What is it like to take the overnight train from Budapest to Prague (safe, comfortable)? Does the door to our overnight compartment lock? Are there compartments for only 2 people or do you have to share it with others?
I never took this one particular train, but I have taken lots of night trains (Prague-Krakow, Krakow-Budapest, Budapest-Brasov, Sighisoara-Vienna) and they were great. I stayed in a 2nd class 3 berth sleeper and you can lock the door from the inside. I had a great night sleep and was only woken up for passport checks on the Hungarian/Romanian border (this past May). I found them to be very safe and comfortable and I was travling alone and had no issues when I would leave my bag behind while I went to the washroom. They did have2 person compartments and I peered inside one and it was quite roomy. You will have one train attendent that watches over the car that you are on. The ones that I had were very friendy and I had some great conversations with some.
We (5 of us) took the Prague-Krakow and the Krakow-Budapest night trains in July. We had a 6-person compartment for just the 5 of us on the way to Krakow and we had another young gal (20'ish) on the train to Budapest. The conductors were nice and reminded everyone to lock their compartments even though he was on our car. On these 2 trains, the conductors took our passports that night for passport control and return them to us in the morning. Most people on our car were young people in their 20's with backpacks and stay in hostels. Our group was in their 40's & 50's and felt very safe. It was hard to sleep at first since they were in the middle of a heat wave in Prague, but we slept well once it cooled off. You may check, but some trains may have climate controlled compartments (at a higher price of course). Bottom line, a nice way to travel.
Happy Travels.
I haven't taken this specific route either, but just this summer took Budapest-Krakow then Krakow-Prague, and enjoyed both. We were in a 6-berth couchette and had lovely "bunkmates" who were all very entertaining and friendly. The doors locked and there's always a conductor assigned to your car to keep things extra safe. He reminded us repeatedly to lock our doors. He didn't take our passports, but did check them, and from Krakow-Prague someone came on board to check our passports once more (in military gear, must've been crossing a border, I suppose).