Trains from Vienna to Prague (2018 timetable):

* EuroNight (EN) Chopin train is actually a Vienna to Warsaw train which is along with carriages the traveling to Poland has a group of through carriages Vienna-Prague, these carriages get reattached from 'Chopin' train to 'Metropol' (Budapest-Prague) at the Czech station Breclav

Trains Tickets from Vienna to Prague? When traveling between the capitals of Austria & Czech Republic potential passengers can purchase different types of train tickets, choosing the right type of rail ticket can save you a lot of money:

• easy & cheap option is discounted ticket called Sparschiene (one-way fare in 2^nd class seat start from only 19 euro). Sparschiene tickets are offered for all the daytime RailJet (RJ) trains. However, you should keep in mind that the number of such discounted tickets is limited per each train departure, it means that there is certain quota of such cheap Spar tickets per each train on the route, once this cheap tickets quota is sold out next price level (e.g. 24 euro instead of 19) kicks in. Thus, earlier you buy the better chances you have to catch cheapest spar tickets. Sparschiene tickets Vienna-Prague can be purchased not later than 3 days before the actual journey (we have step by step guide on how to purchase train tickets via Austrian Railways website), obvioulsy unless quota of such ticket not sold out yet. Sparschiene tickets are issued for the specific train & date (exchange or refund is not allowed)
• since December 2017 Czech private train company RegioJet connected Vienna and Prague by rails, and unlike the state run Czech and Austrian railways, RegioJet has more like low-cost model when it comes to ticket prices. It means that potential passengers traveling between Austria and Czech Republic can enjoy very cheap tickets (starting from only 15 euro on Vienna to Prague route or just 7 euro on Vienna to Brno route), which can be purchased even on the day of the journey
• standard fare international one-way ticket Vienna to Prague (SCIC-NRT tariff) cost 66 euro, but it doesn't really make sense to purchase such ticket (see below), since it is way too expensive for this region of Europe and only for a four hour journey.
• besides the above mentioned options you can also consider couple totally legal ticket tricks, which might be of help to those who plan to travel between Vienna & Prague:
  • Austrian Railways (OeBB) offer discounted Sparschiene tickets not only for the trips from Vienna to Prague, but also for shorter journeys from Austria to Czech Republic (e.g. Vienna to Břeclav & Vienna to Brno). So when 19 euro tickets from Vienna to Prague are already sold out there are still might be a chance that discounted tickets for somewhat shorter cross-border trips like Vienna to Brno (start from only 9 euro) are still available due to a separate quota of such discounted tickets. What you can do here is simply purchase 9 euro ticket Vienna-Brno from the Austrian Railways, while next just buy Czech domestic ticket Brno-Prague (you can do it even for the same train with which you'll arrive from Vienna) from Czechs, prices start from only 189 CZK (app. 7 euro). As you can see yourself, such combination is even cheaper than straight forward 19 euro spar ticket to Prague;
  • in case you need to travel right away, meaning you have no chance to hunt for any spar tickets in advance, then simple 'break' of your ticket via border station can make your journey from Vienna to Prague about twice cheaper compared to the journey where you rely on the international ticket for the entire route. How the ticket 'break' works? Very simply! First you purchase international ticket from Vienna to the first Czech station (Břeclav) across the border (standard full fare price here is 16,90-20,40 euro, depending on the train category), while then buy separate Czech domestic ticket from Břeclav to Prague (maximum will cost you 437 CZK (app. 16 euro). If you purchase second ticket online via Czech Railways website & for the same train with which you'll be arriving from Vienna, then you won't even need to leave the train in Břeclav, but just show your second ticket and that's it.
  • similar to the above trick is the ticket option with use of Austrian offer, but go the other way via Cesky Budejovice (or even beatiful Cesky Krumlov). Vienna-Ceska Budejovice tickets start from only 9 euro (Vienna-Cesky Krumlov - from 14 euro). While Czech domestic ticket from Cesky Krumlov to Prague start from 189 CZK, Ceske Budejovice to Prague - from 165 CZK.
  • in case you travel not alone, but with friends or family it might make sense to consider purchase of the so-called Einfach-Raus-Ticket. Einfach-Raus Ticket is basically a daily group pass for 2-5 passengers traveling together on the entire Austrian rail network, it is valid for all the regional trains on weekdays (Monday till Friday) from 9 am till 3 am (next day), while on Saturdays, Sundays & holidays validity is the entire day. Einfach-Raus Ticket for 2 persons cost 34 euro, 3 persons - 38 euro, 4 person - 42 euro & 5 persons - 46 euro. The idea behind buying such pass is that you can use it on the expensive Austrian part of your trip, while for the Czech leg you can purchase much cheaper Czech domestic ticket/daily pass. To give an example, 4 passengers traveling from Vienna to Prague: Einfach-Raus Ticket to cover Vienna-Gmünd NÖ/Ceske Velenice (Austria/Czech border) will be 42 euro, while Czech domestic leg to Prague will cost 721 CZK (app. 28 euro) for all 4, thus it means each person pays about 17,5 euro (=70/4) for the whole trip. Much better than 66 euro with the international ticket for the entire route, right?

