Budapest-Vienna-Salzburg-Munich
 

Dear Fodorites
We family of 3 including 5 year old plan to travel next week Budapest-Vienna-Salzburg-Munich with
Budapest 2 nights, Vienna 1, Salzburg 2 & Munich entire day + 1 day extra.
We fly into Budapest and leave Munich by city nightline.

Can anyone help with
1. Do we need advance tickets from Budapest to Vienna ? Does the price go up down?

2. Do we need advance tickets from Vienna to Salzburg?

3. Can we buy Bayern ticket at Salzburg?

4. Can anyone suggest a budget place to stay in Salzburg?

5. Any suggestions for the extra day?

We are more interested in scenic places than cities and have to rely on public transport.
Looking forward to your valuable advice!
Thanks & regards
SM

This trip sounds unpleasantly rushed to me. For comparison, I (solo traveler) spent 4 nights in Budapest, 5 in Vienna, 3 in Salzburg, and 3 (too little!) in Munich.

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their likely opening/closing times (try to confirm by internet searches), and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.

Good luck!

I meant to add: It really depends on YOUR interests.

Not to sound critical, but Budapest, Salzburg and Munich are not suburbs of Vienna. Six nights and four cities gives you plenty of scenic train rides, but little else.

This is what your itinerary looks like.

Day 1 and 2: Arrive Budapest, plus sightseeing and lodging logistics time. Sightseeing, 1.5 days at best if you arrive in the morning.
Day 3: Budapest to Vienna will take 3 hours, plus transit and lodging logistics time. Sightseeing, 0.5 days if you catch a morning train. (And, if the day is a Sunday stores will be closed; if it is a Monday, most museums will be closed).
Day 4: Vienna to Salzburg will take 3 hours, plus transit and lodging logistics time. Sightseeing, 2.5 days.
Days 5 and 6: Munich.

Keep in mind that you are visiting in August. The general forecast for your destinations next week calls for temperatures to be in the upper 20ºC to low 30ºCs (80º-90º F), with the potential for rain. Translation: hot, humid, and sticky. No fun for adults, even less fun for children.

@ kja & fourfortravel thanks for your caution and advice.

We intend to visit no museums with kid. We know its a rushed trip but have no other choice considering time and budget.
Do you suggest to cut out any place?

Can you comment something about the train tickets?

And budget accommodation at Salzburg?

Regards

"We know its a rushed trip but have no other choice considering time and budget."

<u>Of course</u> you have another choice: <b>see fewer places</b>!!! And actually SEE some of them! Sometimes LESS <u><b>is</u></b> more!

You really can't, IMO, see them all of these places the time you have.

If you want us to help you decide how to trim your itinerary, we really need to know more. What are your interests? Why do you want to see these places?

1. AFAIK, you need reservations for the direct Railjet trains.

2. No. But you pay a higher walk-up fare in Vienna for the faster Railjets operated by Austrian Rail.
The somewhat slower competitor Westbahn ("West Rail") offers low walk up fares (€25 per person). You can buy the tickets on Westbahn trains.

3. Yes. You find vending machines and staffed desks also for German Rail tickets at Salzburg main station where you can get the Bayern Ticket. But you can also purchase & print it at home via bahn.com
Don't forget to take a pen with you as you must write down the names of all people in your party on the ticket before you start the trip.

@kja Thanks for offering to help out.
That will be indeed great.
We are mostly into enjoy natural scenery - hiking/long walking for the kid.

As for the cities Vienna & Munich we wanted to see 2-3 most famous or unique things.

Budapest & Salzburg is where we want to devote more time.
Particularly around Salzburg. What will be good base around Salzburg with public transport?

Thanks a lot cowboy!

Which site will be cheaper to book tickets for Budapest to Vienna? Hungarian or Austrian railways? as I some posts saying prices differ.

Good question. I think you should try both to find out.
Anyway, it is not a costly trip, even at the regular fare of appr. 30 euro or so.

cowboy has said it all about discounted or cheap train tickets - for general info on trains and what to expect (like 1st vs 2nd class) check out these informative sites: www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Yes you can always buy low-fare tickets on Westbahn and they may be marginally slower but not that much- buying in advance usually means booking a specific train and cannot be changed nor refunded and as they are sold in limited numbers must be booked weeks in stone weeks in advance.

https://westbahn.at/en - I like flexibility to decide on my trains once I'm there if possible (if not a lot more cost) so keep Westbahn in mind but only in Austria of course).

Bavarian Lander Ticket is great but you are restricted to slower regional trains that take nearly an hourl longer at times - that pass also comes in first class for not much more and IME regional trains can get very crowded at times but first class rarely - use that ticket in Munich the whole day for S- and U-bahns, trams, buses - all public transports - go out to Dachau that day on it too if you want. No need to buy it in advance as it is sold in Salzburg's German train station (part of the Austrian train station) - buying in advance gives no break and if you end up not using it...

