Europe Trains Guide Forum
General discussion => Train fares and tariffs => Topic started by: AlexWB on September 04, 2011, 08:33:25 pm
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Hi - I've been meaning to do this trip for some time (in fact you helped me work out the return fare in the past, but I had to change my plans...) and maybe it'll happen after Christmas.
My new plan is to fly from London to Gdansk. I'll then go to Warsaw, which costs about 15 Euro I think...
Now this is where I need help - Warsaw to BA, because I get no discount for a singe ticket, right?
I saw some special tickets... Spar Day from 29 Euro, Spar Night for 64 Euro for a 2 berth sleeper (perfect for us), but I was wondering if I can buy online, or how far in advance I need to buy themat the station?
I'll probably spend 3 nights in Gdansk, and a couple in Warsaw, so maybe 5 days in advance will be enough?
p.s - hope I understood this offer - my Polish is as bad as my Slovak
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Now this is where I need help - Warsaw to BA, because I get no discount for a singe ticket, right?
Yes, discount is granted only for return tickets, that is why buying one way might be not the best option.
I saw some special tickets... Spar Day from 29 Euro, Spar Night for 64 Euro for a 2 berth sleeper (perfect for us), but I was wondering if I can buy online, or how far in advance I need to buy themat the station?
Yes, PKP offers discounted tickets for the daytime and overnight trains to Vienna and Budapest (via Bratislava), but unfortunately they don't sell international tickets online, thus it's a bit problematic to catch those sparschiene in case you aren't in Poland.
I'll probably spend 3 nights in Gdansk, and a couple in Warsaw, so maybe 5 days in advance will be enough?
It might be enough during the regular days, but in case of holidays, as you probably understand yourself, nothing can be guaranteed, especially since the number of discounted tickets isn't that big.
But in case you have trouble catching mentioned above tickets, you can always do a small trick, which will save you money comparing to full one way fare - travel on domestic PKP tariff till the border. If your stay in Warsaw won't be that long (<2 days) you can actually buy one through ticket Gdansk-Warsaw-Katowice/Bielsko-Biała (or alternatively Gdansk-Warsaw-Krakow-Zakopane), since tickets from PKP InterCity company (managing TLK, Ex and most international trains) for long-distance are valid for 2 days, thus you can save by buying cheaper one through ticket instead of two separate, then you just make a stopover in Warsaw.
From Katowice/Bielsko-Biała there are two major options: a) go directly by rail to Slovakia via Zwardon-Skalite-Zilina (few trains per day run via that border crossing, international ticket Zwardon-Skalite cost only 2 EUR); b) by bus till polish Cieczyn, then cross by foot to Czech Cesky Tesin and continue by train to Slovakia (either via Cadca or Breclav-Kuty), this option will be a bit more expensive, but transport is much more frequent in this case.
From Zakopane there are few buses to Poprad (at 6am, 9am, 11am and 4pm as of now), the route is quite picturesque, so you won't regret traveling there even considering a bit of time loss. Poprad to Bratislava already an easy task.
p.s. also you might benefit a bit from PKP overnight TLK offer called Tania Kuszetka, basically a discounted tickets for the couchette carriages on major polish domestic routes (can be bought online - https://bilet.intercity.pl/irez/)
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Great info thanks! How much is a single ticket (with a two berth sleeping reservation) - there will be two of us traveling. About 100 Euro?
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How much is a single ticket (with a two berth sleeping reservation) - there will be two of us traveling. About 100 Euro?
Not exactly, ticket via Breclav-Bohumin (route of the direct carriages) should be around 50 EUR, while 2 bed sleeper cost 23 EUR per person till Budapest (don't know precisely how much is till Bratislava, but either the same or maybe a few euro less)
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So you only save about 10 Euro by getting the early ticket? OK thanks, 70-odd Euros seems reasonable for a hassle free connection... does this apply for all trains? I'd probably get the D407, departing Warsaw at 20.38...
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So you only save about 10 Euro by getting the early ticket?
Yep, in case of double sleeper it is. The point here is that there no specific Spar ticket till Bratislava, PKP sells those only till Budapest, while Bratislava only happened to be on the route, thus Warsawa-Bratislava sparschiene is basically a quasi discounted ticket. That is why the difference isn't that essential in this case. On the contrary, for the original idea (route Warsaw-Budapest) it's much more 'visible'.
does this apply for all trains? I'd probably get the D407, departing Warsaw at 20.38...
Yes, the ticket is for the specific route, so doesn't matter which train you will use.
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Thanks for your help and insight!