Hello, i'm planning to travel to east europe in september, and i have been searching for the safest, cheapest and fastest routes from prague to krakow and from krakow to budapest?? I have 2 nights in Prague, one night in krakow, 2 nights in budapest. It's there any other train option with less hours traveling (8 - 10 hours) in these routes. i have been looking at sites like obb and bahn, but without any success. Are there buses fastes than trains? is there any new fastest train? Please any advice or suggestion, I will really appreciate it. Thanks lot.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
We did the reverse direction in summer 2010 on night trains. In both legs, the train arrived around 7AM. It wasn't a great night's sleep, but at least you didn't lose any tourism time en route. With only 2-1-2 nights, you can't really afford to waste daylight hours in transit.
Posted by
OP
MIAMI
3 posts
Thank you very much Randy for your time and answer. When you took those trains, did you use couchette or sleepers room? it was safe for your belogings? In a direct train, you still had to wake up in every check point? Thanks in advance
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
We were a family of 5 in a 6-person couchette and both times the 6th bed was empty. I can't vouch for any other options. The rooms had locks on the doors & it seemed reasonably safe. If you have only one bag, it's easy to put it on the bed with you, especially if you are on the top bunk. In both cases the train made numerous stops through the night seemingly for no other reason than to waste time so the 6-hour ride could last 10 hours or more and people could sleep. There are no "inspections" after you depart. No one will force you to get up until you arrive at your destination.
Posted by
Clarksville, TN, USA
959 posts
Hi Eve. We are doing the EXACT same itinerary also in September. I have had to do tons of research to figure out the night trains. I will paste links to all the posts and hopefully they will help you... http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/58044/night-train-from-prague-to-budapest.html http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/71082/night-train-krakow-to-budapest.html
http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=70214
Posted by
OP
MIAMI
3 posts
Thank you very much Amy for your time and links
Posted by
Westminster, CO, USA
192 posts
We are going the opposite way next month and are taking the bus from Budapest to Krakow using Orangeway, it is about 3 hrs less time and we have seen good reviews, and a very reasonable price. I can only assume they go from Kracow to Budapest, they have to get the buses back to Budapest somehow. They have a website. Good luck and have great trip
Posted by
Westminster, CO, USA
192 posts
We are going the opposite way next month and are taking the bus from Budapest to Krakow using Orangeway, it is about 3 hrs less time and we have seen good reviews, and a very reasonable price. I can only assume they go from Kracow to Budapest, they have to get the buses back to Budapest somehow. They have a website. Good luck and have great trip
Posted by
London, Ontario, Canada
56 posts
Hi Eve, (btw love South Beach) I was in Krakow and Prague last September. I flew from Krakow to Prague for a pretty good price. Considering the travel time, it was worth my while to fly. Krakow to the airport is amazingly cheap and fast. Prague takes a bit more time to get to and from the airport. Let me know if I can be of more help with either of these cities. (It seems that Budapest is hard to get to; I have been trying to get something from Athens, Mykonos or Istanbul but it seems there are no inexpensive direct flights)