sylviam

We will be in Vienna for Easter 2005. There are three of us. intend to visit Prague and Budapest. Should we travel by train from Vienna to Prague and Budapest or by car. Considering that there are 3 of us I thought a car may make more sense. Then the logistics of a home base. Do we simply visit Vienna for a few days, then on to Budapest for an overnight and then on to Prague for a few nights only to return to Vienna for a flight back to states. Any suggestions?

tedgale

Take trains. Absolutely. They are relatively speedy, quite clean, less trouble overall and you will save money, too, if the alternative is to pay for city parking for a rental car that you are not using.

BTW: I would shave some time from Vienna to spend more than the planned 24 hours in Budapest -- a personal preference based on a couple of visits to each, earlier this year.

TopMan

Assume it is too late to arrange an open jaw return from Prague.

I would travel between these cities by rail if I had a choice. Less hassle than with a car; nobody has to do the work of either driving or navigating. No parking issues in the cities. Trains would probably be faster than driving and much more relaxing.

You might consider flying and can check that possibility at www.whichbudget.com to see whether or not there are cheap return alternatives to Vienna.

MaureenB

The trains are so convenient, and also each of you can relax instead of dealing with directions and driving. The train from Vienna to Prague is about 5 hours as I recall, so it would be a waste of time if you have to backtrack in order to fly out of Vienna. Could you fly into Vienna, train to Budapest and then to Prague, then fly out of Prague? If you take the train, check out the Prague excursion pass. Euraide.com is very helpful with train fares.

Michael

Unless you plan car touring--i.e. visit towns and other sites between these capitals--take the train.

bob_brown

In Vienna, I found that parking is scarce and expensive. I bought a Vienna card and rode the U-bahn and the trams most of the time. Vienna still has what call street cars.
They are easy to use with a jump on jump off pass and they circle the main downtown area on the Ring. Because they often have dedicated track areas that are free of cars and trucks, the trams are efficient.

The U Bahn is good for longer distances, such as going to Schönbrunn Palace. Also, in some areas, the bus service is quite good too.

We stayed at the Alt Wienerhof hotel near the West Bahnhof. A bus stop was about 150 yards from the hotel and it went right to the Hofburg. For more distant objectives, the U-bahn station was about the same distance away.

sylviam

Thanks for the info. I am still trying to figure the logistics of this trip. We would like to see all three cities. As I do not know the cost of a train ticket from Prague to Vienna I am having a difficult problem with cost. It would seem to me, because there are 3 of us, a car would be more economical to drive from Prague to Vienna even if we park it. We were hoping to visit Melk and Krems for an overnighter sometime during this visit to Vienna. The drive from Prague to Vienna appear to be about 3.5 hours vs 5 on the train (if it is in fact 5 hours)

MaureenB

You can get a combi-pass that will take you by train from Vienna to Melk, then by boat to Krems, and back by train to Vienna. It also includes admission to one of the sites in Melk (the monastery is spectacular). I think it's 39 Euro/person. That's a nice day-trip. Ask Euraide.com for train fare quotes.

almcd

Parking in Vienna is nightmare and gas is about 1 Euro a litre. That is about U.S.$4.9 a U.S. gallon. The trains are superb and run regularly. The fare to Prague will be about 70 Euros per person return.Can you not consider flying back to the States from Prague to avoid having to return to Vienna?

bettyk

On our last 2 visits to Vienna, we've had a car. Both times, we've stayed at the Admiral Hotel behind the Museum Quartier because they have several parking places for guests just a 1/2 block from the hotel. It is difficult to find a hotel in Vienna with guest parking. Once there, we just park the car and either walk or take public transportation.

It's a nice 3* hotel a short walk to the Ringstrasse and Ubahn. If you are interested, their website address is: www.admiral.co.at/

Giovanna

We visited these three cities last year and it was one of our favorite trips. We flew to Prague and spent five days there. A day or two into our visit we went to the Cedok Travel Agency and purchased our train tickets to Vienna and Vienna to Budapest. I had researched the trains we wished to take on the internet and took a printout with me.

We spent a couple of days in Vienna and three in Budapest, and flew home from Budapest. Both train trips were pleasant and easy to manage. We really felt no need to have a car on this trip. Side trips from all three cities are easily accomplished on public transportation.

If I can help you further with hotels we stayed in, places we visited, tickets purchased in advance, etc., don't hesitate to e-mail me.

sylviam

In looking closer at flights it appears that we will fly into Prague and depart from Vienna. Vienna to Amsterdam for 2 nights and then back home to the USA. Our plan was 2 nights in Prague, pick up a car, drive from Prague to Krems drive through the Danube Valley onto Melk, stay overnight in Melk, visit Mauthausen concentration camp and then drive into Vienna and immediately drop off the car. Stay in Vienna 4 nights with the side trip by train to Budapest for a day. Depart Vienna for Amsterdam for 2 nights and then back home. Because we are all the same family I assumed a car would be less expensive, even with the cost of gas and by driving we could see the small towns. Also it is my understanding that it is a bit awkward to get to Mauthausen from Vienna as you have to take a train and then a bus, etc. If in fact a train is best, perhaps we should take a train from Prague to Vienna and then rent a car for 2 days for our trip to Mauthausen, Melk and Krems. Can train tickets be purchased from the States or in Prague? When we went to Spain this past Easter I arranged nearly everything from the states. This trip is more of a challenge, but then again I have just started the research. Everyone on this site is so helpful that it makes planning much easier.

puxa

Hi there,
We will be in Vienna for our honeymoon.As soon as we arrive in Airport we are taking the train to Budapest where we will stay 5 days.Then back to Vienna for 6 days and fly back home.Can anyone tell me the distance from Schwechat Airport to Flughafen Wien cos i don't understand german.This is the place from where the train to Budapest departs.

viennese

Puxa, there seems to be a misunderstanding. Schwechat Airport is identical with Flughafen Wien. Airport meaning Flughafen, Schwechat being the village outside Vienna where the airport is located.

I suppose your train to Budapest will depart from Südbahnhof (meaning South station). The best way to get there is the bus (just outside the airport arrival hall) that takes you to the Südbahnhof in 20 minutes.

tedgale

Puxa: As some trains FROM Budapest arrive at Westbahnhof rather than Sudbahnhof, I would not assume that all trains to Budapest depart from Sudbahnhof.

If you check on www.obb.au you can find all the coordinates of your planned train trip.

viennese

The URL that tedgale gave you is not correct. You can reach the website of Österreichische Bundesbahnen at www.oebb.at

(.at is Austria, .au is Australia...)

puxa

Hi all,
Many thanks for your prompt responses. I have now a clear picture. I managed to find all train schedules for our trip and confirmed also locations for our hotels. I can't wait. We're leaving home on Fri 23rd October.

singfree

If you are staying in Vienna, by all means take the train! Purchase an European-East train pass and go! Cars are great outside the city, but parking in Vienna is next-to-impossible. Public transportation within Vienna is clean, fast & fun.