25 June 2009. Train times valid
from 14 June to 12 December 2009.
London to Budapest
by train...
Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest...
The train
journey from London to Budapest is safe, easy & affordable
and takes just 24
hours, by Eurostar to Paris and high-speed TGV
from Paris to Munich, then overnight sleeper to
Budapest. Or there are connections via Paris and
Munich, or via Brussels, Cologne & Vienna.
Timetables, prices and how to buy tickets for all three
options are explained below in a step-by-step guide.
Option 1: London to Budapest
by Eurostar to Paris, TGV to Munich & the Munich-Budapest
sleeper...
This is probably the easiest & cheapest way to reach
Budapest, with daily trains, a convenient mid-morning
departure from London and a breakfast-time arrival in
Budapest the next day, with all that sightseeing ahead of
you. If you'd prefer a departure from London later in
the day, see option 2.
Day 1: Travel from
Paris to Munich by TGV on the new TGV-Est high-speed
line, leaving Paris Gare de l'Est at 15:24 and
arriving Munich Hauptbahnhof at 21:38. Cafe-bar
available.
Day 1:
Travel from Munich to Budapest overnight on the
EuroNight sleeper train 'Kalman Imre', leaving Munich
Hauptbahnhof at 23:40 and arriving Budapest Keleti
station at 08:54 next morning (day 2). The Kalman Imre
has a modern air-conditioned Hungarian sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments with
washbasin), a modern couchette car (4 & 6 berth compartments) and
ordinary seats (not recommended).
Train times
Budapest ► London
Day 1: Travel
from Budapest to Munich overnight on the EuroNight
sleeper train 'Kalman Imre', leaving Budapest Keleti at
21:05
and arriving in Munich at 06:15 next morning.
The Kalman Imre has a modern air-conditioned Hungarian sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed
compartments with washbasin), couchettes (4 & 6 berth
compartments) and seats (not recommended).
Day 2: Travel from
Munich to Stuttgart by high-speed
ICE, leaving
Munich Hauptbahnhof at 09:40 and arriving Stuttgart
at 12:00.
Day 2: Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar,
leaving Paris Gare du Nord at 18:13 (there's also a
17:43 on
Fridays) arriving London St Pancras
at 19:34 (18:59 on Fridays).
On board the Kalman Imre sleeper train to
Budapest...
Cosy & inviting, a hotel
on rails, this is the modern air-conditioned Hungarian
sleeping-car of the 'Kalman Imre' waiting to leave
Munich Hauptbahnhof on its overnight journey to
Budapest, across Germany, Austria & Hungary...
The sleeping-car has 1, 2 & 3 berth compartments with
washbasin, toilets at the end of the corridor.
You're looking through the windows into the corridor,
most of the compartment doors are open, waiting for
guests to board. The lettering above the windows
reads 'hαlσkocsi - schlafwagen - voiture-lits -
sleeping-car'. Under the windows, the logo 'Utasellato'
is the Hungarian railways sleeping-car & dining car
service. The train also has more economical
couchettes with 4 & 6 berth compartments, but if your
budget will stretch just a bit, the sleeping-car is
the best way to travel.
Photo courtesy of Istvαn
Halαsz.
How much
does it cost?
Each train is
ticketed separately, so add up the price for each leg of
the journey.
Limited
availability, book in advance to get these fares.
Full fare £81 one-way, £142 return.
3.
Munich to Budapest
on
the Kalman Imre:
In a
seat:
In a
couchette
In the
sleeping-car
6-berth
4-berth
3-berth
2-berth
single
Savings
fare
one-way:
£24
£33
£41
£58
£66
£108
Savings
fare
return:
£48
£66
£82
£116
£132
£216
Full fare
one-way:
£79
£91
£96
£101
£116
£175
Full fare
return:
£158
£182
£192
£202
£232
£349
Savings fare =
Special cheap fare, book in advance, limited availability,
no refunds, no changes to travel plans.
Normal fare = fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.
How to buy tickets online...
The best & cheapest way to buy tickets is online, because
there's no booking fee and all the special offers are there
for you to see.
It involves three stages on two websites, so it's best to
engage brain, jot down exactly what specific trains you want
to book on what dates, and do a dry run on both
sites to check prices and availability before booking
for real. Here's how to buy tickets online:
Bookings open 90 days before
departure, you
can't buy tickets before reservations open.
