Transportation Questions

Well. That is indeed messy. Lol.

You do not want a car in Budapest. You don’t even need a car at all except for that one leg Esztergom to Tencianske Teplice. Here are a few thoughts that others may be able to improve on.

1. Yes Car: Don’t go to Budapest. Heresy for me, but you could rent the car in Bratislava and stay a couple of nights in Gyor instead - see Pannonhalma Abbey. Then drive to the 2 concert venues and back to Bratislava to return the car.
2. No Car: Go to Budapest but hire a driver for that troublesome leg. Do the rest of the trip by train (with that one little 25 min bus ride).
3. No Car: Spend 3 nights in Budapest and take the one hour train ride to and from Esztergom (check late evening train times for after the concert, though). Then go back to Bratislava and up to Tencianske Teplice, all by train (and short bus).
4. Yes Car: Have the car and spend one less night in Vienna and one extra in Budapest to make it worth staying out of town and taking the bus or tram into town, because of the car (2 nights = 1 full day only).

Driving is probably more flexible but may not be less hassle - just different hassle. And I like renting and driving. I might choose 2 or 3.

Thanks for the ideas! It's a lot to think about. My DH is intent on visiting Budapest so that's what we're working with. The challenge with this trip is we're semi-shadowing an orchestra tour. This isn't how I would normally plan out this trip (for one it would be much longer.).

What train station do you take to Esztergom? The challenge there is I don't know what time in the evening the concert is scheduled as part of the Esztergom Festival. I felt like staying in Esztergom would be smarter so we don't get stranded! :). But, maybe #3 is a good thought.

If there is a way to do the concerts as day trips out of a rented flat in Budapest I think that would be the more enjoyable than random one night stays. Even Vienna can be a day trip as its only 2:20 up the rail. (Okay, i am biased, Vienna bores me. Too much dead stuff) One AirBnb as a home for the duration.

Im not a fan of cars in Budapest but in your case if you base there and do day trips maybe it works. There are parking garages downtown so that's not an issue and neither is driving into and out of the central city. The car only fails for sightseeing, use public transport for that.

Or I know a driver that can take you to some or all of the events. PM and I can give you the contact details.

A few of your questions indicate that you haven't planned anything like this before. You might want to hire help. Or just take it very slow and ask lots of questions.

The train to Esztergom departs Budapest Nyugati Pályaudvar about every hour. The last return train is at 11:35pm. The cost is about $3.25 a ticket each way and takes about an hour. Nyugati is fairly easy to find your way around in. Arrive early and look around the Eiffel designed building.

If you have any problems in Budapest, I can tell you how to contact me.

It's a bit more than a 30-minute walk from the Esztergom train station to the castle, but there are 3 busses that connect the two very frequently. The last bus back to the train station is at about 11pm.

Knowing what time the concerts are would help. Given the venues i am guessing sometime between 2pm and 6pm?

Once you decide when and for how long in Budapest, we find you a place to stay. Budget? Preferences?

I am still thinking. Is there a concert in Vienna at the beginning or the end of the trip? If I had the dates and times of the concerts i could play with a route.

Well, I don’t blame your DH at all for wanting to go to Budapest!

Having done these kinds of tours (for choirs, not orchestra), I would be willing to bet quite a bit that you could stay in Budapest that night, after hearing the train timings from Mr. É (and he is the “nonexpert” on Budapest practicalities) - and be fine. Of course, you wouldn’t be staying in the same town as the group if you do that - but that is just an itinerary choice for you. You would also save money on a car you wouldn’t need for the first half of your trip (I figure it would cost more for the extra days, plus parking and fuel than you would spend on the train tickets to and from Budapest).

But it still makes sense to me to head on toward Slovakia from Bratislava for that final performance afterwards, either by train or rental car. The distance is too far for an easy day trip since you need to head back to Vienna afterwards. And I assume you are locked in to Vienna airfare.

TexasTravelMom is probably correct. I'm trying to find a way to spend more than one day in arguably the most fascinating and Beautiful city in Europe. If it does come down to just one day (2 nights) forget about getting out if the tourist zone. Dive into it with a room at the Marriott or Intercontinental on the river. I can show you how to get to the "Top Ten" (maybe not inside) in the time you have.

I love your enthusiasm for Budapest! Since I've never been to either I want to see both and since DH has been to Vienna he wants to see a tiny bit of Budapest! Lol. We totally get that this isn't an ideal trip and this will be like an appetizer trip giving you a tiny taste of a place and wanting a whole lot more.

Since we're traveling with our 12 year old DS, who's never been to Europe, a couple days in Vienna is for acclimation and Prater. When we took him to Asia his first day he was wilting from jet lag, so I don't want to land and get on a couple hour train ride.

On Tuesday we’ll leave bright and early for Budapest so we’ll have closer to 2 days to look around. Not much time, I know. :)

Thanks for helping me better think this through. Right now, taking trains looks like it’s winning out. My husband has done a bit of driving in Europe (lived in UK and also driven in Italy and Slovenia), but figuring out a new huge city is always stressful.