If your primary goal is natural scenery, then Salzburg is, I think, the place you might want to make the centerpiece of your trip. And you might want to give it at least 2 full days -- so 3 nights.

Do you already have your airline tickets? If not, consider just Munich and Salzburg. If so, consider dropping the city that is not the one into which you arrive or from which you depart. Is that Vienna? Much as I loved Vienna, it sounds to me like it would be of least interest to you.

BTW, my apologies for "screaming" at you.

If Budapest and Salzburg are where you want to focus your time, then skip Vienna and head directly to Salzburg from Budapest. You have so little time in Vienna that stopping for a half day is hardly worth the time you'll spend going to and from the train station and the hotel.

If you are still set on Vienna, however, just open any guide book or do a search for the "Top Ten" and pick something that looks interesting. That's about all you'll have time for.

We are more interested in scenic places than cities and have to rely on public transport.>

then maybe ditch Budapest and spend three days in Vienna and use one of those days for a wonderful scneic boat ride down the Wachau Valley - take train to Melk - tour the Uber famous abbey - hop on boat thru vineyard-clad Wachau Valley puncuated by cool wine villages - get off at Durnstein, famed for its ruined castle brooding high above town and take bus/train back to Vienna.

https://www.google.com/search?q=wach...=1600&bih=1075

Buy a combo ticket in Vienna for trains, abbey, boat.

Andin Salzburg if you want more scenic countryside than cities spend one day in the Sound of Music Country - the Austrian Lake District just est of town - one hour or so by postal bus - take a boat ride from St Wolfgang - take a steam train up the mountain hovering over St Gilgen - sweet countryside for sure.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Aust...=1600&bih=1075

@ kja Thanks again for your advice. We already made the tickets to fly into Budapest and train out of Munich.
And as for your screaming I take it coming from a traveler who loves to soak in the ambience. I too would have liked that but mainly costs prohibit!

@fourfortravel You are saying what I am thinking. :)
Thanks

PalenQ
You are again to rescue!
I have benefitted from your advice couple of times in past too!
Thanks for those again & thanks for this!

Your gems are tempting me & Have to now rethink!

How about this-
D1: 16:00 land Budapest
D2: Budapest
D3: morning train to Vienna, Vienna City
D4: Vienna outskirts
D5: Train to Salzburg, Salzburg city
D6: Lake district
D7: Morning train to Munich, Munich top 3, train out at 22:00

edit: D1: 19:00 land Budapest

Found some old posts saying there is a night train from Budapest to Vienna. Is there one still? can't find it!
If yes is it safe?

There is a night train from Budapest around 10 pm but it gets into Vienna about 11:30pm and goes onto Zurich - so yes and no - technically yes but you get there before midnight. No overnight trains are practical on that run.

"I take it coming from a traveler who loves to soak in the ambience" -- Actually, it comes from a traveler who likes to see the things that are to be seen in any destination I consider worth including in a trip. :-)

"D4: Vienna outskirts." What does that mean?

outskirts -wonderful scneic boat ride down the Wachau Valley - take train to Melk - tour the Uber famous abbey - hop on boat thru vineyard-clad Wachau Valley

Ah, yes. PalenQ and I have wildly divergent opinions of this tour.

Next week's forecast for Vienna calls for temperatures in the mid-20ºs and with a good chance for rain practically every day. Imagine putt-putting along the hot, gray, and steamy Danube, stuffed into the interior, air-conditioned space of the cruise staring at the haze-covered vineyards for some insufferable amount of time. Mind-numbing for me as a 40-something; torture for a 5-year old.

Spend the "Vienna outskirts" day at Schloss Schönbrunn instead. Tour the summer palace of the Hapsburg empire; eat overpriced Schnitzel at the palace restaurant and if it isn't raining, let your 5-year old have fun in the maze and labyrinth on the palace grounds. Perhaps enjoy the oldest zoo in the world at Schönbrunn, too. If it's raining, take in the marionette opera at the palace.

@fourfortravel Now that you say, I see that I have such a good luck! Rain!

Any suggestions where to stay in/around Salzburg with public transport?


Is it better to stay at Lake area and then day trip Salzburg or vice versa?

Take the 5-yr old to the Prater and ride the Big Wheel - there since the 1800s I believe.

and I think a 5-yr old may well enjoy a few-hour boat cruise.

44travel is about the only one I've seen diss teh Danube/wachau Valley cruise - many many have enjoyed it but that ishis/her subjective take as mine is subjective too and zillions of other subjective takes that enjoyed this excursion.

But the zoo and maze at Schonbrunn does sound appealing to kids - especially the zoo - but a zoo to a child is a zoo albeit in Vienna or your home town.

