Hi, I will be in Budapest and heading to Vienna on Sept 14. I found tickets on Regiojet to Vienna in business class for three at 75 USD total.

I can't give information on direct trains because I am staying a few days in Vienna and not heading to Salzburg until Sept 16. I bought tickets for three from Vienna to Salzburg on OBB 2nd class for $99 US so pretty cheap in my opinion. First class for three hours was $186 pp, which wasn't worth it for me.

Best

Hop

Thanks Hop.
I am guessing you booked these in advance ?

For me - this direct train is key as it saves us time and this is the best price I am getting.
I hope I can navigate the hungarian railways website.

The Mav system works fine if you get it figured out. And is definitely cheaper than the OBB site the time I did this in 2018.

The new MAV site wasnt that difficult for me. Just read and go slowly. OBB is in this case a re-seller and its never ideal to go through a re-seller. I have done some short (3 hour) runs in 1st and 2nd class and to be honest the difference is so slight that I would go for the cheap seats. Maybe on longer trips the difference is more pronounced?

Thanks TTM and Mister E

Mister E :
United States (or Egyesült Államok) does not appear in the Billing Address options .. but this is minor .. I was able to get around this using Egyesült Királyság (or United Kingdom)

Bigger issue is timings are getting messed up.
I am searching for 09/12/2023 for early trains .. it starts with 09:40 train which is late for us.
If I click on 'Earlier ... ' it does show 07:40 train .. but when I pick it, it shows a warning

Warning
The offer you have selected is for a different day than the one you set for your search. The date set for the search: 2023.09.12. 00:00 The date of the offer: 2023.09.11. 22:40
<<

This is silly .. and frustrating

:)

You didn't face this ?

Alternative option -- I am getting
Budapest - Déli pu. (or Kelefold) to Vienna HBF
07:58 - 10:32 arrival

From there, I see Westbahn.at train from
Vienna Westbahnoff to Salzburg
11:08 - 13:38 arrival.

Question - we need to go from Vienna HBF to Vienna Westbahnoff

Will this be cutting it too close ?

Earlier, to test, I booked your train, same day, right up to where I had to log in to pay.

And yes, they left US off the list so I always use Hungary. Doesn't seem to matter. I have purchased 4 tickets off the new site in the last 9 months with no issues. But I do believe you.

Okay, for S & G's i tried to book your 7:40 train on the 12th of September. Went fine until the payment page I got a failed reservation notice. So I switched to the 9:40 train and it went through .... so quickly and so easily that I almost ended up paying for it (they still had my credit card number). Maybe the 7:40 is sold out. You could try first class and see if that goes through.

The notice that you go that it is tomorrows train or yesterdays or what ever you got might have something to do with time zones? I am sitting in Budapest tonight.

Thanks Mister E

I went through again ... for 740 train it kept giving me same message, but also showed departure at 9/12 (or sept 12)
I took a chance and bought the tickets .. and voila .. it says :

(copy/pasted as best as I could)

date time Indulási állomás Abfahrt time Célállomás Ankunft VonatZug

12.09. 07:40 Budapest-Keleti -> 12:53 Salzburg Hbf 60

and separate ticket to show seat reservation - which also shows date as 12.09

So I guess this is fine .. right ?

cost was 47 Euros (46 ticket + 1 seat reservation) each.
Thx

I just tried a booking for one person and was able to get as far as payment info with this time and price. I liked having the drop down calendar on my iPad so I was sure of not making a mistake on the date.

A group exercise. Yes, the site needs some improvements. I am certain that the MAV folks in true Hungarian tradition will name a committee to examine the possible need for an investigation committee ..... after lunch.

Good one, Mister E :)
It seems the same everywhere.

Now onto my rest of the train journeys
Salzburg->Prague (Sept 13 after 4pm)
Prague->Vienna (Sept 18 morning train)

Pointers welcome !

Hello techtrainer,
I just bought the tickets last week for both of my tickets. Do a search for Regiojet. Be aware that I was on the phone with my bank because this is a Czech website. and I was flagged as fraud, but the bank fixed the issue and I purchased the train tickets for two trips from Regiojet. One from Prague to Budapest for $150 for 3 in business class, and one from Budapest to Vienna. Super inexpensive.

I then found OBB website and purchased the 2nd class from Vienna to Salzburg. I didn't want to pay the higher prices for first class.

I also learned you can check Flixbus from Vienna, but the costs were more expensive than OBB. I would still check because the price may be between for you. Btw, Flixbus was for a train not a bus ticket from Vienna, so that's why I recommend checking it out.

Hello techtrainer,

Train from Deli Budapest to Vienna main station. I am staying nearby so that was another reason I chose OBB, since they operate from the main station. Flixbus trains and Westbahn I believe was the name operate from different stations.

Techtrain,

I just checked your dates for Regiojet dot com. Total for three from Budapest Deli to Vienna main business class on 9/12/23 at 07:45 arriving 10:32 is 56.7 euros for all three

On OBB 3 second class tickets leaving 11:55 arriving 14:29 is 104.70 euros for all three with Komfort klass being 149.70 euros total and first class being 171.90 euros total

Total all together for all three passengers is 161.40 euros for the 2nd class from Vienna option…not too bad in my opinion.

Go directly to both websites and buy from there get your tickets, and have a wonderful time traveling 😁

If you are buying from OBB, it's kind of silly buying from a reseller. Regiojet buys space on the tracks and rents local rolling stock. So far has no bad reports, but it is a world of difference from the national lines.

Hi bbouma333 -
Thanks for your tips.

Mister E -- Thanks always, as your suggestion I chose Regiojet where it was available

I finally was able to make all my ticket purchases for 3 of us as follows :

1) sept 8: Regiojet :
Vienna, Hbf - Budapest, Kelenföld - sept 8 - 5:27 PM -> 7:58 PM
Cheapest : Low cost (2nd cl.) - € 68.10
Our flight is scheduled to land at Vienna at 2:30 pm ... this will give us adequate buffer to reach Vienna, Hbf

Best -- with regiojet, if required cancellation is easy and at no cost

2) sept 12: Hungarian Railways ( https://www.mavcsoport.hu/en)
Budapest Keleti - Salzburg Hbf
07:40 Budapest-Keleti -> 12:53 Salzburg Hbf 60
Total cost : € 47 with seat reservation for 3 of us.

Caution -- this website is very tricky to use ... timings get messed up based on where you login from.

3) sept 13:
www.cd.cz
Salzburg Hbf to Praha hl.n
16:11 - 22:12
Total cost : € 52.5
This has two train changes in between : Salzburg Hbf (16:11) -> Linz Hbf (17:35) -> České Budějovice (20:09) -> Praha hl.n (22:12)
This looks tricky .. hope it goes through properly

4) sept 18: Regiojet
Prague, MS (09:12) - Vienna, Hbf (13:15)
This time I chose Standard (2nd cl.) -- for €7 more
Total cost : € 68.1

Again ...with regiojet, if required cancellation is easy and at no cost

============

Comments .. red flags .. if you see any, please let me know.

As always -- many thanks for your help.

Sounds like you got it figured out pretty well. Enjoy the trip. Looks like you will be in Budapest about the sane time as at least on other RS person, wave, they are easy to spot.

Thanks Mister E

Happened to us once earlier .. we happened to be at the same hotel as RS tour in Venice !

All I can say is job well done!