We are looking to take the night train from Vienna to Krakow in mid-September. It looks to be quite expensive to order tickets and have them shipped here. Would it be advisable to wait and make the reservation once we are in Europe? And then, how many days ahead is recommended? We plan on spending several days in Salzburg and then go on to Vienna from there so should we wait and buy from the rail station in Salzburg?
Buy the tickets there. If your date is set, go to the train station or any English speaking travel agent when you arrive. You don't need to buy the Vienna-Krakow ticket in Vienna. It's guaranteed to save you money if you buy there, even if you only saved the shipping cost from RailEurope.
Hi,
Once you get to Salzburg, buy the the night train ticket, Vienna-Krakow, the first chance you have in Salzburg, definitely no need to wait until you arrive in Vienna.
Most definitely, avoid Rail Europe...it's a rip. I almost fell into that trap of buying from them, luckily, I didn't because their customer service put me in a foul mood.
Thanks, Fred!!
That was my cunning plan after posting on here. Having researched a wee bit, I figured this was the best plan. Thank you so much for confirming. Booking train tickets and hotels are the only thing that is making me nervous about this trip. We've decided not to buy any rail tickets until we get to Europe.
You might be able to order you night train tickets from Austrian Rail (see this page).
Update: I just tried their website and it looks like you cannot get online tickets from Poland to Austria.