In July, we(2) will be travelling by train-Vienna-Budapest-Krakow-Prague-C.Krumlov-Vienna. Our concern is night train(Budapest to Krakow), then day train(Krakow to Prague). I have prices (with & without Pass) from RailEurope and PolRail, but many posts mention the cost would be less to buy tickets when we are there. However I am concerned that the Sleeper Berth for Two that we can reserve in advance from PolRail may not be available if we wait until just a few days in advance. Also the Krakow-Prague direct train we want departs early in morning so want to make sure we have a seat in advance. I am not able to get prices from countries own sites to see if worth waiting. Does anyone know the cost of those two trips if we buy at station a few days in advance? The European East Pass(2nd class) may be a better price, but difficult to compare. Thanks for any advice.

I was travelling Krakow - Prague in January and bought a return ticket at Krakow ticket office just a couple of days before the departure paying 56 Euros plus another 3 Euros for a seat reservation and E 10 if you want a place in a sleeping compartment. For more details you can see the transport tip on my Prague Page.

I can only tell you about the Krakow-Prague ticket. I also rode the day train because, even though I read in VT forums that this was not the cheapest option, it was safer. The journey is 7-8 hours long - and yes, it departs at 7 AM - and I booked my ticket only 2 days before my trip (it was also the summer) at a local travel agency, got my seat assigned by the window as I requested and everything ran smoothly. The train wasn't crowded so I guess I would have found vacant seats even if I had waited till that very day to buy the ticket, but I didn't want to take the risk. It cost me like 48 EUR (179 polish Zloty) last summer and I didn't pay any extra charges that I remember. My local friend told me that the tickets can also be purchased directly at the train station, but the agency was closer and she promised that the price would be the same.... The entire tip is in my Prague page if you want to check it out.

I first considered traveling on the night train but there were no "couchettes" available for the day I was travelling, so these you DO need to book far in advance because they're on high demand, especially between these popular destinations and considering it's peak season (summer). Also, be very careful as I was told by my local friend that the night trains in this zone of Europe might not be as safe as one would want them to be. Keep an eye on your stuff at all times and you'll be fine.

Hope you enjoy your trip! Those 2 cities are jewels.

I wouldn't entirely agree with the safety issue on the overnight train to Prague, it was much safer than some others I've taken so fat. First of all the compartments with couchettes are locked from the inside and they are for up to four people, which makes it safer. Secondly, since we (both Poland and Czech)entered the Schengen zone, there's no passport control, you even leave the ticket to the train conductor and get it back in the morning - no waking up in the middle of the night, you can stay in your compartment undesturbed all night long. And what I liked most about that overnight journey is that it saved us time, we arrived in Prague at about 7, had enough time to find our accommodation and leave the luggage and immediately set out to see the city - having stept well on the train. And the price I gave above is for a return ticket - we were told that it gives a 40 % discount compared to a single.