Step 1,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
and using the train times on this page as a guide, book the
train from Paris to Munich & back. Add it to your
basket.
Step 2,
still on
www.raileurope.co.uk,
click 'continue shopping' and book the Eurostar from London
to Paris & back. By all means take an earlier Eurostar
outward or a later one returning if it has cheaper seats
available.
Add it to your basket.
Step 3, go to
www.bahn.de and buy a
sleeper or couchette ticket from Munich to Budapest on the
direct overnight sleeper train, looking for the cheap
'Savings' fares. Your simply book online and print out
your own ticket in .PDF format using your PC printer.
Easy! I recommend registering when it asks you before
completing the purchase, so you can easily retrieve any
bookings.
How to buy tickets
by email...
If you'd prefer to have someone book it for you,
just click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book for any of the options on this page. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
How to buy tickets by phone...
I
f you prefer to buy tickets by
phone, call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open
09:00-20:00 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 Sat & Sun, no booking fee), or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Mon-Fri,
09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £25 booking fee). Click
here for a list of
agencies and other useful information on how to buy
European train tickets.
Option 2: London to Budapest by
Eurostar, the Paris-Munich
sleeper & RailJet...
This is a good & affordable option, with a
departure from London later in the day if that's
important. It runs daily
for most of the year but only 4 times a week in winter. Stop off
for a while In Paris if you like!
Travel from Paris to Munich
overnight by the City Night Line sleeper train
'Cassiopeia', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est at 20:20 and arriving in Munich at
07:16 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs daily until 13
Dec 2008, then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
until 26 March 2009, then daily until 2 November 2009,
then on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays again.
It has sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments,
standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower),
4- & 6-berth couchettes & ordinary seats, see the photos & information
below or
More pictures & information about this City Night
Line sleeper train.
Travel from Munich to Budapest by air-conditioned
Austrian RailJet train, leaving
Munich at 09:27 and
arriving in
Budapest Keleti station at 16:49. A bar-bistro car
is available, so treat yourself to lunch. Watch
out for great views of the castle & citadel on the right
as you cross the Danube at Salzburg.
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.
Train times Budapest ► London
Travel from Budapest to Munich by
air-conditioned 'RailJet' train, leaving Budapest at 13:10
and arriving in Munich at 20:34. A bar-bistro car is
available, so treat yourself to lunch!
More pictures &
information about this RailJet train.
Travel from Munich to Paris by
the City Night Line sleeper train 'Cassiopeia', leaving
Munich at 22:44 and arriving at Paris Gare de l'Est
09:30 next morning. This
excellent train runs daily in summer, but only
4 times a week in winter. It runs daily until 13
Dec 2008, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays until 25 March 2009, then daily until 1 November
2009, then on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
again. The trains has ordinary seats, couchettes (6-berth
& 4-berth) and
sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed rooms, deluxe with shower or standard
with washbasin).
More
pictures & information about this City Night Line
sleeper train.
Walk from the Gare de l'Est to the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:29.
Introducing
the City Night Line Paris - Munich sleeper train...
The Paris-Munich overnight train is one of the German Railway's excellent
City Night Line sleeper trains. Called the
'Cassiopeia', it has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin. There is a shower at
the end of the corridor for passengers in standard rooms,
and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes
(choose between a berth in a 4- or 6-berth compartment),
and ordinary seats (not recommended).
Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus
sleeping accommodation. The sleeping-car fare includes
a light breakfast.
More
pictures and information about this train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:04 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord. For a cooked breakfast in
Munich or evening meal before boarding the Paris-bound
sleeper on your return, try the typically Bavarian
Mongdratzerl restaurant, located in the hauptbahnhof
itself.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard
with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
Above: The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of the Paris to Munich
sleeper train boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
RailJet is
Austria's brand-new high-speed train, linking Munich,
Salzburg, Vienna
& Budapest. It will soon also link Zurich, Innsbruck &
Vienna. Designed to run at up to 230km/h (143 mph) on
sections of upgraded track, it currently reaches 200km/h on part of
the route, but in other parts snakes around beautiful
scenery at a more sedate pace. Look out for great
views of Salzburg citadel & castle on the right as you cross
the river Salzach approaching Salzburg. RailJet has
three classes, Economy (2nd class), First (1st class), and
Premium (25 euro supplement over normal first class).
