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Buying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers

Buying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers

Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 09:22 AM
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Buying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers

Hi All, I'm from the USA. I'll be traveling to Prague and Vienna for the first time in End of August. So I've done a lot of reading at Seat61, as well done some mock booking for my preferred schedule at official rail websites ÖBB - Startseite and www.cd.cz.

1. Looking for your advice or real-life experiences booking online from oebb or cd? Which is easier to use from the point of view of USA-based traveler?
2. Does oebb.at or cd.cz accept USA-issued credit cards?
3. What is the advantage or disadvantage of buying my Prague to Vienna train tickets from either oebb or cd?
4. Print at home tickets on A4 paper (European sized) not similar to USA regular sized paper. Can I use regular USA letter sized paper?
5. Prior to boarding the train or while on the train do I need to present to the inspector some sort of ID? Or credit card used to buy tickets online?

Thanks.

Last edited by azquart; Jun 2nd, 2018 at 09:27 AM.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 10:23 AM
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Find answers to those questions at www.seat61.com - general info trains (like 1st v 2nd class, etc) BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 11:05 AM
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1. Looking for your advice or real-life experiences booking online from oebb or cd? Which is easier to use from the point of view of USA-based traveler?
I lam an American and live in Vienna, and use the CD side for my tickets to/from Vienna/Prague. The CD side is always (much) less expensive than the ÖBB side for the same ticket.

3. What is the advantage or disadvantage of buying my Prague to Vienna train tickets from either oebb or cd?
There is no advantage/disadvantage. The ticket is valid regardless of the side on which it is purchased.

4. Print at home tickets on A4 paper (European sized) not similar to USA regular sized paper. Can I use regular USA letter sized paper?
Yes, you can use US letter sized paper.

5. Prior to boarding the train or while on the train do I need to present to the inspector some sort of ID? Or credit card used to buy tickets online?
Once on the train you will be asked to show your ticket and possibly your ID. I have never been asked to show my credit card, but I have always had it available should I be asked.

I hope this is helpful.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 11:12 AM
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Definitely call BudgetEuropeTravel.com. 800 number on the website. Goes to staff in US. They helped me purchase Vienna - Prague, with most economic ticket.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 12:40 PM
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This old dame has managed it from Australia, using both the Czech and Austrian website for various purchases, without problems. I think the Czech site was a little cheaper.

There;s very good advice in the Train Travel forum on Tripadvisor.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 12:50 PM
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four-for-travel always has the best info involving Austria where he/she lives. www.seat61.com says:

Buying tickets for trains within the Czech Republic: www.cd.cz...

You can buy tickets for train journeys within the Czech Republic online at www.cd.cz, complete with seat reservation, at cheap Czech prices with no booking fees. You pay online and print your own ticket or (for domestic journeys) you can show it on your smartphone screen. www.cd.cz will also book international trains from Prague to neighbouring countries, including Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Krakow & Warsaw also at cheap prices. It can also book inward international tickets to Prague, except for journeys from Poland and Ukraine. Tickets to or from Germany, Austria, Slovakia or Hungary can safely be booked at www.cd.cz in either direction.Buying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers-czech-sc-2nd.jpgBuying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers-czech-sc-1st.jpgBuying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers-czech-pendolino.jpgSuperCity pendolino trains... The pride of the Czech Railways, these modern tilting pendolino units operate the premium SuperCity trains linking Prague & Ostrava (the Czech Republic's second city). Left-hand picture is 2nd class, the centre picture is 1st class.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 12:53 PM
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www.seat61.com says (but fourfortravel who posts above always has the best info regards Austria where he/she lives!)

Buying tickets for trains within the Czech Republic: www.cd.cz...

You can buy tickets for train journeys within the Czech Republic online at www.cd.cz, complete with seat reservation, at cheap Czech prices with no booking fees. You pay online and print your own ticket or (for domestic journeys) you can show it on your smartphone screen. www.cd.cz will also book international trains from Prague to neighbouring countries, including Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava, Dresden, Berlin, Munich, Krakow & Warsaw also at cheap prices. It can also book inward international tickets to Prague, except for journeys from Poland and Ukraine. Tickets to or from Germany, Austria, Slovakia or Hungary can safely be booked at www.cd.cz in either direction.Buying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers-czech-sc-2nd.jpgBuying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers-czech-sc-1st.jpgBuying Train Tickets Prague to Vienna/Is it easy (or not) for USA travelers-czech-pendolino.jpgSuperCity pendolino trains... The pride of the Czech Railways, these modern tilting pendolino units operate the premium SuperCity trains linking Prague & Ostrava (the Czech Republic's second city). Left-hand picture is 2nd class, the centre picture is 1st class.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 01:01 PM
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Looks like you can also buy tickets on this route on the website www.trainline.eu which looks very easy to use (I haven't actually bought a ticket on the site but have heard good things about it - no upcharges or anything).
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 01:04 PM
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but only thetrainline.eu if trouble booking on direct sites - always go to source rather than middleman - but yes many say they found thetrainline.com easy to use and national rail sites not always.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 03:48 PM
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Thanks. I will be buying these tickets within the next few days; will try the Czech and Austrian official website. If that fails, I'll go with trainline.eu.

