Need your advice..pls help...

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hello,

We are family of fur, 2 adult and 2 kids (7 yr and 1 yr).

Our journey commences from Munich and ends in Prague..

Our train journeys are

Munich -  Salzburg
Salzburg - Vienna
Vienna -   Budapest
Budapest -Prague

We want to travel 1st class since we are with kids and preferably compartment type, if thats available and reserved seats..

Iam unable to decide on few things, first the fare structures, some routes which are closer more expensive and some are far but less expensive than near ones...

For eg,

on Railjet Salzburg to Budapest 1st class for a fixed train is  59 euro per person
             Salzburg to Vienna     1st class for a fixed train is  83 euro per person
            Vienna to Budapest    1st class for a fixed train is  29 euro per person
            Munich to Budapest   1st class for a fixed train is  69 euro per person
           Munich to Vienna       1st class for a fixed train is  59/69 euro per person

Since we are going from Munich to Salzburg to Vienna then Budapest n to Prague..

So is it possible to buy Munich-Budapest ticket and break journey in Salzburg 5 days and Vienna  5 days and resume the last leg to Budapest ? in that case we would save money as we would be paying 138euro for all 4 of us..

Same way Salzburg -Budapest is 59 euro and is it possible to break journey in Vienna for 5 days ?

Munich-Vienna 1st class is 59/69 euro and can we stop in salzburg for 3 days and resume to vienna ? as salzburg-Vienna 1st class itself is  83 euro ?? so we save for salzburg-Vienna route at cheaper price..

So,are the above stop overs are permitted ? i have read somewhere that if u book onliine then the validity is 2 days and at the counter in the station is 2 months..so 2 months gives time for stop overs..however some of the fares above on Railjet are specific train only, so not sure it wud be possible to break journey and resume again...

Should we book online or buy when we get there on the same day, that wud mean we wud be buying 2/3 days before departure..

East european pass , is it any useful for the above cities and cheaper ? Then there is City Star ticket ?


We dont mind paying a little more but dont need to go here and there for reconfirmation or reservations etc..

Totally confused..

apologies for long and confusing mail, i hope i made myself clear..

Pls help

Thanks


 

Ok, so let us start with small insight into tariff system... There are two basic types of tariffs used for connections like yours - discounted and regular. Tickets issued with discounted (represented by various special offers) almost always fixed for specific train, thus you can break your journey with such ticket. For example, if you have discounted ticket Munich-Budapest and you get off train in Salzburg, then you won't be able to use for further journey. 69 euro ticket Munich-Budapest is such kind of ticket, as well as other fares you quoted.

On the contrary there are regular fare (sometimes called "standard fare"). Tickets issued with a help of such are fully flexible (your can use on any train on the route), exchange and refund possible etc. Such tickets usually valid for 1 or 2 month period (depending on country and connection). Regular fare tickets allow break in your journey. You can hop off/hop on as many times as you like. Such ticket works as railpass, but pass only for specific route.

As far as we can understand, your are interested in a second type. But as you can probably guess, such flexible ticket cost more. Standard 1st class fare for Munich-Budapest is 109 euro, in your case ticket 2 adults, 7 and 1 year old children makes 352 euro in total. You can buy such ticket at the station, since the fare is always the same and there are no point of buying it online.
Full regular fare Budapest-Prague 1st class - 112.8 euro.

Concerning seat reservation: on the route between Munich and Budapest seat reservation is not compulsory, so it is fully your choice whether to reserve seats or not. If you want to be sure about occupying the whole compartment, then obviously you will need to book seat reservations every for every leg of your journey.

Now about was to save... It isn't that easy with your request for 1st class, but possible.
Easiest way: in case you are sure about exact dates of your travels, then buy discounted tickets Munich-Salzburg online from DB website (79 euro for the whole family + 7 euro for all the seat reservations). Then we somehow need to avoid Austrian domestic 1st class tariffs, because you can't make it less. The way to do it is to change the sequence of cities (hope it is ok with you).
So, purchase Salzburg-Budapest discounted ticket from OEBB website (118 euro for the whole family)+ reservation (depends whether you choose Premium or just 1st class). As you can see you transit Vienna and go straight to Budapest.
Afterward, just buy regular 1st class ticket for all of you from Budapest to Vienna, it shouldn't be that expensive (let's say around 60-70 euro for all of you). For the last leg of your journey (Vienna-Prague), you can buy once again discounted tickets from OEBB website (118 euro for the whole family)+ reservation.