Alternatives? Perhaps you aren't in the mood to travel from Vienna to Prague using direct train, then you have a few other options to consider: a) you can always travel by bus (major bus companies operating on Vienna to Prague route are EuroLines, RegioJet/Student Agency & FlixBus); b) travel with stopover in some interesting place (e.g. already mentioned earlier Brno or Cesky Krumlov or even Slovak Bratislava); c) in case you in a hurry, then it's possible to fly from Vienna to Prague - Austrian Airlines offer direct flights between the capitals at least 3 times per day

Trains from Budapest to Warsaw & Krakow (2018 timetable): 

Trains Tickets from Budapest to Krakow & Warsaw? When traveling between Hungary & Poland potential passengers can purchase different kinds of train tickets, choosing the right type of ticket can save a good sum of money: 

• cheapest rail ticket option for the connection is the Hungarian discounted ticket called SparDay (daytime journeys) or SparNight (overnight journeys). One-way fare for trips from Budapest to Warsaw or Krakow start from only 19 euro (2^nd class seat), 39 euro (6 berth couchette), 44 euro (4 berth couchette), 49 euro (3 bed sleeper). SparDay/SparNight tickets offered for both daytime EuroCity (EC) & overnight trains, however you should keep in mind that number of such discounted tickets is limited per each train departure, thus, it means that there is certain quota of cheap Spar tickets per each train, once this quota is sold out next price level kicks in. So earlier you buy your ticket the better chances you have to catch cheapest offer on the market. SparDay/SparNight tickets Budapest-Warsaw/Krakow can be purchased as early as 60 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 - special return ticket [Poland Special]. It's a return ticket designed for those who want to visit Katowice/Krakow/Warsaw, it is valid for 1 month and cost 39 euro for Budapest-Katowice-Budapest & Budapest-Krakow-Budapest connection or 49 euro for Budapest-Warsaw-Budapest. This type of ticket can be purchased even before departure, thus there is basically no need to buy anything in advance. 
• standard international one-way ticket (SCIC-NRT tariff) Budapest-Warsaw cost 112,40 euro, while Budapest to Krakow - 89,80 euro (which is way too much, so we strongly advise to think about other options (e.g. see next point)
• besides the above mentioned tickets there are also couple totally legal ticket tricks, which might help those who plan to travel between Budapest & Poland, especially in case you had no chance to catch cheap SparDay/SparNight: a) when traveling from Budapest to Poland (especially Krakow or Katowice regions) during the day it is possible to cut your expanses by making a couple train changes along the way (--> buying separate tickets for each leg instead of the expensive international ticket for the entire journey). With this trick you can travel by train from Budapest to southern Poland for less than 25 euro in total and the best part here is that you won't need to purchase any tickets in advance; b) sometimes it makes financial sense to 'break' your ticket even when traveling by direct train. In situations when discounted SparDay/SparNight tickets Budapest-Warsaw & Budapest-Krakow already sold out, you can go for the combination of tickets - e.g. first ticket Budapest-Czech Republic and then another one from Czech Republic to Poland for the same train.

Alternatives? Perhaps you aren't in the mood to travel from Budapest to Warsaw using direct train, then you have a couple other options to consider: a) you can always travel by bus (major bus companies operating on Budapest Krakow-Warsaw route are EuroLines & FlixBus), in fact journey by bus from Budapest to Krakow is much faster and almost always cheaper than by train; b) travel with stopover in some interesting place (e.g. Slovak capital - Bratislava); c) in case you in a hurry, then it's possible to fly from Budapest to Warsaw either with LOT or WizzAir airlines, while between Budapest and Krakow currently it's only LOT.

