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Ideal Prague/Vienna split

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Old Dec 24, 2019, 4:06 am
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Ideal Prague/Vienna split

I’m planning a trip to Prague in July. Debating whether I should do a solid 5 days there or make it a bit longer and split it up with Vienna.

If I choose the latter, how does getting into Prague via red eye on a Saturday, taking the train to Vienna Wednesday morning and flying back Saturday? I’ve never been to either city.
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Old Dec 24, 2019, 5:23 am
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Quite honestly, it depends what type of traveller you are - i.e. whether you want a taste of a couple of different places, or whether you want to explore one place in detail.

Your plan would give you three clear days (Sun, Mon, Tues) in Prague and two clear days (Thur, Fri) in Vienna. This is definitely enough to get a taste of each place - although depending on whether you hit the ground running after the red-eye on Saturday, you may want to head to Vienna on the Tuesday and have the extra day there.

Budget is another consideration. Vienna is not on the scale of Zürich or Oslo, but it is a noticeably more expensive city that Prague.
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Old Dec 24, 2019, 7:58 am
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Originally Posted by Jerry Mattern

If I choose the latter, how does getting into Prague via red eye on a Saturday, taking the train to Vienna Wednesday morning and flying back Saturday? I’ve never been to either city.
This should work just fine. You won't get to see and do everything in either city, but if you plan carefully you'll be able to do quite a bit and get a good feel for both. Two great cities.

You don't explicitly state a couple things, so I'm going to note them just in case you haven't thought about them:
- Book an open jaw/multi-city flight so you fly into one city and out of the other.
- Take the earliest train you can bear from Prague to Vienna, as it's about 4-5 hours I believe. I tend to look for something around 8 am so I can arrive in the new city for lunch and still get half a day of sightseeing.
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Old Dec 24, 2019, 12:05 pm
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While I probably like Prague more than Vienna (kind of like choosing between a Porsche and a Benz), I would use the extra day in Vienna, especially if you are a foody or into museums. Mrs pbiflyer did both last year and felt that 5 full days total wasn't nearly enough.
Do the walking tour of Prague the first day, covers quite a bit and you can decide on what you want to go back to and see.
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Old Dec 24, 2019, 5:17 pm
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OP's plans make me think of someone who has the choice between having a full six-course dinner at a Michelin 3* restaurant or going to two different 3* restaurants and having, in both, courses one to six.
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Old Dec 25, 2019, 8:31 am
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the OP is thinking how best to split up 5 days bet PRG & VIE and I could easily spend 5 days in each and still not see everything Id want to (again, since Ive been to both several times)
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Old Dec 25, 2019, 8:35 am
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the wrong question

Why are you going to Prague? IME, Prague is a nice European capital which was not destroyed by WW II. But I would be tempted to spend as little time there as possible and instead move on to Vienna, Budapest and/or Bratislava.
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Old Dec 25, 2019, 3:36 pm
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Either one week in Prague or a week split between Prague and Vienna should be excellent. If you spend the week in Prague there are plenty of interesting places to visit for day trips e.g Dresden, 2 hours away. I spent a 10 day trip divided between Vienna, 3 days, Prague 4 days,Budapest 3 days. I wouldn’t change anything about that trip. If you are going to Vienna I think your plan of going Wednesday imorning is what I would do.
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Old Dec 26, 2019, 10:50 am
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Originally Posted by Antonio8069
Why are you going to Prague? IME, Prague is a nice European capital which was not destroyed by WW II. But I would be tempted to spend as little time there as possible and instead move on to Vienna, Budapest and/or Bratislava.
Please, spend as little time there as possible. One less tourist means I can spend more time there without feeling crowded out.

I adore Prague. There is a ton of history, amazing food, gorgeous architecture, tons of things to do.
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Old Dec 31, 2019, 5:51 pm
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I think Vienna has a lot more to offer than Prague
I did not enjoy Prague very much. Not sure what was the main problem but service in general is bad, lots of scams at tourists, pricey for what it is (second tier city in Europe).
Vienna on the other hand is regal.
If you must see both then I would divide the time 25/75 % or 30/70 % - with more time in Vienna of course.
Vienna is expensive in general but there are less pricey options for hotels, transportation, museums, music and food options.
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Old Jan 1, 2020, 9:49 am
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Originally Posted by keisari
I think Vienna has a lot more to offer than Prague
I did not enjoy Prague very much. Not sure what was the main problem but service in general is bad, lots of scams at tourists, pricey for what it is (second tier city in Europe).
Vienna on the other hand is regal.
If you must see both then I would divide the time 25/75 % or 30/70 % - with more time in Vienna of course.
Vienna is expensive in general but there are less pricey options for hotels, transportation, museums, music and food options.
It really depends on what you're looking for. I'd encourage the OP to do some research on his own and decide. I fully agree with your points about Prague being overrun with tourists and the poor service, in comparison to Vienna. On the other hand, I think Prague is a much prettier city (although Vienna is pretty too) and there are some unique historic sites, such as the Jewish Quarter that you can't see in Vienna. And the beer, along with some of the drinking venues, in Prague is superior to Vienna.

Vienna has a clean, safe feeling about it, while Prague is a little grittier. I like a little of each in my European trips. The OP shouldn't discount either city.
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Old Jan 8, 2020, 1:12 pm
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Tour guides for Prague viennna and budapest

I am looking for a tour guides for both Vienna and Prague we will be in Prague three days and will be in Vienna for 4 days. if anybody has any good recommendations with names and emails I would appreciate it. tia
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