meilim

My family of 4 will be travelling to Central Europe this fall and I plan to purchase online tickets for the following travel sectors to take advantage of the offer price. My question to fodorites is whether do i need to reserve seats when purchasing these tickets as reservation of seats will cost extra. What is the likely hood of not being able to get seats without reservation even though with tickets. We will be travelling in second class. My travel sectors are

1. Berlin to Prague via 24 hr stopover in Dresden. Plan to take the 10am departure from Berlin.
2. Vienna to Budapest also on the midmorning train.

Thank you.
mei

Man_in_seat_61

Neither of these routes require a reservation, so can never 'sell out', you can always buy an open ticket and get on, finding any empty seat.

A seat reservation simply means being sure of getting a seat, so you won't have to stand. But this is very unlikely!

But book in advance if you want cheap tickets - at www.bahn.de for Berlin-Prague from 29 euros (full price about 55 euros as I reacll), enter 'Dresden' in the 'via' box and '24:00' in the 'stopover' box to get a 24 hour stpver in Dresden included, potentially still for 29 euros.

Vienna to Budapest starts at 19 euros at www.oebb.at, but full priceon the day is only 25-35 euros.

meilim

Thanks for your reply. Will buy the tickets without reservation whe its open for sale.

Man_in_seat_61

Here's another reason for not reserving (unless it's a peak holiday period, I suppose), as Sod's Law says your reserved seat will be next to a pillar on the wrong side of the train:

On Berlin-Prague you want a seat on the left hand side to see the views of the River Elbe, next to a window not a pillar!

newcomer1

Thanks - I am planning a trip as well! I was wondering the same thing about reservations (Vienna-Salzburg and Vienna-Budapest); the system wouldn't let me purchase any, though it said it was possible.

Meilim, I just purchased my Vienna-Budapest ticket for Oct.5 on April 9 (the first day possible to buy the fare). You can purchase 6 months and 3 days out. I was able to get the reduced fare, but they only had 2 reduced rate tickets per time slot available.

Man_in_seat_61, Any advice about which side of the train to sit on for Salzburg-Vienna and Vienna-Budapest? Also, we are taking the EUROLINE bus from Prague to Vienna, if you have any knowledge of the need for reservations on that? Our tickets were so cheap (got the reduced rate there, too) that I'm wondering if the bus is decent! Does anyone know if Euroline buses have bathrooms (it's 4 hours - no stops!). Thanks.

meilim

Thanks,we will be travelling late Oct Berlin-Prague and mid Nov Vienna-Budapest, not peak holiday season.

newcomer 1, thanks for the imfo. Am aware that Vienna- budapest discount tickets are available 6 months ahead, waiting to purchase on May 1.

Man_in_seat_61 and fodorites, i have some more questions on transportation that i hope you can help,

1. I understand that i need to purchase ticket for luggage for public transportation in Prague. What I'm not clear is how many tickets to purchase? If we are 4 people travelling with 5 medium size luggages, how many luggage tickets do we need to buy, 5,4,or 1? Can we purchase all the tickets from ticket machines? Is there any English interface?

2.We are planning to do a day trip from Vienna to Brastilava. Which mode is more convenient in terms of accessibilty to old town, bus or train?

3.Planning to travel from Hallstatt to Vienna. Regular train fare is around 48 euro. Any other cheaper option?

4.Plan to use group day ticket zon ABC from Berlin to Portsdam. Is the ticket valid for buses from Portsdam train station to Sanscoussi Park? Group ticket is valid for the day or for 24 hrs from time of validation?

5.Plan to use Einfach Raus Ticket for return day trip from Vienna to Durnstein. Is the ERS ticket valid for public bus between Krem and Durstein or for regional train only? Can we buy ERS ticket a few days earlier from ticket machine with English interface?

6.In vienna , plan to use 8 day ticket to be shared by 4 person for public transportation. Is this type of ticket valid for the day only or 24 hours from time of validation?

7.Plan to take Student Agency Bus from Prague to Cesky Krumloc.When is the earliest availability of tickets on line?

thanks.