Trains from Budapest to Prague (2018 timetable):

* 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 (2^nd class seat), 35 euro (1^st 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

Trains from Budapest to Vienna (2017/2018 timetable):

Trains Tickets from Budapest to Vienna? When traveling between country capitals of Hungary & Austria potential passengers can purchase a few different types of train tickets, choosing the right type of ticket can save you a good sum of money:

• cheapest rail ticket for the Budapest-Vienna connection is the Hungarian discounted ticket called SparSchiene-Fortuna, one-way fare starts from only 13 euro (2^nd class) or 29 euro (1^st class) and is available for any RailJet (RJ) or EuroCity (EC) train. 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 cheap SparSchiene tickets per each train, once the lowest fare quota gets sold out next price level (19 & 39 euro) kicks in. Thus, earlier you buy the better chances you have to catch cheapest tickets on the market. SparSchiene-Fortuna tickets Budapest-Vienna 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 being issued for the specific train & date (exchange or refund is not allowed)
• passengers who are not so sure about their travel plans or simply missed an opportunity to buy SparSchiene-Fortuna discounted ticket can look into another very good rail ticket option, i.e. so-called kirándulójegy [Excursion/Tourist Ticket]. Basically it's a return ticket designed for those who want to visit Vienna for a few days. Kirándulójegy ticket Budapest-Vienna is valid for 4 days, cost 33 euro and can be purchased even before departure, thus you won't need to buy anything in advance. There is also an upgraded version of the excursion ticket, which includs Vienna public transport pass (so-called Wien Zone 100) for the first two days (out of 4) of the Budapest-Vienna ticket validity. Budapest – Wien + Zone 100 pass kirándulójegy ticket price is 43 euro. Kirándulójegy Budapest-Vienna can be purchased online via Hungarian Railways (MAV) website
• standard fare international one-way ticket Budapest-Vienna (SCIC-NRT tariff) cost 38,80 euro, but it's doesn't really make sense to purchase such ticket, since you can always buy cheaper kirándulójegy Budapest-Vienna for 33 euro and simply don't use the return part
• besides the above mentioned options there are also couple totally legal ticket tricks which you can use if you plan to travel between Budapest & Vienna: a) Hungarian Railways (MAV) offer discounted SparSchiene tickets not only for the train trips from Budapest to Vienna, but also from Győr (=Hungarian city roughly half way between Budapest and Austrian capital) to Vienna. So when 13 euro tickets from Budapest to Vienna are already sold out there is still a relatively good chance that sparschiene ticket from Győr (btw, it cost only 9 euro) is still available due to separate quota of such tickets. What you can do here is basically purchase 9 euro ticket Győr-Vienna, while next just buy Hungarian domestic ticket Budapest-Győr for the very same train (at the moment it's 3025 HUF), such combination of two separate tickets will be cheaper than sparschiene ticket of the second price level (19 euro) or kirándulójegy or SCIC-NRT ticket; b) MAV also has special return tickets to Vienna called EURegio, offer is somewhat similar to the kirándulójegy excursion ticket, but only for a bit slower regional trains & only from the borderland Hungarian cities and towns (e.g. EURegio ticket Győr-Vienna-Győr cost 23 euro, EURegio ticket Tatabánya–Wien-Tatabánya 26 euro, etc.), so again, potential passenger can simply buy Hungarian domestic ticket to one of those towns and then EURegio to Vienna from there; c) in case you travel not alone, but with friends or family it might make sense to consider purchasing 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 price, while two children are counted as one adult. To give an example, CityStar ticket Budapest-Vienna-Budapest for 4 adult passengers at the moment cost 119,30 euro (or 29,80 euro per person)
• * train 'Dacia' #346 (Bucharest-Budapest-Vienna) uses global prices tariff system, thus passengers who want to take this train should keep in mind that they will have to pay fixed 26 euro (one-way) or 46 euro (return) fare + obtain a compulsory seat reservation (3 euro)

Alternatives? Perhaps you aren't in the mood to travel from Budapest to Vienna using a direct train, then you have a few other options to consider: a) you can always travel by bus (major bus companies operating on Budapest to Vienna route are EuroLines, FlixBus, Gschwindl); b) travel with stopover in some interesting place. For instance, you can travel with a stopover in Sopron or Bratislava or already mentioned earlier Győr; c) you can also travel between the capitals somewhat exotically - using hydrofoil boat, etc.