The somewhat slower competitor Westbahn ("West Rail") offers low walk up fares (€25 per person). You can buy the tickets on Westbahn trains.>

RailJets take 2:22 hours and Westbahn 2:30 - 8 minutes slower and the ability just to waltz up and cop tickets rather than booking in stone weeks ahead to get a discounted rate IMO is priceless. doesn't have the extra plush first class section RJ does but plenty comfy.

Thanks Palenq!

Can you say something on Is it better to stay at Lake area and then day trip Salzburg or vice versa?

And if outside Salzburg what will be good reachable base?

Don't much matter IMO if only there two days - I'd probably base myself in Salzburg because that's where your train will dump you off - if staying in say St Wolfgang you'd have to drag your bags there and back for the train to Munich.

Actually if going to the Lake District from Vienna you can change trains at Attnang-Puchheim and go to Bad Ischl, on the edge of the Lake District and get buses to St Wolfgang, St gilgen or other lake hotspots.

St Wolfgang to me is the nicest base and about as quick from Salzburg as St Gilgen - another base on a lake.

since you only have 2 nights I would stay in Salzburg for both nights, as you need to be there to get the train to Munich.

you might find that its hard on your 5 year old to sleep in new places all the time. and its hard on adults too.

if the weather is rainy I would rather be in Salzburg as there are indoor things to do too. there is not much to do in the towns on the lakes if it is raining, other than look at the shops and eat.

if you want to go to the lake district, you can take a bus from Salzburg.. the closest major town is St Gilgan.. one bus, about 40 minutes. you can do this in a day trip. from there you can take a ferry on the lake if the weather is good. the boat stops in st wolfgang and you can get off at the cog railway and take the ride up the mountain or get off a little further in town. if you go in the opposite direction on the lake you can go to Strobl and get the bus back to Salzburg.. or just do a round trip to St Gilgen.

if you go to St Wolfgang from Salzburg, you will have to change buses in Strobl. its a longer trip than St Gilgen.


I haven't stayed here but the NH hotel in Salzburg city center gets good reviews on trip advisor, and there is a summer promo, kids stay free and free breakfast. its close to lots of sites and there is a nearby bus to the train station. as for budget.. it all depends on what your budget is.. but the dollar is up and the euro is down so you may do ok. there are more accommodations in Salzburg than in the lake district, so you will have more to chose from.

Don't discount museums entirely. By age five, both my girls had started loving museums. They especially loved natural history museums, museums with things like doll houses and even painting galleries if I told them about the artists first. They would pick a favorite of two and talk about why they like them.

They liked portrait paintings too, especially those with children. They wanted to know who the children were and how they lived. They tried to find children who looked like them. Youngest at age five decided she looked like children in Frans Hals paintings. Older DD at age 7 decided she looked like little girls in Vermeer paintings.

They both loved the Sistine Chapel, but were even more impressed by the sculpture of David.

They very much enjoyed the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and the tower of London, all at age 5 & 7.

I tried to keep museum time to an hour, but they often begged for more time, so your child may surprise you.

If you look for activities and sights in Vienna also for smaller children you may find the Vienna TI site helpful:
http://www.vienna.info/en/vienna-for/families

As Fourfortravel wrote, there is rain from Vienna to Munich - already and predicted for next week. So even if the forecasts err, I think I'd like to have a set of possible alternatives or at least be flexible to make use of the odd sunny day for outdoor activities. I agree that a boat trip to the Wachau is no real fun when it's raining. A visit to the ice caves near Salzburg might be a better idea than touring Halstatt in pouring rain.

Thank you all! I am really grateful for the advice here
and helped me to almost finalise my plan.

When i try to book from Budapest to Vienna on
http://www.mav-start.hu/en
it show lot of trains for schedule. But when I click on price it shows only a few with 13/19 euros.

Why doesn't it show fares for all?
How much will it cost if buy 1 day in advance or same day at Budapest station?

Since you will travel week, on short notice and during peak vacation season, I assume that several trains are already sold out.
You can check if your desired connection becomes available when you choose 1st class instead of 2nd class.
For a dummy inquiry for next week, I found much more trains available in 1st class than 2nd class. And the difference in price is not so dramatic (most connections cost only 29 euros in 1st vs. 19 euros in 2nd).

@ Cowboy thanks for simplifying things!

The site says cant print tickets and have to collect somewhere.

Troubling once more: what about costs on buying upfront at Budapest?

the ice cave near halstatt requires taking a long switchback paved walkway. its not fun if its raining. the cave itself has walkways and steps, its organized touring, and its cold inside so you need to bring extra layers.

on a rainy day I would look for a better option in Salzburg.

Maxim thanks for the alternative view!

about the ticket one more thing
The website says its free for child under 6 but when I enter the age it still ask for fare?
Can't get it!
Do I have to not mention the child as in DB Bahn?

Salzburg I believe means Salt City and yes the salt mine tours just south of the city are a lot of fun - probably for a child even more - at least the slide down - not sure if this one has a slide down anymore but years ago it did.

so many options - so much to do!