Hello!
Saw insanely inexpensive fare on a roundtrip flight NYC to Budapest, so an idea developed to cover the following ground:

Budapest to Vienna to Prague to Krakow to Budapest. I would be doing this via trains and assumed I could do the cities in the order listed with the best connections. My preference is an early morning train that gets me to the next destination bright and early in the day, or a night train, for the same reason.

Any opinions as to which way is easier? I usually use the d-bahn website for trip timings but I'd also like to get an idea of cost before I head off, so if someone could point me in the right direction I would be greatly appreciative.

Thank you!

The Krakow to Budapest leg is tricky as it is a seven hour ridey train a little less by bus. The best place and least expensive alternative is to buy the tickets in Krakow.
I took a night train in a two person sleeper. which was very nice, and it cost about 170zolty but that is a special price. We purcased the ticket at the train station in Krakow about two days before the departure.
I did not think the night train was very restful. They lock and unlock the cars because there are three cars that travel Krakow to Budapest and they are connected and reconnected along the way. I felt the ride was noisy. I didn't sleep much. Someone at our hotel said the bus is much better and shorter.
This is the only train I have taken and this is my opinion for what it is worth.

bahn.de is a great place to get times. There should be night trains from Prague to Krakow and Krakow to Budapest. I think your order is the best order.

You could look into a railpass, there is an Eastern Europe one that might be a good idea as you are taking a few longer trips. For prices, Rick Steves has estimated rail prices in dollars on this website http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/easterneurope.cfm

Like lindy27 suggests, be sure to nvestigate the European East flxipass, a railpass that would be valid to hop on any train between all those cities - I would strongly IME recommnd first class for a more leisurely ride - in addition to Rick Steves web site I would also rcommend these superb sits - www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.seat61.com. For train schedules I have found nothing easier to use for all European rail schdules than the Wunderbar German Railways site - www.bahn.de.

Krakow to Budapest in the day is a really long train ride but there is also an overnight train between these cities - and you save a night's hotel cost. And there is also a Prague to Krakow overnight train I do believe.

Hi; If you have a R/T flight to Budapest, you could consider this route. Budapest to Krakow, then Prague, followed by Vienna. The last train ride to Budapest from Vienna would be about three hours. Could be a better fit to take the seven hour train ride at the beginning of the trip. Anyways, a little information to download on three of the cities you will be visiting. www.inyourpocket.com

iris1745, right now the plan is R/T to Budapest. I looked at the other options but this seems to be the least expensive route. My preference would have been to fly open jaw into prague out of Budapest. The cost of the open jaw is about $200 more. With a first class pass being ~$315 for 5 days, the only thing I seem to save is a little bit of time, but wiht the flight I want, i have only 1-1/2 hours to change flights in Heathrow. I haven't flown into Heathrow in forever but I imagine it's busier than ever. R/T in Budapest, I have a couple of days at the beginning and end of my trip to enjoy the city, and still hit the other cities.

Sorry, rambling... need to make up my mind soon before my fare disappears!

If I am reading this right you say the cost of an open jaw is $200 more. Have you factored in the cost of the last overnight train and time wasted getting back to your starting point?

We did a similar trip two years ago and I did a ton of reaseach at the time. Here is what I found:

1. It was cheaper to buy point to point tickets in central europe than buy a rail pass. Keep in mind that your rail pass will not cover the whole cost of an overnight sleeper, there is an additional cost.

2. There are really cheap flights around europe and depending on when you are going could be not only cheaper but lots faster for your long legs.

3. We did the Krakow to Budapest via overnight train. If you are a sound sleeper you will have no problem like my husband, but for me who is not a sound sleeper I did not sleep a wink.

If you can get an open jaw flight that either starts or ends in Krakow you can eliminate one of the two longest commutes between cities - either Prague to Krakow or Krakow to Budapest. Whatever you decide have a great time!

Barblab, thanks for the suggestion of possibly flying into Krakow. I get so set on thinking that I have to do things a certain way that I don't think of the other options out there. Will look into this.

I would prefer to do open-jaw, but my concern was a short connection time at heathrow to fly on to Prague.

Will look at flights as well - thanks for all the options!

