Need advise for Train tickets

Paris to Budapest is a very, very long train ride. You should look into flying or taking a night train with beds. Check the German train website for ticket prices and schedule.

You will have to look on the different countries' train sites to determine what pricing would be for point to point tickets. As Bets mentioned, the Paris to Budapest trip duration is very long. You could consider adjusting the order (flying out of Budapest at the end - instead taking the train from Paris to Zurich, then Salzburg, etc), flying between Paris and Budapest or considering a night train (although I don't know what the options are for that and you'll find many on the forum are not extremely favorable of night train travel). Bahn.de, the German site, can help with schedules but you should look to at the countries' websites for pricing (for example, the Austrian one is oebb.at).

When you plan on two days in each place, does that mean two full days (3 nights)? Otherwise, you might be moving around quite a bit if you are only planning one or two nights. It is your choice of course, but you may enjoy a more relaxed pace than having only two days to see Paris, Vienna, etc.

Hi,

You can tailor which route you want to take when going from Paris to Budapest.

Option 1: It can be done all in one day: take the early train from Paris Est dep a bit after 0700 direct to Frankfurt Hbf., arrives just before 1100, at noon or so take the ICE and EN trains to Budapest, transfering one more time. You'll arrive shortly before 23:00., basically from 0700 to 2300

Option #2 is to take the CNL night train if you're not against riding a night train. Take the CNL night train Paris Est to Munich Hbf., arrives a bit after 0700, Then transfer to the Railjet (RJ) Munich-Budapest, by late afternoon you'll arrive in BP. This route I've done going Paris- Vienna and would choose it for BP, but then I am traveling solo, ie, without other family members. Or, if you decide to break up the rides, stay overnight in Frankfurt or Munich, then take the morning trains to BP. Calculate over 7 hours from Munich to Budapest direct on the RJ.

Option 3: Take the CNL Paris-Munich, spend the day in Munich, put the luggage at the Hbf lockers, then take the EN night train to Budapest, very doable if you're up for 2 two night trains..

Option 4 - Fly. Seriously, fly from Paris to Budapest. Don't spoil your vacation.

Budapest to Vienna - 13 Euro from MAV (Hungarian Railways) website in advance (walk up fare is about double that).
Vienna to Salzburg - 19 Euro from www.oebb.at in advance or 25 Euro from Westbahn private train (purchased on board train).
Salzburg to Zurich - 29 Euro from www.oebb.at in advance.

Total second class advance purchase cost per the above is 61 Euro. I bet that sounds a heck of a lot better than a pass.

I'd have to agree with fly into Paris, out of Budapest (or V-V) with an "open jaws" ticket. The other towns are on the way to Budapest. Stop on the way.

We also recommend flying from Paris to Budapest; try www.skyscanner.com as a search engine. Using the international Time and Cost Map at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/cost-maps, we can estimate that you'd spend about $240 per person if you buy 2nd class tickets on short notice for the rest of your route. Or, if you want to lock in a longer ride like Salzburg-Zurich through the Austrian web site, they do offer advance-purchase discounts; see also Rick's Austria rail page.