I'm a new Fodorite & welcome your help! We are travelling from Vienna to hopefully Krakow & Salzburg. Flights seem expensive, train seems long. Any ideas? We have 6 nights, hoping to spend 2-3 in Krakow, 2 in Salzburg and the last night back in Vienna B4 trip home. Any favorite ideas for accomodations in Krakow and Salzburg, centrally located & comfortable? We considered Prague or Budapest instead of Krakow but the latter seems more intriguing.

Prague is AMAZING. Not to be missed. See it if you can!

If you don't want to pay for the flight and think the train is too long, I don't know what else could be a better alternative. Krakow is a distance from Vienna, so it can't be shortened that much, but you can get there by train in the daytime and arrive about 4-5 pm (I was on that train). Salzburg isn't that from Vienna, about 3 hrs by train, as I recall, if you take the express. You couldn't even do that faster by flying, probably, with the need to get there early, wait, etc.

Of course, Salzburg and Krakow are in the opposite directions, so that would be a problem if you wanted to go from Vienna to those two next. I think Budapest is the closest to Vienna, though, if you just want to do something shorter. I did prefer Krakow myself, however.

Restaurant car trains run each hour or more often in three hours between Vienna and Salzburg. I suggest you lunch on board. Suitable trains are Vienna West 1130 to Salzburg 1427 and Salzburg 1135 to Vienna 1435.

I suggest you sleep away the hours southbound from Krakow at 2240 to Vienna West at 0656, in a 2 or 3 berth sleeper (that is, first class or second). Northbound you can break the journey at Ausschwitz (Oswiecim). Vienna South 0940, lunch available until 1330, Oswiecim 1440, leave bags in station left luggage office, walk 20 minutes or bus or taxi to the camp, Oswiecm 1732 or 1838, Krakow 1900 or 2000. Or northbound you can have a full night thus: Vienna South 2140 Warsaw Central 0700 to 0800, breakfast in the restaurant car, Krakow 1035.

Krakow main station has pickpockets who work in gangs of three and crowd you as you leave or enter a train or walk in the station. You can keep just a little money and a credit card on you, and put all other such valuables as your passport inside your heaviest piece of luggage. Or you can take a luggage trolley on the platform (but still take car as you leave the train), go to the lift, and go up with your trolley to the taxi cab rank on the station roof. You can ask the taxi driver to stop at an ATM (cash machine) on your way to your hotel. There is an ATM machine at or near Oswiecim station, too.

Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe.

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Thank you kindly for your help. We've ridden trains in Italy but never an overnight berth. Is it best or necessary to book that that reservation now B4 leaving? Ben Haines, I especially appreciate the time you took to give me such wonderful details. Are the sleeper units fairly comfortable and do they lock? The lunch idea is a great one. Is there a separate dining car and do you need a reservation for that in addition to your ticket? The whole pickpocket scene makes me nervous but we will certainly take every precaution to avoid the problem. We always use our cloth wallets under our clothes for our passports and the majority of our money. Its a shame that this has to be a concern.

The sleeper units are fairly comfortable and they have double locks which your conductir will show you (please tip him five dollars in the morning). There is a note on getting the best from sleepers and couchettes at http://www.twenj.com/tipsnighttrains.htm, and there are photos on http://www.seat61.com/. There is a separate dining car and you need no reservation. If you are early at Vienna West you can drop your bags at your seat (they are safe), walk along the platform to the car, greet the staff, and say you look forward to lunch. Or even settle then and there to a glass of Gruner Veltiner. But there is no need, and of course you have little time (11 minutes) to do it in Salzburg.
Ben Haines