Budapest Travel Answers

Just go to the ticket counter at Keleti pu station, i don´t think a resevation is necessary, and you can do it even 10 minutes befor departure, pay with €, Forint or creditcard. When you enter the ticket office get first a number and wait until it is called (even if you are the only one there), english is spoken. I got just a similar ticket a week ago to vienna.

So they do sell those saver tickets even at the counter just a few days before departure? That you can always get a normal price ticket I at the station I am fully aware of. It's saving some money I'm interested in.

I did buy Vienna return (€ 25 valid 4 days for every train to and from Vienna) just minutes before the train was leaving.

To make it sure. The "Sparday Prague" is a SCIC-IRT ticket, not SCIC-NRT (ex-TCV). That means, it's like a typical "Sparpreis" ticket, reservation INCLUDED. There is a contingent - but it seems that it is either pretty high or not many people are usung these trains. I got a feedback that buying these tickets few days before departure (someone I know tried it three days before at the station) was still possible. I just did try to buy a ticket - for tomorrow, April 10 (no success!) - for April 11 (no success) - for April 12 (success, 35 Euro) so it looks like you have to buy the ticket 3 days in advance, at least in internet. Could be that at the station the rules are more relaxed - the internet shop of MÁV is still very primitive. The situation with second class (19 Euro) was the same. No problem to buy on-line for April 12, April 11 and April 10 did not work. Keep in mind, you can start little earlier and travel to Sturovo, that costs 6 Euro. There in Sturovo you can buy a ticket to Prague for 35.30 (second class) or 52.70 (first class). These are regular prices but with the usual Slovak-Czech discount. What cars are on what trains you can see here: diesirae.atw.hu/menetrend/ne...

I'm going to try to book with the help of a Hungarian coworker. If that doesn't work I'll just buy them in Budapest. We have three nights there.

Three nights in advance is most likely fine. Because the bus is so cheap, the trains tend to have most customers switched to Orangeways or Student Agency.

Good to know. Personally I'd never take a bus from Budapest to Praha, even if it was free...

Pretty much agree, last time took the Student Agency bus within Czech Republic and a rented bus between my kid's elementary school and Vienna, both looked OK but train is so much better.

"a short visit to the station or a travel agent should not be a problem" Just a heads up that I passed through Budapest (Keleti) in the summer of 2010 and needed to buy an international ticket. The state-run ticket booth for international tickets had a wait of HOURS. Hours and hours and hours. You had to get a number and wait for your number to be called, and people who had numbers way ahead of me had already been waiting for hours. I went upstairs to one of the private travel agencies and was in and out in about forty-five minutes. I acknowledge that was high season, but I've heard it's not unusual. I'd recommend buying your ticket at one of the travel agencies (you'll have to a small surcharge but my holiday time is precious and worth it!) or I think it's possible to get the tickets at a different station (I see someone on another website has written, "The international ticket counters at Nyugati train station are often quiet so that's another option.").

The ticket agency at Keleti is now new and lines are shorter. An other option is to go to Déli station, there are no lines there, I can buy the tickets usually within 10 minutes there. However, unusual requests are better to be handled by MÁV agency at Keleti. Example: the Lvov - Bratislava RZD sleeper reservaton into Russian car was impossible at Wasteels but took few minutes at MÁV. They were more skilled... after I insisted that that car does exist. At begin they did say that "there is no train like that". It is of course. In almost all cases MÁV agents use the DB web site to find a connection. In my case (RZD car for Lvov - Bratislava) they did show me that there is no train according the DB. I told them that the DB site has a mistake and the data base is incomplete. ... and after ca. 5 minutes of arguing the agent gave up, asked his manager and manager told him the trick. And it worked. And indeed, the DB web site was wrong. Now I can imagine, a travel agency would be of no help in such cases. Not even the Wasteels (who are pretty good otherwise).

Thanks for the info. I don't think that a ticket for Praha would be that unusual, so I'll head to Deli.

Much better option... and if you come from the direction of Vienna - even more convnient! #1: de-train at Kelenföld, usually the trains to Keleti stop at the outher tracks #2: take the short underpass and "emerge" on one of the inner platforms, usually track 5 is fine #3: board the next train to Déli, they are every 10-15 minutes. Because: every internatonal ticket is valid to ANY Budapest station. For instance you can even arrive at Keleti and with the next train ride back to Kelenföld than from Kelenföld to Déli... for free. Except if the ride Keleti - Kelenföld would be on an IC train. But if you ride from the direction of Vienna, Kelenföld comes first. Déli advantages: - smaller - less smelly - no lines at the ticket counter - closer to better + cheaper hotels - several banks nearby with ATM, no rip-off money-changers - a good food store (supermarket) is nearby - Buda castle within (longish) walking distance - The usual rip-off millieu (gypsy taxicabs, over-priced private accommodation offeres, Middle Eastern money changers) avoid Déli because the only international trains (to Sarajevo and to Ljubljana) arrive there, neither is attractive enough for a quick scam - Déli closer to my home :-P Only parking is somewhat more problematic there and of course the architecture of Déli is not as beautiful as of Keleti.

I've already booked accommodation. We're in Batthyány street. Looking at the map Deli seems close., Thanks for the tip. It will be my first time in Budapest.