight to Dubrovnik (unlikely), none of those destinations really fits well into a 5-day trip that is to include a central European city. You can't get to them quickly, unlike Europe's capital cities. I like the more-accessible Zagreb, but for the vast majority of tourists it ranks behind Vienna, Budapest and Prague.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Okay thank you very much
Posted by
Green Bay
20924 posts
I think the first order of business is to map out flights from Thessaloniki. Austrian has flights through Vienna to Prague and Budapest on Sun, Mon, Wed, Fri. Looks like about 230 EUR per person. Don't know if that works for your break period. Here is a sample itinerary.
Fri 16:00 SKG to PRG arr 18:15, very short connection time, but there is a later flight from VIE as back-up.
Sat: Prague
Sun: Prague
Sun: 23:58 EN477 night train to Budapest arr Budepest Keleti 8:37
Mon: Budapest
Tue: Budapest
Wed: 8:00 BUD to SKG arr 15:20, 3 1/2 hour connection time in VIE.
That is doable. 2 nice cities, inexpensive, plenty to do and see in each.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Our dates are October 25-October 30, but we are having trouble finding cheap flights without crazy layovers
Posted by
Green Bay
20924 posts
Can you get off afternoon 24th? Still reasonable RT flights to Vienna. Might have fly there and get buses or trains from there.
Edit - I see that Student Agency Bus picks up at Vienna airport and travels to Prague. From Budapest, you need to come the day before to make an 12:35 flight to Thessaloniki. Excuse to spend a night in Vienna. You get a 15 % discount with an ISIC. Prices in Hugarian Florints.
http://studentagencybus.com/en
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
19496 posts
October 26 Wizzair Thessaloniki to Budapest $147
October 31 Wizzair Budapest to Thessaloniki $125
Posted by
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
101 posts
FWIW - if you're traveling from Budapest to Prague (or vice versa) - if you can work in a 4 hour or so stopover in Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic - I think it'd be worth it.
Have a great trip!!!