elcon

Hi Everyone,
Has anyone taken the train from Prague to Vienna? I know it is about a 4 hour trip, but I am wondering about cost. Also, are the stations in Prague and Vienna safe? I am a female travelling alone. What about reservations? I will be travelling in December. Thanks so much for the help!!

violetduck

I don't think you will want to be in the Prague station any longer than necessary. I don't remember which one we came into from Germany, however. If you feel uncomfortable look for a family or a couple of people you can ask if you can stand with or just go stand by them and look like you are with them. I tried standing alone with the luggage for a few minutes and had several people ask for money so I joined a young family and chatted with them. They lived in Prague and spoke perfect English and were very nice to make some helpful suggestions You probably know to be careful about the taxi fares in Prague and to settle on a fair price and have it written down before you take it.

TimS

If you book far enough in advance by phoning the Austrian Rail call center, you can get a SparSchiene fare of €29 on EC 71 that departs at 05:00. See here: http://tinyurl.com/57ap8p. I don't know what the fare would be for trains that depart later in the day. You can book any train by dialing your country's international access code + 43 (country code for Austria) + (0)5-1717. Omit the zero in parentheses. It is only used for calls originating in Austria.

bratsandbeer

Not sure where you live but you could check rates on www.raileurope.com There are other websites to check but I have found this one easiest for me.
I have ordered tickets from them twice and had no problems.

This week I ordered tickets for the train from Budapest to Venice and they were at my house the next day - free shipping.

TimS

In most cases RailEurope's fares are higher than fares offered by the various national rail companies. For example, depending upon the time of day, the 2nd class fare for Prague-Vienna on RE is either $85 (€54) or $93 (€59).

basingstoke2

You can also take a bus. It takes about the same time, costs less than half as much, and leaves you in the center of Vienna.

bratsandbeer

Someone mentioned www.orangeways.com which is a new bus in that area.

We have friends who live in Budapest and they advised to stay with the trains as they are safer. Othere than that I have no experience or knowledge of which is safer having not been on one of the buses in that area.

basingstoke2

We used both - bus Prague to Vienna and train back. The bus was fine and it was a nice ride. There was a 15 minute bathroom stop along the way where there was also a small shop. We liked that the bus let us off near the city hall. There wasn't a terminal there. It just pulled up to the curb and everyone got off. We would have returned by bus too if the schedule had been more convenient for us.

Darnwright

We just did this trip in May.
You leave from the Holesovice station and go directly to Sudbahnhof station in Vienna. We left at 8:23 am and arrived at 12:28. I didn't see any problem at that time of the morning. We took a shuttle from our apartment which was very convenient and reasonable ($25). The ticket cost was approx. $67. I had checked the schedule online earlier but we bought the tickets in Prague a few days before we left. No problem. Hope this helps.

elcon

Thanks for the help! I have decided on 3 days in Prague, then 3 days in Vienna. I plan to travel between the two by rail. Thanks again everyone.

PalenQ

As TimS points out Raileurope's prices are often (but not always) higher than those in Europe and especially the discounted (but limited by number) seats he helpfully points out can be booked by phone. But if all else fails then raileurope.com may be the only resource for folks who understandably want everything booked and hands on the ticket and just have to show up for train. In that case i always advise, for any RailEurope product to call BETS 800-441-2387 www.budgeteuropetravel.com, a RE agent who are experts and have great personal service - and also don't charge in most cases i think the $18 mailing fee that would be imposed by RE on top of the prices TimS quotes. but in Vienna IMO it is easy to book these trains a few days in advance. if booking in Prague i have heard a few problems communicating, etc. and long lines.

LotsaPasta

I did the same trip by rail a few years ago and did not feel unsafe. I did doze off and remember being startled at the border crossing by whoever it was demanding my passport!

sallyjane3

Last May I took the train from Vienna to Prague (and later on to Berlin) and had a great time. I was alone and never felt unsafe, on the train or in any of the stations. The scenery was wonderful, food very good and the conversation with other travelers excellent.

I took the advice of some posters here and did not reserve a seat...and got the very last seat. Please reserve.

southeastern

Last summer we took the train from Vienna to Prague. It was the "fast train" and very nice. It broke down and they put us on another train into another town, and then on a 3rd train. Everyone got to know each other in our car, and ended up being something of a "tale to tell" later. Felt very safe. There were 2 or 3 ladies traveling alone.