Trainline.eu is not advertising oebb or cz on their website. You know at the bottom of the page where there is a display of Logos of various official rail companies such as renfe, trenitalia, DB, etc that trainline.eu is directly connected with.

OEBB (Austraia) and CD (Czech) logos are not listed at trainline.eu webpage. But yeah when I did mock booking just now, it looks like trainline.eu sells Prague to Vienna route for various price points, some as cheap as 14 Euros and for a few Euros additional, you can get 1st class, which I tend to do.

In the past I've bought online from trenitalia and renfe. But used trainline.eu for a lot of French TGV tickets because I couldn't buy them from SNCF.
So I'm not opposed to buying from trainline.eu.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 03:50 PM
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The benefit of using Trainline.eu is that you don't need to learn a new website or re-register for some new account especially if you've bought tickets with Trainline.eu before. I don't think the tickets cost more.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2018, 04:44 PM
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Won over! Will start recommending thetrailine.eu in future rail ticket questions. If same price and no need to register, etc (especially nice on multi-country rail trip) why not? They do not really sound like middlemen in that their price, from above comments, indicates they are usually the same price as booking tickets as thru the national rail sites - sites yes which on first glance at least can seem flummoxing to many - as reported in comments by Fodor posters in many previous threads.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 01:36 AM
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<<but only thetrainline.eu if trouble booking on direct sites - always go to source rather than middleman>>

NOT in the case of trainline! I should think you'd be up on this, Pal.

Trainline is a completely legitimate, official partner with several European national railways. They offer exactly the same services, same schedules, same prices, no markups - they are NOT a "middleman" as most people understand that term. AND, there is no fuss about getting an American credit card to work with them, as there has been in the past and may still be with other national railway sites. And if you have discount cards, point cards, and other promotional cards with European railways, booking through Trainline will get you your discounts or points, just as it would booking on the national railway site.

Trainline seems to be infinitely easier to use, for at least a lot of Americans.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 03:39 AM
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I just recently booked 8 train trips around Germany and Austria for a trip next month. The first ticket I booked directly from the German Train site (which I have used extensively in the past for checking routes/prices, etc.). Capital One didn't like it for some reason, nor did they like the OEBB (Austrian) site. I used trainline.eu for all the rest of the tickets, no problems at all, exact same prices and schedules. Very easy to use.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 06:30 AM
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I also love trainline. There is also a trainline app for your phone. You just register with trainline & then you can choose to download your tickets to the app, avoiding the need to carry around paper tickets.
If there is a journey that requires paper tickets, the site will point that out.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 07:01 AM
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Seems like thetrainline.eu should be used for any European train booking - why bother with unfamiliar sites. I did think that thetrainline.eu had a booking fee once - maybe before they changed owners a few years back.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 07:33 AM
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Trainline doesn't support every rail company in every country, however.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 08:38 AM
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Guess that would be apparent with a quick look - best it seems to go to national rail sites and see if easy to use and if not see if thetrainline.eu works or has those trains.
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Old Jun 3rd, 2018, 08:43 AM
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Originally Posted by isabel
I just recently booked 8 train trips around Germany and Austria for a trip next month. . . .. . . Capital One didn't like it for some reason, nor did they like the OEBB (Austrian) site. I used trainline.eu for all the rest of the tickets, no problems at all, exact same prices and schedules. Very easy to use.
Hi Isabel,
So where you able to book on trainline.eu your OEBB Austrian train tickets? Where you able to pick your seats for Austrian trains/routes? How about German train seats?

Like I mentioned in my post above, I didn't see on trainline.eu the OEBB logo listed as one of its partners. So if you were able to book Austrian train/routes, then is OEBB a new partner of trainline.eu?
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Old Jun 4th, 2018, 02:42 AM
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Yes to all those questions. The tickets I printed say OBB on them- or DB. I was going back and forth between the Austrian site and triainline, everything was exactly the same (times, prices, train numbers), I just purchased them through trainline.
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