We certainly prefer to travel by train instead of bus. And especially for distances located at most 4 h bytrain, it’s also a pleasure to travel like this. We generally get to Budapest only by train: cheap, fast and a delight.

While our train travel bucket list includes epic journeys such as the Trans-Siberian Railway, we have been thinking a lot to explore Central Europe by train.

Budapest is an amazing hub for exploring the area. From Hungary’s capital, take trains to some (or all) of the cities in the list below.

Vienna, Austria: can be reached by fast train from Budapest in less than 3 h (2h 50 min to be exact). I’ve been to Vienna in 2008 and 2013. For the moment we don’t plan to go back, but the city is an amazing choice for those who have not visited yet. I stayed at DoStepInn back in 2007 and at Hotel Geblergasse in 2013.

Prague, Czechia: can be reached by train from Budapest in 8 h. That’s quite long but since it’s not possible to fly on budget carrier either…well, it’s a choice.

Eger, Hungary: is a charming Medieval town which is just 2 1/2 h away from Budapest. The single fare is 2200 ft / 7.20 EUR tourist class. Been on my radar since Alex mentioned about the Medieval festival taking place here and we did visit in 2015 for our wedding anniversary. We stayed at La Casa Panzio.

Visegrád, Hungary: just “discovered” this one thanks to someone on Twitter but looks very cute and historical. And is just 42 min from Budapest by train. The single fare is 1120 ft / 3.70 EUR tourist class.

Zagreb, Croatia: we don’t need a passport to travel to Croatia. The capital of Croatia can be a good choice for some (not for us at this moment). It’s 6 1/2 h by train from Budapest.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia: the capital of Slovakia is located just 2 1/2 h by train from Budapest and we don’t need a passport to travel (it’s part of the European Union). We’ve been to Bratislava for our wedding anniversary in 2014 and loved it. We stayed at Hyde Park Hostel

(c) photo by Cristina P. and may NOT be used without permission