I'm trying to find the most economical way to travel in January. My family of 5 will be going from Budapest to Vienna to Prague to Brussels over a 14 day period. I had originally thought to take trains until we got to Prague and then take a low-cost flight from Prague to Brussels. However, the airfare is much more expensive than I had anticipated because of taxes and fees. I'd like to compare the price of getting a 5 country eurail pass for each of us but I can't seem to find the prices of the individual train segments so I can make the comparison. How do I get the information I need to make the cost comparisons?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Just go to the rail sites for each country and plug in your travel times. That will give you the fare. Be sure to look for family fares.
Posted by
Paradise
7072 posts
A 5 country railpass sounds like absolute overkill. You might rearrange your itinerary to try to take advantage of the Wizzair flights between Budapest and Brussels Charleroi. I'm seeing January flights for 3 adults and 2 kids for a total with taxes and fees of 120 Euros - yes, for your whole family. You might find other cheap flight operators at: www.whichbudget.com Rick's time/cost map estimates a fare of $85 for Prague-Vienna-Budapest for adult point-to-point tickets, what you'd pay if you just walk up to the counter and buy tickets; you'd surely get a discount for kids: http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/easterneurope.cfm
Posted by
OP
Kirtland, OH
7 posts
Thanks for the suggestions. I did the math and the cheapest train tickets from Prague to Brussels are still $50 more expensive than the cost of a flight. What really annoys me is that an airline ticket that is advertised as costing $55 per person actually ends up costing $230 per person once the fees and taxes are added in.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If your children are 14 or younger, they can travel free on daytime trains when you book on the German Rail site. If you book well in advance (up to 92 days allowed), you can travel from Prague to Nuernberg on an express bus booked on that site for €19/adult with the kids riding free. You can travel Nuernberg-Brussels with a connection in Frankfurt for €39/adult. Again the kids ride free. You also could get discount fares for the CNL night train from Prague to Cologne and a Thalys train from there to Brussels. You would need to book tickets for the kids on those trains.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
"I did the math and the cheapest train tickets from Prague to Brussels are still $50 more expensive than the cost of a flight". As far as I know, German Rail doesn't offer the Europa-Spezial fare from Prague to Brussels (one end has to be in Germany), but I found a Europa-Spezial fare on the German Rail website from Schöna, on the German-Czech border between Dresden and Prague, to Brussels for €39/p. The German Rail fare from Decin (in the Czech Rep) to Schöna is €6,90-9,90, depending on class of train, and the Czech Rail fare from Prague to Decin is €6,60 (165 Kc), so a ticket, purchased in Prague, to Schöna would be less than €16,50/p. You'd have to be carefully fitting the pieces together time wise, and probably have a train change in Schöna. For €26 you could get a German Rail ticket from Prague to Bad Schandau using an EC, which could also be part of the Europa-Spezial fare connection, and you would not have to change train between Prague and Berlin. Or, with advance purchase, you could get Prague to Bad Schandau, or Dresden, on the EC for €19/p. So, if you are willing to advance purchase the route as train specific, non-refundable, the Prague-Brussels fare could be €58, plus €2,50 for an online reservation.