We will be in Prague in early Dec and are looking at taking a day trip to Dresden to visit the Christmas markets there. Are there any special train tickets that offer unlimited stops or reduced fares,etc, something that is comparable to the LanderTicket available in Bavaria? If not, is it likely that we can get lower ticket prices by buying in Prague vs ordering online from Deutchban or RailEurope?

Hello!

There is no special train ticket that offer reduced fares, but the morning 6am train goes directly from Prague Hlavni Nadrazi to Dresden Hpt.


You will get the lowest prices by buying at Praha Hlv. Ndr. at 6am the day of travel. The ticket window is on the bottom level (below the flower shops and restaurants) Then go directly to the platform upstairs.

Trip will take about 2.5 hours.

Enjoy!

I bought P-D ticket from Deuchban - you get a discount if you buy a ticket with a firm date and time with no exchanges. They mailed the ticket to me.
one way was 19 euros plus reservation and mailing ( a few euros).

http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml

Btw there is not a lot difference between 1st and 2nd class on that train. I'd buy a 2nd class ticket to save the money.

I have been doing a little more web surfing and several years ago there evidently was a Sone+ ticket that was good all day on Saturday and Sunday, purchased on the day of use, one ticket was good for up to 5 people and cost about $22Euro-is that ticket still available?

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Buy your ticket at the ticket window in Prague. It's the cheapest option.

and beware of the pickpockets in that station, for sure

There could be pickpockets at any train station in Europe; I wouldn't single out Hlavni Nadrazi.

Ditto Ingo and Dukey. Tickets in Prague are cheap and the rifraf in the station is the worst in Europe. The city should sweep that place out.

Agreed on the pickpockets. Beware!

Any idea of what a Prague-Dresden return ticket will cost?

>Any idea of what a Prague-Dresden return ticket will cost?

www.idos.cz

I think it is Holesovice not Hlavni Nadrazi
...from where most trains for Dresden leave. It is
a station in need of cleaning .. in every way.

I went to Dresden from Prague and left from Holesovice, it is where most of them go to Dresden, and I think the best schedules (eg, ones without changes).

It is very PC to claim that all train stations in the world have the same probability of being pickpocketed, but it's not true and it is more common in Prague train stations than lots of other places.

I just checked my ticket -- I have it here with me.


June 12, 2009
Praha Hlavni Nadrazi - Dresden (Roundtrip Ticket)

Purchased from České dráhy, a.s. at Hlavni Nadrazi station.
2nd class, 1 adult
1176 CZK (43,20 EUR)

(A quick check on RailEurope website: their price is $59 ONE-WAY, 2nd class, and this doesn't include shipping fees because they have to mail you the ticket.)


The ticket was usable for any train time, and I remember taking the 6:29 a.m. train from Hlavni Nadrazi, but the next stop it goes to is Holesovice (6:40 a.m.). So either station would work if you're taking that direct non-stop train 178 at the 6 o'clock hour. It just depends on which station you are located closer to.


RailEurope has the full schedule that you could check in advance before buying it at the train station.

I find that it usually helps to just print out the schedule from the RailEurope website, circle the trains and times you want, and show it to the ticket agent. Remember to specify if you want roundtrip or one-way.

Enjoy Praha and Dresden. ;-)

Thank you so much for the info and comments!

First, see https://eshop.cd.cz/ as you'll find cheap fares from 19 euros each way from Prague to Dresden. You pay online and print out your own ticket. Easy!

Until 12 December 2009, most trains to Dresden leave from Prague's less-than-central Holesovice station, as they are by-passing central Prague en route from Budapest or Vienna to Dresden & Berlin. With effect from 13 December when the new timetable is implemented, extensive works on the line from Holesovice into Hlavni to improve access to that station (it used to be a single track bottleneck!) means all trains will serve Prague Hlavni, which is walking distance from all of Prague's sights. A big improvement!

Hlavni (and Holesovice for that matter) is not my favourite station, at least not the dingy 1960s underground bit, but there's no particular need to worry about pickpockets any more than any other public place in Europe. Which means use common sense, but don't worry about it.

www.bahn.de is the easiest online timetable to use.