Davelw

My last post got a little off topic and seemed to die, so I am posting a new thread. We only have two days available for Budapest and Krakow, and three for Prague in our tentative 1 week itinerary and wonder if we will have enough time to see the mejor sights and get a feel for the cities. We are very active travelers and don't usually feel like we have had a great vacation unless we come back exhausted (there is plenty of time to rest at home).

In Budapest, can anyone make hotel suggestions or comment on "must see" attractions? We typically prefer historical sights, cathedrals, castles, etc. to museums, and we like to finish the day with a little pub hopping.

Here is the itinerary if anyone wants to comment:

Arrive 8am 6/26
6/26 - 6/27 Budapest
6/27 night train to Krakow
6/28 - 6/29 Krakow
6/29 night train to Prague
6/30 - 7/2 Prague
7/3 afternoon flight home

Thanks!
Dave

tomboy

I suppose for a whirlwind "highlights" tour it's OK. We spent 3 nights in Budapest and felt like we didn't see enough, and 2 in Krakow seemed OK. 3 in Prague will leave you wanting more as well. More days would be better, but if 7 is what you get, then 7 it is.

Davelw

Thanks, tomboy. I wish we had more time, but we are limited by how long Grandma is willing to watch the kids while we "play!"

How did you get from place to place? Any experience with the night trains?

tomboy

No, we drove.
In Budapest be sure to tour the Parliament.Walk the river, Vaci Ut, central market, and to savor the atmosphere, go to Liszt Ter, a boulevard lined with cafes.
In Krakow, see the square, the streets just E/W/N/S of the square, daytrip to Auschwitz. Salt mine was far more interesting than I thought it would be, but you may be too rushed.
In Prague, we spent 4-5 hours at the castle.

bricaro

we are planning a two week trip to Prague, Krakow, Vienna, Budapest and Prague. Has anyone driven through these countries? any tips? How are the roads?

ira

Hi D,

For a week, I think that you have one city too many.

tomboy

Bricaro: where do you live, so I may draw you an analogy re the roads?

Davelw

Ira, if I were to drop one city, which one would you suggest?

bricaro

tomboy,
I live in Miami. If we had to choose between Warsaw and Krakow, which would you recommend we see>

tedgale

Bricaro and Dave: I doubt either of you would find many arguments on this board if you were, respectively, to take Krakow over Warsaw and 2 nights in Budapest over splitting your time between Budapest and Krakow.

Dave: trust me, you will be exhausted even with the deletion of Krakow from your itinerary. Budapest is a great city for walking and, may I say, climbing -- as every route from Pest to Buda is a steep climb.

tomboy

The x-way between Vienna and B'Pest is as good as I-95, as is the x-way from Bratislava to Prague. Prague to Krakow is like driving pre-interstate roads.

bricaro

tomboy,
Thank you, that helps in deciding what to do.

Davelw

Okay, so you have just about convinced me to save Krakow for another trip and do Budapest and Prague only. Can anyone suggest the best way to get from Budapest to Prague? I was initially thinking about renting a car but got scared when I heard about one-way drop fees (picking up at BUD and dropping off at PRG). Also, not sure how easy it is to drive a rental across borders.

However, the flexibility of having a car for exploration would be nice. The train is also an option we are considering (maybe a night train depending on how long.

Thanks,
Dave

tomboy

One trip we rented in Frankfurt, did Bavaria, drove to Prague and other CZ towns, drove back to Bavaria, then FRA
This spring we rented in Vienna (could have been Munich), saw Budapest & N. Hungary, drove up toward Krakow (could just as well have been Prague), and back thru CZ. So the circle tour would be a possible.
Crossing borders is easier and quicker than taking the bridge from Detroit to Windsor, Ontario is now.
Lots of interesting towns between Prague and Budapest...Telc, Trebon, numerous others. The roads were better than I expected..pretty much equal to Germany's

livestotravel

Dave - train is about 7 hours and there is one that leaves Prague at around Noon. We instead booked with Malev Airlines to fly from Prague to Budapest - about 1 hour flight time.

Hotel in Budapest is Le Meridien, in Prague the fabulous Alchymist.