Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trains from Prague

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Trains from Prague - Advice required

Hello, I am looking for some advice on costs of train travel starting at Prague. I intend to travel from Prague to Budapest on Sat 19/4/2003 overnight or possibly Sun 20/4/2003. Can anyone tell me how much this journey will cost,overnight or daytime? Do I need to book in advance? I will then travel from Budapest to Bratislava on Tuesday 22/4/2003 - Again how much will this cost and do I need to book in advance? I then hope to travel from Bratislava to Vienna on Wed 23/4/2003 and again wonder how much will this cost and do I need to book in advance? Thanks for any replies. Alan

Alan, I am not going to be much help but at least I can bring this to the top. You shouldn't need to book in advance, especially that time of year. I would book any overnight travel as soon as you arrive though to be safe. Regarding cost, the trains within the Czech republic were very inexpensive but I am not sure where you can look online other than raileurope.com and their prices are inflated by about 50% but it might give you a general idea.

go to cedok.com - e-mail them they'll quote you and you can pick up tkts at their office in Prague - very reasonable in Czeck Karunas

The January issue of the Thomas Cook European timetable gives figures in euros thus for one-way second class fares on express day trains, including 2 euros for a seat reservation. Prague to Budapest 60 Budapest to Bratislava 26 Bratislava to Vienna 17 (which is expensive for an hour s travel). You are travelling in Easter week, a peak travel time, so need to book in advance. You can book the second and third seats on arrival in Prague. For the night train from Prague at 2334 to Budapest at 0813 you pay totals of 100 euros for a berth in a three berth second class compartment, 150 euros for a berth in a two berth first class compartment or 180 euros for a single sleeper. As Bethm says, you should book this ten days in advance by credit card via e-mail, with Cedok Travel, www.cedok.cz, and the tickets will be at your hotel upon arrival in Prague. The day train, too, can become full at Easter, so I think you should book that by e-mail with Cedok, and while you are doing that you might as well book all your journeys with them. Times for the distant trains are these: each train except the 1655 has a restaurant car. Prague 0858 to Budapest 1548 Prague 1247 to Budapest 1948 Prague 1556 to Budapest 2248 Budapest 0610 to Bratislava 0834 Budapest 1010 to Bratislava 1234 Budapest 1205 to Bratislava 1450 Budapest 1410 to Bratislava 1634 Budapest 1655 to Bratislava 1949 Trains leave Bratislava Hlavni at 0500 Mon to Fri, 0602R, 0805, 1107, 1250R, 1507, 1750R, and 1907 and take 90 minutes to Vienna. Only some of these have seats that you can reserve: I have marked them R. Trains leave Bratislava Petrzalka station, in the south of the city, at 0500 Mon to Fri, 0535 not Sun, 0609 Mon to Fri, 0710, 1015, 1415 not Sun, 1515 Mon to Fri, 1615, 1715 Mon to Fri, and 1915 Mon to Fri. They take an hour: you cannot reserve seats on them. Prague Hlavni has pickpockets who work in gangs of three, so you should pass through the station carrying only a little cash and your railway ticket: all else should be in a packet inside your biggest bag. [email protected]

I forgot to say that I arrive on Sat 19/4/2003 and want to depart either overnight on Sat 19/4/2003 or early Sun 20/4/2003 so is there an office I could collect the tickets from in Prague or is it possible for these to be posted to me. Is it too risky to book on the day ie I arrive at Prague at 4pm and go straight to the train station and book the overnight train to Budapest? Is the day train from Prague to Budapest scenic and worthwhile or is better to get the overnight train? Thanks in advance Alan

