Bratislava - Krakow night train

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Hi there! i am looking to book the night train from Bratislava to Krakow, i believe that train originates from Budapest Keleti going to Krakow. Can someone advice me how to book tickets for bratislava krakow leg? Looking at the Spar ticket, Slovak Rail site only gives info on train times etc but doesnt show option to buy. Hungarian rail site gives an option to buy only from Budapest - Krakow. Can i do something like buying the ticket from Budapest to Krakow, but board it at bratislava? is it allowed?

Thanks

Can someone advice me how to book tickets for bratislava krakow leg? Looking at the Spar ticket, Slovak Rail site only gives info on train times etc but doesnt show option to buy.

Unfortunately Slovak Railways (ZSSK) doesn't sell tickets for connections to Poland online, so at the moment there is no way to buy either discounted (Spar) tickets or regular full fare tickets via official ZSSK website. Only way to do it with a fair price is via ticket counter in Slovakia (or Poland). In all other cases it's middle man agencies with rather high extra charges.

Can i do something like buying the ticket from Budapest to Krakow, but board it at bratislava? is it allowed?

It is not a problem to board the train later then departure station (passenger anyway payed for the whole route whether used the train or not), though in this case buying Budapest-Krakow ticket via MAV website isn't really an option, since at the moment it's not a real eTicket, what we mean is that after payment customer just gets a special code using which it is possible to print your ticket at MAV ticket machines, which are obviously located only in Hungary. Thus you simply won't be able to print your ticket while in Bratislava.

In general alternative options we could think about are: a) buy discounted ticket Vienna-Krakow (in this case it's regular eTicket which you can print yourself at home) and then just travel to Austria and board the train, arrival time to Krakow will be the same; b) travel during the day, then you won't need to buy any tickets in advance and will definitely pay less, since you can travel cheaper, meaning directly from Slovakia to Poland (while the overnight train goes via Czech Republic what increases the ticket fare); c) don't bother with purchase of tickets for the overnight train in advance, but just make one small ticket 'break', idea is to purchase two separate tickets (Bratislava-Bohumin and Bohumin) instead of one direct Bratislava-Krakow. Such ticket break will allow you to travel comfortably (--> without need to get off train anywhere) and pay less compared to regular international fare for the direct Bratislava-Krakow ticket

Thank you so much for the detailed reply! The spar ticket which i am getting from budapest to krakow is currently 39 Euros for a bed in 6 bed couchette, do you think i should be able to get it cheaper than this if i bought bratislava - bohumin and bohumin - krakow? I checked both ZSSR and CD websites but i cannot find an option to buy the tickets for bratislava-bohumin or bohumin - krakow leg online! Any info why??
Since i am any ways arriving in budapest first and spending good 3 days there, after which i travel to vienna and then to bratislava and finally krakow (from bratislava), wudnt i be fine buying the budapest-krakow ticket online right now and printing them in budapest train station (which i believe can be done any time, or it has to be printed on the same day of travel only??), and then i board the train from bratislava? Sorry for my ignorance but, i hope they do not apply a no show kinda thing in European trains and give the berth to someone else if i dont board from budapest! why i ask this is coz i am from india and here if u bought a ticket from A to B, you got to board the train at station A, unless u specifically mentioned a station from where u will board the train at the time of booking!!!
Checked the Vienna - krakow night train as well, again the fare is 39 Euros at the moment, however on the OBB site it says seat in 2nd class, does that mean a full berth? or there is an extra sleeping supplement? and if so, how do i buy that?
Thanks

do you think i should be able to get it cheaper than this if i bought bratislava - bohumin and bohumin - krakow?

No, with MAV you getting ticket+ 6 berth couchette reservation for 39, while with Bratislava-Bohumin (18 euro) and Bohumin-Krakow (16 euro) tickets it will be just the ticket part without bed reservation

I checked both ZSSR and CD websites but i cannot find an option to buy the tickets for bratislava-bohumin or bohumin - krakow leg online! Any info why??

You can't buy such tickets online. But the whole idea is that there is no need to buy such tickets in advance online, since the above quoted fare is always the same. These tickets won't even be for specific train, but just valid for certain period of time.

... wudnt i be fine buying the budapest-krakow ticket online right now and printing them in budapest train station (which i believe can be done any time, or it has to be printed on the same day of travel only??), and then i board the train from bratislava?

Yes, ticket purchased via MAV website can be printed any time after the purchase, not necessarily on the day of travel. And in theory you can enter/leave the train on any station within the route, though we are not Hungarian train conductor and can't guarantee you that he won't have questions when you board the train in Bratislava with the ticket from Budapest 

Sorry for my ignorance but, i hope they do not apply a no show kinda thing in European trains and give the berth to someone else if i dont board from budapest!

It is true that conductor can sell sleeper reservation for the not occupied berths after departure, though it's unlikely scenario in your case.
Imho, the case is rather sensitive, thus probably best thing for you to do is simply email MAV directly (they tend to answer emails) and ask whether you can board the train on a later station then Budapest with ticket from Budapest. Though don't mention Bratislava, but better just formulate it as 'later station'. MAV might even advise you how you can inform (if it is necessary) about later boarding.

