tamorrell

I am travelling from Krakow to Budapest and didn't realize it is a 10-hour train ride at night. We plan on getting two sleeping rooms. Can anyone tell me how the sleeping conditions are on a train? We have never done this before. Also, the train leaves at 10:30 pm. Do you know how early we can board the train?

rankourabu

It depends on what time the attendant opens the train.

I have done this ride a few times in both directions as I have family in very southern Poland.

It is a very comfortable ride, except for the fact that you still get woken up four times throughout the night, twice at each border.

The reason why the ride is so long because the train goes through the mountains, the route in Poland to the border is not exactly direct, and there still is some time wasted on the borders

Leviticus

Hi there !

Having taken this trip many times I am pretty sure I can help you.

There is a small difference between Polish and Hungarian trains, the Hungarian ones have a little bit nicer sleepers and the Polish ones have a little bit nicer seating. It also depends on which class you are travelling in. First is usually with two beds and second is with four, both classes though, are among the best you can find in Europe because both countries use their absolute nicest trains on these routes, manufactured in Germany and Austria in the last two to five years.

Your train will start it's journey in Krakow (it is not a connecting one from Warsaw) so you will mosy likely to be able to board by 9pm.

Be prepared to be waken up about three-four times during the night for border control !

Here is your schedule...

tkey75

Where can I find schedules on the web (in English )? I need a train form Bratislava Hlava Stnacia to Warsaw (for the 75 eur. a night Westin I just booked). Thanks.

Leviticus

Hi tkey75 !

This is the English language website of the German national train systems, one of the best sites out there, they have a searchable database of all the train routes in Europe and all of Russia, very easy to use as well and always accurate !

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Have a nice trip

tkey75

Thanks, Leviticus. I appreciate the help. I'm sure this will come in handy many times over and over again.

I'll tell ya what, though - I'm not even sure what I was doing or thinking when I booked the hotel. I had a weekend free in BTS, and Poland sounded like a fun time (I am Polish, after all) so why not? Well, Warsaw ain't right around the corner. An 11 hour oernight train ride. Hmm. I'm definitely considering other travel options, but I am running into some trouble...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=532536

Leviticus

You are very welcome ! To see the schedule for a specific train, just click on the train number on the right side of the search result screen after the result show up.

And I will tell you what as well...
Forget about Warsaw, you can see everything there in a day and a half, try to explore Krakow instead, it is a lot nicer city, walkable, and lots to see and do, you could entertain your self for weeks there.
So... if you "just have a weekend", stay in Krakow, if you on the other hand have a week to spare, you could take a two day trip to Warsaw.

WBurcham

LOT is having some amazing fares right now. I'm flying from PRG-KRK for 90US next week and KRK to BUD for 115. I think the little extra money to avoid the train is worth it.

tkey75

That's basically all Warsaw is - a three day side trip. I've never been there, it was cheap, so why not? Krakow is on the list, also, just not this time.

magyarflieger

One thing to note about this train, several thefts from tourists have occurred on this route, occasionally with compartment gassings. As long as you keep your compartment door locked, you should be fine. The problems tend to happen after/before the Polish border crossing when the train makes numerous stops at little stations, where it is easy to jump on/off the train. I've done this trip several times and have never had an issue, the only really annoying thing are the frequent stops at border crossings. Enjoy both Krakow and Budapest!

ddoliwa

Hi,
There are a lot trains (every hour) from Krakow to Warsaw (duration 2.45).
From Warsaw to Budapest you can consider low cost airline: www.wizzair.pl

Nice stay in Poland.

Xeno

Warning to those who jump in, I am reviving a thread from 2006.

My question is about Warsaw to Budapest. I am having trouble finding the fare for the night sleeper and would like some comment about the quality of the trains.

I am flying an open jaw USA-WAW, BUD-USA. It looks like the least expensive one way flight WAW-BUD is a little more than a RT (without the hotel) and comes in at $300.

Help would be appreciated.

stut

You could try http://www.polrail.com/ - it will let you book international journeys. For a random date in September, I'm getting fares of 1023PLN for a single sleeper compartment (US$324) but I'm not sure if this site carries the SparNight discounts.

stut

Note that http://www.wizzair.com/ also flies WAW-BUD, with fares around the 120PLN mark not too difficult to get.

KQ321

The night-train (D407 'Chopin') leaves Warszawa Centralna at 20:20 and arrives Budapest Keleti at 08:35. If you want a full day in Warsaw, followed by a full day in Budapest, with a reasonable night's sleep in between*, I would say this is almost certainly a better option than flying.

According to vagonweb.cz, the sleeper carriages on this train alternate between those operated by Wars (Polish railways) and Utasellátó (Hungarian railways). Looking at the photos, they both appear to have been originally built in East Germany in the 1980s, although I think the Wars ones have been upgraded since then. However, although they're a bit old, I actually quite like these carriages - they have the basics (washbasin; electric socket (which may or may not work), etc), but are much more spacious than more modern sleeper compartments, and they have windows you can open (better for photography during the day time, etc). They don't have showers.

The train also has a couchette carriage (presumably also from a similar era), but it's probably worth paying the relatively modest extra amount to get a sleeper berth (in a shared compartment - single compartments are nearly always significantly more expensive...)

Unfortunately, PKP (Polish Railways) don't appear to sell tickets for this train online. So, if you want to get your ticket (and, more importantly, sleeper reservation) before you arrive, you'll probably have to use a travel agent. Polrail seem to have a good reputation, and can sell tickets for this train. However, they charge 567Zl (~$180) for berth in a 4-berth couchette compartment, up to 633Zl (~$201) for a berth in a 2-berth sleeper compartment, or 1,023Zl (~$325) for a berth in single sleeper compartment.

These prices are all somewhat higher than I would have expected (apparently MAV offer tickets in the other direction, starting at €49 for a berth in a 2-berth sleeper; and Warsaw-Prague in a 2-berth sleeper was ~€70 a couple of years ago (purchased in Czech, not Poland, though)). It does seem that Warsaw-Budapest is a more expensive route than Warsaw-Prague, and that tickets starting in Poland are more expensive than tickets in the other direction. However, if you will be in Poland for a while before you travel to Budapest, you should be able to buy your ticket directly at a station in Poland, which should be somewhat cheaper than the travel agent price. (Although of course, if you try to book at short notice in peak season, you may find that there's no availability left...)

More information is, of course, available on Seat61...

* Some people find it difficult to sleep on night-trains, even in a proper sleeper berth. I wouldn't recommend travelling overnight in a seat, but I can sleep adequately in a couchette, as well as a sleeper. And heading out to an airport for an early morning check-in tends not to allow much sleep, either... YMMV.