We are leaving in a couple of weeks to Budapest, Vienna and Prague. We are taking the train from Budapest to Vienna and then Prague. I had contacted AMEX travel to set up the transfers to hotels and was shocked at the price quoted. I did this because I don't like to hassle transportation but there has to be a better way. I was quoted $145.00 from the airport in Budapest to hotel, $90 from the train station in Vienna and $100 in Prague (for arrivals only) Maybe this is the standard cost for a private pickup. I did email the hotels to see if they had transportation but did not receive a response. We don't mind taking a van but would prefer not to use public transportation when hauling luggage.

I also had them quote the rail which was in line....

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks, Judy

I think I need to buy some Amex stock.

We were in Budapest a few weeks ago. Arranging transportation to your hotel is incredibly simple and not nearly as expensive as the price you have been quoted (unless your hotel is a 2-hour drive outside the city). After you've picked up your luggage and exited through customs, you'll be in a medium-sized hall. It is easy to see signs for a shuttle bus service. The young staff there spoke good English and very efficiently arranged to book a shuttle van for us (return trip; one way fares are also available). I can't remember the exact cost but it can't have been more than about 15 euros per person one way. There were benches in front of their kiosk, we sat down and waited for no more than 5 minutes and a gentlemen showed up and called our hotel name (Hilton - Castle District). The van was in good (although not pristine private limo-type) shape (with seatbelts) and he made just one more pick-up (at another terminal) and one stop (to drop off passengers) along the way. The drivers in both cases were pleasant and professional. One of the most efficient services I've ever had. Pick-up was just as good and just as reliable.

For Prague, we booked a taxi/van service to pick us up at the airport because I heard that taxi drivers are somewhat unscrupulous. It was a book online service, without payment in advance. Pick-up went smoothly, but the shuttle didn't show up to take us back to the airport, so we flagged a taxi, which worked just fine. I think the Prague service was about the same price (around 30 euros, maybe a little more).

The price Vienna also seems crazy. I haven't been there, but I can't imagine that it would be a hassle or would cost that much. I'm sure that it will be straightforward enough to get a taxi at the train station. We're talking Austria here, not a kleptocracy.

Thanks. In our past travels, we have always either used a van or taxi but thought I would try AMEX travel. I don't think so but maybe I will buy their stock......

Is there some reason that you can;t just get in a cab at the airport or station? We've done this numerous times all over europe and never had any problems.

I can understand why judymol would want to explore other options. In many places, I am quite comfortable arriving at an airport or train station and grabbing a cab. But there are some cities where I've felt less comfortable doing this, either because I've read some reports that the city has more than the usual share of dishonest taxi cab drivers or shuttle drivers, because of general personal security concerns or because I expect to be particularly tired and disoriented. I also have heard that in some places taxis are relatively cheap and mini-vans are a hassle and there are other places where the reverse is true. For example, I'd heard some rumours about rip-offs in taxis in Prague and decided to book a shuttle in advance (and it turned out that the shuttle was reliable on pick up but not the return the airport and the taxi driver was just fine ...) I take taxis from CDG and ORY in Paris, even though it's an indulgence, but never book mini-cabs, but a mini-cab is the best way to go in Budapest. I booked a car when I went to Mumbai and Tbilisi, Georgia, but it was overpriced and unreliable in Istanbul (now I just take taxis there - and count my change carefully). It all depends on your past experience, your comfort level and rumours/reports you've read about. judymol has now heard some first-hand reports indicating that the private car option seems overpriced and unnecessary - and she's better able to make a decision about how to spend her money.

Have a great trip - Budapest and Prague were lovely and I'd love to see Vienna.

What hotels are you staying at as quite a few of them have arrangements for pickups for a resonable charge. When I did a similar sort of trip last year. Only we did it the other way around. Started in Pargue and flew back home from Budapest. We did several options we used a prvate pickup from the airport in Prague, booked that when we booked the hotel as it was on the same site. The only reason I booked a pickup was due to our flight arriving late on a Sunday night at about 9pm. Someone drove us to the train staion when we were leaving for vienna. A friend of a friend who lives there. Otherwise we would have got a metro to the train as the hotel was near the metro line. There is also a bus that goes from the airport into the main center. Most of these hotel sites had a company that would do pickups for a small fee. When we got to Vienna train staion we got a taxi from the station.The hotel then booked a taxi for us when we were going on to Budapest. We used the metro when we got to the train station at Budapest as the hotel we were staying in was right on one of the stops. The hotel booked us a taxi when we booked out in Budapest to take us to the airport. it was all very easy and the taxis we did use were not that expensive. Thou if using taxis in Prague and Budapest I would advise you make sure you use the officail taxi rank from the airport and if you need one when leaving ensure that your hotel books it for you, same thing thing with Budapest as these 2 countries have problems with taxi drivers ripping people off. They are trying to do something about it, and Prague is getting better. We were aready warned about Prague and Budapest taxi drivers by the perosn who lives in prague and took us to teh train station.

We just got back from a trip that included Prague & Budapest. In Prague, we had the hotel (located in Mala Strana) send a driver to pick us up at the airport - paid 600 KR to the driver (under $30). When we left, we were going to the main train station - had the hotel call AAA Taxi - the hotel told us the cost would be under 200 KR - turned out it was only 116 KR (about $6). For Budapest, we used Zona Taxi, the contract taxi at the airport. I've posted the Zona Taxi info in response to someone else's question in the Hungary forum. Click on my name to find it. Have a great time.

Thanks for all the comments. As I mentioned, we have almost always just taken a taxi/van after our arrival. I looked into it this time because we will be arriving late in Budapest and will be tired and thought it would be nice to have someone standing there with our name and just hop in and go straight to the hotel. We were definitely not going to use their service for departure - but, rather have the hotel arrange transportation. I think we will just go ahead and use AMEX for arrival in Budapest. I did try the hotel site for Prague (Alchymist) but they did not answer. In any case, we are going to try that avenue again and if we don't receive an answer, will just use taxi or van service when we arrive in Prague and Vienna.

Judy