European Rail Travel - VIE-KRK rail question

I find it very expensive to do one ways on the airlines (VIE-KRK and PRG-VIE) in August. I think the train might be a better choice. I'm traveling alone and need to know the best way to book these trips by rail. Night trains would be fine with a sleeper cabin.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I dont know if its possible to buy these in advance for the sleepers.

There are also buses VIE-KRK at about $40 - day and overnight - buyable on voyager.pl

I arrive in VIE at 2PM, so an afternoon (5PM?) train would also work without a sleeper.

Itin is ANC-SEA-BOS-LHR-VIE pretty much non-stop which is why I was thinking about the sleeper.

I find it very expensive to do one ways on the airlines (VIE-KRK and PRG-VIE) in August. I think the train might be a better choice. I'm traveling alone and need to know the best way to book these trips by rail. Night trains would be fine with a sleeper cabin.

I arrive in VIE at 2PM, so an afternoon (5PM?) train would also work without a sleeper.

Firstly, note that:
- European trains generally don't open for sale until 90 days before departure (some sleeper trains may have a longer booking window than that, but I think Czech Railways and some other operators in central/eastern Europe only have a 60 day window). So, tickets for August probably won't be on sale yet - but you can get an idea of things by checking for dates in May or June. (There is theoretically a timetable change in early June, but it will probably be fairly minor - the major change is in December).
- Seat61 (http://www.seat61.com) is a good resource for all things related to European train travel (although I don't think it will explicitly cover your proposed routes).
- The best place to look for actually booking trains is the relevant operator (ÖBB (http://www.oebb.at) (Austrian Railways) for Vienna-Krakow, CD (http://www.cd.cz/eshop) (Czech Railways) for Prague-Vienna)

Vienna to Krakow by train is about 8 hours, so there is no 'afternoon' option. However, there is a night train, D406, which departs Vienna Westbahnhof at 22:08, and arrives Krakow Glowny at 07:03. I would normally expect this train to have sleeper compartments (most likely the same as those on the Jan Kiepura (http://www.seat61.com/train-from-amsterdam-to-warsaw.htm) between Amsterdam and Warsaw), and probably couchettes, as well as just seats. However, for some reason ÖBB shows this train as having only seats for most of the summer. I am not sure if this is just an IT glitch, or whether the sleeper service is actually suspended (summer seems a strange time so suspend it, but perhaps there's engineering works or something).

You can probably book a seat online (at www.oebb.at), but personally I would recommend a sleeper (or at least a couchette) if at all possible. You'll probably need to phone ÖBB (+43 (0)5-1717, open 24hrs; you should be able to find an English speaker, if you ask) to see if there actually are sleeper berths on this train, and if so, to book one. It should be possible to pay by credit card, and then collect the ticket at the station on the day of travel. I'd guess that the 'global price' for a ticket, plus a berth in 2-berth sleeper compartments starts at around €80 (but I don't know for sure). If you're travelling in a 2-berth or single-berth sleeper, I think you get access to the ÖBB lounge at Westbahnhof before departure.

For Prague to Vienna there are several direct trains each day, taking around 4.5hrs. It should be possible to book these at www.cd.cz/eshop, for 481Kc (~US$25), I think as a self-print online-ticket. (Note that for European trains, you actually need to have a print-out of the online ticket with you - the reference number alone is not enough). However, remember that bookings won't open until 60 days in advance.

There is also a night train from Prague to Vienna, D407 departing at 00:05 and arriving at 06:22. Unfortunately this gives you a fairly short night's sleep (although you can join the train when it arrives in Prague at 23:26). In the past, there were some carriages just for Prague-Vienna, which left Prague a bit earlier, to give you more time to sleep, but I can't see this option in the current timetable, so it seems they've removed it. I don't think this night train can be booked online, so you'd need to call CD (+420 840 112 113). They're also quite good at responding to inquiries by email (info@cd.cz) but you can't buy a ticket over email.

Thank you both for your help. I'll check this out when the window opens to book the trips.:)

Look at this Site:
https://westbus.at/en
https://westbahn.at/en

Glad I saw this thread. We are going to the KRK DO as well.

I have a similar question, although we have two legs - BUD-PRG and then PRG-KRK. I am looking at this website to purchase a sleeper for two:

http://czech-transport.com/transport-service

Prices appear to be $320 (+ or - ) for two people for both legs. Can anyone advise if that sounds like a reasonable cost?

