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Munich Christmas Markets and traveling to Budapest

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We will be arriving in Munich Nov 29th about 9 am. We must be in Budapest to leave on a Christmas Markets River Cruise on Dec 1. We will be seeing Christmas Markets in Budapest, Vienna, Slovakia, Krems, Salzburg, Linz, and Passau. Since we have these two days before the river cruise begins would you stay in Munich to tour the city and see their Christmas Markets or would you head directly for the extra days in Budapest.(or go somewhere in between)? We have never been to either city before.

Also, would you take a train or rent a car? I understand that the train would probably be less expensive with gas, and drop off fee. But I'm am more interested in which would be the better experience and how difficult to drive through 3 countries.

Also what would be the difference in first and second class on trains and are there any private cabins on these trains?

Please feel free to share any ideas you may have in regards to how we should spend the 29th and the 30th.

Posted by
5380 posts

I would recommend the train over a car. Driving is straightforward, but I don't recommend it due to the cost and the fact that the rail links are so good. Have you considered just flying from Munich to Budapest straight through?

With the train, you should read this very helpful link. You have two options - a day train taking 7 hours on the RailJet or a Hungarian Sleeper train through the night. The RailJet does not have compartments, but has open cars. The link above gives pictures. This train is very new and nice, reaching speeds of 200 km/hr. The 2nd Class is very nice; 1st Class/Business Class is unnecessary, in my opinion. The sleeper train has compartments ("cabins"). This train, however, will be much slower and it is, of course, a night train. I would absolutely pick the RailJet over a sleeper train.

The link above also provides details on how to purchase the tickets online, which will be much cheaper than purchasing on the day of travel. Do not use Rail Europe - they will rip you off.

Posted by
59 posts

I prefer travel by car. The roads are well maintained in Germany. Your schedule is your own You can go anywhere. It's worth the extra expense

Posted by
15582 posts

I didn't think Munich's markets were very special. As a city, I much preferred Budapest, so I'd just head there and spend the time sightseeing. It sounds like you'll see plenty of different markets on the cruise. Any chance you can fly open-jaw into Budapest?

Posted by
15582 posts

I just did a quick search with europ.car - a 2-day rentral from the Munich airport to the Budapest airport is around US$700. Add about $35/day for basic insurance coverage. On the most direct route (mostly highways), viamichelin.com estimates over 7 hours driving and over $100 in gas and road tax.

Sorry, I don't think it's worth the extra expense.

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