I am very new in Europe. I am looking to travel from Warsaw to Prague on 26th Decmeber (night train) and then come back to Warsaw on 30th December (night train). Can somebody guide me what is the cheapest way to book these?
The best to look for trains in/from Poland - rozklad.sitkol.pl To book tickets - on the website of the national train operator - intercity.pl Use the original city names, so Warszawa (Warsaw in Polish) and Praha (Prague in Czech).
The system of ticket reservation seems to have some technical problems now, it cannot find a connection to Prague tomorrow evening, although according to the search engine from the first link there is such a train.
You can also try to book the tickets at the Czech Railways - cd.cz/eshop But it seems that it works so that you have to buy a ticket from Poland to Czech Republic from the Polish train operator and the ticket from Czech Republic to Poland from the Czech Railways. Maybe it's possible to buy a return ticket but it must be done at the Polish Railways.
The price of the return ticket from Czech Republic to Poland seems to be 821 CZK, which is about 130 PLN.
You can always buy tickets in the offices at the stations. Then there is a trick to make it cheaper. In Warsaw at the ticket office you ask for a ticket for a specific train to a border point - "Zebrzydowice Gr.". It's not easy to buy such a ticket, the ticket sellers at the stations often make difficulties with this, but in Warsaw at the main station you should manage to do this (they have there something like "customer service office"). Then you buy the ticket for the Czech segment of the route at the first station in Czech Republic (Bohumin) where the train stays for 3 hours (it may change the platform because it's divided there into a few trains in different directions).
The standard price at Polish Railways for the train from Warsaw to Prague, according to this site: intercity.pl/pl/site/dla-pasazera/oferty/zagraniczne/cena-relacyjna-polska%E2%80%93czechy.html is 65 EUR + 3,5 EUR for the seat. It's about 300 PLN. So this combination with buying the ticket to the border seems to be quite affordable.
29 EUR is the price if the ticket is bought early enough, according to this: intercity.pl/pl/site/dla-pasazera/oferty/zagraniczne/podrozuj-do-czech-juz-od-19-euro.html - and such a ticket is found by the webpage of the Czech train operator from Czech Republic to Poland. But for this price a limited number of tickets is available and you won't rather manage to buy such a ticket for tomorrow (but you may try).
If you make this combination with a Polish ticket to the national border and then a Czech ticket, the prices seem to be such: * Warszawa-Zebrzydowice: 65 PLN * Bohumin-Praha: 309 CZK = about 50 PLN Together - about 115 PLN. Price comparable to the one with a standard ticket bought early enough. A bit lower but also more problematic.
If you prefer to try with the a bit more expensive but also more convenient and problemless version: 1/ Check tomorrow morning if it's possible to buy the ticket for about 130 PLN on the webpage intercity.pl (now it doesn't work) - fo this train:
2/ If you don't manage, go to the main station in Warsaw, the best - go to the "Centrum Obsługi Klienta PKP Intercity" at that station. And ask if this ticket is available. If yes - buy it, if not - either buy the one for about 300 PLN, or buy the ticket according to the combined version.
3/ Buy a return ticket at the webpage of the Czech Railways - cd.cz/eshop - for 821 CZK. The earlier the better, because the cheaper ticket may disappear.
If you prefer to use the less convenient but most inexpensive version:
1/ Go to the main train station in Warsaw tomorrow - you may do it even directly before the departure, but have some time to wait in a queue and just to make the transaction of buying the ticket (although if you don't manage to do it on time, you may do it onboard from the conductor with a payment of 10 PLN extra). Buy a ticket (national, not international one) for this train:
only to the point "Zebrzydowice Gr.". If the seller don't want to do this, be stubborn. It may help if you give the seller the code of the "Zebrzydowice Gr." "station", which is 8821. If he/she still don't want to do this, buy a ticket just to the Zebrzydowice station (the last one before the border). It should also work. Buy also a return ticket, otherwise you will have to pay 10 PLN extra to the conductor in the return train, because there is a ticket office in Zebrzydowice, but the train doesn't wait there, it only stops for a short moment. This is your return train:
2/ Buy tickets for the sections of the "there" and return trains in Czech Republic however you want (from Bohumin to Praha and from Praha to Bohumin). The simplest way is online on the webpage of the Czech Railways, because you don't have to leave the train at night and go to the ticket office at the station. But for the return train it's safer to buy it at the station in Prague because there you can buy it to the Czech-Polish border without any problem.
