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Messages - tUt

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1201
We would say that Budapest is definitely cheaper point to start your trip, since Wien and Austrian railways tariffs are higher. Especially if you are able to stay in Budapest like 3-4 days, so you can purchase cheap discounted tickets to Krakow or Praha in advance.
For instance: Budapest-Krakow (from 25 euro), Krakow-Praha (depends, but let's say around 30 euro), Praha-Wien (19 euro)

Praha-C.Krumlov by train costs 250 CZK one way and 450 CZK return, but train ride requires change in Budejovice and takes more than three and a half hours, while bus is cheaper and faster. For instance, Student Agency bus for 150 CZK one way - http://www.studentagency.cz/express/vnitro/?&en

It is as well worth noting that train rides in the Balkans are rather cheap, so you might consider train option there too. As an example, Ljulbjana-Budapest costs 29 euro one (can be bought any time at the station) etc. 

1202
Basically you have two major options here:

1) Start with Czech Republic:
a) purchase in advance discounted Spar type ticket Wien-Praha online from Austrian railways (https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=jticket.pl?ABBFSEL=8101865&ANBFSEL=5400201&LANG=EN - from 29 euro). And then take a side trip to C. Krumlov and back by bus or train.
b) use EURegio ticket (can be bought any type, stable fare) - such route explained here - http://europetrainsguide.com/forum/index.php/topic,15.0.html
From the new European timetable there is no more daytime train from Praha to Krakow, which probably means no more 19 euro discounted tickets (https://eshop.cd.cz/international/search_cd-pkp.aspx). Regular tariff on the route is 36.8 euro, but you can save if you break your ticket via border - Praha-Bohumin Czech domestic ticket 445CZK (17 euro) + Bohumin-Krakow (15 euro).
If you stay in Krakow couple days you can "hunt" for same type - Spar discounted ticket Krakow-Budapest (25 euro), need to be purchased in advance and at the station. In case you are not able to purchase the one - get Krakow-Bratislava ticket (app. 45 euro)+ Bratislava-Budapest ticket purchase in Slovakia (12 euro one way)
Budapest-Wien starts from 13 euro (but again - such tickets need to be purchased at least three days in advance at the station) or 24 euro regular one way tariff.

2) Start with Hungary: Wien-Budapest (online and in advance from OEBB website - 19 euro).
Budapest-Krakow starts from 25 euro (at least three days in advance at the station) or regular tariff - app. 65 euro. Or as in previous paragraph - Budapest-Bratislava-Krakow with breaking your ticket via Slovakia.
Krakow-Praha - same as explained above, but vice versa. Then side trip to C.Krumlov +
Praha-Wien from 19 euro (some time in advance here - https://eshop.cd.cz/international/search_cd-obb.aspx) or again via C.Budejovce.

In case both variants are too expensive for you, then we can propose even cheaper way to travel to all of the above places, but it will be rather complicated thing and require "tricky" ticket selection

And feel free to ask question (in case something isn't clear enough)

1203
As far as we understood, you are interested in Kyiv-Maribor-Kyiv. If so there are two basic cheap ways to travel here:
1) Get Ukrainian domestic train from Kyiv to Chop ("platkartnyi" starts from 90 UAH), then purchase Chop-Budapest-Chop ticket in Chop (app. 40 euro).
There is only one direct train from Budapest to Slovenia avoiding Croatia - it departs Budapest Deli at 12:03. So this is the time you need to be in Budapest (to do so you will need to use sitting carriage of train #15 Moscow-Budapest - it starts from Chop at 6:30 and arrives to Budapest Keleti at 11:17 - 45 minutes is enough in order to get from Kelelti to Deli and buy your ticket). Budapest-Maribor-Budapest ticket purchased in Budapest will cost app. 35 euro. But this 12:03 train goes from Budapest to Ljubljana not via Maribor exactly, but transiting Pragersko - only 20 minutes train ride to Maribor from there, trains Pragersko-Maribor go rather often (here you can find all the timetables - http://www.slo-zeleznice.si/en/passengers).
2) Other choice is to "hunt" for WizzAir Kyiv/Katowice-Venice(Treviso) flights, but unfortunately for you they both leave only on 28.11. From Treviso it costs only 8 euro to get to Slovenian town of Nova Gorica. If you are interested we can elaborate more on how to commute from Treviso via Nova Gorica to Maribor.

