Europe Trains Guide Forum
General discussion => Train fares and tariffs => Topic started by: PeterSz on August 17, 2013, 12:27:08 am
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Hello,
I'm planning a quick rail tour from NorthWest Hungary to Croatia for the end of this August and your advice might be useful.
In Hungary I have Start-Klub half-fare card which also functions abroad as a Railplus card.
I've been to Croatia several times, but always by car. On this trip I have very short time and it is mostly about checking out some scenic rail lines(notably Zagreb-Rijeka).
My planned route is:
1st day Fonyód/Nagykanizsa - Zagreb by Agram, sleep in Zagreb
2nd day Zagreb - Rijeka by morning train no. 4000, hopefully this is a train with openable windows, 19:00 Jadrolinija ferry to Split
3rd day perhaps Trogir by bus in the morning, Sibenik by train in the afternoon and taking night train to zagreb boarding in Perkovic
4th day Zagreb - Wiener Neustadt by - Sopron by EC 158 Croatia, home to Sopron
Questions:
1. Any news about closures or bus replacement on my planned routes?
2. Is it too risky if I have only 6 minutes to transfer from Sibenik-Perkovic local train to B 824 Split-Zagreb night train or should I travel back to Split earlier and board this train in Split?
3. How much is a reservation in the sleeping car? How full is this train on a weekday(probably tuesday)? I can sleep well in a seat compartment provided it's not full.
4. Any experiences with the Rijeka-Split ferry? I'll travel deck class. Any tips how/where to get some sleep?
Finally about fares, which I mostly figured out, but I'm not sure if it is right. Paying domestic fares a Zagreb - Rijeka + Split - Zagreb would be about 300 kuna which is about 40 EUR. Using the 60% discount for Hungary-Croatia return tickets it looks(according to jizdenka.cz) like a Nagykanizsa - Rijeka there Split - Gyékényes back return ticket costs about 40 EUR as well so iit's cheaper than buying domestic tickets.
For Zagreb - Wiener Neustadt(eventually Sopron) SCIC-NRT fare with Railplus discount would be about 50 EUR. Any chance to make this cheaper? I know about 29 EUR Sparschiene, but I can't book it online.
Many thanks!
Peter
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1. Any news about closures or bus replacement on my planned routes?
Well, there should be some minor changes in "Agram" schedule on HZ leg since 26/08, but it won't really effect your plans. With Zagreb to Rijeka & Split to Zagreb trains everything should be ok (at least we haven't heard about any problems with HZ domestic connections), same goes for Zagreb-Vienna EuroCity
2. Is it too risky if I have only 6 minutes to transfer from Sibenik-Perkovic local train to B 824 Split-Zagreb night train or should I travel back to Split earlier and board this train in Split?
Trains should be "connected", meaning that one will wait for another, basically this way HZ so to say attracts additional passengers
3. How much is a reservation in the sleeping car? How full is this train on a weekday(probably tuesday)?
Cheapest sleeper reservation (in case of train #824 it's T3) is rather expensive - 160 HRK. And since late August is kind of end of the season and many people going back from seaside, you can expect train to be rather full, so if you really want a sleeper reservation it will make sense to think about it first thing once you arrive to Croatia
4. Any experiences with the Rijeka-Split ferry? I'll travel deck class. Any tips how/where to get some sleep?
Few years ago traveled in early September on Dubrovnik-Split-Rijeka ferry (Split to Riejka was an overnight leg), everything went fine. Once it was still light just set on the deck on the back of the ship (it was Jadrolinija's "Marco Polo") and enjoyed the scenery. While at night some people just hanged hammocks and slept open air on the same deck, but I had a sleeping bag, so simply went inside and found a nice spot on the floor in a restaurant/cafe area (and many people did the same), so it shouldn't be a problem to get some night rest
Finally about fares, which I mostly figured out, but I'm not sure if it is right. Paying domestic fares a Zagreb - Rijeka + Split - Zagreb would be about 300 kuna which is about 40 EUR. Using the 60% discount for Hungary-Croatia return tickets it looks(according to jizdenka.cz) like a Nagykanizsa - Rijeka there Split - Gyékényes back return ticket costs about 40 EUR as well so iit's cheaper than buying domestic tickets.
Yep, if you don't have any discounts (like ISIC which works for HZ domestic tickets), then two tickets (Zagreb - Rijeka + Split/Sibenik/Perkovic - Zagreb) add up to about 300 HRK. Regarding trick with international return ticket MAV-HZ, in your case it might not work the way you want, because really doubt that MAV ticket counter easily will sell you ticket with Rijeka as final destination there, while Split as start for the outward journey. If you have time you can stop by the MAV counter and ask, but my guess, maximum you can get from them is ticket for the common part (till Oštarije)
For Zagreb - Wiener Neustadt(eventually Sopron) SCIC-NRT fare with Railplus discount would be about 50 EUR. Any chance to make this cheaper? I know about 29 EUR Sparschiene, but I can't book it online.
Yes, you can't purchase discounted tickets from Croatia online, but with Sopron factor first thing that comes in mind as a solution - visit to OeBB ticket counter and purchasing of the discounted ticket for EC 158 there, OeBB definitely can sell it. Other option might be to get in advance online discounted SparSchiene Österreich ticket from Spielfeld-Straß (easily purchasable via OeBB website, starts from 14 euro), while in Zagreb just purchase additional international ticket Zagreb-Spielfeld-Straß, with RailPlus it should be less than 25 euro
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2nd day Zagreb - Rijeka by morning train no. 4000, hopefully this is a train with openable windows
Don't know how often HZ rotates carriages on Zagren-Rijeka route, but today train #4000 consisted of carriages #517820000746, #507820000010 and #517829700767
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Hi,
Thanks for the quick and precise reply.
I decided eventually to go home from Zagreb via Nagykanizsa - Szombathely/Steinamanger route. I'm going to miss crossing the Semmering for the 2nd time, but money talks(it'll be cheaper via Hungary). At least Nagykanizsa - Szombathely will be another new route for me.
I decided to take the 1822 train from Perkovic to Zagreb instead of the 824. I'll have more time to make the connection and by 9pm it'll be dark anyway, so end of sightseeing in Sibenik. Do you happen to know the price of the couchette reservation on this train?
Last but not least, this morning I bought my return ticket at Győr and a Nagykanizsa-Rijeka/Split-Nagykanizsa return ticket was issued without any problem for 42,4 EUR/ 12,500 HUF.
Thanks again for your assitance!
Best regards,
Peter
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I decided to take the 1822 train from Perkovic to Zagreb instead of the 824. I'll have more time to make the connection and by 9pm it'll be dark anyway, so end of sightseeing in Sibenik. Do you happen to know the price of the couchette reservation on this train?
Reservation for 6 berth couchette (Bc6) should be 13 euro, but apparently for train #1822/1823 HZ also offer special rate - http://www.hzpp.hr/hostel-na-kotacima
Last but not least, this morning I bought my return ticket at Győr and a Nagykanizsa-Rijeka/Split-Nagykanizsa return ticket was issued without any problem for 42,4 EUR/ 12,500 HUF.
Well, good for you. It's just in the past we heard a number of stories when trick with different dep./arr. stations didn't work. Anyway, it is good to know that you try was successful