It has a bistro car providing drinks, snacks and hot dishes,
which are served on proper china at your seat in first and
premium classes. TV screens in each car tell you the
train's speed, show a map indicating your location, and post a list of next station stops
and times. A great way to travel - simply order one of
the regional beers from the bistro, sit back and enjoy the
scenery... More
pictures & information about this RailJet train.
"The RailJet has landed..."
Train RJ 63, the morning RailJet from Munich has arrived spot
on time at Budapest's historic Keleti station, built
1881-1884...
Premium class costs
25 euro more than normal 1st class...
Economy class on
RailJet, comfortable open saloons with large picture
windows. Some seats are arranged around tables,
some are unidirectional.
This is
probably the easiest way to book. Booking this way
involves two websites, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
, and book the sleeper from Paris
to Munich.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
It's best to book the Paris-Munich sleeper
train first and double-check arrival an departure times before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above. Also, for some reason it won't book
4-berth couchettes. If you've a child aged 4- 5 or
12-14 please read this note.
Step 2, after booking
the Paris-Munich sleeper train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.
Now book
the Eurostar from London to Paris and back. Use the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide,
but by
all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later
Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats
available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Step 3, now go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de, use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Budapest RailJet train shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket, looking for any cheap fares.
You then simply print out your own Online Ticket. I
recommend registering when it asks you before completing the
purchase, so you can easily retrieve any bookings.
Top tip:
If you want to stop off in Vienna for (say) a day, when
booking the Munich to Budapest train at bahn.de simply look
for the 'Via (1)' box and enter 'Vienna', then enter '24:00'
in the 'hh:m stopover' box. It'll then book you a 24
hour stopover in Vienna, but still let you buy a cheap 39
euro fare from Munich to Budapest (if it's available,
obviously). You can even spend a few hours in Salzburg
on the way as well, by entering 'Salzburg' in the via box
and (say) '04:00' in the stopover box, then clicking 'add
another stopover' and entering 'Vienna' & '24:00'. All
still for 39 euro!
Sometimes
www.raileurope.co.uk
has the cheapest fares for the
Paris-Munich sleeper, sometimes
www.bahn.de
is cheaper, so it's worth checking both sites.
Bahn.de can book all accommodation, including 4-berth
couchettes, though for some reason never offers solo
travellers berths in 3-bed sleepers (but raileurope.co.uk
will!). If you book using the bahn.de site,
children under 6 go free, children under 14 can get the
child rate.
However, if you book the Paris-Munich sleeper using
www.bahn.de you'll need to book the
Eurostar separately at
www.eurostar.com, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
Step 1,
go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website, and book the
direct overnight sleeper train from Paris to
Munich & back. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily make the next booking and retrieve all bookings
later. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before
booking the Eurostar connection, as times can vary.
Allow at least 90 minutes on the outward journey and 1 hour
on the return to make the connection in Paris.
Step 2, still on
www.bahn.de,
now use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Munich-Budapest RailJet train shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. You simply print
out your own Online Ticket.
Top tip:
If you want to stop off in Vienna for (say) a day, when
booking the Munich to Budapest train at bahn.de simply look
for the 'Via (1)' box and enter 'Vienna', then enter '24:00'
in the 'hh:m stopover' box. It'll then book you a 24
hour stopover in Vienna, but still let you buy a cheap 39
euro fare from Munich to Budapest (if it's available,
obviously). You can even spend a few hours in Salzburg
on the way as well, by entering 'Salzburg' in the via box
and (say) '04:00' in the stopover box, then clicking 'add
another stopover' and entering 'Vienna' & '24:00'. All
still for 39 euro!
Step
3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris, using the Eurostar times
above as a guide. By all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed or collected up at the station.
How to buy tickets
by email...
If you'd prefer to have someone book it for you, just
click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book for any of the options on this page. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit
cards), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Mon-Fri,
09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £25 booking fee).
Option 3: London-Budapest via the Cologne-Vienna
sleeper...
This runs daily, and avoids any walk between stations if
that's important to you.
