I am a single female in my early 30s, I have travelled extensively, sometimes on a tour, sometimes independently. The countries that I have visited on a tour as countries in Africa and South America. Most of my travel in Asia and Europe I have done independently, except Russia when I joined a tour for safety reasons. I would like to visit Eastern Europe, mainly, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. If I travel independently what are the trains like for travelling between the cities? Are they safe for single female travelers? Are they comfortable? I have been on many trains in Western Europe and Japan. HOw do the eastern European trains compare? Also, I have read many comments about gypies around the train stations, what experiences have fodorites had? I am debating if I am better off joining a tour instead, however if I choose to travel on a tour realistically I will only get one day (two nights) in Prague, which I fell isn't enought time.

Thanks in advance.

ttt. please help.

I spent 4 weeks travelling solo in Eastern Europe last summer with no problems at all. I bought tickets as I went, stayed in small hotels along the way. Trains are on time, clean not crowded, people are helpful, ticket prices are good, I found no strange people around stations. OK, trains aren't as fancy as the Shinkansen, but they are as good as local trains in Japan and a lot cheaper.
Ask if you have any more specific questions.

Perhaps it depends on what you mean by eastern Europe. My sister and I, both of whome the unwary could describe as elderly, flew from Berlin to Krakow, spent a few days in Krakow, flew to Vienna, and as I recall took the train to Budapest and Prague for a few days. We had no trouble at all. We'd been warned that taxis in Budapest are all crooks, so our hotel sent a taxi for us, using a sign with our names on it to pick us up.

I'd have no compunctions at all about traveling alone.

Thanks gertie3751 and Pegontheroad for your help.

I am specifically interested in Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Bratislava and Vienna. Of these places I have been to Vienna beforeand I will probably visit Bratislava as a day trip from Vienna. I was thinking of buying the Europe East Rail Pass. I have studied travel times between the cities I plan on visiting, I notice that Krakow to Prague is a 7 hour train ride, so I'm not sure if I'll include Krakow in the trip unless I can fly to/from there. I did look at flights and to/from Krakow and found prices to be quite high, I still need to research this further. As for the other cities, I think a five hour train ride is the longest (from Prague to VIenna), I am concerned because I'll be travelling by myself and I need to keep an eye on my belongings throught the train journey. I can easily carry my luggage by myself, so this isn't an issue.

Do the trains have a lugguage rack? p

The countries you're talking about are Central Europe - not Eastern (which is Russia, Ukraine etc). Traveling in Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland is little different than traveling in western europe. In major cities you will see all the major chain stores and restaurants and English is very widely spoken. There are pickpockets (but the same is true of Spain, Italy, France and big cities everywhere).

I've spent time in all 3 alone after or before business trips and never had any problems. For an experienced traveler these places are no brainers.

You should have no problems, provided you take ordinary care. However, it is usually cheaper to buy point-to-point tickets for the places you're planning to visit, rather than a rail pass. You can use railsaver.com to check.

I've only been to Poland yet of those three countries, visiting Krakow and Warsaw, but I had no problems; I'd definitely suggest independent travel! The www.inyourpocket.com site was quite helpful to me for Central Europe. (I included Lithuania as well; lovely.) Let's just say that I got off of a bus in the middle of nowhere at three AM and felt secure enough to breathe in the lovely odour of the pines. Trip report with picture links is here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-july-2006.cfm

Yes there are luggage racks on the trains. If you are super-paranoid you can buy a chain and lock your stuff to the rack. If not, just make sure you take your valuables with you when you go to the loo, for a coffee etc. I always reckon my bag isn't expensive-looking enough to steal.

Thanks everyone, I'll start to plan the trip, I'll be travelling independently.