We have 7 nights. Will fly into Prague then fly out of Budapest. How many days should I spend in each city?
If we do 2 nights in Prague and 5 nights in Hungary then I am planning on spending one night in Eger, is it worth it? Or should I do 3 nights in Prague/4 nights in Budapest.
Thank you!
Posted by
Citizen of the World
3911 posts
Three nights in Prague and four in Budapest is a good balance.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26211 posts
That really depends on when you leave Prague and when you arrive Budapest.
But assuming that you arrive about 2pm
- Day one, you get checked in in Prague about 4pm. So you get dinner and a stroll around town. Night 1 in Prague
- Day two, see the city, maybe jet lagged. Night 2 in Prague
- Day three, another day in Prague and you are pretty much at the minimum for Prague. Night 3 in Prague
- Day four, if you get lucky its one of the days when RyanAir has a morning flight to Budapest and you arrive in Budapest about 9am and have the whole day in Budapest. Night 4 in Budapest
- Day five, second full day and night 5 in Budapest
- Day six, thrid full day and night 6 in Budaest
- Day seven, fourth full day (really the perfect minimum amount of time) and night 7 in Budapest
- Day eight, you depart
Now if you dont get luck on the flight or you just have issues saving 3 hours by taking a plane, then the first reasoable train will depart at 07:37 and arrive at 14.28 which means you get to your hotel and are checked in and ready to go back out by maybe 4pm. You lost half the day. So you are about a half day short of a good minimum stay. Well there is no fixing that because you really need the two full days in Prague. Its just life. Eger? No, you have no time for that. Maybe Szentendre (if you flew to Budapest) but thats about it.
I asked AI and it suggested 3.5 nights in each. That half a night is really challenging. Not much of the factual information suggested by AI was correct. And AI is shaping our world. We are doomed.
Posted by
SoCal and Bordeaux
2346 posts
I personally have found Prague to be both more interesting and more enjoyable than Budapest, and so I would do 5 Prague and 2 Budapest. But everyone has different interests.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
26211 posts
I am not going to say anyone is wrong or correct. Just depends on what you enjoy. Budapest hasn't got Pragues Gothic old town, that's for sure. If you go here and scroll down to my post office directions, if the sort of stuff described interests you then you will stay 6 days or more each time you return. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/hungary/post-cards-106fc9ff-010b-4f22-a9da-8ba5aa06069f.
But I have some good friends that would be very disappointed with a day like that. Its all good.