Divya123

HI,

I need your help ! I am planning a 3 country trip to Europe – countries are Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary. I will be going with another friend – both Females, 30 years old.

This is my tentative itinerary. Please provide your inputs and pls answer some questions I have.

POLAND

31st march & 1st April– Warsaw
2nd & 3rd – Krakow
4th – from Krakow – day trip to Auschwitz or Wieliczka ? pls recommend which one is better ?
5th –from Krakow – day trip to Zakopane.

5th – Take a night train to Prague – pls tell me if a night train is better or should we go the next morning to prague, pls provide links from where I can book a night train to Prague.

CZECH REPUBLIC

6th & 7th Prague
8th – from Prague , day trip to Kutna Hora
9th – from Prague – day trip to Cesky Krumlov
10th & 11th – Karlovy Vary

11th evening /night, take a bus back to Prague.

Pls recommend if I should come back to Prague and take a night train to Budapest ? or should I take an overnight train from Karlovy Vary to Budapest ?

HUNGARY

12th , 13th , 14th – Budapest
15th, 16th, 17th – pls suggest what we can do these 3 days ? day trips from Budapest or a weekend some place.

Another important question is , do all countries accept Euros ?

I do realize the itinerary is a little rushed but I just have 18days and me and my friend would want to see these 3 countries.

Let me know if there is anything I should be aware of. We plan to stay in hostels throughout.


Thanks a lot in advance !!

Whathello

Hi

We did about the same for Poland and CR, never been to Hungary. So it seems ok - we were also in our 30's when we did it, we may find it rushed now.

As for money, no euro : Zlotys in Poland, I think Korunas in CR and ? Florints ? in Hungary. Best way to have money is to keep a small reserve of whatever in cash, and use ATM's to get some money. Use you creditcard whenever possible (usually restaurants, hotels at least, you'll get the lowest cost by doing it).

Can't help for the trains, never takne them there, but look on seat61 dot Com

bilboburgler

night trains; I cannot sleep on them, good luck, night bus (aargh)
Auschwitz is probably a "better" example of man's inhumanity
The salt mines are a good visit to, but tours are only in certain languages
I'd give more time to Prague and drop at least one of your day visits. I'm not impressed with the day sites you have mentioned so I cannot advise which I'd drop.

Budapest; Eger, GyonGyos, Godollo, Lake Balaton, go to a spa.

Euros; well some people might take Euros at a poor interest rate but no, they each have their own currency Zloty, Koruna, Forint.

Budapest subway system, buy your ticket and stamp it as soon as possible the ticket inspectors are like vipers.

Prague gets very very busy, so chose your time to do things

Do you have any dietry constraints, meat is a big part of these countries' food. Beer is also important as is Wine in Hungary.

Divya123

thanks @whathello - did you do Auschwitz or Wieliczka as a day trip in Poland ? which one is better ? Thanks !

Divya123

@bilboburgler - i do not have dietary constraints . i can have meat.

what are some of the night train options ? out of Eger, GyonGyos, Godollo, Lake Balaton which 3 do you recommend for day trips out of Budapest ?

thanks !

Michael

For the salt mines, the best thing is to get a tour from Krakow. The tour is just the van ride and the arrangement for the tour in the mine. The mine provides the actual guides while visiting the site. But it cannot be visited on one's own, taking the tour from Krakow is far more efficient than finding local transportation to get there, getting the ticket for the tour, and then getting local transportation to get back to Krakow.

Divya123

@Michael, yes i will probably book myself on a viator day trip from krakow.

i tried viator when i was in spain and realized they were good.

any suggestions on the night trains ? also, should i go from Karlovy vary to Budapest or should I take a bus back to Prague from Karlovy Vary and then take a night train to Budapest ? thanks !

BigRuss

Your question of which is better, Auschwitz or the salt mine, is not answerable.

Auschwitz is a historical site, symbol of Nazi evil, preserved museum of Jewish suffering, and manifestation of human depravity.

The salt mine is a salt mine, which will be interesting for formations, statuary and industrial information.