Train times London
► Budapest
Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar,
leaving London St Pancras at 12:57, arriving in
Brussels Midi at 16:03.
Travel from Brussels to Cologne by high-speed
Thalys
train, leaving Brussels
Midi at 16:55 and arriving in
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 19:15.
Travel
from Cologne to Vienna on the excellent
City Night Line hotel train 'Eridanus', leaving
Cologne Hauptbahnhof at 20:06 and arriving in Vienna
(Westbahnhof) at 09:04. The 'Eridanus' has
sleeping-cars, couchettes, reclining seats & a
bar-bistro car, see the photos & information below. The train travels along the famous Rhine Valley
between
Koblenz and Frankfurt, so if you are in a sleeper and
your compartment happens to be on the left-hand side
of the train, switch off the lights and watch the
Rhine pass by, mountains and castles lit by moonlight,
while sipping a glass of Riesling.
Wonderful!
Travel from Vienna to Budapest by air-conditioned
EuroCity
train,
leaving Vienna
at 09:50 and arriving Budapest Keleti station at 12:49.
Watch out for the crossing of the Danube just before
arrival in Budapest.
Map of Budapest showing Keleti station.
Train times
Budapest
► London
Travel
from Budapest to Vienna by
air-conditioned EuroCity train, leaving Budapest Keleti
station at 15:10 and arriving Vienna Westbahnhof at
18:08.
Travel
from Vienna to Cologne overnight, leaving Vienna
Westbahnhof at 19:54 and arriving at
Cologne at 08:42 next morning. This train is the
excellent City Night Line hotel train 'Eridanus',
with double-deck sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-bed deluxe
sleepers with en suite shower & WC, 1, 2 or 3-bed
standard sleepers with washbasin), couchettes (4-bunk
or 6-bunk), reclining seats and a bar-bistro car.
See the information & photos below.
Travel from Cologne to Brussels by high speed
Thalys
train, leaving Cologne at 10:45 and arriving
Brussels Midi
13:01.
Travel
from Brussels to London by
Eurostar.
On Mondays-Fridays,
leave Brussels
Midi at 14:59 and arrive London St Pancras
at 15:56. On Saturdays & Sundays, depart Brussels
Midi at 14:29 and arrive London St Pancras at
15:26.
Introducing the
City Night Line sleeper train 'Eridanus' from Cologne to
Vienna...
The City Night Line 'Eridanus' is a travelling hotel, with
bar-bistro car, modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars with 1, 2
& 3-bed deluxe
sleepers with private shower & toilet, 1, 2 &
3
bed standard sleepers with washbasin, couchette
cars with 4 & 6 berth compartments, and
reclining seats. A wonderful way to
travel! The
sleeper berths come fully made up with sheets and
duvets. All
sleeper passengers get mineral water in the evening
and a light breakfast served in their compartment next morning, deluxe sleeper
passengers also get a complimentary glass of wine in
the evening. Towels and toiletries are
provided, including shampoo and shower gel in the
deluxe sleeper. Couchette passengers get
mineral water, each couchette is provided with
clean sheets, blanket and pillow. The bar-bistro is
open to all passengers, and it's normally open to
about 2am. If you like, you can book a table
for dinner in the restaurant car before you travel,
by emailing
service@citynightline.ch. When waiting for
the northbound City Night Line train at Vienna
Westbahnhof, if you have a sleeper ticket (as
opposed to couchette or seat ticket), you can use
the first class station lounge, with complimentary
drinks. City Night Line website:
www.bahn.de/citynightline.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option. Standard
compartments have washbasin, deluxe ones a shower & toilet.
4 & 6-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families. Couchettes are basic padded
bunks with rug & pillow. This is a 4-berth
compartment.
Above:
Reclining seats. Although a couchette is far
better for sleeping!
Above: One of the new
'Comfortline' sleeping-cars as used on the
Cologne-Vienna City Night Line sleeper train
'Eridanus'.
On
board the EuroCity train from Vienna to
Budapest...
Above: 2nd class
seats on an air-conditioned EuroCity train from Vienna
to Budapest...
Above: The
Hungarian restaurant car on some Vienna to Budapest
EuroCity trains. The set menu costs around 15
euros, a small bottle of wine about 2.80 euros.
Treat yourself..!
