HI Sue -

Never been to Prague, but have been to Vienna. VIenna is a beautiful city - lots of museums, 19th century architecture as well as Art Nouveau ("Secessionist"). We loved it. It is closer to travel to from Prague than Budapest is - I believe just 4 hours by train. (If that is a consideration.) We will be going to Budapest at the end of March and could give you our impressions when we get back (Vienna vs. Budapest), but that would probably be too late for you to make your decision. If money is a question, we've heard that Budapest is cheaper than Vienna.
I wouldn't fly between Vienna and Prague or Vienna and Budapest - faster by train in that you don't have to go through the whole airport stuff - getting there 2 hours early, security checks, etc.

We're doing the exact trip in May. We're flying into Budapest, taking the train to Vienna the taking the train to Prague and flying home from there. We will stay 3 nights in each. If you want to look at train times the best site recommended to me was www.bahn.de

I lived in Prague for 5 months and visited the other cities. Prague is the most spectacular and is far more humane in scale than Vienna, which is so Hapsbergesque. Prague has so much to see, I would base myself there and visit Cesky Krumlov and Karlovy Vary, the spa town. Vienna is an easy hike by train from there also. I liked Prague best in the winter, as it was gothic, misty and uncrowded. It gets extremely crowded in the season, but also has more going on. I've been all over, and I find it to be the most beautiful city I've ever seen. Stay in one of the smaller hotels in Old Town. You will have a wonderful time walking around in the pedestrian-only streets, seeing and visiting musical and theater venues of all kinds, many of which are free.

we did it, Prague--Cesky Krumlov--vienna--budapest..good trip. Take the train

We just returned from Prague, Vienna, and Budapest. Trains are 4 hrs from Prague to Vienna and 2 hrs 50 mins Vienna to Prague. Loved all the cities, but we ranked Vienna the lowest.

Hello!
Could anyone tell me aprox. how much would it cost the train from Prague to Vienna? I´ve been trying to fnd the info on different web sites and got confused!!
Thanks

Yes, please, anyone who has an idea of th approximate train cost, please let us know. I am considering doing this trip by car --Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, Wroclaw, Prague and return to Vienna -- because we will have 5 people traveling and think it will be more cost effective than the train. I am very familiar with driving in former Soviet countries, so that is not an issue for me, but I think it would be less stressful and more enjoyable to take the train if its not too cost prohibitive in comparison with the car, especially if we can take night trains and avoid the cost of a night or 2 in hotels (which would probably only work Krakow to Prague?) BTW, I priced a 5-seat mini-van for the time period we want to go, and including tax and insurance, unlimited mileage (but not including gas) it was about $1000. How does that compare to the train for 5 on the same basic route?

http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/fa...ules/index.htm

Plug in the travel info and the ticket prices are given in US dollars. Not sure if prices are representative of all train fares.

Thanks mikka89! Still looks like the car is cheaper, since the supersaver Austria/Czech pass is $198 per person and we haven't even added on the price of Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

have you taken your trip yet? i am also going to vienna-budapest-prague, in that order. taking train vienna to budapest and flying from budapest to prague. any other pointers i should know about?

Hi all... can´t find the Budapest-Prague train cost yet !!! Does anyone have an estimate? And what about the plane? I´ve found o/w tickets for over $150... is there any Easy Jet type of airline that flies that itinerary at a cheaper cost?

Regarding hotels... what area in Budapest should I be looking into? And in Prague???
Thanks!

I would definitely recommend all 3 cities and would definitely fly! Why spend 4 hrs on a train when you can spend 1 hour on a plane. I think our most expensive airfare was $60.

tamiandtoto wrote: "Why spend 4 hrs on a train when you can spend 1 hour on a plane."

One reason might be that the three-hour difference is eaten up by airports.

My suggestion is to hire a driver. Especially if there are more than 2 people. We did it last year and didn't have to deal with schlepping from hotels to train stations and it turned out to be guided tours. Do a search for drivers and you will find Mike's chauffeur and Bela. They are both highly recommended and noted in guide books. Price wise there is not a big difference when all is said and done.

I have tried contacting Mike the chauffeur in Prague through his website - twice - and have not gotten a reply in the last week. Would appreciate knowing the best way to get in touch with him. Thanks!

I would keep contacting him. This is the email I have for him [email protected]
Just make sure you request an English speaking driver. He is very busy and we had an excellent experience with him. We hired him to take us from Budapest to Prague. Then we hired him to take us to Cesky Krumlov for the day and then on to Vienna the same day. What a pleasure! I'll check back in the next few days if you have any questions.

I can only reiterate what other travellers have said and recommend the train. Its a majestic experience and the opportunity to see three classic european cities. The train is by far the most effective and romantic way to travel in central europe.

http://www.travel--guide.org/Budapest

Is there a reason why everyone is saying "take the train"? I hope to do it all of these by car, just as I've done many other European itineraries by car in the past. Are there problems with a car to or in these cities that I may not have foreseen?

I think it's because these cities are so well-connected by train. And many of us like to avoid the hassles of a car--parking, driving unfamiliar roads, etc.--and sit back on the train and relax. If you prefer car rental, then stick with it. I usually rent cars only when I want to explore a specific area of the countryside that is inaccessible by train.

Did you eventually end up driving through Prague, Budapest from Vienna? How was it. I may be taking the same route with my friend's parents in november and would like to know if this was a good idea after all???