Traveling from Prague to Vienna

Hi! My husband and I will be traveling from Prague to Vienna by train on 22nd March. We would like to get non-smoking seats, if possible.

Can we buy the tickets in Prague on the day (or a day before) we travel, or should we buy them (on line?) in advance from the US? Do we have to go to the train station to buy the tickets in Prague?

I checked OBB’s website (http://www.oebb.at/vip8/oebb/en/index.jsp), but couldn’t find pricing. Does anybody know how much the ticket would cost from Prague to Vienna?

Thanks for your help in advance.

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Tickets are much cheaper bought over here, but buy your tickets the day before at least, as you never know how slow the queue will be. You can either but them at the international ticket office (on the right as you enter the central station) or from the Czech Railways agency office on v celnici street next to the Marriott

Beware, many Vienna trains leave from and arrive at Holesovice station in the north of the city, not at Prague central station

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About how long does the train between Prague and Vienna take? My wife and I are considering an 8 day trip, flying into and out of Prague. We are trying to figure out if a 3-day side trip to Vienna is worthwhile.

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nyc77,

I’m looking at OBB’s website at http://www.oebb.at/vip8/oebb/en/index.jsp as well as Atlas.cz’s site at jizdnirady.atlas.cz/JRCis.asp?tt=c%26cl=E5 to get the train schedules. According the sites, it would take about 4hrs from Prague to Vienna if you take a direct train. It would take about 5-5.5hrs if you take a train with 1-2 changes.

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peb7,

Thanks a lot for your prompt response! As you recommended, we will buy the tickets in Prague, a day (or 2 days) before traveling. Do you know whether we can use any credit card to buy train tickets? Or, do we have to use cash?

Also, thank you for the info re Holesovice station vs. Prague central station. According to OBB’s website, there are trains leaving from “Praha hl.n.” at 6:23am %26amp; 7:37am, and another trains leaving from “Praha-Holesovice” at 7:56am, 9:40am, 10:26am, etc. Do you think “Praha hl.n” is the Prague central station?

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I took the train from Prague to Vienna last month and I bought the ticket the day before at the station. The one-way fare on 2nd class is 850 czk or 20.30 euros per person when I bought it at the train station in Prague. (One could buy it at either train station.) There are seperate windows for cash-paying vs credit card. When you board the train, you would see the designated non-smoking car(s) marked outside the train and also inside. I took the 6 am something train and left from the Prague central station. On my way back from Vienna to Prague, I also took the early morning train leaving from Vienna but arrived in the suburban Prague station. Don%26#39;t worry, both stations are very convenient via metro.

One way I%26#39;m dying to verify is that I bought one-way ticket from Prague and Vienna seperately even I was doing round-trip because I was told it should cost the same at either country. Well, I paid 850 czk in Prague and 43.10 euro per person in Vienna, that%26#39;s quite a difference. So if you%26#39;re doing round trip and decide to buy a round-trip ticket in Prague, please let me know afterwards what the round-trip fare is. Thanks.

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Hi Everyone! Just to let you all know, we took an incredible river cruise starting in Prague for 3 days (not enough) with transport to Nurnburg to Vienna....this cruise is on the %26quot;River Empress%26quot; 8days in total on ship. Cant say enough great things about the trip. Uniworld River Cruise was the host. CHECK IT OUT!!! It was so no nonsense that we%26#39;ll be doing it again next winter....the Christmas Markets were wonderful. If your looking for the %26quot;true meaning%26quot; of the holiday, take this cruise. And we hear all the other cruises are just as wonderful.

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praha hl.n is hlavni nadrazi which is the central station. Holesovice as etphonehm says is only two stops further north on the same metro line that goes to hlavni nadrazi

Central station accepts credit cards and if you buy and book seats in advance it is better to go to the international ticket office on the right of the station when you come in than from the normal ticket counters. Just for the absence of doubt, you can buy tickets at the central station for trains that leave from or come back to Holesovice

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nyc77. As the train takes only 4 hours to Vienna a 3 night trip to Vienna is an excellent way of splitting your time between Prague and Vienna. You will see many similarities but many differences between the two cities. One of the differences will be that Vienna is much more expensive than Prague, but then it is much neater and cleaner if you like order in your life

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As mentioned before on this forum, another place to buy the tickets is Wasteels, an agency upstairs in the main station.

When we used them last summer there were no queues, they take credit cards, spoke excellent english, and you can reserve your seats, well worth doing if you want non-smoking - or just not to have to fight for a seat! Prices were the same as from Czech railways - about 2/3 of buying online.

The main station is easy to get to, only a short walk from Wenceslas Square.

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peb7, etphonehm, PalmspringsCARealtor, M_Didius,

Thank you all for the detailed info! I’ll print out this page and bring it with me.