I will be in Krakow later this year, and from there I'd like to visit
>Prague
>Vienna
>Budapest
and I suppose that order would be the most efficient
Anybody have done something like this before? Are there any tour companies one would recommend?
Or any ideas what the most cost and time efficient way would be to get from Krakow to Prague to Vienna to Budapest?
If anybody would like to give ideas what to do in each cities I would also love to hear it too!
wizzair (ryanair?) to fly from krakow to prague, then from budapest to krakow.
i never ever used tour companies before, and i cannot imagine a situation where i would do that unless i suddenly woke up as a chinese upper middle class woman one day, so can't advise on that. i would just take the train between vienna and budapest for sure (railjet from westbahnhof to keleti), prague to vienna either train or bus.
i've visited all three of the cities dozens of times, ad so i could give you advice on what to do, but you didn't really give away your preferences, so....
prague - beer and old town
vienna - cafés and museums
budapest - food and spas
those are the keywords that i can think of. architecture and culture are pretty interesting in all three.
Bratislava is only an hour away from Vienna, you should check it out if you have the time; it's ok not the best of cities but at least you can say you've visited Slovakia as well
>>1100710
Prague airport is kind of farther out of the main city, train will be right there near old town. Budapest, same deal. Vienna, same deal. So, whether it is the most economical, it eases ground transfers somewhat to do a train. If you do fly, I'd fly into Budapest from Poland and do a reverse plan.
Your 3-city route is highly popular as a 10day itinerary trip, giving 3 days in each city, plus or minus the half travel days there. For my next trip, I'd suggest the following:
2 days, 2 nights Prague
Add 1 or 2 days for side trips, such as to Karlovy Vary or Hutna Kora. You can be completely done in Prague with 3-4 days. It's tiny and entirely walkable. Off the beaten path, the Lubkowicz palace is a must see.
2-3 days, 2 nights Vienna,depending on your love of museums and time of year for concert evenings, one of which you can do a half day to an overnight side trip to Melk monastery cruising the Wachau valley and possibly overnight somewhere along the way back to Vienna. Some people go to dresden or salzburg as closeby trips. You could easily kill a full 10 days in vienna if you are a shopper or lover of museums, but it is a pricey place for food, hotel, etc.
Budapest is the most spread out of the above cities, really a distinct 3 city area, and only 2-3 days is very tight, especially when sights close early. I'd suggest a good 4 days is minimum to explore it well. Can't miss: hospital in the rock, terror house, going to 2 spas (not just one), jewish quarter klezmer music restaurants, and some of the coffeehoues are as historical as in vienna and worth a stop.
>>1100856
Not OP but planning the same kind of trip, your post is great
to save money I'm planning on either flying into berlin or budapest and extending my trip to be 20~ days and including zagreb, graz and brno.
one Q: I've never solo travelled before but I want to get the most out of this trip. Do many solo travellers go to spas alone? I am social, but not a huge extravert.
not OP and not him >>1100915
but I'would like to do the same thing but I have only 8 days would, Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava a good plan or should I stick to Budapest - Prague? (for some reason I'm not really into vienna)
Also do you have any Museum recomendations?
>>1100919
Why not 3 days in Prague, 1 in Vienna, 1 in Bratislava and 3 in Budapest? I don't think you need more than 3 days in Budapest and Prague
American in Krakow at this very second here
I came for a three day weekend and I can say this. I walked everywhere in town on the map. I wanted to goto the concentration camp but I didn't plan ahead. The underground salt lake looked neat but I didn't plan ahead. The dragons den was closed just for a little bit of rain. Anything Jewish in town is fucking boring and I'm Jewish by blood.
In the market square, shit is expensive.
The castle was probably the best part of this trip and it's only a castle.
Tldr; I hate my life
>>1100925
> I don't think you need more than 3 days in Budapest
all the while you're definitely wrong on that one, with only eight days for the whole trip, this is the most sensible way to go.
>>1100915
>Do many solo travellers go to spas alone? I am social, but not a huge extravert.
Oh, you came to the right person. I'm female and always do spas when I travel. Always.
You would have no issue feeling weird alone doing Szechenyi alone. The quaint and original metro goes to it, but it's a beautiful above ground walk up tree-lined Andrassy to get there on your own. I'd pack a tote with suit or change of clothes, or daypack. Have your own towel of a size to cover a lounge chair if you wanted to sun in the right season, (their manned booth isn't always manned), lock for the locker room, and flipflops or crocs to wear right to the waters edge or even into the pool. Grippy soles, as the stairs are slippery to and from lockerrooms which are basement level, and it's all wet/all the time, even bathroom floors, so you'll wait the hygienic footwear.
