Prague Guide

When visiting Prague, many people want to extend their vacation and visit some of the other great cities that Eastern Europe has to offer. These include places such as Bratislava, Warsaw and Zagreb, but the most popular addition to any vacation in Prague is undoubtedly a trip to the Hungarian capital of Budapest – a city that can rival Prague in terms of culture and entertainment. One problem that many people find is how best to book tickets for this reasonably long train trip though, but in reality it is extremely easy to accomplish!

Should you know before you leave for your vacation that you want to head to Budapest after visiting Prague, then without doubt the easiest way to book tickets is through the website of Czech Railways. The website even comes in English, simply by clicking on the option in the top right hand corner of the screen. It must be noted that these tickets can only be purchased three days in advance though, so for those planning on being in Prague for longer than that, they can’t be booked from home. In this case, there are plenty of places with internet connections in the city that can be used to book the tickets closer to the date of departure.

There are a couple of different things that you must ensure that you do though when buying tickets in this way. The first of these is that you should print the tickets on A4 format or larger, as they contain a barcode. If you print them on a smaller paper format, the barcode will be squashed and therefore the conductor will be unable to scan them. Also, ensure that the conductor validates the ticket on the way to Budapest, as if they don’t then the ticket will be invalid for the return journey.

It is also possible to buy tickets at the station when you want to take a train, but doing this will run the risk of not getting the tickets that you want. This is because the cheaper seats fill up quickly on trains leaving Prague and they are limited in number – should this happen, you will either have to pay for a more expensive seat or wait for another train to become available. Therefore, booking online is without doubt the best way to go!