1 Week Budget Travel-Munich, Prague, Budapest, Vienna HELP!
 

My girlfriend and I are in the early stages of planning a one week trip (April 15-22/3). We want to hit Munich, Prague, Budapest and Vienna but are having trouble finding the best means of transportation between those cities. Does anyone know the most affordable but still efficient travel options? I've heard bad things about buying rail passes but we're new at this and any help/insight would be appreciated.

7 days? 1/2 day travel time (getting to/from depot, to/from hotel, plus time when rolling) between each, times 4, = only 5 days to see stuff.

If you're as young as I suspect, just do Prague and Budapest.
Go to Munich for Oktoberfest. Vienna's great the older you get (past 30)

Tomboy is right you don't have enough time to do much except see airports.Prague and Budapest have lots of history and culture, night life, they are very inexpensive and have a young population. For flights between those 2 cities look at easyjet or onetravel.com. But even that is pushing it. If you only have one week, deduct your travel days and you really only have 5 days. Pick one city,you can find great hostels in both Prague and Budapest and lots of inexpensive hotels, explore and enjoy, and save the rest of another trip.

In a week you should do no more than 2 cities - or you will spend most of your time - and a ot of money - just trekking from one place to another.

You sound very young - so assume you will go back to europe many more times to see other places.

Your plan will be extremely frustrating and - if there is any travel glitch (late train, strike, bad weather) your frantic schedule will become nonsense.

Do some research on what you want to see most and pick 2. You will still be giving them short shrift - but will at time to have at least a small taste of each.

If you're on a tight budget it will cost you more money the more you move around as you have to pay for the transportation.

The best way would be by train. I would not buy a rail pass as they tend to be more expensive than buying tickets when you arrive. The trains in the Czech Republic are inexpensive. The German trains are less expensive the earlier you book.

Follow the advice above and limit yourselves to 2 cities.

Like everybody else said, with only a week I'd skip Vienna and only see two of the others. Buses are also an option with good service between Prague and Budapest and usually cheaper than the train. The downside is that they are slower, timetables are hard to find online, and border guards often stop them to ask for passports where trains and private cars just drive on.

But if you are on an absolutely shoestring budget they are a good option.

You can use the German train website to get a ticket from Munich to Prague. http://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml There's an express bus from Nuremburg to Prague and if you book early you can get very cheap tickets.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/prague_photos.html

I would drive, you control the schedule and when and where you stop. Do only two major cities with some in between stops. Either Munich and Prague or Vienna & Budapest.

If this were me, and I really wanted to hit the four cities, my itinerary would look something like this:
Fly into Munich so you arrive in the morning.
Day 1 - Munich
Day 2 - Munich to Wien - 4-1/2 hrs train that leaves around five pm.
Day 3 - Vienna - that evening, leave for Budapest
Day 4 - Budapest
Day 5 - Budapest - night train to Prague
Day 6 - Prague
Fly home from Prague

I am all for packing a lot into a week, but I would also advise you to drop at least one city. When I'm moving around a lot, I try to limit travel time to a couple of hours a day, taking an early morning bus or train so that I can spend most of the day at a location. The four cities you've chosen are quite spread out. If you dropped even one, you would be able to enjoy your time a little more. Munich, Salzburg, Vienna makes a nice combo, giving you time for a day trip or two. Enjoy your trip.