The steam rooms at Szechenyi seem a little gay/male only packed in there like sardines, and no other women., but there are two pools, one with a current for walking against it, and another one where the chess playing old dudes seem to be all day.
If you wish to have a massage, at most spas before/after a swim or steam, I suggest you book them ahead. They're rarely any available on walk-in same day appts, I've found the world over. Ask a concierge to do this for you before your trip or immediately when you arrive, as they speak the language and can secure special requests like female only.
>>1100919
>(for some reason I'm not really into vienna)
>Also do you have any Museum recomendations?
You do realize Vienna has more museums than days in a year, right?
>>1100919
Albertina-Kunsthistorisches-Naturhistorisches, and then you're only done with the Vienna basics....
In Budapest the generic ones are only good when there's some special exhibition going on, then they go all out... Otherwise it's better for those random ones like House of Terror or that huge train yard of a museum. I heard the pinball one is also fun.
>>1100915
I've lived in Budapest for long, and so I don't really count as a traveller... I've been to spas alone just as many times as I've been with friends or family. Even when going with others to a spa, a lot of the time is spent separately, as not everyone likes the same temperature of water, some like steam saunas, others like dry ones, etc.
Try to get a massage or some other treatment booked, too, just in case you get bored, but... You probably won't be bored.
Also a PSA to anyone going to Budapest spas: note that many pools have a time limit. And it's for your own safety. Too many minerals/too much heat/etc can harm you. Just saying this as I forgot to tell my friends when they went to Budapest, they didn't notice the signs about the time limit... They just felt really sleepy cause they overstayed in one pool, but it could've been worse. The limit is posted above each pool with 'healing' water.
This is actually a very useful thread for me, wanted to thank you all.
>>1100822
>>1100856
>>1101456
I'm an exchange student in the Netherlands and I've just returned from a 11 day Hamburg-Berlin-Leipzig-Dresden-Prague trip. I've also been to Warsaw+Krakow, Copenhague, and closer dutch, belgian, and german cities and towns in the last 3 months. If anybody has a question I could try and give any recommendations to the extend of my knowledge.
Now, for the next big leg I was thinking about going Munich (mainly in order to do a daytrip to the Neuschwanstein castle) - Salzburg - Vienna - Bratislava - Budapest.
Tips and recommendations of any kind would be amazing, I was thinking about doing 1-1-4-1-3 days, travelling mainly by bus.
I do have a question I'd really appreciate somebody could answer. I'm planning a 4d stay in Vienna mainly because I really enjoy art and history museums, but I've heard the city can be quite expensive. I've also read that Bratislava is only 1h by bus away and that those two are sort of like twin-cities.
Given that Bratislava is supposed to be (way) cheaper than Vienna, would it be efficient to actually sleep there and do 4 continuos "daytrips" to Vienna?
Thanks, and again, any ideas about any of the cities or any other city or town worth visiting (Zagreb, Saravejo, Belgrade, Slovenia's capital, idk), would be greatly appreciated.
>>1102880
If you're visiting Vienna from the Netherlands, you're definitely not going to think it's expensive. You don't spare as much staying in Bratislava as to make it worth the time and hassle (and money) to visit Vienna from there every day. If you have no budget, all those cities have pretty okay couchsurfing communities, but I'm sure you can fork out a hostel at least. Wombats is an institution in Vienna, there are plenty newer good ones, I'm sure.
So yeah, it ain't no Norway levels of expensive, just more expensive than Bratislava or Budapest.
I actually ended up sleeping at a park in Vienna once as a teenager, would even prefer that over going to Bratislava, but I guess that's just me.
You have Lidl and Aldi (Hofer?) all over the place, and so you can save some cash on some of your meals if you don't want to hang out in cafés all the time.... But again, you're in the Netherlands now, it will feel cheaper overall.
All of the cities you've listed are interesting on their own right, esp if you're into the Habsburg heritage. They were all part of the empire, so you'll see some similarities I guess.
Tufahija and all the cevapi in Sarajevo I still crave, Bosnia is such a great place to eat. I would venture out to the mountain above Sarajevo, it's just as beautiful as the Alps.
>>1103483
Well, I'm just studying here in the NL and it's true, here everything is really really expensive, But I come from a third world country and I had to save like a lot to afford this trips around europe, so I'm trying to spend less where possible.