Fares vary
like air fares, so book in
advance to get the cheapest prices.
2. Cologne to
Vienna
by
City Night Line (per person):
In a seat
In a couchette
In the sleeping-car
6-berth
4-berth
3-berth
2-berth
single
2-berth
+ shower
single
+ shower
Savings fare one-way from:
49
(£42)
59
(£51)
69
(£60)
79
(£68)
89
(£77)
139
(£120)
129
(£112)
169
(£146)
Savings
fare
return from:
98
(£84)
119
(£102)
138
(£120)
158
(£136)
178
(£154)
278
(£240)
258
(£224)
338
(£292)
Normal fare one-way:
147
(£127)
163
(£141)
173
(£150)
183
(£159)
203
(£176)
239
(£207)
289
(£251)
329
(£286)
Normal fare return:
294
(£254)
326
(£282)
346
(£300)
366
(£318)
406
(£352)
478
(£414)
578
(£502)
658
(£572)
Child
under 14 with own berth:
Savings fares for children slightly lower than adult
Savings fares, child full fare 50-60% of adult
normal fare
Child
under 6 without own berth:
Child under 6 sharing a berth travels free...
3. Vienna to Budapest
by EuroCity train
£35 one-way, £70 return 2nd class
£53
one-way, £106 return 1st class
If you book this
journey at
www.oebb.at,
the flexible fare is 34 euro (£30) one-way or 68 euro
(£59) return, but a special fare 19 euro (£17) one-way
or 38 euro (£34) return is often available (no refunds, no changes).
Savings fare =
Special cheap fare, book in advance, limited availability,
no refunds, no changes to travel plans.
Normal fare =
fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.
The easiest way to book this journey is at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
because all the trains can be booked as a single transaction
on one UK-based website. If you live outside the UK,
or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which for some reason
raileurope.co.uk currently won't do) use
www.eurostar.com &
www.bahn.de
instead (see the next section). It's a good idea to
compare prices for the Cologne-Vienna train between
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de
as they can differ.
Step 1, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Budapest' all
in one go as this won't find the cheapest fares.
Remember that booking opens 90 days before departure, you
can't book before then. First, enter 'Cologne' &
'Vienna' and book the overnight train from Cologne to Vienna
and back. Obviously, in the search results simply look for
the direct train with no changes. For some reason it
won't book 4-berth couchettes, and may struggle with 2-berth
sleepers with shower, but if you have any difficulties like
this simply book using
www.bahn.de
instead, as described in the next section. Add this
ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 2, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using
the train times above as your guide. Add this ticket
to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.
Step 3, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using
the train times above as a guide. By all means take an
earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has
cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in
Brussels. Add this to your basket an click 'continue
shopping'.
Step 4, still at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
now buy a ticket from Vienna to Budapest and back. Add
to your basket and proceed to the payment stage.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address and normally arrive
within a couple of days. Only UK credit cards are
accepted.
Alternative step 4: You can save a fiver each way
by buying the Vienna-Budapest ticket online at www.oebb.at,
the Austrian Railways website, printing out your ticket in
.PDF format. As well as flexible tickets, there is
often a 19 euro (£17) special fare available (no refunds, no
changes to travel plans at this price). Simply select
'English' top right, then click 'Online-tickets' top left,
then click 'international tickets' and
make your booking.
Booking tips: Also try booking from London to
Cologne (shown as Koln) at
www.eurostar.com, as sometimes a through fare is cheaper
than booking each leg separately at
www.raileurope.co.uk.
This method involves two websites, so do a dry run on both
sites to check prices and availability before booking for
real.
Step 1,
go to either
www.eurostar.com or
www.raileurope.co.uk
and using the train times on this page as your guide, book a ticket from London to Cologne
& back (Cologne is listed as Koln on the Eurostar website).
It's a good idea to try both of these websites, as sometimes
one is cheaper than the other, for some strange reason. Bookings
for Eurostar+Thalys open 90 days before departure, and
the further ahead you book, the more likely you are to see
the cheapest fares. Tickets can be posted to any UK
address or collected at St Pancras on departure. Make sure you allow plenty of
time for the connection in Cologne, preferably between 1½
& 2 hours when connecting with a sleeper train.
It's obvious, but remember that your return departure date from Cologne will
be the day after your departure date from Budapest!
