Having trouble with trains: Prague -Vienna - Salzburg
Jul 19th, 2008, 11:18 AM
#1
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Having trouble with trains: Prague -Vienna - Salzburg
Hi,
I have 6 days to spend in Vienna & would like to take a side trip to Salzburg. I will be traveling over a weekend in Oct, along with 2 people under 26, & 1 well over 65. I'm in the middle.
I don't read German & when I check www.oebb I see that the least expensive ticket (€22) requires a VORTEILSticket
Can anyone tell me about this? I've read the contract info but I am still not clear. Is there a cost? Is it worth it for just 1 or 2 train trips? It seems that you get a card in the mail. Do they send it to the US or do you need an Austrian address?
Does it cover a trip from Prague to Vienna or is it just inside Austria?
The standard rate seems to be €44.
It only asks the number of people over 14. I had thought there was senior rate.
Is a weekend a reasonable amount of time to see the highlights of Salzburg? Can anyone offer suggestions for a basic, clean place to stay in Salzburg. I would need either 2 doubles or 1 quad.
I'd also appreciate info on similar accommodations in Vienna but for only 3 people.
Has anyone used the Czech train web site to purchase tickets? They seem to charge by the km but I don't see any info on the cost of an overnight train. I'd like to go from Prague to Vienna.
Thanks for any help you can give.
I have 6 days to spend in Vienna & would like to take a side trip to Salzburg. I will be traveling over a weekend in Oct, along with 2 people under 26, & 1 well over 65. I'm in the middle.
I don't read German & when I check www.oebb I see that the least expensive ticket (€22) requires a VORTEILSticket
Can anyone tell me about this? I've read the contract info but I am still not clear. Is there a cost? Is it worth it for just 1 or 2 train trips? It seems that you get a card in the mail. Do they send it to the US or do you need an Austrian address?
Does it cover a trip from Prague to Vienna or is it just inside Austria?
The standard rate seems to be €44.
It only asks the number of people over 14. I had thought there was senior rate.
Is a weekend a reasonable amount of time to see the highlights of Salzburg? Can anyone offer suggestions for a basic, clean place to stay in Salzburg. I would need either 2 doubles or 1 quad.
I'd also appreciate info on similar accommodations in Vienna but for only 3 people.
Has anyone used the Czech train web site to purchase tickets? They seem to charge by the km but I don't see any info on the cost of an overnight train. I'd like to go from Prague to Vienna.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Jul 19th, 2008, 01:14 PM
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There is a US company located in Ann Arbor called Budget Europe Travel Service. They are rail travel experts that have been recommended here on Fodor's.
I sent off for their European Planning & Rail Guide which is full of great information on traveling by rail in Europe.
They can also help you with tickets. Their phone numbers are 800-441-9413 and 800-441-2387.
I sent off for their European Planning & Rail Guide which is full of great information on traveling by rail in Europe.
They can also help you with tickets. Their phone numbers are 800-441-9413 and 800-441-2387.
Jul 19th, 2008, 02:46 PM
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Hi M,
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en in English, doesn't show any discount fares for this trip.
Your Vorteil fare is for people who have purchased a reduced fare card.
www.euraid.com has a US office. They are very helpful.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en in English, doesn't show any discount fares for this trip.
Your Vorteil fare is for people who have purchased a reduced fare card.
www.euraid.com has a US office. They are very helpful.
Jul 20th, 2008, 02:36 PM
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Hi,
Thanks for the suggestions. I will check out the Budget Europe Travel Service on Monday.
Still trying to figure out out this site(http://www.oebb.at).
This is what the Austrian train site says for a trip from Vienna to Salzburg on 10/4 at 8:22am.
Für Kunden ohne Ermäßigung
Standardticket für die 2.Klasse 44.20 Euro
Für Kunden mit VORTEILScard
VORTEILSticket für die 2.Klasse 22.10 Euro
I know that the Vorteil fare is for people who have purchased a reduced fare card. I want to know how to do that & if it's worth it for only 1 or 2 trips.
Thanks for the suggestions. I will check out the Budget Europe Travel Service on Monday.
Still trying to figure out out this site(http://www.oebb.at).
This is what the Austrian train site says for a trip from Vienna to Salzburg on 10/4 at 8:22am.
Für Kunden ohne Ermäßigung
Standardticket für die 2.Klasse 44.20 Euro
Für Kunden mit VORTEILScard
VORTEILSticket für die 2.Klasse 22.10 Euro
I know that the Vorteil fare is for people who have purchased a reduced fare card. I want to know how to do that & if it's worth it for only 1 or 2 trips.
Jul 20th, 2008, 03:46 PM
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Mimmel, maybe this info will help. BTW, I googled Vorteilscard and got quite a few hits.
http://tinyurl.com/6cw6c6
http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Servicebox/...card/index.jsp
From what I could tell on another website, if you are over 26, the Vorteilscard costs about 100 Euro, but if you are under 26, it only cost around 20 Euro.
http://tinyurl.com/6cw6c6
http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Servicebox/...card/index.jsp
From what I could tell on another website, if you are over 26, the Vorteilscard costs about 100 Euro, but if you are under 26, it only cost around 20 Euro.
