Budapest to Vienna: Train or Bus?

If anyone has some tips on a train from Vienna to Prague as well, I'd appeciate it.

I paid $40 for the train from Budapest to Vienna in June 2010. As I recall, the bus was a lot cheaper (I seem to remember it was less than $10 - is that possible?), but I chose the train because I wanted to maximize my sightseeing time. The buses only ran in the morning and early afternoon. For me the extra $$ were worth it to have most of the day for sightseeing in Budapest. I bought the ticket about 3 days in advance at the ticket office in the center of Pest - a block or two from St. Istvan. I bought my train ticket from Vienna to Prague in advance (eticket on-line), so I think I got a reduced rate by buying early, but I really don't remember.

I believe if you buy a ticket at the station a few days prior to departure you can get a train ticket for about 19 euro. Its not a bad ride at all.

Have used the train from Vienna to Prague and Vienna to Budapest. No problem. If you decide on a bus, make sure there is bathroom facilities. Not all buses have them.

Did you think about hydrofoil? We did it few years ago and it was 50 euro per person.

Busses can be standing room only sometimes and quite crowded. It's not greyhound. They get stuk in road construction and traffic as well. Trains, even eastern European relics, are so much more reliable and roomy. We took thenarainn from Budapest to vienna. Three hours I believe. A breeze.

People who advised me to take the bus rather than the train had done it and said it was very comfortable and much like being on a plane, including movies, beverages and bathroom.

I'd just like to clarify a few things from Steven's post above. The bus companies that operate in central Europe and beyond (such as Orangeways, Student Agency, etc.) are NOT like city buses where people can cram on and it is possible to have standing room only. The ones I have taken have been very comfortable and you buy a ticket much like an airplane reservation - everyone is assigned a seat and when there are no more seats available, the bus is sold out. No one will be standing and it is like Chani said above. Tim, I'm a little late to pipe in with advice on your situation, but my husband and I took the Orangeways bus company for this route. We waited until we arrived in Budapest to make the decision (bus or train) and found the train tickets would have been roughly $50/person while the bus tickets were roughly $11/person. We took the bus and it was fantastic. Everything was on time, the bus station was easy to get to, and on board they had a bus attendant who came around offering complimentary coffee drinks and headphones with which to watch a movie/TV entertainment. If you decide to go the bus route you can buy the tickets online in advance, which is probably what I would recommend just to ensure your seat. If you don't, I'd make sure to go down to the bus station once you arrive in Budapest to get seats. Hope it all works out and have a great trip!

Hi, If you're looking for the quickest way to get from Budapest to Vienna, take the Railjet (RJ) train. It was set up for this very purpose of moving at a faster pace from Munich-including Austria-Budapest. In 2010 I took the RJ from Vienna-Budapest r/t as a day trip.....very satisfactory. There was a discount included in the price since I was returning on the same day.

My Railjet took just over 2 hours. That is about in line with what was on the DB website.

I agree with Fred. Take the Railjet. It is a very pleasant and fast ride.