Bratislava to Budapest Jan 2017

[stuartmoss]

Hi All, I'm planning on doing this in January 2017, having two nights in Bratislava and then two nights in Budapest. I'm just after some tips for the train journey really. Should I book in advance? How much(ish) should I expect to pay? Is there a restaurant car on the train? Are the trains frequent? Is there a better side to sit on in terms of scenery?

All advice thoroughly appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[30907]

As of now the EC trains are 2 hourly with a RC. Mostly CD cars but a couple have MAV ones which are reputedly rather good - the through Hamburg and Warsaw trains, breakfast time from Budapest and dinner time from Bratislava. Should be bookable as Advance's (Europ Expres) on the Slovak or Hungarian sites, Seat61 will tell you how.

 

[stuartmoss]

As of now the EC trains are 2 hourly with a RC. Mostly CD cars but a couple have MAV ones which are reputedly rather good - the through Hamburg and Warsaw trains, breakfast time from Budapest and dinner time from Bratislava. Should be bookable as Advance's (Europ Expres) on the Slovak or Hungarian sites, Seat61 will tell you how.

Thanks 30907, very helpful.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Hi All, I'm planning on doing this in January 2017, having two nights in Bratislava and then two nights in Budapest. I'm just after some tips for the train journey really. Should I book in advance? How much(ish) should I expect to pay? Is there a restaurant car on the train? Are the trains frequent? Is there a better side to sit on in terms of scenery?

I've done it the other way. Trains every 2 hours, usually coming through from Prague or Warsaw.
There's a good stretch alongside the Danube round the "bend" near the Slovakia/Hungary border, so best on the south side.
Nice and hilly on that stretch, hill-top castles etc, with views of Estergom Cathedral on the far side of the Danube.
The EC trains should have a restaurant car, mixture of CZ/SK/PL/HU stock.
On my train it was Czech and did very nice meals at a good price. All sorts of currency accepted.
The trains don't seem especially crowded, but you might get a decent advance fare if you book ahead.
I'm not sure you can book this journey online though. This will give you times: https://ikvc.slovakrail.sk/inet-sales-web/pages/connection/search.xhtml
The only reference to a fare I can find shows €17.50 for a regular return.
You might find this is cheaper than the single...
http://www.slovakrail.sk/en/prices-and-discounts/international-transport0/hungary.html

I did see somewhere that ČD were planning to use their RailJets on the Prague-Bratislava-Budapest route as well as Prague-Vienna-Graz.

 

[Gordon]

There's a good stretch alongside the Danube round the "bend" near the Slovakia/Hungary border, so best on the south side.
Nice and hilly on that stretch, hill-top castles etc, with views of Estergom Cathedral on the far side of the Danube..

I got the view of the Danube bend 'the other way round' way back in 1985 with my parents (we were camping in Budapest). We took the daily tourist steam train to Esztergom from Budapest Nyugati with 424 285 (although we were about the only passengers so it felt real, and steam was still just about extant in Hungary at the time.

We walked up to the cathedral and there was a mass taking place inside. As the communist era was still in place it felt strange to see a religious service in full swing. Then we watched the CSD trains in the distance from the cathedral terrace!



.

 

[bradford758]

Have done a journey between the two cities (twice), but not as straightforward as you might think! I'll pop the finer details on when I've time, but basic details here:
Bratislava - Miskolc - Debrecen - Budapest.
also
Bratislava - Esztergom - Vács - Budapest.

Obviously taking a few days to make the journeys, but interesting to do it this way if you have the time.

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--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Re: fare.
Yes, a return ticket bought from Bratislava station the day before, will be cheaper than an international (single) ticket.

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[dutchflyer]

By TRAIN do not bother booking advance-just buy on the day the special single-thats about 15/16 eur (Pay equiv. in HUF the other way).
It can be done cheaper-take train to KOmarno (change off EC in NOve Zamky OR use direct Regiojet)-walk over bridge to HU-side, change money on the way-dozens of places, see TEsco hypermarket on HU side and station is beside-MAV runs 2 trains/hr to BUd, 1 slow S-train and one ''fast''. Walk of about 20 mins-there are also occasional HU citybuses.
Also: take EC as far as Sturovo, take bus to Esztergom on HU side-connects most times direct), then either train or bus(along HU side of Danube) to Bud.
There are also scores of coaches=buses, best are by StudentAgency=Regiojet. Of course all fares liable to change by that time.
IF you happen to be over 65, in fact the trip via the acrossthebridgelinks can be done all free for the trains-in SK from 62, but get yourself a free customercard (foto needed) first, then get ticket, in HU-from 65-just show EUR-ID.