Can someone please let me know how long the train ride is from Prague to Budapest? Any details would be helpful i.e. do I reserve tickets from the US, or can I get them there, is it better just to take a plane, etc.<BR><BR>In addition, I'm thinking of doing these countries in the middle of January...is this a completely BAD idea/will it be too cold?<BR><BR>Many thanks in advance...d.

Your shortest train travel time from Prague to Budapest is 7 hours, no changes.<BR>The train leaves Holesovice station at 8:58 and arrives in Budapest at 15:58.<BR>According to the German Bahn web site, the station in Budapest is Nugati pu.<BR>I am not sure where it is located in the city.<BR>Revervations are indicated. The remarks says please reserve. I am not sure if it is an imperative or a suggestion.<BR>The trip is fairly slow because of frequent stops. <BR>The German train scheduler is the best one I have found for central and western Europe.

We took the night train between Prague and Budapest since we did not want to use a day of our vacation on a train -- we were anxious to get to Budapest, we only had a few days there as it was. And we booked the tickets in the US before leaving. There are several recommendations as to the best places to do this on this site, if you search a little. The only word of caution, be sure to get the names of all of the stations that you will be arriving and departing from. You may be leaving from a different station than the one where you arrived. We were there in May so I can not speak to the weather in the winter. Both cities were incredible.

It took us about 8 hours to go from Prague to Budapest by train but it didn't seem that long. We left late morning and took food we purchased at a bakery (pita-like sandwiches and sweets--very inexpensive). I would buy the tickets there as much cheaper than in US and, in January, you should not have problems getting them. We never travel with reservations and have been able to just walk up and buy. As for the weather, check wunderground.com for past weather history on those dates and present forecast. We were there in November and it was in the 40's, 50's but January is another story.

Dee<BR>It is definitely a good idea to make reservations in advance - I found it very hard to find any English spekers at the station. Also, try and leave Prague in the morning - Holsevice is not the most comforting station after dark.