Traveling from Budapest to Prague by train might not be the cheapest, but the most comfortable choice! The distance and as well the 7-hour long travel is endurable in the first and second class cars, and the night trains also offer berths or sleeping cars. At the end of your trip you arrive in the heart of Prague, from where you can easily reach many parts of the city by subway or tram.
Fast links: Day – Night – Tickets from Budapest to Prague by train
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Day
Trains leave Nyugati Train Station in Budapest to Prague every two hours from 5:40 a.m. to 17:40 p.m.
I recommend to reserve a seat! It will cost a little more, but you will surely have a seat and won’t have to give it up to the person who booked his ticket exactly where you sat down.
On the train you can choose between compartment and cabin seats. Cabins may be more enclosed, however if you travel a lot, sitting here is a good way to separate from the other passengers. There are only second class cabins!
From my experience, there is not much difference between first and second class cars.
In the first class, there are two rows of seats on one side and one row on the other, so if two of you travel, you can sit facing each other and no one will be sitting next to you! In the first class, seats come with tables!
In the second class there are double rows on both sides, but not every seat has a table. I think it is better to reserve a seat with table!
Separate storage space has been developed for larger bags, but be careful when using it, don’t let greater value in the bags, and if possible, check them sometimes because this storage space is not always in your immediate vicinity.
Passengers with wheelchairs can take a seat in a car designed for them on these trains. Here you can find a space with a table by the window, and you can also charge the batteries from the nearby sockets. Of course, the toilet is barrier-free, too!
Every train running from Budapest to Prague has a dining car where passengers are awaited with a renewed menu and enhanced quality. Sweet-toothed are welcome, too, as Kaiserschmarren and gerbeauds can be picked besides the classic catering dishes!
The trains usually leave from platform 6, however you can always check the train information indicated at the beginning of the platform. It is recommended to get the information from here, so as not to accidentally get on the wrong train! It’s also important that the car number is on the side of the train and you have to get on the car to which you have bought your ticket. Whatever questions you have, it is worth looking up and asking the conductor!
Night
If you want to save time when traveling from Budapest to Prague, choose a night train! These trains have sleeping cars and common seats as well.
A night train leaves Keleti Train Station at 19:25 p.m. So be aware that this train leaves from another station that the day trains do! This goes to Hlavní Nádrazí Train Station in Prague, too, and arrives there at 8:15 a.m.
Remember that this may be a quite early arrival and be prepared that you may only be able to occupy your accommodation at 11 a.m. or later!
Night train has first and second classes, too, and cabins with more beds, which means you won’t be the only one sleeping in that cabin. This train usually leaves from platform 6.
Tickets from Budapest to Prague by train
Online tickets can be bought on this website:
Please note, that ticket bought online can be only printed in Budapest, in the special ticketing machines at the train stations. During the online buying you will get a 10-digit code that has to be entered into the ticketing machine, and your ticket will be printed.
Also important that MÁV only accepts these kind of tickets!
You can buy train tickets personally at the Keleti train station, too, next to platform 6, in the International Box Office.
Nyugati Train Station: it is a bit more complicated, tickets can be bought next to platform 10 in the International Box Office, which can be reached through the domestic box office.
Great news that MÁV offers a 40% discount for return tickets for every international train between Budapest and Prague, therefore the cheapest price is € 19 for one way and € 38 for return.
As far as I know, these tickets are limited to 6 pieces per train, they can not be bought online and are only valid for a specific date.
SparDay SparNight tickets: available from € 19 for the second class, from € 35 for the first class. It is worth reserving a seat because if you don’t have one, and someone has their seat where you sit, you have to give it up to them. The price of reserving a seat is € 3, and you can ask it to be next to a window or not next to a window, and there is one seat with table in every car. I don’t know if you can ask for the latter, but that’s my favorite.
MÁV also offers an excursion ticket, which is a return ticket for € 49 and is valid for 4 days. That means you have about 1 day to stay in Prague. For this ticket you can buy a 3-day valid pass for the public transport in Prague for € 10.
By the way, standard tickets cost € 140 for first class and € 93 for second class.
If you travel by direct trains and buy your ticket for the Budapest-Prague route, railway companies will give you huge discounts. By choosing a less frequented train and getting your tickets on time, you can travel to the Czech capital for only € 19!
Before traveling, it is worth asking as many options as possible, as you may get a better offer by choosing another train. Cheap tickets are always available in limited numbers per train, so it is worth buying tickets as soon as possible. However, the only downside to cheap tickets is that they are for a certain day and train and cannot be exchanged or redeemed.
Tickets can be bought at the international box office of MÁV, and you can find more information about the timetable and ticket prices on the website below:
https://www.mavcsoport.hu/mav-start/nemzetkozi-utazas/praga
In my article below, you can learn how to get to the city center in the easiest way from Keleti and Nyugati Train Station