Flying into Budapest and out of Krakow would be best if you can get a good price. I have looked at those flights from the US for a future flight, and from where we live, it is about $1000 more than a round-trip ticket to Vienna.

If you can't fly open jaw due to pricing, you can fly into Budapest and train to Vienna that day so you don't have to stay in Budapest twice.

Yes the overnight trains aren't free with a railpass, but once factoring in a hotel night instead I've found them to be the same, if not cheaper.

lindy27 makes a good point - overnight trains are not free with a railpass - well they could be free if you chose to sit in regular seats and be woken up constantly by conductors or possible customs folks when crossing borders - these, if there are regular first or second class cars on the overnight train are indeed free, much like any train. But for a modicum of comfort and not to mention much safer than sleeping in an open car with baggage where anyone can come by and thefts may occur you would pay extra for some kind of sleeping berth, either in a couchette wagon or a sleeping car - the latter has private singles and doubles and triples often. In this case the railpass pays for the regular train fare but not optional extra sleeping accommodations, which often are as lindy says cheaper than a night in a hotel and you cover wide swathes of turf whilst you sleep (but some cannot sleep on overnight trains so light sleepers may arrive wasted - no fun.

It was cheaper to buy point to point tickets in central europe than buy a rail pass. Keep in mind that your rail pass will not cover the whole cost of an overnight sleeper, there is an additional cost.>

Well of course it depends both on how many rail trips you take and what class you travel in - passes like the European East Pass are often better deals in first class as the price differential often in not that much - and for the average traveler first class is highly recommended - my decades of experience riding European trains says that there is always a significant difference between first and second class and this difference is greater in Eastern Europe than in western Europe.

Thank you again for all your advice. I didn't get all the vacation time I wanted off, so Poland will wait for another trip Hoping to capitalize my time in Prague and Budapest. my open jaw flights didn't work out - couldn't buy the american flight that was perfect from travelocity, and it was quite a bit more on aa. so it's going to be RT to Budapest, but I'm glad I booked my fare. Let the planning begin in earnest!

Hi again; If you have now decided on Budapest and Prague, a suggestion. You will be spending a lot of time on the train between the two cities. Consider a flight that only takes 1 1/4 hour. So it may take you five hours each way by plane. By train, it may take 8 to 10 hours each way. With a shortened vacation time, I think you need to consider, conserving as much time as possible. However, an overnight train as suggested, might work. Richard www.kayak.com

Have you considered doing Budapest and Vienna instead of Prague? The train between those two is very short and you will make better use of your time.

If you plan on doing just Budapest and Prague I would recommend making one way by night train and possibly fly the other direction.

Thank you iris1745 and lindy27 for the suggestions. I've visited Vienna on a previous trips and loved it, but never been to Prague. I have 10 days, so I think with a night train thrown in there, I'll be able to make good use of time. Keeping my eye on flights as well, but i really don't like the hassle involved [at least in the US] with getting to the airport a couple hours early, then at landing, making my way to the city center... I'd rather take the night train and some tylenol PM! I'm still researching options for a good itinerary that gets the most out of my time in these places and getting some great ideas from other posts and all the suggestions here.

I also enjoy night trains over planes. Do you plan on doing that both directions? I'm not sure if there is any risk in this (delayed train) but taking the night train back to Budapest the night before your flight (if it is a later flight) home might be a good option. Who cares if you are tried while flying home?

10 days is plenty to have a great time in both cities!

If you have a ticket with a huge penalty change or non-refundable I would ALWAYS advise being in your departure city the day before your flight - you nver know when a train stike, train derailment, etc might delay an overnight train - not common but it seems to always happen at the very worst time.

Not sure if a railpass is in play but if you have one and take an overnight train then keep in mind the 7pm rule - board the direct overnight train after 7pm and the next day is your unlimited travel day - thus you could take the night train to say Vienna and use your railpass all the next day - say to day trip out to Melk to see the famous abbey and do the extraordinary IMO few-hour boat ride thru the Wachau Valley - one of the very most scintillating boat trips anywhere - returning from Durnstein or Krems by train to Vienna and only use, including the night train, one day on a flexipass, like the European East Pass is and Eurail Select Passes are!