Resume: 4 legs between 5 cities of your choice will be done in 1st class with 4 tickets (3 discounted=fixed train & date and one regular) for 2 adults and 2 children. In total you will pay around 400 euro for all those. It is probably the best you can do with 1st class travel.
The only way to travel cheaper - use 2nd class.

Feel free to ask questions or comment.

Thanks a ton for clearing few issues out..

Now 2 routes are clear.

Munich-Salzburg 1st class     79  euro for all 4
Salzburg-budapest 1st class 118 euro for all 4 (you said, i can transit in Vienna and use same ticket for budapest, can i ? as its a train specific ticket mentioned in website ? iam planning to stay in Vienna for 5 days )

Now if the above is valid to be used to budapest then i shall use that, but how do i make reservation for Vienna-budapest as i wud be buying ticket for budapest and getting off in Vienna, if that's allowed..

If the above is not allowed to break journey in Vienna, then i guess 58 euro 1st class for all 4 to Budapest, specific booking from rail-jet again is the best option ? and use the Salzburg -budapest and get off in Vienna only,as its still cheaper than Salzburg to Vienna (1st class 1 person is 83 euro )

Finally i cant go back to Vienna from Budapest, as it wud be trouble with kids and want to travel from Budapest to Prague directly and fly out from there. so whats the best option in first class there as its a long journey for 7 hrs, which train is better and how to make booking..

second, i have noticed that on specific train booking the diff is not more than 10/20 euro, so why not travel 1st with kids and the diff is not that big..what do you say ? for eg on Vienna budapest is 19e 2nd and 29e first class..

Lastly, is railjet the best option in terms of comfort and services, since in my travel plans its railjet all the way from munich to budapest atleast..what do u suggest, shud i stick to it or ?

Apologies for another long mail..

You can't "break" Salzburg-Budapest discounted 118 euro ticket, so if you want to stop in Vienna, then follow your own suggestion -->

If the above is not allowed to break journey in Vienna, then i guess 58 euro 1st class for all 4 to Budapest, specific booking from rail-jet again is the best option ? and use the Salzburg -budapest and get off in Vienna only,as its still cheaper than Salzburg to Vienna (1st class 1 person is 83 euro)

The idea with changing sequence of cities (suggested earlier) was following: to travel Munich-Salzburg-Budapest-Vienna-Prague instead of your original Munich-Salzburg-Vienna-Budapest-Prague. So you aren't really coming back to Vienna from Budapest, your just switch order in which you visit them. It is done in order to save money on your travel to Prague.
Direct Budapest-Prague takes app. 7 hours, Budapest-Vienna takes 3 hours, Vienna-Prague takes less than 5 hours, so in terms of travel time it is almost the same. Option with train from Vienna to Prague seems even better, since you will spend only 5 hours traveling instead of 7 hours from Budapest to Prague.
In terms of tickets, from Vienna you can buy discounted 1st class tickets to Prague (as already noted -118 euro for all of you), from Budapest - you can't, so you will have to pay full fare (--> will increase your budget dramatically, 112.8 euro*3 + reservations).

1st class vs. 2nd class: usually there are much more discounts for 2nd class travel, so the actual difference at the end is much more than just 10-20 euro. For instance, your whole family can travel through out whole Austria all day long with special family/group pass called Einfach-Raus-Ticket for only 28 euro. Other example Budapest-Prague route - no discounted offer for 1st class travel, but in 2nd class you can travel for only 19 euro per person. Same story with Munich-Salzburg - group Bavaria-Ticket will allow all 4 of you to travel for only 28 euro etc. As you can see, those number are much lower than 1st class fares.