Glad I saw this thread. We are going to the KRK DO as well.

I have a similar question, although we have two legs - BUD-PRG and then PRG-KRK. I am looking at this website to purchase a sleeper for two:

http://czech-transport.com/transport-service

Prices appear to be $320 (+ or - ) for two people for both legs. Can anyone advise if that sounds like a reasonable cost?

You mean for both legs total, or individually?

I paid the equal of 180 USD for a 2-person sleeper from Prague to Budapest just last week. Day train is 25 USD per person. Supposedly it is significantly more to go Budapest to Prague, although I have no experience with that.

Prague to Krakow should be a 39 euro ticket plus 21 euro suppliement (per person), so around 75 USD per person total.

So if you can travel both of those legs for 320 USD total, and be in double sleeper compartments (not triple), then it sounds like a pretty good deal. Czech transport is a ticket reseller though and they do charge a service fee, so it's hard to imagine you couldn't get a better deal at the train stations in Budapest and Prague.

I paid the equal of 180 USD for a 2-person sleeper from Prague to Budapest just last week. Day train is 25 USD per person. Supposedly it is significantly more to go Budapest to Prague, although I have no experience with that.

In theory, the cheapest advance purchase sleeper (for 2 persons) from Budapest to Prague is €118, so about $150.

However, I very much doubt that would be available in mid-August.

In theory, the cheapest advance purchase sleeper (for 2 persons) from Budapest to Prague is €118, so about $150.

However, I very much doubt that would be available in mid-August.

59 euros? So where do you see this theoretical price? :)

59 euros? So where do you see this theoretical price? :)

SparNight fares here (http://goo.gl/gPo1S).

They were only introduced a few months ago (from Budapest) at the same time as the 1st class day fare, I believe.

Wow, that's excellent...I knew for a while it was possible to get a SparNight from CD but was not possible the other direction...thanks!

You mean for both legs total, or individually?

I paid the equal of 180 USD for a 2-person sleeper from Prague to Budapest just last week. Day train is 25 USD per person. Supposedly it is significantly more to go Budapest to Prague, although I have no experience with that.

Prague to Krakow should be a 39 euro ticket plus 21 euro suppliement (per person), so around 75 USD per person total.

So if you can travel both of those legs for 320 USD total, and be in double sleeper compartments (not triple), then it sounds like a pretty good deal. Czech transport is a ticket reseller though and they do charge a service fee, so it's hard to imagine you couldn't get a better deal at the train stations in Budapest and Prague.

It's actually closer to $340 USD and that was total for two people in a 2person sleeper. BUD =>PRG was 144 Euro, PRG =>KRK was 126 Euro. (eta - I'm using a date in July to price as August is too far out - not sure if that is going to make a difference).

I'm also looking at the mav-start website but it's not too user-friendly.

I'm not overly concerned about paying a few bucks more to get a confirmed seat ahead of time, although I do realize the consensus is they don't sell out if one buys locally three days ahead - well thats what I read on the internet - has to be true. :-: :)

It's actually closer to $340 USD and that was total for two people in a 2person sleeper. BUD =>PRG was 144 Euro, PRG =>KRK was 126 Euro. (eta - I'm using a date in July to price as August is too far out - not sure if that is going to make a difference).

I'm also looking at the mav-start website but it's not too user-friendly.

I'm not overly concerned about paying a few bucks more to get a confirmed seat ahead of time, although I do realize the consensus is they don't sell out if one buys locally three days ahead - well thats what I read on the internet - has to be true. :-: :)

So given what railways said above, Bud-Prg is 118 euros, and prg-krk should be 120 euros max...I thought their surcharge was more than 6 euros, so it's quite possible there's something I'm missing about the cost on the prg-krk and it's more around 100 euros.

Whether the extra cost is up to you is something only you know ...

FWIW, when I bought my Prg-Bud sleeper for a trip about 3 weeks out, a good 70-80% of the sleepers were booked. So I wouldn't be entirely confident about them ALWAYS being available around the day of travel.

FWIW, when I bought my Prg-Bud sleeper for a trip about 3 weeks out, a good 70-80% of the sleepers were booked. So I wouldn't be entirely confident about them ALWAYS being available around the day of travel.

Yeah I don't really want to take the chance. :). How was the sleeper, btw?

I'll let you know in about 10 days.