Prague to Krakow, overnight train question.

Depends on what type of accommodation you book- if you get a single private compartment there will be locks on the inside you can lock- usually bolt locks IME - but all night trains are different.

If you are in a multi-person compartment like a couchette (often 6 persons - mixed sex or a T-3 - triple - often but not always sex segregated -those compartments IME of taking hundreds of such night trains then they too always have locks on the inside BUT IME many times folks going out to the loo during the night will not lock them when coming back and then a thief could come in at night and quickly snatch a bag, etc.
Great sites for learning about overnight trains and European trains in general are www.seat61.com - scour it for lay-outs and types of accommodations offered on various overnight trains - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - the latter offers IME of buying railpasses from them for years free advice by phone from experts without obligation if you want to talk to someone. Generally if you are in Prague for some days before the trrain you can book these easily - but if not there long then book ahead - either thru a U.S. agent or try the Czech Rail site.

Thanks, I had looked at the first two sights you recommend, but didn't know of Budget Europe Travel.

PalenQ, have you taken this train? I know you've been on alot of trains in Europe.

I have not taken this specific overnight train but have taken other overnighttrains in Poland.I actually took the daytime train connection from Prague to Krakow -you have to change off the Prague-Warsaw train at Kotowice and take a regional train to Krakow (may have changed but doubt it) - the overnight train goes direct. Most overnight trains have a Sleeper Car(s) and Couchette wagon and, less and less, cars with regular seating like in the daytime. Some may not have the Sleeping Car, however which means there would probably be no private singles, doubles or triples but only couchettes and perhaps regular seating.
To find out what kind of cars that train has go to the home page of www.budgeteuropetravel.com and click on the link 'Best European Railway' schedule (or some such wording) and it brings you up to the Wunderbar German railways (www.bahn.de) English schedule page where you put in Prague and Krakow and the date and you'll get the train times - i reference the BETS home page link because they also give you several tips on fully using the bahn.de site - like finding out what kind of sleeping cars, couchettes, etc that train will have.

2g - if you decide to go the couchette route - say a private double is not available, etc then i always try to get the very uppermost berth - there are usually three bunks on each side of an aisle - and i like to topmost - there is lots of room for luggage up there as part of it extends over the train corridor roof outside the compartment door - and luggage is obviously much safer from pilfering as a thief would be hard-pressed to get at it.

Hi 2g; Not answering your question, but this site has good informational downloads for both cities. Richard www.inyourpocket.com

You'll be fine in a shared 3-bed or 2-bed sleeper. The cost is just 35 euros or so, plus 18 euros sleeper supplement for a bed in a 3 bed or 26 euros fora bed in a 2-berth (all approximate).

Yes, sleepers have a lock and security chain, you'll be fine. Sleepers are single sex, couchettes (4 berth and 6 berths per compartment) are mixed sex. And as the couchette supplement is about 9 euros, frankly the upgrade cost from couchette to sleeper is peanuts.

http://www.cd.cz/mezinarodni-cestovani/jizdenka/ceniky-jizdneho/-4073/

21 euros for a 2 bed sleeper, 49 euros for a 1 bed sleeper, but you would need a first class ticket.
The cheapest way is of course a day train...you could buy a special offer ticket from czech railways Prague to Warsaw for 19 euros, get off at Katowice, and buy a ticket for Katowice/Krakow in Poland....will not come to more than 25 euros.

Yes, sleepers have a lock and security chain, you'll be fine>

still again IME many people go out at night and do not lock the door on their return - so in any case take proper precautions - keep valuables in a moneybelt under your sleeping clothes - leave no bag on the floor near the door, etc.

I took the night train from Krakow to Prague four years ago. I didn't notice anything unsafe about it. It was the oldest rail car I was on in three weeks of railing around Europe that year. The Prague station has a lot of professional pan handlers.

We took the night train from Krakow to Prague in 2005 and we had our own compartment. The door locked just fine. Infact so well that at the border crossing, I couldn't figure out how to unlock it, and the officials were banging on the door demanding to see our passports. Kind of scary! It seemed like our car only had Americans or British, maybe Australian passengers. We had our own steward (I think), but we all had to share 1 toilet and it ranks as 1 of the worst I have ever seen in my life! Gross!!!! I can't remember if the compartment had a sink, but I know it did have a complimentary bottle of water. Both train stations had some really scketchy characters hanging around. Watch your stuff in the stations!

Thanks for all the feedback. I did find this link in case anybody is interested in seeing what the train compartments are like today:-

http://dianes1968.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/krakowprague-2009/

I have some questions.

Is there still immigration on this train, nowadays, since both Poland and the Czech Republic are part of Schengen?

I am assuming it is cheaper to buy a ticket once in Prague. I arrive in Prague on Friday evening and want to book a train for Sunday night, could availability be a problem?