The notion of "better" does not apply. If you have an interest or curiosity about the evils of Nazism, then go to Auschwitz.

And I'd spend an extra day in Krakow, Prague and Budapest.

Don't use Euros.

Michael

<i> i will probably book myself on a viator day trip from krakow.</i>

Just booking with a local company will do. They only provide the van ride and purchase the group ticket.

nytraveler

You must use the local currencies unless you want to use euros (possible only in limited places) at a truly terrible rate of exchange. And a lot of places will not take them at all. (Can you spend Canadian $ in the US?)

For info on trains look at bahn.de, which has train schedules for all of europe. It's better if you use the correct local spellings of the city names.

iris1745

A little info.

inyourpocket.com/prague

inyourpocket.com/Krakow

inyourpocket.com/Budapest

bilboburgler

all pretty laid back, i think eger is best for a day out by train

PalenQ

Wieliczka Salt Mines are just a few miles south of Krakow - easy to do them in one of your days in Krakow, which is not a huge town demanding tons of time-more of a visual feast.

so you can easily do both IMO.

As for night trains - many love them - like me - and more than a few do not - if a light sleeper there is always a modicum of noise from inside and outside the train- for lots of info on trains and night trains check these sites - www.seat61.com- see this site for info on booking trains yourself online; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

15-17 why not spend in Vienna, only a few hours by train from Budapest?

Divya123

hi @Palenq .. thanks for the info ! i don't mind the night trains myself.

i was on bahn.de website and somehow i am not able to go to the booking link, it says tickets not available online. not sure why ?

i will check out the new links provided by you. i have been to vienna before. I just have to see Salzburg ... so this time I was thinking of seeing Hungary as a whole first.

bilboburgler

Prague day trip that might interest but you have to reserve a place to get to the special room. Travel by train to Karlstejn. Walk to the castle. You want the Velka vez tour. This is the emperor's treasure house and this is hardly advertised outside the country. It is high on an impregnable castle top. Enjoy.

http://www.turistika.cz/mista/karlst...kapli-sv-krize

kja

Your time in Krakow seems very limited to me. Same for Prague. Maybe Budapest. Your plans might work for you, they might not. I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Only then can you decide if you are giving yourselves enough time in any location.

"day trip to Auschwitz or Wieliczka"

Apples and oranges. Only YOU can decide which experience you prefer.

"I do realize the itinerary is a little rushed but I just have 18 days and me and my friend would want to see these 3 countries."

FWIW, rather than trying to cram it all in and just skim the surface (my take on your itinerary), I prefer to actually see and experience the places that I choose to see, while minimizing the time spent traveling between places. I choose to skip some places entirely, even if I am sure I would enjoy them. I’ve realized that if I can return to a region, the LAST thing that I am likely to want to do is spend my time revisiting places to finally see the things I skipped the first time. In fact, I might end up not returning specifically because it would mean wasting so much time going from place to place! If it helps, I’m most likely to skip or skimp on places that have international airports, because those are the ones that I can most readily visit again. But, of course, we all travel for different reasons and with different preferences!

As for overnight trains, I've take quite a few and have rarely had a complaint -- but then, I can sleep through almost anything and actually like the sensation of being "rocked" to sleep. Not everyone feels that way!

I can't emphasize too strongly my advice to get or consult some good guidebooks ASAP. They will tell you about currency, transportation options, tour options, and provide all sorts of information you won't even know to ask. Seriously -- they are a very small investment relative to the cost of your trip, and can help you save money and time.

Good luck!

Leely2

Have not been to Hungary.

A couple years ago I took the night train from Krakow to Prague with a friend. We booked a private sleeper car for two through polrail.com although you can buy your tickets when you arrive In town too. The night trains apparently sometimes sell out in season; we didn't have extradayss so that was why we booked well in advance (plus we're in our 40s). I took a Dramamine because I tend to suffer from motion sickness. Put on an eye mask and slept like a baby. Very comfortable.

All the day trips wouldn't work for me, but I suppose you can decide while there whether you want to take them or not.

For me Auschwitz-Birkenau was very important.