Krakow to Budapest via ?

I would probably fly: about $200 one way with a change in Warsaw, under four hours airport to airport. Add an hour on each end to get between the airport and city center. If you have room to add a night in Warsaw, you could train from Krakow to Warsaw first and enjoy a night there before taking a direct

Some cities just don't connect well together. This is something to work out when planning a trip. Vienna and Budapest connect easily together by train, though. Budapest and Krakow just don't, but if you can give up some of your trip time for a long day I have visited both cities but on separate trips.

Its over 6 hours by car, so that 9 hour train ride isn't looking so bad. Should be a bit more comfortable than a car

In 2015, I took the train between Krakow and Budapest.

The route is a bit long because the train cannot go over the Tatra Mountains separating Poland and Slovakia. Starting in Krakow, the train goes west to the Czech Republic, then switches southeast through Slovakia -- including a stop in Bratislava, the capital -- and then into Hungary and Budapest.

There was a bus, Orange Ways, that went directly between the two cities in 2015, but I'm not sure if it still operates. Now there appears to be at least 2 bus ticket aggregators called busbud.com and flixbus.com with tickets between Krakow and Budapest.

The countryside between Krakow and Budapest is beautiful to see from a bus. In 2022, I went on an Rick Steves tour, and our bus took us over the Tatra Mountains from Krakow to Eger, Hungary.

I haven’t used them yet but have looked into www.eurobusways.com for that transfer. They also have dedicated shuttles Krakow to Vienna as well. The Tatras Mountains are beautiful.

We are making this trip in April and are planning to fly from Krakow to Budapest. It seems to be the most efficient use of our time. Once we reach Budapest we will use trains the rest of the way- Vienna, Prague, Dresden, Berlin.

CW did you book tickets yet? It is pricey? We are debating what to do for next years trip.

why not using FLIXBUS bus?
it is direct from krakow to budapest and it is cheap.

you can all timetables on flixbus officail website. i suggest you to give a look

Why not a bus? Because it's about an eight hour bus ride, which to many of us sounds miserable. Trains are usually much more comfortable (not always) even if they take about the same amount of time or longer.

Flying doesn't save a lot of time and is more complicated - several modes of transportation to get between city center to city center - but at least you aren't stuck on one vehicle for 8-9 hours. You can sit and eat a casual meal while waiting for your plane, etc.

Open Jaw tickets

Fly to Budapest from the states, Train to Vienna, Fly to Krakow (a number of cheap direct flights) then HOME.

Fly to Krakow from the states, fly to Vienna (a number of cheap direct flights) train to Budapest, then HOME

Or do the one stop flight from Krakow to Budapest Not really terrible.
3.5 to 4.5 flight
2.5 airport trip and early arrival
1.5 total from plane seat to Budapest accommodations.

7.5 to 8.5 hours total

Or the train
9 hour ride
1 hour to the station and early arrival
0.5 hours from train station to Budapest Accommodations.

10.5 hours total

Thanks everyone! After much debate, and simply because I do not want to fool with airport shenanigans, we have decided to call it a travel day and take the 9 hour train. This will be my longest train ride so far and I can barely sit in an airplane seat for this long, fingers crossed for a pleasant journey!

We are also trying to decide which mode of transport to use for Krakow to Budapest next April. Flying is a bit quicker than train or bus- but we do enjoy scenery and are willing to trade off a couple of hours to enjoy the views of countryside and towns, so of the the two ground options, does anyone know which is the most scenic? TIA!

I too will be traveling Krakow to Budapest next April. TBD which day so I will be following this thread.

Update for the others with same question: I am on the train from Budapest to Vienna as I write this, and I wanted to share our experience on getting from Krakow to Budapest. We are only visiting the 3 countries during our 2 week trip and allowed a travel day to get from KRK to BUD. As previously mentioned, we chose the long day train vs the night train (because we wanted to get a good night of rest) and the airport which seems to add more time than you realize. I used the information from The Man in Seat 61 and booked the train before we left the states. The train started off VERY busy but lightened up along the way. It was a long boring ride and after doing it, I would’ve have considered further doing the night train or taking the flight. Anything to avoid a full day on the train. It was okay, but it’s a full day journey. Let me know if you have questions to ask. Thank you!

Thanks for reporting back with your experience. We will be going from Budapest to Krakow next year and you’ve given me something to think about.

So helpful to read all the tips & tricks! We just booked into Budapest 11/26, out of Krakow on 12/6...trying to decide best way to link them & best place to spend additional time. Very helpful!

For a flight I figure 2.5 hours on the front end and an hour on the back end. For a train 1 hour on the front end and 45 min on the back end.

Prague to Budapest by that theory is about 4.75 hours by plane and 8.25 by train.

And if you fly you aren't held captive in a rolling box for hour after hour, after hour. There are a lot of senic train rides, but many go through flat unpopulated land.

There is only one daytime train that runs Krakow to Budapest, it departs around 10:44 and arrives around 19:25. It’s a long cozy ride. The alternate is to take the night train but during my booking I saw reference to a shortage on sleeping cars. My thought was to get a good night of sleep and then take the day train. Since it took me so long to acclimate to the time changes, I don’t think I got a solid night of sleep the entire two weeks so I think my sleep on the night train may have been just as sufficient. If I do it again, I’d probably look closer at flights or do the night train.

There is no wrong way. But did you enjoy the trip? Thats all that matters

Long train rides offer opportunities to drink some wine, look at the photos, maybe write in a journal. We have done 6 and 7 hour trips. OP did not report on the views from the train.

We've done night trains, and I think they are fun. It's one of those Europe-only experiences. Wife and I had a sleeping chamber to ourselves.

I'm back to repeat a question about travel between Krakow and Budapest. Of the two ground options- bus or train- can anyone advise as to which is the most scenic? We are interested in seeing the countryside, towns, etc, along the way- which is why we are opting not to fly. It will also be a "rest day " of sorts, where we can at least just sit back, ride, look out the window and maybe take a nap. Thanks for any guidance you can give!

Probably too late but next time.

If I were going by train Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, then that depends on the dep. city...Krakow? BP the last ? If so, I would take the night train Krakow to Vienna, after visiting that lovely city, proceed to Budapest, the day train under 3 hours.

Op already stated that the train was long and boring - I take that to mean not very scenic.

My general rule is anything over 5.5-6 hours, not including the front and back end, I fly.