Finnaly I have never travelled by night train and I am NOT a morning person, does a conductor wake people up by banging on the doors, or something. I'd hate to sleep in and travel somewhere else by mistake. OR, it is my responibility to get up on time?

Thanks.

Finnaly I have never travelled by night train and I am NOT a morning person, does a conductor wake people up by banging on the doors, or something. I'd hate to sleep in and travel somewhere else by mistake. OR, it is my responibility to get up on time?>

Esactly - on every night train practically of the hundreds i have taken the conductor will wake you up by knocking on the door about 30-45 minutes before arrival - and usually, even in Schengen countries, they will take your ticket when they first check and even your passport and give them back to you when they make the wake up call. Passports are not always taken but be prepared to fork them over - and do not worry if the conductor takes them away and does not return until the morning - this is the way it is done - if there are border checks then usually this is done in the conductor's compartment where he/she shows the passports to the frontier police and you do not get waken up unless there is some supicion.

This site will get you up to speed on night trains. http://tinyurl.com/y57vft

You will probably be asked to give your ticket to the conductor so (s)he can give it to the Polish conductor at the border. Same for your passport maybe, but probably not.

It is probably cheaper to buy in Praha. Make a reservation at your first opportunity. There are about 52 Fridays every year. You do not specify which one you are traveling on. Congestion varies considerably.

You will get a knock on the door in the morning. Have your shorts handy. OTOH, in a female only couchette you must sleep in your street clothes.

Please don't give the wrong information, there is no border control between Schengen countries, hence no passport check.
The conductors do not have the authority to check passports and they will not. The ticket will be checked on departure and that's it!
And buy the ticket in Prague, definitely the cheapest from the national rail.
Couchettes are mixed sex, only sleepers are one sex only.

Please don't give the wrong information, there is no border control between Schengen countries, hence no passport check>

then why was i awaken on the Amsterdam to Munich night train andasked to show my passport and also had my baggage thoroughly checked once in Germany?

You too often portray an epertise that shows little practical experience riding trains -normally no but it is always possible -no conductors have nothing to do with border controls - frontier police do.

Before giving out (mis)information be sure of what you are saying - my experience last year belies you 'correct' info

and about those casting stones at others...

PalenQ - you said you've taken a train from AMS to Munich - so now you are an expert. If a check indeed happened, than it was an unusual event, some security scare, police looking for a passanger a contraband? But that is an insolated event!!! What else do you think Schengen agreement is? Among other no passport or immigration between Schengen member states.

We took the overnight train from Krakow to Prague at the end of May. We booked a 2 sleeper and enjoyed our trip. No border control - the conductor took our tickets and handed them back the next morning.

I would feel safe to book a 2 sleeper if I were you.

On one of my intra-Schengen overnight train trips in 2006 the conductor asked me for my passport and kept it with my rail pass until morning. I do not argue with conductors.

Back to the Q posed by 2g, I feel just as safe in a train compartment as in a hostel or B&B room. I haven't read about any murders on the Orient Express in some decades.

PalenQ - you said you've taken a train from AMS to Munich - so now you are an expert>

No one train does not make me an expert - but four decades of incessant train travel in Europe does IMO - and i have been on several intra-Schengen trains when police did ask for passports - no they are not usually supposed to do it but a caveat in Schengen i believe is that they can if there are special circumstances warranting it

Several times it has happened - how extensive is your train riding in Europe - you just seem to know a few facts and figures. Get out and actually ride the rails and then comment IMO - otherise you seem to give out a lot of disinformation IMO and stridently call others wrong if they dare oppose you.

4 decades will not give you any insight into night travel in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia or Hungary -these countries only joined Schengen from January 2008.
So stop giving people rubbish!

This will be on 7 Nov. I know the 11th of Nov is a holiday in Poland, will this complicate things for getting a train ticket?

I am now totally totally confused about immigartion procedures and I will find out once I get there where I need to produce my passport to the conductor, as long as my passport is safe I am not worried.

wobbers - the 'Schengen' experience of being checked several times belies your experience of saying you will never be checked - eastern Europe or not.

You say you cannot be checked between Schengen countries - i was just last year - 2009 - so what you are saying is the real rubbish in saying that it never happens. I dare so you are the one without any knowledge of the misinformation you are putting out.

I read a Prague newspaper every day. I do not know about other countries but the Czechs have been complaining recently that the Germans are still checking papers of people crossing the Czech border into Germany.

tell that to the expert Wobbers and he will say you are simply mistaken - i do wonder if Wobbers has even taken any trains in Europe cross border recently

PalenQ I think you should consider having an allotment and grow vegetables
denis2 - you are right, but the complaint was predominantly about German police checking Czech cars once they pass the german border, not to do with immigration. At least that's not what I've read. Perhaps you could post a link.

wobbers - i did a day trip to a Polish town from Berlin in 2009 by train and the Germans were checking passports - i asked why - they said you needed to have a valid passport to enter Germany from Poland - 2009 - a year after your 2008 thing. Schengen does allow for checks in certain circumstances - at least i have seen several checks - you apparently do not travel much or you may have too.