>You don't spare as much staying in Bratislava as to make it worth the time and hassle (and money) to visit Vienna from there every day.
Yeah, I've been reading about it and it seems like you're right. I guess it was a long shot. Thank you very much for your answer, I'll definitely try to save on food.
>Tufahija and all the cevapi
Shouldn't have googled that, now my mouth is watering. Yeah, I'm absolutely going to Sarajevo.
Thanks!
>>1103624
Sarajevo you're also going to like cause it's the cheapest of all the places you've listed. By far.
Bosnia has the best (and cheapest) fruit and vegetables out of those countries, too. Ugh I need to go back.
You might know this already, but always play your student card/under 26 card. Plenty of museums and public transport are free/cheap when you're young and/or a student. Everytime you buy a bus or train ticket, remember to ask for your discount. Eg. in Hungary you get 33% off all train tickets from Friday to Sunday if you're under 26, it's just cashiers need to be reminded sometimes.
>>1102880
the Neuchwanstein castle is great, aslong as it isn't raining, the horse drawn carriages always have long queues and it's a horrible walk up to the castle when it's raining, you usually have to wait ages for your tour to start and you cannot take any pictures or wander from your tour group.
but it is awesome.
>>1100915
>brno.
Haven't heard anything great about it, but didn't go personally. It was explained to me that Brno is/was the more industrial workhorse of a city and therefore factories, quickly put up concrete housing and such, when in the USSR, and when the countries were broken up, it is a capital again but minus the cultural draw and beauty of Prague of course. I've heard it from tons of people, and the only positives are here are tainted with pride.
>one Q: I've never solo travelled before but I want to get the most out of this trip. Do many solo travellers go to spas alone? I am social, but not a huge extravert.
Yes, and no. I think it depends on the place. You don't really chat with others, not as a rule though, so the introvertion isnt a deal at all. But, keep in mind that spas are places of health rejuvenation, and there will be some people there who are secretly fighting cancer, or have MS, arthritis, or some horrific job that needs some destressing. It's acceptable to go about that alone, of course. Feels nice to have an appointment that makes it official for a massage, treatment, or some beauty routine. Then, the admission gives you the waters at will either before or afterwards.
Every now and then I get a vibe I don't like. Not often, mind you. When I was in Szenchyi, I had this japanese dude that was following my companion and I was very much interested in me. Filming with his phone. I was nearly outraged enough to go complain (not a lifeguard or employee in sight). I moved pools and soon forgot about it. About an hour later, in a different pool. Some creep rubbed up against me. Turned around. It was him. I guess I'm now famous in frottage scenes in Asia. who the heck knows. I had a spa in Greece where I got the gay vibe to the point that I didn't think the water was very clean. But, I can count great experiences in the 40x or more I'm sure. It's social to lightly float and mingle with a friend, but not needed.
>>1100919
>>1101456
continuing the viennese museum-dump:
MOMOK Museum of modern art
Leopold Museum (museum of austrian expressionism)
Museum of Technology
Haus der Musik (almost a must-see, sooo interactive)
Aqua-Terra-Zoo (Haus des Meeres)
>not technically a museum but well worth a visit
HGM Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Museum of military history)
Wien Museum
MAK Museum of applied arts
Schnapps-Museum
Firefighter-Museum (Vienna's is the worlds oldest professional firefighting organisation)
Remise Museum of public transport
Museum of torture
Narrenturm (pathologic-anatomical museum)
https://www.wien.gv.at/english/culture/museums/
>>1100710
get the train
i have a bunch of suggestions for prague
stay in a hostel called sir tobys, they do free barbecues twice a week, have a great little cozy bar downstairs with one of the friendliest atmospheres i've ever seen, and the staff are lovely
go to cross club, it looks like this, and they have a great variety of music, one time i went there they had a reggae dub set with a guy playing trumpet over it in one room and the heaviest trap set i've ever heard in the other, but the music is different every night
go to the beer museum, its just a pub with really good marketing
above all just walk around and explore the city, prague is one of the best places in the world for that
theres also a really nice beer garden with a great view of the city on the north side of the river but i dunno how i could direct you there
>>1106486
forgot pic
>>1101255
you do realize that the attraction/repulsion for a city does not depends on the number of museums the aforementioned city has, right?
>>1100710
Definitely choose train.
For Krakow-Prague I recommend you the Czech company LeoExpress, they provide bus connection Krakow-Czechia where there is direct train. Cheap, comfy, fast.
