Dear Fodorites,

I will be travelling in Austria and the Czech Republic by train, and my travel agent told me that I don't need to pay the high costs of making train reservations ahead of time (e.g. Vienna - Prague), and that I can simply do it upon arrival in Vienna, or even on the spot, right at the departure time.

I am a little concerned that there might not be any seats left, and that I will be stuck.

What's the scoop?

Thank you for all the feedback.

HA

It probably depends on where you are going and when. I doubt if the train you want will be completely full, but can't know for sure. I've taken trains within the CR several times and none were completely full. I have been on a train from Vienna to Cracow, which stopped in the CR at least once (where I got on), and I do believe that particular train was completely full that day.

I never buy train tickets until I get to the station-- always been fine. Unless you're travelling on Eurostar or some other line that requires reservations, don't sweat it. I've travelled by train in both Austria and Czech Republic, by the way, and have been totally fine.

Thanks to both of you!

>I am a little concerned that there might not be any seats left, and that I will be stuck.

Except in the night trains and one or two daily Pendolino trains between Vienna and Prague, "no seats left" is not even a concept. If no seats are left you sit in the pull-down jumpseats in the corridor, or on your luggage, until there is a free seat. This situation is very rare - maybe during big football championships or festivals. But then, buying a ticket in advance won´t help you either.

Thank you!