Checked the Vienna - krakow night train as well, again the fare is 39 Euros at the moment, however on the OBB site it says seat in 2nd class, does that mean a full berth? or there is an extra sleeping supplement? and if so, how do i buy that?

OeBB on connection to Poland sells only tickets with seat reservation, thus sleeper reservation not included here. It can be bough as an extra to such 39 euro ticket (either from the OeBB ticket counter or even train conductor after departure (if free berth available)

Thanks again for the awesome response!

Okie so I kept the instructions on how to book through MAV website in front of me and booked through the MAV website. Two train tickets under the Spar scheme (39 Euro) from Budapest Keleti to Krakow Glowny. I did exactly as mentioned on this website, step by step. Double checked the chosen train, price etc and was able to book the tickets and generate the 10 digit code! BUT on the final confirmation page after payment and in the email that MAV website sent me, the departure from Budapest Keleti is 09:29!!!!! I am worried sick now, have i booked the wrong train? though it cant be true because, only for this one over night train the spar offer was available and i double checked the timings route etc. Pasted below is the information i got in my email:

Budapest-Keleti - Krakow Glowny
 
 1 db menetjegy SparNight egyúti 2. osztály
 Vonat: 10476   Kocsiszám: 361   Hely(ek): 65
 Indulás: BUDAPEST KELETI    09.29
 Ár: 10 920 Ft (39 €)
 
 1 db menetjegy SparNight egyúti 2. osztály
 Vonat: 10476   Kocsiszám: 361   Hely(ek): 66
 Indulás: BUDAPEST KELETI    09.29
 Ár: 10 920 Ft (39 €)

Could this be a typo? what do I do? I have emailed the MAV people! still waiting for their response would you guys have any idea?

Could this be a typo? what do I do? I have emailed the MAV people! still waiting for their response would you guys have any idea?

That looks more like date (--> 9.29) and not departure time. Did you purchase tickets for September 29?

Oops!!!!  ....i do feel sooo foolish!....though i wud blame google translation and oh well the date format 9.29 almost seemed like the time to me

yes i did book it for Sep 29, so its the date and time should be the 8ish from Budapest

I am still waiting for the MAV guys to get back to me on the issue of boarding the train from a 'later station'. I shall post their response here

Much thanks x

hey guys!  back again stuck with another query!.....okie so i have booked the overnight train from Budapest keleti to krakow glowny, just wanted to ask if the train stops at Oswiecim (Auschwitz) arnd 4:50 am? and the time is enough for us to get down? We are in krakow only for 2 days and want to make the most of our time, so instead of going all the way to krakow and coming all the way back, we thought we might just get down at Auschwitz?? Also, would any one have an idea if Oswiecim train station has a luggage storage room or something?

The next question i have is regarding the Krakow-Praha leg, again i was looking at taking a night train, is it possible to buy the train tickets in advance? or do i take the bus from Krakow to Cieszyn, then go to cesky tesin and board the night train to praha from there? In that case do i buy the night sleeper from Zilina to praha under the spar scheme? but then will i be able to board from cesky tesin if i booked my train from Zilina? Please advice on the best way from Krakow to Praha
cheers

the case is rather sensitive, thus probably best thing for you to do is simply email MAV directly (they tend to answer emails) and ask whether you can board the train on a later station then Budapest with ticket from Budapest. Though don't mention Bratislava, but better just formulate it as 'later station'. MAV might even advise you how you can inform (if it is necessary) about later boarding.

As per your advice above i did email the MAV directly and this is the response i got:

Dear Passenger,
Thank you for your inquiry! We would like to inform you that the purchased tickets are valid for the 29th of September, from Budapest to Krakow. The train leaves from Budapest-Keleti station at 20:05 and it arrives to Krakow Glowny station at 07:14 in the next morning. The SparNight ticket is a discount offer, which is valid only from Budapest, so you must take the train from Budapest-Keleti station, you cannot get on the train later.
Best regards,
 
So it looks like i ll have to be in budapest to board this train! which means i ll just do a day trip to bratislava from budapest and get back to budapest to take the train!....its silly and it means i ll have to spend an extra 7euros from bratislava to budapest....but dont think i have an option

...just wanted to ask if the train stops at Oswiecim (Auschwitz) arnd 4:50 am? and the time is enough for us to get down?

Yes, it is an official stop, so you won't have problems getting off train there. Though make sure you won't miss it

Also, would any one have an idea if Oswiecim train station has a luggage storage room or something?

Yes, usual for PKP self-service automated luggage storage.

The next question i have is regarding the Krakow-Praha leg, again i was looking at taking a night train, is it possible to buy the train tickets in advance?