For Prague-Vienna choose EuroCity trains of Czech Railways
Vienna-Budapest, also train, no idea which, though
links:
Krakow-Prague http://www.le.cz/cms/praha-krakov-1102.htm
Prague-Vienna http://www.cd.cz/railjet/en/index.htm
Which hostel should I stay in? I'm not super social but meeting people is important to me still
someone mentioned sir toby's, which looks good, but im worried it will be too dude-bro/party-y for me. Other ones I'm interested in are sophie's hostel and the czech inn, although I've heard from reviews that sophie's feels kindve dead sometimes, and that czech smells like shit and is noisy from the trainstation.
help me bros
>>1107229
Lol, how does it matter anyway? Be glad it's cheap and at least kind of clean and safe
![p5073528[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/gmjjn2l.jpg "p5073528[1].jpg")
>>1103885
Brno actually has a pretty nice city center. It's a half-day trip kind of place definitely, but it's not just a commieblock hive.
>>1106487
Hey I've been there. Cool place, cool people, cheap drinks and lots of smoking weed inside with locals. Been made to feel more welcome there than any other club in any country in Europe.
Also they take foosball fucking serious there.
![1280px-Vila_Tugendhat_interior_Dvorak[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Mv5VQY6.jpg "1280px-Vila_Tugendhat_interior_Dvorak[1].jpg")
>>1107237
foosball is the ultimate tool for gaining respect
>>1103885
>when in the USSR
well tell me please again when Brno was a part of USSR
Brno is a completely normal city for Czech standards, historical centre, some better parts, some worse parts, some commieblock parts.
I think it's worth a one day visit at least. If you are into architecture you might like UNESCO Villa Tugendhat from Mies van der Rohe.
>>1107229
>sophie's hostel
I'm >>1102880 and I stayed at sophie's when in prague 2 weeks ago. The place was nice, relatively close to everything, and the receptionist were really friendly and the bar was almost always with people, especially during happy hour.
As for the meeting people, I stayed in a 8 bed dormroom so I got to talk to almost all my roomates, at least a little bit.
My only gripe was with the number of showers, but I actually only had to wait once in almost 4 days so in hindsight it wasn't so bad.
So yeah, I'd recommend the place.
Now, since people are giving tips for Prague, if you are into art or museums at all, you should go to the National gallery (Národní galerie) at Veletržní Palace. The collection as a whole was surprisingly good, but if you don't care about missing a couple of Klimts and other jewels you can just pay for Mucha's Slav Epic, which really deserve its name.
Lobkowicz Palace was interesting enough but if you're in a budget perhaps skip it. The Spanish Synagogue and St Nicholas at mala strana are really nice, the clocktower was nothing special. Like somebody else said, just walking through the old town and the castle district is really nice.
As for daytrips, Kutna Hora was underwhelming, perhaps that castle nearby (karlstjen or something like that) would be a better option.
>>1107348
It was underwhelming? Can you elaborate? I've heard people talk about karlstjen but it is just one (pretty cool though) castle, where-as kutna hora has the mines, the ossuary and a few smaller things.
Did you book a tour or just transit into town? I'm thinking of doing this on may 6 and hope I still have time to book properly.
>>1102880
Hey dude, I think your plan is solid. And nah, it's not worth it to stay in Bratislava when you actually want to go to Vienna. If you even safe anything for accomodiation, you'll lose that again in transport costs.
Greetings from Leipzig, how did you like my city?
>>1107363
Well, perhaps I'm being a bit unfair, I only went to the Ossuary (which was smaller and less impressive than expected) and St Barbara's cathedral (really nice from the outside but nothing special from the inside). I'd just advise against allocating one full day to the town, with a morning or afternoon would be enough. Cesky krumlov may be better for a full day trip, I think.
I took public transport, cheaper but it's probably better to go on a tour. And don't worry, you definitely have time to book, they offered me one two days before I went.
>>1107399
Awesome, thanks for the tips.
Leipzig was really nice, even though I stayed there just for a day. I couldn't had the time for Bach museum but St Thomas and St Nicholas and the grave and the statue and everything gave my visit a nice Bach feeling. My hostel was in the middle of the city center, which was both beautiful and seemed to be a place where one could have a good night out, which is a great combination. What I liked the most was those Faust+devil+children stautes and the Volkerschlachtdenkmal, really impressive.
Would definitely recommend if en route or if visiting Dresden, even as a daytrip.
just to thanks all the people who helped.
>>1105236
The Vienna Zoo in Schönbrunn is also highly recommended. It's right next to the Imperial palace so it might be a good combination when visiting that one.
