It will be great if someone cares to share the night train experience from Prague to Krakow, and Krakow to Budapest.<BR><BR>Is the night train always full? Should I opt for second class or first? is there hge difference?<BR><BR>

I can only tell you what I've heard since I never use trains. I've been told by those who know that you should go for first class on trains in that part of the world. Apparently first class isn't always as nice as first class in other countries, but it's a lot better than anything else you'll get. So go first class if you can.

As long as you are using EC or IC trains second class will be fine. My experience is only in Czech Rep. and Hungary, but IC/EC trains have to meet a certain standard.

Be careful in the first class too. The first class was almost empty and there was this middle-age guy looking and looking at me. After about one hour from Prague on the way to Krakow he smiled, then opened his zipper and you know the rest. There are many crazy people everywhere and I think it is a good idea to travel with someone else. I would never travel alone again.

Are the trains from Prague to Krakow, and Krakow to Budapest, older and in worse conditions than the rest?<BR><BR>I'm a bit worried.

I am afraid it is few years since I took these routes, but I use sleepers in central Europe about four tines a year elsrewehere in central Europe. With the e-mail copy of this message I am attaching a note I keep on disc about sleeper travel on the continent.<BR><BR>Night trains on your routes are not always full, and in central Europe I book sleepers and couchettes about a week ahead of travel, but less if I must and more if I can. <BR><BR>In sleepers they use one or two berths in first class, or three berths in third. The compartments are in fact all the same: the variation is simply in how many they let down. There is almost no difference between older and newer sleeper cars: the engineers created the smoothest ride they could decades ago. What does vary is whether you are on welded rail (you are on your routes), how often the train stops (hourly or so on your routes), and whether you are in the middle of the car (smoothest) or over a bogey at the end of the car (more bumpy, but you have no choice on this when you book, and the difference is slight). In fact, I think rail administrators in central Europe apportion newest cars to routes to and from the west, second newest to other international trains, and oldest to international routes.<BR><BR>The advice that his acquaintances give Wayne relates to day cars. Even on those, I always book second class, and if the train is crowded move up to first class on the train, find the conductor, and pay him or her a supplement. If the train is half empty first class is little more comfortable than second, and indeed to have two fellow travellers in a compartment with you gives you more safety against train thieves and the sexually disturbed, and often an interesting conversation. This applies to EC and IC trains in Central Europe, too, as even those trains may give you second class day compartments that have eight people per compartment, which I find a bit squashed when full.<BR><BR>But day cars are for daytime. There are thieves on trains, I am likely to fall asleep, and in fact I want good sleep to be lively next day. So I take a berth in a crowded 6-berth couchette (the supplement is about 10 euros) or now that I can afford them in a 3-berth, single-sex, sleeper (at about 40 euros supplement). On these cars travellers can lock compartment doors from inside and use the fitted security chain, and conductors lock outer doors. I am too old and ugly to attract sexual attention, but for single young women it will be a point that sleepers are single-sex, and couchettes have six people (mixed sex) in them, which makes an incident unlikely. <BR><BR>Please write if I can help further.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR>

I'll be travelling alone. This is my first trip to Europe, though I travelled alone to countries like Japan, Korea and US before.<BR><BR>I only speak english(no german, czech etc) and I'm quite worried of the safety issue in the train.<BR><BR>Can I conclude that first class will be a better option for me?<BR><BR>

No: you can not conclude that. It is true that in first class you can yourself alone secure the compartment door. But I have found fellow travellers as ready as me to do this. It is true that fellow travellers might themselves be thieves, but I have never seen this, nor heard of it, in a decade of sleeper travel in central Europe.<BR><BR>You might like to read the note I sent you on sleeper travel.<BR><BR>Ben Haaines, London

We just returned from Central Europe, so I hope this reply is not too late to help you in your travel plans. We took the night train from Prague to Krakow, then from Krakow to Fuzesabony (a town close to Budapest). We wanted to spend a couple of days in Eger,HU, and Fuzesabony was the nearby town on the route from Krakow to Budapest. We booked second class sleeper car tickets for both of these trips from the efficient and very professional Cedok travel agency in Prague. This agency was suggested to us by Ben Haines who, by the way, is accurate and enlightening in his train and travel information. (I believe I saw his reply to you about train travel) We felt safe in our locked compartment and thought that the accomodations were just fine. The border passport checks disrupted our sleep, but the travel experience is so unique that it was worth it. We loved Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Krakow, Eger, and Budapest and hope you have a great time there. Kathy

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