Prague/Vienna/Budapest/Salzburg

What cities are you flying into and out for this trip? If you start in Prague, train to Budapest, then train to Vienna and end in Salzburg. Otherwise, you will be doubling back to Vienna.

If you prefer dealing with airports, Prague to Budapest will save only a couple hours once you factor in getting to the airport two hours prior to your flight and getting to and from PRG and BUD airports.

It might help to know how long you will be staying in each location. 12 hours of train travel during a three week vacation is much less daunting than it would be during a two week vacation. I personally would lean toward choosing the Prague to Budapest flight just for cutting local travel time in half. This is particularly true if this is just one segment of a longer adventure.

We are flying from the States to Krakow, then meeting the rest of our travel party in Berlin. Then we head to Prague. After Salzburg we end the trip in Munich (although I am considering adding on Switzerland!)

Krakow-2 nights
Berlin-3 nights
Prague-2 nights
Budapest-3 nights
Vienna-2 nights
Salzburg-2 nights
Munich 3 nights

Yes, it’s a personal decision, but still a few things to think about. Because you are not spending much time anywhere you are stopping, useful time becomes important.

I would fly Prague to Budapest IF you are doing it on one of the days with a non-stop Ryanair morning flight (that rules out Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday …. But check me on that as the schedule might vary with the month and I don’t know your dates). The morning flights are between 7:25 and 8:00 for the most part. Of course you must be okay with early morning flights. That would mean leaving your hotel in Prague from 5:00 to 5:30. In total travel time between Prague, Budapest and Vienna you will save 3 to 4 hours, but it’s not about raw time. More importantly, it’s about creating useful days. With the morning flight you will arrive in Budapest at a time when you get the whole day. It would be hard to take a train from Prague to either Vienna or Budapest and get as much of the day to use. But if your travel day is the afternoon flight day, take the train.

Then train to Vienna, Train to Salzburg and train to Munich.

Also add up the train times to go Prague > Budapest > Vienna > Salzburg > Munich as it might be a little less travel time. Not sure.

Now the unsolicited opinion. Do a lot of research and watch a lot of videos on Budapest and Vienna and add one day to one or the other. Budget might be a concern too so check the hotel costs in Vienna and Budapest. Steal that day that you give to either Vienna or Budapest from Salzburg. (actually I would skip Salzburg all together and use one day in Vienna and one in Budapest. But ….. )

You have a lot of big cities and capitals in this itinerary with each one having a ton of attractions. Keep in mind that when you move between them, you’re going to lose the better part of one day checking out of and into accommodations and in transit between cities. This means you’ll effectively have 1.5 to 2 days in Krakow; two full days in Berlin; 1.5 full days in Prague, two full days in Budapest, 1.5 days in Vienna.

For a group, that will not be enough time for these cities—- many of them national capitals.

Picture a group of travelers from Europe with 17 days going to New York City for three nights, Boston for two nights, Chicago for two nights, Philadelphia for two nights, and Washington DC for three nights. Now, add two more cities to the list so there’s 7 cities to blitz during 17 days. For most, the pace of such a trip would be far too fast to enjoy much of what each city has to offer—or to have any time to relax.

You might consider dropping a couple of cities so you have adequate time to enjoy the Top 5 cities your group really wants to see.

I love these sorts of problems, so I built a spreadsheet and checked some travel times.

- Prague to Budapest (flight) to Vienna to Salzburg about 11.5 to 12.5
hours of travel time.
- Prague to Vienna to Budapest to Salzburg about 15.3 to 16.3 hours of
travel time.
- Prague to Budapest to Vienna to Salzburg about 16 to 17 hours of
travel time.

But again, it’s not just the travel time, that’s too simplistic a way of looking at it, it’s also the arrival time which drives the decisions. Prague to Vienna by train the earliest I would expect to be at my hotel in Vienna is 12:30 pm, while I could be in my hotel in Budapest by 9:30 am if it’s one of the days with the early flights. You can do a lot with 4 more hours.

But don’t kid yourself, that 4 hours comes with a cost. Flight cost at best with a carryon bag will be $100 to $120 to which you will need to add the transfer to each airport. The Budapest end will be $7 if you do the bus or $35 by taxi. On the other hand, the train ticket to Vienna will be under $25 and the transportation card for each city would handle public transportation to and from hotels to train stations, or a taxi in Budapest would be about $9. So you are looking at maybe $120 to $200 by plane vs maybe $20 to $40 by train.

