Budapest to Prague
Trains from Budapest to Prague (2018 timetable):
| Train Number |
EC 280 | EC 172 | EC 278 | EC 276 | EC 274 | EC 272 | EN 476 | EN 10476* |
| Train Name |
Metropolitan |
Hungaria |
Metropolitan | Metropolitan | Metropolitan | Metropolitan | Metropol |
Metropol |
| Budapest-Nyugati | 5:41 | 7:41 | 9:41 | 11:41 | 13:41 | 15:41 | 20:25 (Keleti station) |
20:25 (Keleti station) |
| Bratislava hl.st. (Pozsony) | 8:07 | 10:07 | 12:07 | 14:07 | 16:07 | 18:07 | 22:46 | 22:46 |
| Praha hl.n. (Prague Main Station) |
12:07 | 14:07 | 16:07 | 18:07 | 20:07 | 22:07 | 6:04 | 8:07 |
* EuroNight (EN) Metropol train Budapest-Prague consist of two groups of carriages: both are Budapest-Prague groups (however first group arrives to Prague at 6:04 am, while second one makes a couple hours long stopover at one of the Czech stations in order to arrive to Prague at a more decent time - 8:07am, thus de-facto while leaving Budapest on the same train you have chance to arrive to Prague at two different times)
Trains Tickets from Budapest to Prague? When traveling between the capitals of Hungary & Czech Republic potential passengers can purchase different types of train tickets, choosing the right type of ticket can save you a good amount money:
- cheapest rail ticket for the connection is rhw Hungarian discounted ticket called SparDay/SparNight, one-way fare starts from only 19 euro (2nd class seat), 35 euro (1st class seat), 29 euro (6 berth couchette), 39 euro (4 berth couchett), 49 euro (3 bed sleeper), 59 euro (double sleeper) & 99 euro (single sleeper). SparDay/SparNight ticket is offered for all the EuroCity (EC) & EuroNight (EN) trains. However you should keep in mind that number of such discounted tickets is limited per each departure, it means that there is certain quota of those cheap Spar tickets per each departing train, and once the cheapest tickets quota is sold out next price level (e.g. 29 & 45 euro instead of 19 & 35) kicks in. Thus, the earlier you buy the better chances you have to catch cheapest tickets on the market. SparDay/SparNight tickets Budapest-Prague can be purchased as early as 90 days before the actual journey (we have a step by step guide on how to do it) and issued for the specific train & date (exchange or refund is not allowed)
- passengers who are not yet sure about their travel plans or simply missed an opportunity to buy SparDay/SparNight discounted ticket can look into another available ticket option - kirándulójegy [Excursion/Tourist Ticket]. It's a return ticket designed for those who want to visit Prague for a couple days. Kirándulójegy Budapest-Prague is valid for 4 days, cost 49 euro and can be purchased even before departure, thus there is basically no need to buy anything in advance. There is also an upgraded version of the excursion ticket, which includes Prague public transport pass for the first three days of its validity (out of 4). Budapest – Prague + public transport pass (PID P+0) kirándulójegy ticket price is 59 euro. Kirándulójegy Budapest-Prague can be purchased online via Hungarian Railways (MAV) website
- standard international one-way ticket Budapest-Prague (SCIC-NRT tariff) cost 86,20 euro when bought in Hungary, but it doesn't really make sense to purchase such ticket, since you can always buy cheaper kirándulójegy Budapest-Prague for 49 euro and simply don't use the return part
- besides the above mentioned options there are also a few totally legal ticket tricks, which might helpful for those who plan to travel between Budapest & Prague: a) Hungarian Railways (MAV) offer discounted SparDay tickets not only for trips from Budapest to Prague, but also for the journeys from Budapest to Brno. So when 19 euro tickets from Budapest to Prague are already sold out there is still a relatively good chance that similar discounted tickets to Brno (14 euro) are still available due to separate quota of such tickets. What you can do here is simply purchase 14 euro ticket Budapest-Brno, while next just buy Czech domestic ticket Brno-Prague for the very same train (start from only 189 CZK, which is app. 7 euro), such combination will be much cheaper than kirándulójegy or SCIC-NRT ticket to Prague; b) in case you travel not alone, but with friends or family it might make sense to consider purchase of the so-called CityStar ticket, which is a special return ticket designed for group travelers (up to 5 passengers) - each second passenger pays only 50% from the standard fare price, while two children count as one adult. And unlike the excursion ticket to Prague, CityStars are valid for one months period. To give an example, CityStar ticket Budapest-Prague-Budapest for 4 adult passengers will cost you 257,5 euro (or 64,4 euro per person)
Alternatives? Perhaps you aren't in the mood to travel from Budapest to Prague using any of the direct trains, then you have a few other options to consider: a) you can always travel by bus (major bus companies operating on Budapest to Prague route are EuroLines & RegioJet/Student Agency); b) travel with a stopover in some interesting place (e.g. already mentioned earlier Brno or maybe Slovak capital - Bratislava); c) in case you in a hurry, then it's possible to fly from Budapest to Prague - low-cost RyanAir and Czech Airlines both have direct flights between Budapest and Prague