My daughter and I will be traveling in Austria and Hungary for 11 days. I think it's least expensive if I purchased the European East Pass for $211 and my daughter who is 23 purchases the Austria-Hungary Pass plus one extra day for Youth for $188. Is there any kind of problem if my daughter and I have different types of passes?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
Agree, you don't need passes at all. For example, the longest trip you are likely to have is Vienna-Budapest, and that can be had for 19Euro each ($25.70). Trains don't fill up. Austria also has a 28Euro(total) deal for all day travel for a family of up to 5. The only stipulation is that you take local, instead of high speed trains. But for short trips, this hardly matters.
As a general rule, the only reason to use rail passes at all nowdays is to either;
1) Take only very long journeys where cheap discount tickets cannot be had, or...
2) To avoid ever having to think about the intricacies of rail pricing. In other words, paying extra to avoid "shopping".
Posted by
OP
Carlsbad, California, USA
6 posts
What is the name of the family pass? Is it the Vorteils? Am I able to purchase it in Austria or should it be purchased before I leave home?
Thank you for your help.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
The family of 5 all day deals in Austria are called "Einfach-Raus-Tickets" Check this site;
http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Servicebox/Train_schedule/index.jsp?
...and pick Einfach-Raus-Ticket under the "products" button near the bottom.
Note that you get to travel all day (after 9AM) on a single ticket, not just one journey, and that it is for a family of up to 5. This is great for hop-on, hop-off touring to nearby towns. Attempting longer (like 200km+) trips with this pass can be a poor value if the local train options are much slower than express trains (which are not covered with this pass)
The example of Vienna-Budapest for 19Euro is called "SparSchiene" and is for fast trains between (relatively distant) large popular cities. See this site;
http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Travel_within_Europe/SparSchiene/
Good luck!