Train from Prague to Budapest?

[2cruisecats]

We're taking a Viking Budapest to Amsterdam river this August and thinking of going a week early to Prague,  then taking a train to Budapest. If you have taken the train, I'd be interested in hearing about your experience.  Train class. Luggage on the train  (we will have luggage as away for 4 weeks). How far in advance to book, etc.  Thanks!

[beesKate]

We haven't done this exact route, but whenever I have European train travel questions I first check www.seat61.  He's a wealth of knowledge!  PRAGUE to BUDAPEST by train | Tickets from €16 (seat61.com)

[familytravellers]

4 hours ago, 2cruisecats said:

We're taking a Viking Budapest to Amsterdam river this August and thinking of going a week early to Prague,  then taking a train to Budapest. If you have taken the train, I'd be interested in hearing about your experience.  Train class. Luggage on the train  (we will have luggage as away for 4 weeks). How far in advance to book, etc.  Thanks!

We took an Emerald cruise last spring that ended in Budapest.  You could do this itinerary in the reverse if you're interested. We flew from Budapest with Ryanair to Krakow, Poland (1 hour flight). It's a beautiful city and reminded me a lot of Prague. It's also very budget friendly and well-worth the visit if you have the time. We then took a bus from Krakow (2.5 hour bus ride with Lajkonik - lots of buses leaving Krakow daily - about $8 CDN/person) to the quaint city of Cieszyn, Poland. We chose to stay overnight to break up our trip (accommodations are very inexpensive in this city. Check out booking.com) We then caught a direct train with Regiojet to Prague in the morning (we caught the 8:06 am train but there are a few other trains during the day). It's a 5 hour train ride. Book Business Class as it's only about $30/person CDN and you'll have a private compartment with max 4 people. Great, inexpensive food on board the train too! You have to walk across a bridge (no border control) into the Czech Republic and catch the train from Cesky Tesin. It's about a 15 minute walk from the main square in Cieszyn or you could arrange a taxi to take you to the train station if you have a lot of luggage. You'll love Prague although it's likely to be very crowded - especially in August.  Have a wonderful trip!

[AnhaltER1960]

Direct trains from Prague hl.n (central station) to Budapest run every 2 hrs at 07:24 /09:24.... and take roughly 7 hours.

There are no luggage restrictions. You can take as much luggage as you can carry - just do not expect any help.

More info, prices, booking on the website of Czech Railways see https://www.cd.cz/en

 

[loriva]

On 2/7/2023 at 5:52 AM, AnhaltER1960 said:

Direct trains from Prague hl.n (central station) to Budapest run every 2 hrs at 07:24 /09:24.... and take roughly 7 hours.

There are no luggage restrictions. You can take as much luggage as you can carry - just do not expect any help.

More info, prices, booking on the website of Czech Railways see https://www.cd.cz/en

 

 

We did this prior to a cruise in October 2021.  Easy to book on the website provided.

 

I'll second the word of warning on luggage.  They do not post the platform for the train until about 10-15 minutes prior to departure.  Then you have to get yourself from the central waiting hall to the platform.  As far as we could tell, there were only stairs from the hall running to all the platforms--about two flights' worth--no elevators.  It was a challenge to get the bags up--one person had to go up with one big bag while the other waited with the rest and then repeated the process until we had it all up.  We ended up cutting it close to be on board the train before departure.  The station in Budapest did have an elevator.

 

Given the length of the journey, we opted to book First Class.  It was not that expensive as I recall.  The Eurojet train was not that fancy, but the seats were two-by-two instead of three-by-three in Second Class.  No food or drink included, but a trolley did come along selling Czech beers (of course) and snacks.

 

The train ride itself had lovely scenery, including a long stretch along the Danube.