Polish Railways planned to introduce online sale of international tickets, but as of now, unfortunately for you, it seems not yet to Czech Republic

or do i take the bus from Krakow to Cieszyn, then go to cesky tesin and board the night train to praha from there? In that case do i buy the night sleeper from Zilina to praha under the spar scheme? but then will i be able to board from cesky tesin if i booked my train from Zilina? Please advice on the best way from Krakow to Praha

Well, you can do Cieszyn/C.Tesin trick, though (taking into consideration experience with Budapest-Krakow SparNight) maybe better will be not to push for the Zilina-Prague ticket, but simply buy in advance C.Tesin-Prague ticket via Czech Railways eShop, there you can get ticket for a seat, while when already in Cesky Tesin just purchase additional sleeper reservation already from the ticket counter or even conductor.
Alternatively you can just break the ticket via border, thus buy when already in Poland international ticket Krakow-Bohumin and sleeper reservation Krakow-Prague, while some time in advance via mentioned above CD eShop purchase additional domestic ticket Bohumin-Prague for the same train. As result you'll have two ticket covering the whole route, but one sleeper reservation

So it looks like i ll have to be in budapest to board this train! which means i ll just do a day trip to bratislava from budapest and get back to budapest to take the train!....its silly and it means i ll have to spend an extra 7euros from bratislava to budapest....but dont think i have an option

Strange logic from MAV  Passenger anyway pays the money, so what's the point to insist on only one boarding station. Anyway, sorry that we might mislead you in this, it is just that in many occasions such 'later boarding' works ok, even with discounted tickets.

tUt thank you soo much for all the detailed responses! Zilina prague sparNight and boarding from CT is not possible as i also emailed Zssk and they said sparNight folks need to occupy/be on seat latest within 15 mins of train departure! so thats a bummer!

Now i am contemplating two ways, kindly advice me which is cheaper and better (ie hassle free),

option 1: Bus from Krakow to Cieszyn + Buying sporotiket CT to Praha on R440 Excelsior: the qs i have is how frequesnt is the krakow cieszyn bus, how long does it take? and how much it costs? as for buying sleeper at CT ticket office i cannot do that as i aim to reach CT by 2200 hrs for catching the 2238 train, i emailed the CD folks they told me that sleeper reservation for this route from ticketing office can only be done till 1600 hrs that day, after that i can only buy it from conductor on train IF there is availability!!! do you think will i be able to get sleeper/couchette for 2 ppl on train itself? Is there a good probability that it might be all sold out??? Further this train reaches praha hl.n. at 0344 hrs and departs  at 0519 hrs, do you think  we cud just sleep till 0500 hrs on the train and then get down???
option 2: we take the night train from krakow itself D402 how much will that cost if i bought krakow zebrezydowice online then at krakow train station bought zebrezydowice bohumin ticket plus krakow prague sleeper ticket and again online bought bohumin praha ticket?? will the ticket counter in krakow just sell me zebrezydowice bohumin ticket and prahow prague sleeping supplement?

On a seperate note,  will u be able to advice me on the schedule of krakow glowny to wieliczka saltmines train schedule? after stopping at osciewin for the auschwitz camps we want to reach krakow glowny and take the next train to saltmines so that we could do both in one day! a prior schedule info would be handy!

Thanks a zillion for all the info !!!

... how frequesnt is the krakow cieszyn bus, how long does it take? and how much it costs?

Travel time Krakow-Cieszyn by direct bus is roughly 3 hours, cost is around 20 PLN and buses depart rather frequently (for instance in order to catch 22:38 train there buses departing Krakow 17:20, 18:15, 19:20)

...do you think will i be able to get sleeper/couchette for 2 ppl on train itself? Is there a good probability that it might be all sold out???

Well, it is hard to guess, but if it's not weekend or holiday, then, imho, your chances to get a sleeper are good enough with #440 'Excelsior'

Further this train reaches praha hl.n. at 0344 hrs and departs  at 0519 hrs, do you think  we cud just sleep till 0500 hrs on the train and then get down???

Conductor shouldn't mind. But you can also simply purchase ticket and reservation not till Praha hl. station, but till further one (440 train continues further with another stop in Prague), then you'll have official right to stay on the train till 5am

... how much will that cost if i bought krakow zebrezydowice online then at krakow train station bought zebrezydowice bohumin ticket plus krakow prague sleeper ticket and again online bought bohumin praha ticket??

Krakow-Zebrzydowice ticket for #402 'Silesia' train cost 33 PLN, Zebrzydowice-Bohumin bought in Krakow at the international ticket desk should be 6,8 euro. Bohumin-Prague you can check yourself on Czech Railways website (discounted SporoTickets are also available). Reservation Krakow-Prague for a double sleeper cost 21 euro per passenger (3 bed sleeper or couchette obviously cheaper).

will the ticket counter in krakow just sell me zebrezydowice bohumin ticket and prahow prague sleeping supplement?

International ticket counter wouldn't have problems selling just ticket Zebrzydowice-Bohumin and reservation Krakow-Prague. If they ask something you can simply say that you already have tickets for the rest parts of the route.

...will u be able to advice me on the schedule of krakow glowny to wieliczka saltmines train schedule?

It is really easy to reach Wieliczka, just 25-30 min. by regional train. Trains run like every half an hour-hour. To check timetable just enter 'Krakow-Glowny' to 'Wieliczka Rynek-Kop.' (it's closest station to the salt mines) on PKP timetable website