My wife and I (in our late 60's) will be travelling from Budapest to Krakow next April. My initial research has only turned up unappealing options. The only direct train is an overnighter (which we don't want). Other trains involve 2 or more changes and take forever. Flying is expensive and involves a change of planes. Bus travel in Eastern Europe has the reputation of being highly unreliable. (any comments on this would be welcome)
We are thinking of renting a car but have heard that highway vigalantes are a concern. (is this accurate?)
A company called Centraleasteurope.com offers a mini bus service at a reasonable price. Does anyone have experience with them? Are they reliable? Ethical? Safe?
Any thoughts or suggestions on this subject would be most appreciated
Budapest to Krakow travel options.
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What vigilantes are you talking about?
It seems you have quite a bit of options and have found reasons to turn down most of them. Sounds to me no matter who you pick, you wil find something wrong, so "bite the bullet" and is either the bus service or drive yourself. I would drive, but my vote for you is the bus service. I have taken bus services in Eastern Europe and while slow, they have been pretty relaible.
Try http://www.ryanair.com/en which seems to have direct flights between Krakow and Budapest.
Renting a car will probably come out to be the most expensive option given cross-border drop-off fees.
If you could throw in a night in Vienna, you could take a direct train from Budapest to Vienna and then a direct flight from there to Krakow. Of course, that adds time and some expense, but it would make your travel more pleasant.
This is a reliable bus company throughout Europe that we have used.
www.eurolines.com
Budapest to Krakow is seven hours and would cost between 40-45US dollars.
Airport A to Airport B drop-off charges are often waived. I know it works for HERTZ in Spain, Sweden, and Norway because I have done it. Check on that if you decide to drive.
There were a couple of posters who were taking the Orangeways bus. Right now the schedule show departing Budapest at 7:00 and arrving Krakow 13:15. The price is 4500HUF. The Krakow bus depot is about a 10 minute walk to Rynek Glowny via the Planty or there are taxis waiting.
Please do not give up Krakow because it's a bit difficult to get there and get out of there. It's a wonderful city.
Airport A to Airport B drop-off charges are often waived.
But across borders?
Good luck getting cross-border drop fees waived, especially in "Eastern" Europe.
The bus idea seems good, but considering the proximity of Vienna to Budapest, if the flight options are good then that overnight idea has merit.
Note that if you're only searching Orbitz or Travelocity or a similar website to get flight quotes, your research is deficient. There are discount Central and Eastern European airlines that do not show up on those boards just like Southwest and JetBlue don't pop up on Orbitz for US travel.
Don't skip Krakow!!! We drove, all be it a decade ago, and the trip was great. The Canadian passport holders needed to get a visa for C.Republic but US was ok. Again this has probably changed but as i said the drive is/was A-OK!!!