Jul 20th, 2008, 04:06 PM
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I am going to tag along here too as I am trying to understand about these tickets.
Thanks for the links Betty, do I understand it right that we can turn up at a station with our passports and buy a VORTEILSticket and get reduced fares on a Classic card? It is quite confusing, we had been looking at the fare where you buy 1 ticket then pay 1 Euro more and the second person travels at a 25% reduction. I will have to check into this further.
Thanks for the links Betty, do I understand it right that we can turn up at a station with our passports and buy a VORTEILSticket and get reduced fares on a Classic card? It is quite confusing, we had been looking at the fare where you buy 1 ticket then pay 1 Euro more and the second person travels at a 25% reduction. I will have to check into this further.
Jul 20th, 2008, 06:30 PM
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You might consider buying the Rail Pass for 3 days of travel. You can buy an Austrian railpass for 3 non-consecutive days of travel in a month for as little as 101 Euros (if there are two or more people travelling together, the cost goes down to 86 euros per person).
You can use one day for your travel from Prague to Vienna (it will cover the Austrian leg of your journey), one day for travel from Vienna to Salzburg, and the last day for travel from Salzburg to Vienna. If you do the arithmetic, you will find that this is the best deal, and it saves the hassles of buying tickets. In case you plan to travel on more days, the passes are available for longer periods also, at marginally higher cost.
We are leaving ourselves for that region in 10 days, and we have bought the above pass for Austria for 3 days. We will use one day for Zurich-Salzburg (the Austrian portion), one day for Salzburg-Vienna, and the last day for Vienna-Prague (the Austrian portion). Cost us 86 euros each, as my wife is travelling with me.
BTW the above costs are for 2nd class journeys. Ist class is exactly 50% higher.
You can use one day for your travel from Prague to Vienna (it will cover the Austrian leg of your journey), one day for travel from Vienna to Salzburg, and the last day for travel from Salzburg to Vienna. If you do the arithmetic, you will find that this is the best deal, and it saves the hassles of buying tickets. In case you plan to travel on more days, the passes are available for longer periods also, at marginally higher cost.
We are leaving ourselves for that region in 10 days, and we have bought the above pass for Austria for 3 days. We will use one day for Zurich-Salzburg (the Austrian portion), one day for Salzburg-Vienna, and the last day for Vienna-Prague (the Austrian portion). Cost us 86 euros each, as my wife is travelling with me.
BTW the above costs are for 2nd class journeys. Ist class is exactly 50% higher.
Jul 20th, 2008, 06:34 PM
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Just noticed that your 2 fellow travellers are under 26. The cost of the Austrian pass would be even lower for youth travellers. Might want to check it out. Then those two could be on the youth pass, and you can buy a solo pass for 101 euros. Might be cheaper.
Jul 26th, 2008, 10:17 AM
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Thank you for the comments.
It seems euraid.com is under construction & you have to leave a message with Budget Travel Service & they will call back (but only when I am unavailable at work). I did request the European Planning & Rail Guide.
The Vorteilscard doesn't look like such a good deal for our limited use but it looks great for my daughter who will be in Vienna for the semester.
The suggestion about the RailPass looks like the best option so far but I'm not clear on how I pay for the portion of travel tht is outside Austria.
It seems euraid.com is under construction & you have to leave a message with Budget Travel Service & they will call back (but only when I am unavailable at work). I did request the European Planning & Rail Guide.
The Vorteilscard doesn't look like such a good deal for our limited use but it looks great for my daughter who will be in Vienna for the semester.
The suggestion about the RailPass looks like the best option so far but I'm not clear on how I pay for the portion of travel tht is outside Austria.
Jul 27th, 2008, 01:20 AM
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Mimmel, that is easy. When buying your ticket at Prague, just show your Austria railpass, and ask for a ticket to the Czech border. Your pass will takeover after that.
Just remember to get your Austria pass validated at the Prague station; not sure if the conductor on the train is authorized to do the same.
Just remember to get your Austria pass validated at the Prague station; not sure if the conductor on the train is authorized to do the same.
Aug 1st, 2008, 03:38 PM
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UPDATE: I finally got through to BETS & while they were very nice they really didn't know anymore than what was on their web site. They never heard of VORTEIL & basically quoted me the eurail prices.
I finally emailed the Czech rail site & actually got a quick reply. The sleeper car is $112 from Prague to Vienna, which is way cheaper than BETS quoted me. But, I don't think I can buy it here. I have to sait until I get there. However we have decided against the sleeper car & will just take a day train & use the time to see the scenery & relax.
We've also decided to cut Salzburg & spend more time in Prague & Vienna.
Thanks for all the tips.
I finally emailed the Czech rail site & actually got a quick reply. The sleeper car is $112 from Prague to Vienna, which is way cheaper than BETS quoted me. But, I don't think I can buy it here. I have to sait until I get there. However we have decided against the sleeper car & will just take a day train & use the time to see the scenery & relax.
We've also decided to cut Salzburg & spend more time in Prague & Vienna.
Thanks for all the tips.
