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Trip Plan to Central Europe

Hi
I am planning a trip to central Europe. Here is the trip plan:
Flying in Warsaw
Spending a few days there
Morning train from Warsaw to Torun
2 days in Torun, overnight train to Krakow from Torun
Spending a few days there visiting city of Krakow, Auschwitz, find an overnight from Krakow to Prague
Spending a few days at Prague, and a day trip to Kutna Hora
Morning train from Prague to Cesky Krumlov
spending a night in Cesky Krumlov
Late afternoon train from Cesky Krumlov to Vienna
Spending a few days in Vienna, and a day trip to Brastilava
Fly back to the States from Vienna

Here are my questions:
Where can I get the train time tables for train from Torun to Krakow. I want to make sure there is an overnight train from Torun to Krakow, and price, and do I need to book the ticket ahead of time...so on.
Same question for the train route from Krakow to Prague.

I would like all your suggestions for my trip and let me know if it is ideal plan. Thanks in advance.

Posted by
2487 posts

For European timetables in general use the train planner of the Deutsche Bahn. The national railway companies give you the same timetables plus the price: the PKP for Poland, and the CD for the Czech Republic.
Could you put in Lódz between Torun and Krakow, if only for its immense and moving Jewish cemetery?
Kutna Hora and Cesky Krumlov are the tourist traps of Czechia. Try to get Olomouc as a stop between Krakow and Prague. Wonderful provincial town, still unspoiled by the masses. And instead of Cesky Krumlov you can have historical Tabor as a day trip from Prague (1,5 hrs on a more or less hourly train). Touristy, but in a nice way.

Posted by
16893 posts

There is not currently a direct overnight from Torun to Krakow but you can connect to a night train before midnight. Saturday options are different and I wouldn't look more than two months ahead for these schedules. Daytime trains on the same route are as fast as 5 hours.

Posted by
83 posts

Thank you all for the information. tonfromleiden, I quickly browsed the 2 places you mentioned, Olomouc and Tabor. They are beautiful, and many people vote for these 2 places instead of Krumlov and Tunra Hora. Olomouc is actually not very touristy and worth to stay there for a night to experience the local life. I will go ahead to modify my trip plan accordingly. Thanks again.
Calvin

Posted by
2487 posts

Those smaller provincial towns in Central Europe can be surprisingly attractive. When in Kraków resist the temptation to go to the salt mines and take the train (1 hr or so) to Tarnów.

Added:
There is no need to have an organised trip from Kraków to Auschwitz. There are reasonably frequent trains, taking around 2 hours, and it's only a 20 minutes walk from Oswiecim railway station to Birkenau (see this map). In my thinking a much more fitting way for visiting than being driven in a minivan: sometimes things shouldn't be done the easiest or most comfortable way.

Posted by
83 posts

Thanks again for your information. Your info is so detail, and I already started modifying my trip.
Calvin