arlene4

What is the fastest way to get from Krakow to Budapest?

Alec

AFAIK, there is no direct flight. Flying via anotheer hub is probably the fastest, such as Warsaw, Frankfurt etc. But I think the best way is by daily direct overnight train. There is also a bus service by http://www.orangeways.com/en in about 7.5 hours and costs 29 euro (not daily).

arlene4

Thanks Did you ever take the overnight train? your opinion? Would you recommend this for a young 60+ couple?

adrienne

A friend took the night train from Budapest to Krakow; she had a 2 person compartment that she said was very comfortable.

The problem with night trains on this route is that there are 22 stops and you will probably wake up every time the train stops. Additionally, there is middle of the night transfers of cars which will be noisy as they disconnect and reconnect cars.

I would advise NOT to take a night train on this route.

Look into taking a bus which is comfortable and often takes less time than Polish trains.

If you take a night bus you will have to sit up the entire time whereas on the train you can at least lie down and walk around.

Trav_Eller

Czech Air have flights via Prague. If you choose the right times the changeover tijke in Prague can be reasonably brief: http://czechairlines.com/en/portal/o...timetable2.htm

Cheers, Alan, Australia
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

jomagpie

Another bus option is www.volanbusz.hu but I think they only go out twice a week.

ps. I've read good reviews about Orange Ways buses.

iris1745

Here is another bus option. Seems like it doesn't leave until 3pm and arrives at 10pm. www.eurolines.com We have used them twice in other countries and they were reliable. You also might find some information on this site. www.inyourpocket.com/Poland/Krakow

kja

Sorry I missed this thread earlier. I took the night train from Krakow to Budapest about 20 years ago, so things might have changed quite a bit since then!. My recollection is that the train did have many, many scheduled stops, but I slept through most of them. But I generally sleep fairly well on overnight trains, and am usually so tired at the end of a day of travel that I fall asleep easily. Hope that helps!

Skip01

I took the overnight train from Krakow to Budapest about two years ago. I am 65 and my wife is 55. We had a compartment with bunk beds (beds were somewhat small - not as wide as a typical twin bed). Compartment itself was small so with two large suitcases and the beds there was not a lot extra room. There was a sink in the room; but bathroom was shared at end of the train (although this did not seem to be any problem). I don't recall that there were that many stops (we had also taken overnight train from Prague to Krakow and I found that one to be a somewhat more difficult ride). I did get some sleep; but there is some noise, etc. It was actually an interesting experience; and of course it meant that we did not have to waste part or all of a day making this trip day-time. Our train left Krakow about 10:00 P.M. and arrived in Budapest about 7:00 A.M.

tidy

This is good information. I will need transportation from Krakow to Budapest this May. Has anyone done the Orange Ways bus recently? I also, looked at Ryanair and they have a flight, has anyone done that. Unfortunately both Ryanair and OrangeWays does not go the day that I want so I would need to plan differently. Has anyone more recently done the overnite train?

jomagpie

I actually ended up using the Orange Ways bus from Budapest to Krakow in October 2011. It was a loooooooooong 7 hours but the journey was smooth and comfortable (as comfortable a 7-hr ride can be). They played a movie but it was in Hungarian (try watching Meet the Fockers in Hungarian! Haha) with English subtitles. Made a couple restroom stops in Slovakia. At the border of Slovakia & Poland, the Polish customs (police?) came and took our passports; took them about 15mins or so to do whatever they had to do.

Overall, Orange Ways is recommended, especially for the price we paid (CDN$20/person).

John

Last year I took a very pleasant non stop flight from Krakow to Budapest on Malev Air. However, in February of this year they have stop flying as creditors have seized aircraft etc. as they went belly up.
LOT, the Polish airline, has flights from Krakow to Budapest with a stop in Warsaw.

John

Just noticed the orginal post was in July 2011. Arlene4 trip is most likely over by now.