Bethm

taking the only train to Krakow w/only 1 change during the day on the 16th of March - worries me is the 5 minute change in Prerov - anyone have personal experience w/this change or station - does'nt seem enough w/luggage, etal.
Then taking an overnight train to Budapest on the 18th from Krakow.
Don't want to buy here and pay the high fees.
Any advice on a good local agency in Prague and Budapest w/e-mail address who will purchase for us w/a credit card?

ben_haines_london

I am afraid I have not myself changed trains in Prerov, but there are very few stations in Europe in which five minutes does not cover a change. I suppose if it worries you you can take the restaurant car Praha Express ftom Prague Hlavni at 1105, change at Katowice 1726 to 1818, and reach Krakow at 1929. But I would not bother.

Your night from Krakow to Budapest falls in low season. I see no point in booking from home. Rather, on your first day in Prague you can call in on Cedok in the city centre, and book them at European rates. But if you would sooner not do that, a recent Correspondent said this:
To book train tickets by e-mail contact the central Orbis office in Warsaw at [email protected] and ask for Magda (charming girl, speaks English). They debit your credit card, send tickets to your home address, or probably make a reservation that you can pick up at any other Orbis office in the country. I take it you know that you can book by e-mail in Prague. Cedok Travel, www.cedok.cz, charge to credit card via internet, and the tickets are at your hotel upon arrival in Prague. I have no similar body in mind in Budapest, but of course both Cedok and Orbis will gladly book you Hungarian trains, too. All three rail systems are on a single computer network. If for some reason you do need to make, or to alter, rail bookings in Budapest I recommend Wagons-Lit Carlton, on Doroteer Ul, just round the corner from Gerbeaud?s splendid café. They speak English, take credit cards, and have good armchairs.

Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe.

[email protected]

WayneZ

5 minutes should be enough time. Ask the conductor on your train which track the transfer train is on. Did this in Zurich, etc. I also used to worry too, but I was use to US trains always being late.

BillJ

In the summer of 2002 I booked 1st class train tickets, Prague to Vienna, through Cedok. www.cedok.cz Used a credit card, though I was a bit nervous. I would have to get into my notes, but as I recall, we paid Cedok something less than the published rate for the train.
By email, I asked them to deliver the tickets to my hotel. When I arrived, the tickets were at my hotel. I had also used Cedok for a 1/2 day bus tour. We were very pleased with the service

denis

I took a trip in Sept. 2002 to Prague, Krakow, Budapest. I flew to Prague and then took a train to Krakow. I took the 7:52 train out of Prague to Krakow. It was scheduled to arrive at 16:13 in Krakow. An 8 hrs 21 min trip. This required a change at Prerov. The trip from Prague to Prerov was a very rough ride. I thought that I was going to get whiplash when I went to the bathroom. We were scheduled to arrive in Prerov at 11:25 and leave at 11:56, but did not arrive until 12:00. Our new train was still there. We rush to our new train and then wait another 15 minutes before leaving. The train from Prerov to Krakow was a lot better. We traveled 2nd class, which cost me around $31 U.S. per person. The cars had the 6 passenger compartments. There was not much difference in 1st class and 2nd class. We wish that we had taken 1st class. Our 2nd class compartment had 5 people in it. We could not get any sleep. Most of the 1st class compartments only had 1 person in them.

Christina

I took that train and didn't have any problem with the change. I think it was a little longer than five minutes, though (or worked out that way). As I recall, it was on the same quay so I didn't have to go far. Prerov isn't a big station.