2G to add to the great information other fodorites have provided to you. Here's some more:
My wife and I took the overnight train from Prague to Krakow a few years ago. Is it safe for a single female? NO. This overnight train is famous for not being safe. We ended up getting a private sleeper, and before the train left Prague, the conductor told us to specifically lock the doors, and to absolutely NOT open the door until a specific time (can't remember) when we reached the Czech/Polish border for passport control. As a single female, I'd highly recommend that you get your own sleeper. Once in the border, the customs person will knock on your door and you will need to show your passport, they look at it and that's it, they will give it back to you. Unless the procedures have changed recently, this is what we experienced. As for the safety, be weary at the Prague train station. Just came back from Krakow, and it has changed so much since the last time I was there. Krakow is such a beautiful city, and the train station is easy to walk around to, there is even a mall adjacent to the train station.

Once in the border, the customs person will knock on your door and you will need to show your passport, they look at it and that's it, they will give it back to you. Unless the procedures have changed recently, this is what we experienced.>

Well since both countries i guess are in the Schengen Accords that eliminate, in theory, border formalities poster wobbers, in above post here, assures us that there are no border checks any more - it seems he has never taken any trains in those countries since the change but is adamant such controls no longer exist - there is however anecdotal evidence to say that is not always true. But the conductor will tell you if there are to be any checks, that is for sure.

They are not 'I guess' in Schengen Accords - they ARE. No further passport controls on trains since 2008.
PalenQ - from your earlie post I 'guess' you are an American - nuff said.

And another thing...since most of you are Americans, this site Fodor's is question and answer from predominantly Americans, which is either out of date or just simply wrong.If you want a proper advice join Trip Advisor. Not because I particularly like TA but because Europen questions are answered by Europeans who know what's what. And people like my friend PalenQ would not survive 5 minutes with his slant on things.
Take my advice and leave this place.

Hey wobbers, take your own advice and vamoose.

And people like my friend PalenQ would not survive 5 minutes with his slant on things>

My slant on things trains comes from four decades of being a professional travel write specializing in European trains and not like you from things you read - how many trains have you taken in Czech and Poland recently to know what happens at the border?

And the info from Europeans on this forum is not always in the interests of the average American traveler - like you telling recently one person who wanted to buy a ticket from Prague to Krakaow - you said for them to just buy a ticket to Katowice and then once in Katowice buy a ticket from there to Krakow - saving just a few bucks - most American travelers on this forum would rather have a thru ticket Prague to Krakow including the train they changed to in Katowice - have you been to Katowice station? I have and not only may you yes spend time in line (wobbers says in his expertise there are never any lines at European train station ticket counters - which tells me he/she rarely goes into train stations except maybe a local S-Bahn train) and then once you get to the window, unlike in tourist-friendly Prague - you are unlikely to find an English-speaking staffer - a language problem, etc.

And after taking perhaps an hour to buy your Katowice to Krakow ticket you may have missed the connecting train and have to wait, etc. How do you know that the connecting train in Katowice leaves only say 10 or 15 minutes after the Prague train comes in? Not enough time to guaranteeably buy a ticket, etc.

Thus cheapest is not always the best and this type of wobbers advice - like he is claiming Europeans can only give - is IMO often bad advice for the American tourist who wants to make it as easy as possible.

Sometimes Europeans just cannot put themselves in the role of an often it seems apprehensive American tourist.

Wobbers, being of Royal British Blood, looks down on us colonists. We're not qualified to clean his stables.

Have you Fodorites looked at the http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wobber definition of wobber. LOL.

2g,

My 26 year-old daughter took the night train from Prague to Krakow last night. She is traveling alone for a couple of weeks, got sick a week ago and felt she needed a good night's sleep, so she booked a sleeper car. There were three bunks and a sink. She did have two other female bunkers which worked out fine for her. She said the conductor came through and told them to lock the door from the inside (which of course they did). He told them he would knock on it 20 minutes before their arrival in Krakow and not to open it for any other purpose. She sent me pictures of the train and the compartment. It looked very clean and comfortable and in fact, she did get a good night's sleep. I don't believe it stopped anywhere.

Ellen

I don't believe it stopped anywhere.>

Most night trains stop a lot and IME for long periods of time - the train had to stop several places so i think she was wrong about that - Prague to Krakow and not stopping at intermediate stations - never heard of a night train like that.

wobbers -is that right?

I don't believe it stopped anywhere.
I guarantee you that this train stopped at the border for a change of crew. Unless your daughter gave the Czech conductor her ticket for the night the Polish conductor would have demanded to see it when he got on at the border.

wobbers -is that right?
PalenQ, Please let him sleep.