Top tip: If you don't see any sensibly-priced
London-Cologne through fares, go to
www.raileurope.co.uk
and try booking in two stages, first London-Brussels & back,
then Brussels-Cologne & back, using the train times above as
your guide. This can be cheaper!
Step 2,
go to
www.bahn.de and buy a ticket from Cologne
to Vienna aboard the direct City Night Line sleeper train.
Your simply book online and print out your own ticket in
.PDF format using your PC printer. Easy! Make
sure you select the type of couchette or sleeper that you
want. Bookings for City Night Line open 90 days (3
months) before departure. I recommend registering when
it asks you before completing the purchase, so you can
easily retrieve any bookings.
Step 3, you can easily buy a Vienna-Budapest ticket at the station
when you get to Vienna, as no advance reservation is
necessary, you just buy a ticket and hop on. Or to
save time at the ticket office you can
buy a ticket online at www.oebb.at,
the Austrian Railways website, printing out your ticket in
.PDF format. Alternatively, you can easily buy
Vienna-Budapest tickets at
www.raileurope.co.uk
for £27.50 one-way, £55 return, tickets sent to any UK
address.
If you'd prefer to have someone book it for you, just
click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book for any of the options on this page. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £25 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
The best agency to call
to book this trip is probably
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit
cards). Alternatively, call www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00 Mon-Fri,
09:00-13:00 Saturdays, £25 booking fee, but may have more time to
help).
Click
here for more information on how to buy European train
tickets.
If you want a holiday to Budapest by
train, but would prefer to travel with fellow travellers, a
tour manager and all the legwork done for you, there is one company
who offers this. Seat61 gets some commission to support
the site if you book your holiday through this link or phone
number.
GRJ offers
a 13-day tour to Vienna, Budapest & Prague from £1,750, with 1st class train
travel and 5* or 4* hotels.
Great Rail Journeys also offer
holidays by train to other European countries. Check
the tour details online, then call 01904 527120 to
book or use their
online
booking form.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
2009 edition (June to December 2009)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Paying
for a guidebook may seem an unnecessary expense, but it's a tiny
fraction of what you're spending on your whole trip. You will
see so much more, and know so much more about what you're looking at,
if you have a decent guidebook. For independent travel, the best
guide is either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide. Both are
excellent. The Lonely Planet range offers an in-depth guide for
Hungary or a guide covering all the countries in Eastern Europe. You
won't regret buying one..!
My own book, an essential
handbook for train travel to Europe based on this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", was published in June 2008, and
is available from Amazon.co.uk with shipping worldwide.
It's easy to book hotels online to go with your train tickets,
but there are almost too many hotel booking websites to choose
from. So try
www.hotelscombined.com (just use the search box below).
This is not a hotel booking site, but a free search tool
which searches all the main hotel booking sites for you
(Expedia, Travelocity, LateRooms, Opodo, Venere and many
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates on the net. Set
up in 2005, it's an amazing system and probably the best place
to start for booking any hotel online in any country,
worldwide.
Also try the
Budapest hotels page at
www.venere.com. The price you see is the price you
pay, and you just pay the hotel when you get there.
After you've booked, you can change or cancel your reservation
in line with the hotel's own change and cancellation policy.
Backpacker
hostels...
www.hostelbookers.com: If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelbookers
offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in
Budapest and most other European
cities at rock-bottom prices.
Travel insurance & health card
Travel insurance..
Travel insurance is boring, but a necessity, so
never travel without it. Make sure your cover is adequate, at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover,
from a reliable insurer. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself). Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
Direct Line,
Columbus Direct & the Environmental Transport Association
(click the banner below).
I've used Direct Line myself and on one occasion, successfully
claimed back the cost of non-refundable Eurostar & trainhotel
tickets to Spain when we cancelled the trip because my mother
fell ill. ETA offer discounts on insurance for
non-flying trips, so give them a try too although I have yet
to use them myself.
Feedback from
using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome!
UK citizens travelling in Europe should carry a European
Health Insurance Card. This replaces the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available free
from
www.ehic.org.uk and entitles you to free or reduced rate
health care if you become ill or get injured in many European
countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the UK's NHS.
If you live in the UK, get quotes from
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, see
If you live in the USA or Canada, see