Feel free to ask questions ;)

1204
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Istanbul to Zagreb
« on: November 20, 2009, 12:49:25 am »
Best, most straight forward by rail and probably the least expensive is to take Istanbul-Sofia-Belgrade carriage 22:00-19:18* (goes with everyday Istanbul-Bucharest night train), fare as of now 107.9 Turkish Liras + 40 Liras more for the sleeper reservation.
From Belgrade you will need to use overnight train to Zagreb 21:50-4:53, fare slightly less than 30 euro + app. for 10 for couchette. Ticket and reservation need to be purchased in Serbia.
In case you plan to travel more in the region or stop on the route form Istanbul to Belgrade you might as well consider Balkan Flexi pass option.

* schedule in timetable until 12/12/09, new timetable on the route is expected soon and probably would be quite similar/ the same.

1205
Travel plans, routes and timetables / Re: Europe by train
« on: November 19, 2009, 03:11:21 pm »
Your route seems rather interesting and quite unusual, but in order to advice something specific some additional info would be good: Do you definitely want to visit all of the above destinations? What's you preference in those and etc.?
Cost and "tricks": Budapest-Belgrade can be easily done by direct trains (one way ticket cost only 15 euro), Belgrade-Pristina and rest of the Kosovo travels probably must be done by bus - rail isn't that popular in the region  ;)
Same applies to Kosovo-Sarajevo route - it can be done by rail, but it will take quite a while since you will need to come back to Belgrade and go via Sid-Vrpolje. The part that should be done by rail is Sarajevo-Mostar (twice a day, 9.9 BAM), Mostar-Dubrovnik can be done directly by bus, or Mostar-Ploce by train + bus Ploce-Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik-Zagreb - not a lot of choice here too - either direct bus/plane or train from Split - fare will depend on a type of train you take (ISN - Intercity titling would be the most expensive). And remember that ISIC gives you 25% discount on all domestic travels within Croatia.
Zagreb-Ljubljana one way is 12.2 euro, but you can make it cheaper if you break you ticket via border (domestic Slovenian ticket Dobova-Ljubljaba costs 6.48 euro), while Zagreb-Savski Marof from 12.4 kuna
Regular tariff Ljubljana-Salzburg is 43.4 euro, but you can travel cheaper if you get Smart price ticket from Ljubljana to Munich for 29 euro or Praha Special ticket Ljubljana-Salzburg-Praha for the same 29 euro. After just get off train earlier - in Salzburg.
Salzburg-Zurich can be done for 29 euro with Spar ticket (https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=jticket.pl?ABBFSEL=8100003&ANBFSEL=8503000&LANG=EN)
Zurich- Bern - SuperSaver from SBB (http://sparbillette.sbb.ch/home/?lang=4)
Bern-Luxembourg - better to search for DB Europe Special from Bern to last German station before Luxembourg (biggest is Trier, or right near the border is Igel), start from 39euro.
Same DB Europe Spezial works for Luxembourg-Bamberg and Berlin-Warsaw - just buy it online and in advance from DB website.
Bamberg-Berlin - again, online and in advance - discount called Dauer special - ticket within Germany from 29 euro
Alternatively Luxembourg-Bamberg, Bamberg-Berlin can be done with a help of DB Lander ticket/Happy Weekend Ticket/Quer durchs Land-Ticket (see our Germany page for explanation about those), but it take longer and require more changes on the route.
Warsaw-Krakow can be done pretty cheap if you go with PKP Tani Bilet (https://bilet.intercity.pl/irez/)
With airplanes and ferries it looks like not a lot of other alternatives available  :)

 

1206
Train fares and tariffs / Re: Vienna > Salzburg > Prague
« on: November 11, 2009, 11:15:00 pm »
In order to travel from Wien to Salzburg with a help of 29 euro international (Spar type) discounted ticket you can use OEBB online ticket option for Wien-Munich or Wien-Zurich route (https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=jticket.pl?ABBFSEL=8100003&ANBFSEL=8000261&LANG=EN or/and https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=jticket.pl?ABBFSEL=8100003&ANBFSEL=8503000&LANG=EN). For 12/22 there are still a number of cheap 29 euro tickets available.
Same thing applies for discounted Salzburg-Prague ticket - purchase you ticket in advance via OEBB website (either via online ticket option or simply email OEBB with Spar ticket request).
Other options for Salzburg-Prague route (in case you've got some time) - Bavaria-Bohemia ticket (check out Germany page) or Einfach-Raus-Ticket till Austria-Czech republic border + domestic Czech ticket.
Concerning 7 minute change in Linz: usually in case official OEBB website gives such type of connection it means everything should be fully ok (train to Prague even might wait for the one arriving from Salzburg), plus OIC 643 arrives to platform #6 at Linz Hbf, while IC 100 to Prague departs from neighboring platform #7. Such type of connection seems rather usual since till 12/13 there are direct train from Salzburg to Prague with similar schedule (from new timetable they just cut it and now it will start from Linz instead of Salzburg).

