My route will be:
Krakow --%26gt; Praha (3days) --%26gt; Cesky Kromlov (1 night) --%26gt; Budapest
I will take overnight trai to Praha, take bus to Cesky Kromlov on 10 or 11 May. Having read a few topics in this page, it seems that direct conncection from Cesky Kromlov to Budapest is not possible (neither by bus nor train), shall I go back to Praha for heading to Budapest? I would like to spend a night in Cesky Kromlov if the following day connection to Budapest is not too time consuming. Any advice, please?
If the transport is really too troublesome, I have to cancel the plan of staying one night in Cesky Kromlov which I really want to visit...
Thanks.
|||
So sorry but I cannot help with the Budapest issue. However, if at all possible please try to stay at CK. It is a real gem (sounds like you are more than aware of that already!). May is a gorgeous time to be going. Enjoy!
|||
Pretty much your only option is to get the train, leaving CK at 0805, canging in Ceske Budejovice to the 0902 to Linz, and then the direct train from Linz, dep. 1206, arriving in Budapest at 1653.
There shouldn%26#39;t be a problem purchasing this ticket even at Cesky Krumlov station, either before departure or the night before.
Hope this helps!
|||
I am having this trip as honeymoon and love to spend at least a night in CK. Saying that I head to CK in the morning from Praha, spend a night there. Would it be better if I go back to Praha the other day, try to catch the overnight train to Budapest? If yes, could you let me know the concerned train schedule and fare?
Alternatively, if I take the CB, Linz, Budapest option, it%26#39;s possible to complete the journey in one day? (Gosh, one day only spend on traffic...)
Which option will you take?
|||
I could give better advice if I knew what your budget was, how long you will be staying in Europe, and if this trip is your first one to Europe. However let me comment on your route in the order that you mentioned it. As someone who has ridden the trains in Europe for over 35 years from Stockholom to Rome and from London to Moscow, the first thing that concerns me is your plan to take the overnight train from Krakow to Prague. During my trips to Prague I have seen too many tourists in the Embassies who have been robbed of all their money and passports on overnight trains from Poland to Prague even when using the much safer (than open seating) sleeping compartments. Before your trip be sure to go to www.ricksteves.com and read his articles about train travel and theft, etc.. His web page on %26quot;point to point%26quot; tickets says the second class fare from Prague to Budapest is $65 (first class is usually 50% higher), but this amount does not include the extra charges for a couchette or sleeping compartment. At www.idos.cz there are details about the bus and train schedules. There is an English language option; be sure to type in your EXACT date of travel since the schedules change often. On most nights there is a train with sleeping accommodations that leaves the main train station in Prague at 21:47 and arrives in Budapest the next morning at 7:03 without transfers.
Rather than staying three days in Prague (one and a half to two days is plenty of time to see all of the main sites there), visit Hallstatt (just south east of Salzburg and a half day%26#39;s trip from Cesky Krumlov) for a beautiful honeymoon experience in this stunning mountain lake town. Be sure to take the boat that goes from the town to the train station across the lake for additional romantic views. At www.castleview.cz there are links on the left side of the Home Page to detailed articles about visiting Prague for a day, going to Hallstatt, getting from Prague to Cesky Krumlov, getting from Cesky Krumlov to Vienna, Salzburg, etc.
I agree that if your time is limited, you don%26#39;t want to spend all day on the train. If you have never seen Salzburg and Vienna, please consider them instead of Budapest and Krakow. I think Cesky Krumlov (at night when the day tourists have left and floodlights illuminate the Castle), Salzburg, and Vienna (especially the tram ride around the Ring at night when floodlights illuminate the majestic buildings) are just as romantic, and perhaps more so, than Krakow and Budapest. They are certainly closer together which would mean shorter train/bus rides. One of the posts above mentioned going from Cesky Krumlov by train NORTH to Ceske Budejovice then SOUTH to Linz. An easier/faster option is to take one of the many van shuttles from Cesky Krumlov SOUTH to the Linz train station then riding the train to Budapest. Of course if your budget would allow it, such services at www.mike-chauffeur.cz would remove a lot of the hassle of public transportation and close bus/train transfers with a lot of luggage.
Remember that such famous sites as the Castle in Cesky Krumlov are closed on Mondays unless Monday is a state holiday. Be sure to include Tour #1 of the Castle that includes the famous Masquerade Hall where people painted on the walls seem to step out into the room.
|||
Thank you Timkeane very much for your detail suggestion. This is not my first time to Europe and I have been to Salzbury and Vienna before, actually been to the western europe several times. So we would concentrate on eastern europe this time.
I know the risk of taking overnight train. We have considered taking overnight bus if it would be better but we didn%26#39;t have time to gather the bus information before we started our trip. (We are now in Lativa already.)
We didn%26#39;t get the so-called europass before we left Hong Kong, so we would limited the travel by rail if possible. Just checking if there are better alternatives so that we could also explore and enjoy the peacefuless of CK.
|||
I have checked that if I take shuttle from CK to Linz, I can take another 5-hr train to Budapest(fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en?OK#focus). However, I don%26#39;t know German, don%26#39;t know what the price is: Preis mit VORTEILScard: 30euro? Preis ohne Ermässigung: 60euro?
|||
At www.ricksteves.com/rail/timecostmap.htm the price from Vienna to Budapest is $49.30 second class. If you print a copy of this %26quot;time/cost map,%26quot; it will help you analyze discounts at European train stations. At https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl… the price from Linz to Vienna is 29.10 Euros second class; at today%26#39;s rate shown at http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi the price is $45.28. The total from Linz to Budapest is therefore about $95 second class although there are many discounts for buying the train ticket in advance, showing your student ID, several people going together, etc.
If you check German websites carefuly, many do have an English language option; however it is often hard to find being listed under %26quot;languages%26quot; rather than simply showing a nation%26#39;s flag for the different language.
|||
I forgot to mention the %26quot;Student Agency%26quot; buses between Prague and Budapest for the bargain price of $28 one way (less if you are under 26 and much less with a student ID). As noted at studentagencybus.com/en/… you could leave Prague at 6:30 am and be in Budapest at 13:45 pm for many hours of sightseeing that same day! One does NOT have to be a student to use these buses, and they have significantly improved their English website this month so it is MUCH easier to use. For a detailed review of their new service between Prague and Cesky Krumlov read the article at www.castleview.cz/en/from-prague-airport.html about half way down the page.
|||
I%26#39;m glad that Student Agency has done something about their website - they must have been reading these forums :) Saved me a bit of time, anyway...
|||
Dear GCEK,
Although %26quot;Student Agency%26quot; has greatly improved the English part of their %26quot;international%26quot; travel section, the information about getting from Prague to Cesky Krumlov is still only in Czech. When you get the chance, I am sure readers of this website would appreciate any help you can provide in navigating through the details.
No comments:
Post a Comment