Yes, I am afraid it is too risky. You arrive on Easter Saturday and leave that day or early on Easter Sunday. As I said, peak travel times. So I think you should book now with Cedok in Prague by e-mail, and ask them your question about how you will receive your tickets. They will need to know when your plane touches down. You can ask them, too, whether they can deliver the tickets to you at home by recorded delivery airmail: they probably can. The early morning sleeper leaves Prague Hlavni station at 0021 and reaches Bratislava in the Bem Express at 0606. There you must leave your sleeper, and wait in the cold station till 0715 when the Amicus Express leaves, to reach Budapest at 1017. So I do hope your plane lands in time to let you book the Pannonia Express, Prague Hlavni 2334 to Budapest 0813. The day train on this route is not scenic. There is a scenic route via Havlickuv Brod, but it takes fifty minutes longer and you change at Brno. For example: Prague Hlavni 1008, Brno 1335 to 1349, Smetana Express with restaurant car, Breclav cross-platform change 1422 to 1426, Budapest 1833. On the direct route, the Smetana express leaves Prague Holesovice at 1058. [email protected]

Thanks for the replies so far. I have tried to book via Cedok in London but they say that they will only leave the tickets at a hotel that you must book through them. I looked at raileurope.com but they do not appear to send tickets to the UK. My flight arrives at 1625 local time on Saturday 19/04/2003. Can anyone else offer any assistance in this matter? Thanking you in advance. Alan

Cedok in Prague are more helpful than Cedok in London. I think you might e-mail them. If that fails, please thell me. You could then try these: Trainseurope Ltd, of Cambridgeshire and London, take credit card bookings by phone and mail tickets to any address. Have the widest access in Britain to rail systems and tickets. http://www.trainseurope.co.uk/ - E-mail [email protected]. Phone 00 44 900 195 0101 - calls from Britain cost 60p per minute, maximum £5, but if the enquiry results in a booking, the cost of the call is deducted from the final invoice. German Rail UK: www.deutsche-bahn.co.uk/ Phone : 00 44 870 243 53 63 then 6. Fax : 00 44 20 8339 4700. E-mail : [email protected] Ffestiniog Travel, site http://www.festtravel.co.uk, e-mail [email protected], phone 01 766 512 400 I am glsd to see that you can take the earlier, direct, train Ben Haines

Thanks for that. You are right - Cedok in Prague are more helpful than London. They charged me 1952 CZK for 1 bed in 3 berth overnight sleeper - Seems a bit cheap? They have said that I can collect my tickets from their office at the airport - although I am not 100% certain where it is in the airport. I suppose the proof of pudding will be in the eating - ie when I get my train tickets on arrival and my train journey goes to plan. Thanks once again. Alan

Glad to have helped. You are paying USD67.54, which I agree is cheap. You will share your compartment with two people of your sex, but they will make little odds, since on this fairly short journey you will all be keen to lock the door, put the main lights off, and go to sleep or read using the reading lamp at your head. I find that the top berth gives the best night s sleep, as you are untroubled by any fellow passenger who chooses to start the morning early. I comment on this and other aspects at http://www.twenj.com/tipsnighttrains.htm For about 100 dollars you can travel alone, first class. But I think the extra expenditure has little point. To speak more widely, yes, the Czech Republic is cheap. You do not much see that in the tourist areas of Prague, but step two blocks away and you find restaurants and shops that serve people on an income of one or two thousand dollars a month. I am sure that Cedok will be glad if you will e-mail them now to ask where they are in the airport. Like me, they know that first time visitors to the Republic are waiting to prove the pudding (not that Czechs know about puddings). As ever, please write again if I can help further. Ben Haines, London

Ben and anyone else who posted,I would just like to thank you for your assistance in this matter.

I collected the ticket at Prague airport from the Cedok desk with no problems.

The only problem I encountered was on the train itself :-

After passing through Gyor in Hungary,the train guard knocked on my cabin door - I was alone in the cabin - and told me that my ticket was incorrect and I had to pay an international supplement of 2385Florint.

I advised the guard that I had no Florint to pay him only Czech Koruna , he then asked me if I had any Euros, which I hadn't - he persisted on telling me my ticket was incorrect until I asked to call the police on our arrival at Budapest Kelti - which I had paid to per my ticket - at which point he left my cabin and did not return.

I hope this experience will help fellow readers who may experience this on Hungarian trains.

Thank you once again for all your help.

Alan