1207
If you intend to travel only Paris - Salzburg - Munchen - Nurenberg - Berlin - Hamburg there is absolutely no need to purchase any type of pass. Regular tickets will be much cheaper.
1) Paris-Salzburg can be done cheap enough with a help of buying in advance via www.tgv-europe.com (roughly even regular everyday tariff would be around 100 euro).
2) Salzburg-Munich can be easily done for 20 euro with a help of Bavaria ticket (see our Germany page for more info).
3) Same Bavaria ticket works for Munich-Nuernberg leg too.
4) Nuernberg-Berlin and Berlin-Hamburg legs can be done for 29 euro each (purchasing via DB website some time in advance).
So even roughly you can manage the whole trip for app.200 euro. As you can see no need to purchase 300 euro pass.

p.s In case you are willing to switch overnight trip for late afternoon-evening one you can travel even for 39 euro from Paris to Salzburg (buying discounted ticket from DB), then you total travel expenses can be cut up to 140 euro.

1208
Paris - (night trip) Salzburg - Munchen - Nurenberg - Berlin - Hamburg

1209
Train fares and tariffs / Re: Innsbruck to Nice
« on: October 18, 2009, 12:40:39 pm »
Yes, Milan looks like the most obvious transit destination for you.
In order to get some idea on schedules you can check at http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?newrequest=yes&protocol=http:&
But generally saying - it will take at least a full day in order to get from Innsbruck to Nice.
In order to make less changes and save on budget you should look at two direct EC trains departing to Nice from Milan (http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=9bd599e8e609a110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD), for both you can get 15 euro tickets (if purchase in advance).
Getting from Innsbruck to Milan is slightly more complicated, but still you've got couple options:
1) start you journey early in the morning and with changes in Fortezza, Bolzano and Verona arrive to Milan at 13:25 pm. Probably the only price options for you here will be either breaking you ticket via border Innsbruck-Fortezza (app. 10 euro) + getting Fortezza-Milano ticket for your connection online from TrenItalia (32.7 euro) or rather expensive Global price tickets for the whole route Innsbruck-Milan (about exact fare ask ticket counter in Innsbruck - will be somewhere around 55 euro).
2) You can catch an overnight train to Milano from Villach (00:03-8:25). For that train you can get discounted tickets (purchased online from OEBB website - https://ticket.oebb.at/bin/frame_ticket.pl?ticket=jticket.pl&LANG=EN). In order to get cheaply from Innsbruck to Villach it is better to use Einfach-Raus-Ticket (group ticket - see our Austrian page). Your connection is 17:01-22:05 with a change at Lienz in Osttirol.

p.s. and yes, Eurail passes is fully useless here, since you can make the whole journey for less than 60 euro per person  ;)

1210
Train fares and tariffs / Re: switzerland-rome
« on: October 16, 2009, 01:37:54 pm »
Good news came from SBB just recently - company once again offers SuperSaver promo e-tickets for major Swiss rail routes (more info on our Swiss page or SBB web page - https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/adw.do?4004). So you might as well consider such option too.

1212
I don't see any way to buy good priced tickets from the USA, is this correct? If yes, then must we wait until we arrive in each city to buy the tickets out of the city?
Yes. The only part of your journey where you can use tickets purchased online and in advance is Vienna - Budapest (e-tickets from OEBB website), for other legs you don't have any possibilities to do it besides buying in Budapest, Bratislava, Prague etc.
This makes me nervous travelling with children and on a strict schedule. Or can we buy the tickets for each leg of the trip at once in Vienna?

1) I wouldn't worry about it at all since you spend 3-4 days in every city before departing to the next destination, so just purchase tickets first thing after your arrival - buying 3-4 days in advance is definitely enough time. Plus in case something extraordinary happens you always got other options - like take evening train instead of overnight etc.
2) You can purchase all the tickets in Vienna, but the price of those will be really high since they will be issued with a help of standard TCV tariff, while purchasing in Hungary, Slovakia, Czech republic gives you chance to use special interstate discounts (not available if you do it in Vienna)
Are there international ticket windows in all major city train stations?
Yes, all the main train stations will have international ticket window, but in some cases (if the station is not the main, like Budapest Nyugati or Deli) international ticket counters will be open only during day time (like 8am-20pm or so)
One last question; Can you see any cost or convenience advantage in reversing the itinerary above?
In case of reverse route (as far as I understand you mean Prague-Krakow-Bratislava-Budapest-Wien) the difference isn't that crucial. Mainly - you can get 13 euro ticket for Budapest-Vienna route instead of 19 euro Vienna-Budapest, save something on Krakow-Bratislava route with prepurchased Czech ticket Bohumin-Bratislava etc. But, once again, all these aren't that essential things.
If you ask how I would do similar trip I would say probably Prague-Vienna(daytime due to cheaper 19 euro tickets) -Budapest-Bratislava-Krakow(overnight) or Prague-Budapest(daytime due to cheaper 19 euro tickets)-Vienna-Bratislava-Krakow(overnight) - the idea behind is to start/finish with the farthest destianations of your itinerary (in your case those are Prague and Krakow). But in your case (since you are from States) it all depends on your starting/final points.