We do have flexibility re: Estzergom vs. Budapest to get to Bratislava. Talking to someone from Esztergom, it turns out we can easily get to Strurovo and catch a train from there so we wouldn’t have to back track.

Looking at the EuroCity 278, am I missing something that it’s $107 for the 3 of us from Budapest vs. $189 from Sturovo (priced it in USD on Euro Rail site)? Bottom line, we have options.

I understand completely. Seriously consider those two hotels I suggested in Budapest. They are on the river which is a stunning location and they are well connected to most of the TOP TEN which is all you will have time for. When you know arrival and departure times and days I can give you some ideas on how to get the most out of your time in Budapest.

When buying train tickets, its always best to purchase from the orginating carrier. From Vienna that would be https://www.oebb.at/en/ and from Budapest that would be https://jegy.mav.hu/ and in Slovakia it is https://www.zssk.sk/en/ You will probably get better prices this way and if there are any problems at all with your tickets the local company will resolve it. With resellers there is always the opportunity for finger pointing.

At least with the Budapest tickets and I bet the others as well, you get the on-line discount up to a few days prior to the train departing. So no need to hurry and its rare that trains sell out. 1st or 2nd Class? To be honest, again mosly with the Hungarian trains, I really cant tell much difference between 1st and 2nd so I buy the cheaper. The few times I have been in 1st it was with all the tourists. Thats a sign as well,.

You will arrive into Budapest to the Keleti Station and you will depart to Esztergom out of the Nyugati stations so you get to see both of the great stations. Getting to your hotel from either station is pretty easy as well and starts your sightseeing.

Even for only 2 days, do get a travel card. Get the 72 hour one, its more than you need but easir than messing with 2 - 24 hour cards and only about $1.50 more than buying two. When you get a little closer to the date I can tell you where at Keleti to buy the cards.

A third Hotel option is the Hotel Moments. Its really good, but I think for 2 nights the other two hotels I suggested are better, but a bit more expensive, so if price comes into it look at the Hotel Moments.

Thanks Mr. É for more helpful ideas especially about the train schedules and passes.

Sorting out the trains, for me, is the biggest hurdle in planning due to lack of familiarity with all the options. Indeed, when I looked up Sturovo to Bratislava on Slovakia's train site the price was around 19€. That's more what I was anticipating cost wise. (That begs the question, how do you go from $20 to $189 on the Euro Rail site!!!).

Will book train reservations for whatever we decide in June, but I want to have a solid idea now on what to anticipate.

Normally I would say no hurry on getting a hotel, but tourism is back to pre-pandemic levels more or less and both Vienna and Budapest have initiated new restrictions on AirBnb.,

In Vienna, From July 2024, Viennese homeowners will be allowed to rent out units for a maximum of 90 days per annum. From July 2024, the capital's homeowners will be allowed to rent out single properties to tourists for a maximum of 90 days per annum.

Even if you are not interested in AirBnb for yourself, there were 16,000 in Vienna before people started adjusting for the new law (selling or converting to long term rentals). Thats 16,000 lost rooms vs the 38,000 or so hotel rooms. So about 1/3 of the accommodations are about to cease to exist. Oh, some will play the 90 day game but there is no money in that so dont count on many.

In Budapest they have been a lot less Draconian. There are about 12,000 airbnb in Budapest and they can stay until, in about half the districts, they change hands in which case the licneses cease to exist and there are no new ones. So it will be a slow bleed. That is vs 27,000 hotel rooms. In Budapest the market is responding by buying up entire apartment blocks, evicting everyone ripping the historic hearts out of the buildings and converting them into hotels. Many are quite nice and in great neighborhoods.

Barcelona has come up with new restrictions too, which might in part explain the thread complaining about hotel costs in Barcelona.

My friend alerted me to this, especially in Vienna. I think there's an article published in the NYT this past week about this issue. That's why you see me asking these questions now!

We actually have all our accommodations booked this weekend. Fully understanding your desire for us to get every drop out of our short time in Budapest and therefore wanting to be in the most accessible area to the sites, we zagged and booked an AirBnB in the southern portion of the XIII, Újlipótváros . One of the reasons we chose this place is it has a very early morning check-in so we can store our stuff and be on our way.

Also, being in a more neighborhood part the city on the edge of downtown and taking public transportation is part of the experience that we really enjoy! Given our constraints, we'll pick a few of the "top 10" but we have no desire to try to do it all -- we'll just need to come back!

Do get your metro card, you will need it. Your choices will be the M3 metro but all your travel will be underground and you will miss the city, or the No 15 bus or tge No 75 or 76 Trollie (an electric bus). Figure 30 minutes to most of what is interesting. Most of the Top 10 are zones or neighborhoods, the "things" are just landmarks in those zones. This isn't a tourist town in the sense that Prague is.

There are luggage lockers too.

Enjoy your adventure.

Sounds like you have it sorted! Good deal!