Have you considered the hydrofoil between Vienna and Budapest? We used it, and it was a great experience.

1. Yes. Think about the weather difference in the northeast US from late April to late May. The tourist increase will be noticeable in Prague, less so in the others.

2. Longer if possible on all fronts.

3. That's an awful idea. You won't get one for $200 - the drop charge in Hungary will be at least that and that will be in addition to the rental charge. You cannot transport vehicles over national borders and drop them in another country without great expense. You also cannot drive in Austria without some sort of displayable highway license - go look it up or see what's on this board under Austria and driving. The Austrians will nail you if you don't have it - big fines.

4. There are plenty of resources on what to see in each city including English language newspapers and listings on www.inyourpocket.com so you and sis can determine what you'd like to see.

mebanana - I hadn't heard about the hydrofoil, i'll have to do some googling . Thanks!

BigRuss - I have concluded that driving wouldn't be the best idea, I did some looking and it seemed feasible to drive in all 3 countries without too much hassle. The biggest problem is dropping it off in a different country. Thanks for the response.

I would shorten the time in Prague and increase it in Vienna. Vienna is the better city.

Have you considered a night in Cesky Krumlov between Prague and Vienna?

You can take a bus from Prague to CK, a shuttle bus from CK to Vienna, and either a train, the hydrofoil or a day tour to Budapest. If the day tour which I did, take your luggage with you and stay in Budapest when the tour returns to Vienna.

Everyone has their own likes and dislikes, but I enjoyed Prague more so than Vienna.

It would be best, if you had more time in each of your locations! But, take what you can get!!!

Have a great trip!

I enjoyed Prague more than I did Vienna as well. I did this same trip (Prague-Vienna-Budapest) by train in 2005 and recently returned to Prague. I'd also like to return to Budapest. I wouldn't avoid Vienna if I were passing through or near, but it's not a city I would need to return to. It's a pleasant place and I'm glad I visited, but it's the least picturesque of the three in my opinion. Classical music fans may have a different ranking of the cities.

If you really want to rent a car, consider driving from Prague to Brno with a stop in Cesky Krumlov and a few other towns. Then train to Vienna and on from there. I drove from Brno to Prague last September. Southern Bohemia (including Cesky Krumlov) is really beautiful - it is the ideal place to have a car to stop at different towns and castles. Prague is awesome, but it was nice to get away from it and see more of the country (much less touristy than Prague, though Krumlov is pretty touristy, too.) Driving in Czech Republic was easy. But you'd probably need an extra day or two.

I enjoyed Prague much more so than Vienna.

To me ,there is more to see in Prague and easier to get around walking.

I also travelled by train from Vienna to Prague

Percy..another Prague fan over Vienna and several other European cities.
stu

Laura:

I don't normally write Trip Reports...instead I share a few selected "familiarization" pics which hopefully can help in your preliminary planning: Prague, Vienna and Budapest, including a few pics of Telc (in CZ) taken in late March (note the snow).

stu tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/ScenesOfPrague#

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Vienna1980S1990S#

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/BudapestHungary1980SAnd1990S#

We did exactly the same route and had a ball. Definitely recommend you to visit cesky krumlov, you can take the "student bus" from Prague and it's a short journey. From cesky krumlov, there are shared shuttle that bring you to Vienna. From Vienna to Budapest, you have the option if ferry or train. You can read my blog for some photos if you are interested.
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/prague-cesky-krumlov-vienna-budapest-trip-report.cfm

Your time in each city depends on what you want to see, but I think your initial allocation is reasonable. There is some overlap between the cities; for example, each has a Jewish Quarter, although Prague's is the largest. Each has a medieval area; Prague and Budapest have castle complexes that each take a full day to explore, whereas Vienna has the Hofburg and Schönbrunn Palaces, each of which can take a full day.

If you added a day to Vienna from Prague you could spend it hiking/walking in the WienerWald or through the wine areas to the north of the city for spectacular views and photos. We spent four days in Prague and felt like it was enough time to show our children the main sights; we had been there previously for a week without them, and used two of the days for day trips outside the city on that trip. Last fall we took a day trip to Budapest for the sole purpose of exploring the castle complex; a full day was needed, and that did not include visiting the art museum as it was closed.

BigRuss, not sure what you mean about "displayable highway license" in Austria. Do you mean the IDP? We moved to Vienna six months ago and had a rental car until our personal vehicle arrived; the only "displayable" tag we needed was the vignette for driving on the Austrian autobahn, which the rental car company provided. We took our rental car from Vienna to Budapest, and only needed to stop at the border to purchase a Hungarian vignette. Now that we have our personal vehicle, we have an annual vignette for Austrian driving; and last week when we went to Prague we stopped at the border to purchase a Czech vignette.

Don't drive! I was in Hungary and CZ in May of this past year and the train was the way to go. The trip from Prague takes about 7 hours, but you just sit back, relax and you are actually there in no time. Prague is a 2-3 day city, Vienna is OK at 2 and Budapest is good for 3 days. I did take a short trip from Budapest to Eger and it was the best choice I could have made. Beautiful small town, close to the wine growing area and romantic. In the square at night you can sit and drink a beer or glass of wine and the Hungarian music makes you fall in love with this town. The people are really nice, great food, and the wine is better than many French wines. Budapest is beautiful and you can see why they call it the Paris of Eastern Europe. We stayed in an apartment up by the castle and it was such a nice place owned by a woman and her husband. They spoke no English at all, and we no Hungarian, but we did just fine. Book through Booking.com. Budapest is a romantic city and if you want to see an elegant cafe go to New York, New York. It''s like walking into Budapest of a hundred years ago. Expensive so have a coffee and pastry an call it a day. I can't say enough abut Prague and Budapest!!! Eger is the real Budapest especially in the late spring. Have and enjoy the people!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, the vignette. It's a trap for the unwary - there has been chatter on this board regarding large fines for folks who traveled only a few kilometers through Austria on their way elsewhere and didn't have a vignette.

<<The trip from Prague takes about 7 hours, but you just sit back, relax and you are actually there in no time. >>

That's the trip from Prague to Budapest. But from Prague to Vienna is far shorter, as is the trip from Vienna to Budapest.

Correct! Prague to Budapest!!!!!

Thank you so very much for all the suggestions and help. I think we'll stick to the train!!

I would spend more time in Vienna and Prague than Budapest. I like all cities and have been to Vienna twice, but there is more to see in Vienna, and it requires more time. Prague was never bombed in World War II and has great, diverse architecture. Vienna is the more imperial of the 3 cities, even though they were all under Habsburg rule.

I loved Cesky Krumlov, and I would try to go, even for just a day trip.

I totally agree with Delaine. Many things to do in Vienna. We need to go back and finish our tour. You might look at our 2011 tour at -
http://www.rimerson.com/