As for the speed of your trip. Your life and I have no idea of the circumstances. Maybe you know you will never get a second chance? I don’t know. But I understand the attraction for Krakow, Prague, Vienna and Budapest. Berlin seems a practical need to meet friends otherwise its out of context for the trip and costing you a lot of travel time for not much reward … well meeting up with friends can be very rewarding. Salzburg is a good stopping point on an otherwise long train ride to Munich. After Prague, Vienna and Budapest you might not think it was the best use of time … but then some really love it too. So, who’s to say. Munich? I presume you have your reasons.

So given the time, most important will be to milk the most out of each stop with the time you do have. Be organized and it will be a good holiday. For that I would think hotel locations would be important. Prague, in old town (I like the Hotel Ventana … don’t think there is a nicer or better located hotel). In Vienna I have yet to find a hotel that really excites me, but I would say to stay within or very, very close to the Ringstrasse is a certainty. In Budapest stay along Andrassy ut in District VI (https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/budapest-updated-hotel-list).

To that add a public transportation pass at each city. In Budapest that would be a 72 Hour Travel Card (https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/prices/72-hour-budapest-travelcard/) unless you decide to scrap Salzburg and spend another night in Budapest, then you need the 15 Budapest Pass which is about the same price as the 72 hour card (https://bkk.hu/en/tickets-and-passes/prices/15-day-budapest-pass/). Then spend some advance time studying the transportation systems so you can hit the ground running,

I would eliminate Budapest and allocate those days to some of the other cities. That cuts down the longest travel day and gives you more time in the other cities. I made that same decision a few years ago so I visited Budapest separately this year.

Espo, actually the outlier is Krakow and Prague. Vienna, Budapest, Salzburg and Munich are a pretty tight little trip. Krakow, Prague, Vienna, Budapest are so worth the time, I think even a short stay is better than never.

Q. Have you ever been to Prague?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
A. Because I was told its better to never see any part of a place than to not see enough of it.

Well, maybe for some. My first trip to Budapest was 3 nights. Crazy short. But if I hadnt done it, I wouldnt be here now. So, who knows. The OP may have a reaction similar to mine with Prague, so .... I try not to judge how much time on a trip.

I once took an overnight train from Prague to Budapest. I'm not sure if this is still available but if it is it could be a potential option to save on some travel time. Our next stop was Vienna so a somewhat simliar itinerary to what you are describing.

Cat VH, yes, it still runs. It is the EN577 METROPOL EuroNight. It might be a great experience. Not a cheap experience though. Two people in a two bed cabin will be about 225 euro (edited) vs a four star hotel at about 135 euro (edited). But still a very real idea because the train arrives about 8am you can put luggage in a locker (I know a few locations) then start your tour of Budapest at a Bathhouse (for the shower ............ and the bathhouse).

For the experience, yes. For a good nighs sleep? Ehhhhhhh maybe not. I spent more than 24 hours on a night train in January and I slept about 3 hours of it. Rode it going and coming .... but I would never trade the experience and may repeat it in a few months.

Oh wow!!! That is definitely a lot more than we paid (I don't remember the actual amount but I do know we could not have been able to afford that, hahah). We didn't have a private room, just two bunk beds and I believe there was someone else in one of othe other bunks. This was so long ago that we actually got woken up twice in the night for border crossings- from Czech Republic into Slovakia and then again Slovakia into Hungary- prior to those countries all joining Schengen. So it would have been hard to get a great sleep regardless, but it was definitely a fun experience.

In the 3 bed compartment on the date in December I looked at it was 99.20 euro each, so 198.40 for a couple sleeping with a stranger. Thats a bit better. Then you can do a couchette for as little as 84.20 euro each which is 168.40 euro for a couple sleeping in a chair with 4 strangers. And I had to fix the amounts above, I said dollars, should have said euro

I had a feeling Mr E wouldn't like my suggestion to skip Budapest! Is it easier to get to Buda from Krakow than to Prague? I assumed the opposite but I could be wrong. I still think the OP needs to eliminate either Buda or Prague and I admit I have a bias to going to Prague.

Espo you will notice that the OP has to stop in Berlin (I would cut a night cause its the least interesting for my taste), so Krakow to Berlin is sort of a given. As for the rest, I really dont know enough about the individual to say cut anything. Its a relatively fast trip, but no faster than most Rick Steves Tours and everyone here thinks those are brilliant. I think planning will be a bit more important with a fast tour, but otherwise looks fine. I would always say, if you arent coming back, try and see as much as you can.

I will point out that you are up to about 20 days of travel. Three weeks counting all the holidays is 23 days, so maybe you can add a few days.

Mr. E, couchettes are not chairs. They are padded ledges in shared compartments, so at least you are horizontal.

acraven, you are absolutely correct. https://ecotourism-world.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/jcr_content.jpg