Getting Around
 

Hi Everyone,

We plan to fly into Budapest and make out way up to Vienna and Prague. What is the best way to travel between the countries? I was reading somewhere one of the posts that people were mentioning that traveling by the Euro Rail is pretty expensive. Any tips and info would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

-- Shi

I would recommend traveling by train using point to point tickets. A Eurail pass will be more expensive. You can buy your tickets upon arrival. I like to get my tickets at least 1 day in advance so I don't have to worry/rush/wait they day of travel, and I'm assured of getting the train I want.

It is really easy to drive between these cities as well ( we did it last summer on our world tour) so that may be something to consider and look into.

http://www.soultravelers3.com

I just came back from a trip where we flew into Prague and left from Munich. We travelled by train through the Czech Republic, Austria and Bavaria. We only travelled 2 half days and one whole day, so Eurail Passes were too expensive for us, plus they are not economical in the Czech Republic. I just figured out my routes online and when I got to Prague I went to a travel agency recommended in Rick Steves Guidebook and bought all my train tickets for my trip. This worked out great for us and was half the price we would have paid for a 5 day Eurail Pass (which is the cheapest possible).
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Thanks Wtnow and Kris! Really appreciate your replies! =)

Since Eurailpasses are NOT valid in the Czech Republic you would not consider that pass. The only pass you would consider is the Eastern European Flexipass, good for travel in Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. It would be especially attractive if you were traveling more in Austria, where trains can be much more expensive. For info on passes i always refer to two excellent sites that give lots of objective info along with the usual pass prices - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - but i'm not sure you are traveling enough to make the pass payoff though if you opt for first class the pass adds up better than in 2nd class vis-a-vis point to point tickets and there are many benefits IMO to going first class in these countries (except Austria where 2nd class is excellent)

kriscat - how much were your point-to-point tickets? I'm in the beginning stages of research for a similar trip and was wondering about the cost of train travel in these countries.

Thanks Palen for the sites!

blh - the only way to get real at the station fares would be to go to the individual web sites of each country's rail system - like www.bahn.de for Germany; www.nationalraiil.co.uk for Britain; www.voyages-sncf.com for France; www.trenitalia.com for Italy; www.ns.nl for netherlands, etc.

This is fairly easily done and some sites, notably France and Italy and Germany have online special discounts that must be booked often far in advance to get and are often non-changeable, non-refundable and should be booked weeks in advance

that said the French and Italian sites have caused untold problems for zillions of Fodorites it seems so good luck. But at least you can get the fares. For railpass info refer to the sites i gave to shiuri - a pass can be used, with some exceptions in some countries, on any train anytime so compare with fully flexible tickets if flexibility is your goal