RailJet is a good choice, first of all most of those train are quite new since OEBB started to use them just recently + you'll get comfortable and fast connection as well.

Thanks for your reply,

How is the second class for 7 hr journey with kids Budapest-Prague ? Do you get compartment type ?

With the prices you have quoted for budapest-prague 19 euro, iam leaning towards second class as big differnce..as munich bayern ticket is also good savings..

As you said Einfach-Raus-Ticket for only 28 euro all day long in Austria..Can we use that to travel to zell am see or any other short trips from Salzburg with Einfach Ruas ticket ?

regards

How is the second class for 7 hr journey with kids Budapest-Prague ? Do you get compartment type ?

Depending on which train you'll use. Some trains have mainly saloon compartments, others standard 6 seats compartment.

With the prices you have quoted for budapest-prague 19 euro

Such tickets must be bought at least 3 days in advance and only in Budapest. Unfortunately Hungarian railways doesn't sell international tickets online.

As you said Einfach-Raus-Ticket for only 28 euro all day long in Austria..Can we use that to travel to zell am see or any other short trips from Salzburg with Einfach Ruas ticket ?

Yes, Einfach-Raus-Ticket is valid from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 3 am (next day) and all day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays 0 - 3am (next day) on all regional passenger trains (R, REX, S-Bahn, Regio S-Bahn).
From Salzburg to Zell am See run REX trains, so no problem to use Einfach-Raus-Ticket

Hi,

Thanks for your reply again.

I have gone ahead with what you suggested i.e munich-salzburg-budapest-vienna-prague and have modified hotel bookings in budapest and vienna. Thanks for your suggestion.

I have booked tickets on railjet for 34 euro munich-salzburg for all 4 with reservation (2nd class)

Salzburg-budapest for 127 euro with reservation  (1st class)

But i cant book online at oebb.at from Budapest to Vienna, i have tried few times, it says cant book from hungary to austria..

Once this is done, i will make vienna-prague 1st class, which shouldnt have issues..

Also i cant find Rail jet option to prague ? does railjet option is there in vienna-prague route ? how are the EC/IC train on vienna-prague ?

Can you help ?

Well, OEBB website doesn't sell tickets Budapest-Vienna online, so you won't be able to book them. But you shouldn't worry that much, there are many trains running from Budapest to Vienna, so you can simply purchase tickets already in Budapest after your arrival there - no problem with seats or choice of trains at all. 
You can choose either 13 euro discounted 2nd class tickets or 1st class full fare.
Our advice - just purchase Vienna-Prague online from OEBB for the date you need and leave Budapest-Vienna tickets for later.

Also i cant find Rail jet option to prague ? does railjet option is there in vienna-prague route ? how are the EC/IC train on vienna-prague?

RailJet trains don't run between Vienna and Prague, so you will need to choose between regular carriages or Pendolino train (http://www.zelpage.cz/news_n/680rollout.jpg)

Hi,

I can see the option for EC train but not Pendlino train option ? what is that?

Iam booking on a EC direct train at 12.33 hrs to prague..

I hope its the only option.

At 12:33 it is EC 70 "Gustav Mahler", in the train scheme there is only one 1st class carriage. It is Czech (#372) and will look like - http://www.vagonweb.cz/fotogalerie/foto/200704/IMGP2422.jpg or http://www.vagonweb.cz/fotogalerie/foto/200704/DSCF1150.jpg

1st class in Pendolino train - http://www.vagonweb.cz/fotogalerie/foto/200704/DSC03625.jpg (departs as EC 72 from Vienna at 14:33)

I have booked ec70 at 12.33 to Prague on 1st class, but couldnt make seat reservation, am i ok ?

Will it be good enough if i go there early and occupy the seat.

Will it be good enough if i go there early and occupy the seat.

Probably yes, not a lot of passengers choose 1st class, so it will be hardly full.

A big heartfelt Thank you to you all, your replies and suggestions, and it helped us a great deal in our travel.

TUT
Administrator

You really are an expert and we saved a lot with your suggestions.

Thanks a ton man.

Keep up the good work.

regards