mypup2

Hello,

We are planning a trip to Prague (flying in/out of), Warsaw, Budapest and Vienna for the last week in March/first week of April for two weeks. My question arises around transportation between countries, as we will not be renting a car. Trains seem to be very pricey and I am unsure of buses. Any suggestions? Also, does this seem too aggresive for the time we have? I'd love to go to Dubrovnik too but I think that needs to be saved for another trip. Am I missing another city/country to add to the mix (not interested in Salzburg)? Any/all assitance is appreciated as I am in 'crunch time'. Much thanks! JR

JEFF_

I did these cities in about 2.5 weeks, except I did Krakow rather than Warsaw. Budapest and Vienna are about 3 hours apart by train and Vienna to Prague is another 4. So they're easy. But Krakow (or Warsaw in your case) was a long all day train ride.

I did an open jaw--flying into Budapest and leaving from Krakow. This cut out a lot of travel time. I'm assuming you already have your air tickets, so it's too late to do that. I didn't think the trains were that expensive, but I don't know your budget. Perhaps someone else is familar with buses, but I'm guessing that they're not a lot cheaper. If you haven't, you might want to check http://www.whichbudget.com/en/ for budget airlines.

I think your itinerary is already pretty ambitious for 2 weeks. Dubrovnik is definitely out of the question. You might also consider dropping Poland unless you can find an inexpensive, quick way to get there and back to Prague.

TravMimi

I love European train travel and yes it can get expensive. I find the reason it's expensive is that someone has to pay for all the people using special fares!! There are so many special fares now. They do make it complex to work through the sites to find them but they are there. Ex: 2 for 1 on italian AV high speed.

ira

Hi M,

>Am I missing another city/country to add to the mix

I think you have 1 too many cities already.

Enter your itinerary at www.railsaver.com and click "only if it saves money".

It looks like you should get a railpass - $187 pp.

Enjoy your visit.

mypup2

I meant Krakow, not Warsaw (see what happens when you should be sleeping instead of surfing!) I have us tenatively traveling in a 'circle' from Prague to Warsaw, to Budapest, Vienna, then returning to the US from Prague. I looked at the Rail Saver and it seems to be my answer but it is somewhat unclear. Is it 5 days of travel anytime in a month? Thanks for the responses so far.

lucy_d

I agree that this may be too many cities for two weeks. You may want to consider eliminating one city.

Of those you mention, I liked Warsaw the least. The entire city was destroyed during the war, so there's not much architectural interest, except for the rebuilt Old Town.

Budapest, Vienna, Prague or even Krakow are much more vibrant and exciting cities to visit.

JEFF_

The Eastern Europe rail pass is for any 5 days in a month. Don't use RailEurope as a guide to ticket prices. It's always higher than you pay at the station. A good explanation of rail passes is at http://www.ricksteves.com/rail/rail_menu.htm It also lets you compare indivual fares with the cost of a pass.

kja

It depends on your preferred pace of travel and what you want to see, but I think Prague, Krakow, Budapest, and Vienna can be done in 2 weeks if you keep a fairly active pace and/or limit your sightseeing to the things you most want to see in each place. I loved all 4 of these cities, and can't imagine leaving any one of them with the sense that I'd seen everything I would like to see! Hope that helps.