1213
Train fares and tariffs / Re: switzerland-rome
« on: October 09, 2009, 10:36:10 am »
Can we get the TCV tariff tickets from Zurich and must we specify all the routes that we are going to take to the ticket staff?
Yes, you should be able easily purchase regular TCV tariff international ticket in Zuerich. But as was said earlier - make sure you specify very precisely the route you want to take and type of the ticket you need. For your way back it is as well possible to use such kind of a ticket, but it makes sense only for Florence(Milan)-Brig-Geneva part, rest of your travels in Switzerland should be done either with Swiss domestic tickets or Swiss pass. But remember that using TCV ticket for your return part of the journey will be more expensive than combination of Italian domestic tickets + Swiss domestic (Swiss pass) - such way is usually called - "breaking" your tickets via border.   

1214
Train fares and tariffs / Re: switzerland-rome
« on: October 07, 2009, 04:25:53 pm »
In your situation a number of solutions are possible, but neither of them includes Eurail Pass (for such trip it is a rip off and absolutely unnecessary):
1) If you want to simplify whole ticket thing as much as possible go with straight forward International ticket (TCV tariff) for the whole route Zuerich-Interlaken-Milano-Rome (will cost app. 100 euro per person). It works like a railway pass, but for certain route - you just get off train and hope in as many times as you like on your way. But be sure to specify exactly the route you want to use while purchasing it. Domestic Italian tickets like Rome-Civitavecchia, Pisa-Florence etc. cost quite cheap, so no need of any pass for Italy (check our Italy page for some ideas on types of trains and tariffs)
2) Unfortunately SBB canceled Promo e-tickets for domestic trips in Switzerland, so there is no easy way left to save some money (usual Half-fare card useful only if you travel a lot in Switzerland). So probably a good choice for you will be to purchase Swiss flexi pass for your domestic travels in Switzerland (flexi needed because of before and after Italy parts of your journey) - http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/index.php?id=131&L=1
I guess 4 days within one month will work good enough. In order to get from Switzerland to Italy cheaply you either use you pass till Swiss-Italy border + combine it with cheap domestic Italian tickets. Or look for SBB's Click and Rail offer (https://www.sbb.ch/mct/wi/shop/b2c/adw.do?6056)
3) Another option is to use regular SBB domestic tickets for you Zuerich-Interlaken part and Swiss pass for your Swiss-Italian border -"3/11/09 Brig-Geneva-Bern-Geneva, 4/11/09 Geneva-Zurich." part. Because that second part of you Swiss journeys includes quite a lot of train ride, so pass will be probably the best option for it.     

1215
Train fares and tariffs / Re: fares for children
« on: October 01, 2009, 06:19:58 pm »
No discount for seat reservation/couchette in general, only for tickets.
For Netherlands - http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite/travellers/arrange-buy/ticket-pass-types#railrunner-id
Belgium - http://www.b-rail.be/nat/E/tarifs/specialdiscount/kids/index.php
Germany - http://www.bahn.de/international/view/en/prices/intercontinental/german_rail_ticket.shtml or group tickets (Lander etc.)
Austria - Family card (http://www.oebb.at/pv/en/Servicebox/VORTEILScard/VORTEILScard_Familie/index.jsp) or group tickets (Einfach-Raus-Ticket)
Czech Republic - special card need, but better to use passes (like SONE or CD-NET) and group discount
Hungary - best choice probably is 33% discount for member of a family (at least 2 children <18 years old + parents) or even bigger discount for member of a big family (from 3 children + parents)
Slovakia - 50% discount (http://www.slovakrail.sk/index.php?id=deti-od-6-do-15-rokov)
Poland - 37% discount (http://www.pkp.pl/node/2153)
All the above discounts are for domestic journeys.
And remember that it is always better to recheck by asking rail companies officials on the spot before buying tickets ;)

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