Hi all, <BR>We are planning a 2 week trip to Vienna, Budapest and Prague during Sept. 99. We are considering traveling from New Jersey to Vienna, Austria and then making our way by train to budapest and Pargue. We would appreciate any information about airlines, accommodations, restaurants, places of interest etc. <BR>Thanks, Mike <BR> <BR>

Vienna is a good base for "mittel europe". Prague is 5 hours or so by train, Budapest is 3 hours. It is also possible to go into Prague or Budapest and make your way to the other for your flight home. This "open jaw" ticket can be very similar in price to the standard one city round trip. This way you dopn't have to double back. Once you get the "hang" of it, trains in Central Europe are very simple and reliable. <BR>Please use the search function on this board for many previous discussions of trains, hotels, restaurants and things to see. <BR> <BR>

A number of travel companies put these three cities into an unescorted "package". Delta Vacations, for one, calls it "Crowns of Central Europe" -- or something like that. Typically it's three nights in each city -- but it could certainly be extended. You might want to check into the packages -- or just get the brochures and use them to help your own planning.

I agree with the above post. I would fly into Prague and then home from Budapest. You can fly from JFK and stay on the same airline (Delta or Luftansa probably) and it will not be that much more. <BR> <BR>Buy the Eyewitness Guide to Prageu. We used it and it had great restaurant and hotel suggestions. Also the Rough Guide Prague is suppose to be good.

Email AVE Accommodations at [email protected] The guidebooks said they had better listings--we told them our requirements & they found a perfect place. In Budapest, write Dr. Walter Fleps, a retired English-speaking attorney. His home overlooks the city. You get a bathroom & bedroom with terrace to yourself & huge breakfast by Mrs. Fleps for $40/night for 2 (think they haven't changed price much). His address is Bogar utca 20b, Budapest, Hungary. You take a bus to metro & 3 stops you are downtown. The Charles Bridge at night in Prague is a must. Take the half-day tour & decide what to see again or take day trips from city. In Prague the Symphony/Opera is less than $20 for balcony box seats & in Budapest, the best seats are $13. St. Matthais Church & Parliament Buildings (communists converted to museums) are very nice. Shopping is great & in major areas, you will have no trouble with people speaking English. I agree that starting in Budapest or Prague & ending in the other is best use of time. Lufthansa is a nice airline with good food & a more diverse group of travelers. I don't think American flies into Budapest but does Vienna & Prague.

British Airways flies to both Prague and Budapest. <BR> <BR>While flights can differ on the same airline I do want to report that on our flight from Frankfurt to Chicago last December the food was both un appetizing and, in the case of the second meal, actually inedible. [My standards are *not* high re: airline food.] The service was also lackluster. This disappointed me as I had flown Lufthansa happily in the late 70's/early 80's and had made a BIG DEAL about how much my hubby would like them. <BR>

Michael, In the summer of '97 my wife and I flew to Budapest, had three days there, then the train to Vienna, three days there, and then train to Praque, three days there, then we went on a six day organized cycling tour which we had pre-arranged at home before we left.All three cities are extremely different in terms of infrastructure,cost and culture. Vienna is the most refined and sofisticated of the three, and therefore I would not recommend starting there as you may find the other two a bit of a letdown. Let me know your ages (my wife and I are mid 30's)to see if if our "itinery" would interest you.