The simplest way (but, of course, not the most comfortable one, and the price is practically not different) is by bus - polskibus.com
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. I really appreciate it. :)
I just have a question, if i split my ticket as you suggested till Zebrzydowice Gr and the from Bohumin to Prague. How do i go from the last stop of Poland to Bohumin?
And after i purchase this tickets what are the problems i may face? Like the ticket checker will question me? I cant speak Polish and have a schengen visa, will that be a problem?
Any suggestions on my last query please. I don't have much time on my hands as i plan to travel today.
Thank you so much! We have boarded the train with the tickets to the last stop of Warsaw? What do you suggest next? Should we wait till the train teaches that stop and we wait for the next set of ticket conductors to board in Bohurin? We should ask them to extend out tickets? Will they charge us some penalty?
In Bohumin the train will wait 3 hours, just go to the ticket office at the station. If it's closed then (I don't know), the Czech conductor that boards the train there will sell the ticket.
We bought it from the station when the train stopped.
Really appreciate your help on this.
The direct train from Prague to Warsaw is very expensive at the station. It was showing 130 PLN on the website but now on the station it is 300PLN.
What do you recommend? Is there a way we can split our journey to avoid the cost for international transfer? Like you recommended to change at Bohurin. Can we do something like this while coming back to Warsaw from Prague.
A promt reply will be really good as I look to travel tonight.
130 PLN sounds fairly cheap from Prague to Warsaw. I remember paying 160 PLN from Katowice to Brno (also via Bohumin) which is only half the journey. Are you sure the website displayed 130PLN for the full journey?
Are you not able to book it online if even a price is being displayed?
What if I buy a ticket to Bohumin and then get a ticket separately from Warsaw?
From Zebrzydowice to Warsaw ticket costs 136 PLN (according to IC website). Zebrzydowice is the first stop in Poland after the PL / CZ border, approx 15 Minutes from Bohumin.
Somehow, this seems a lot more realistic than your earlier mentioned 130 PLN all together from Prague to Warsaw.
I am travelling to Warsaw in August and want to go to Prague by train. However it seems the option I have is to buy a ticket when I get there as it doesn't appear possible to book online when the end destination is outside Poland ( unless for some strange reason I want to go to Berlin ).
This has nothing to do with trying to book too far in advance. If I have to book a ticket when I arrive it's likely to be far more expensive and possibly the trains might be full ( no idea how popular the route is ).
The only option I have found is to book with a ticket reseller. Polrail do this but a friend of mine was recently charged £25 for a ticket to be delivered to her home in addition to the price.They don't send the tickets via email.
Does anyone know where resellers get their tickets from? How is it possible that they can buy tickets for a journey with an end destination outside Poland, but members of the public can't?
Am starting to wonder if it might not be easier to just fly from Warsaw. Anyone have any suggestions or help? Thanks in advance.
This has changed: intercity.pl/pl/site/o-nas/dzial-prasowy/utrudnienia/dostepnosc-sprzedazy-na-pociagi-miedzynarodowe.html
You can now buy tickets to Prague on the intercity.pl website
If I have to book a ticket when I arrive it's likely to be far more expensive and possibly the trains might be full ( no idea how popular the route is ).
There shouldn't be a problem.
Does anyone know where resellers get their tickets from? How is it possible that they can buy tickets for a journey with an end destination outside Poland, but members of the public can't?
They have a contract with the rail company - but see my first comment.
Am starting to wonder if it might not be easier to just fly from Warsaw.
Very cheap if you book in advance - I just did this. Use Momondo.
I already tried Intercity.pl and using the link you supplied, there appears to be no change. I entered my travel date, selected my journey, and I got a message saying " Purchasing tickets online for selected connection is possible only on national routes. International tickets can only be purchased at ticket counters".
Will have a look at flights now I guess. Thanks anyway for your help Jon.
I already tried Intercity.pl and using the link you supplied, there appears to be no change.
Not unknown in PL for an organisation to announce something whereas the reality is different. You just have to be content with "available in theory" sometimes :-)
Flights are a good bet. 1.5 hours only and not expensive if you book in advance (I really recommend Momondo) plus comfortable - especially if you have some flexibility about times/dates.
If you do want to buy the tickets at short notice at the station, it shouldn't be too much of a problem though. There are also buses from Polskibus however they take a very long time...
Not unknown in PL for an organisation to announce something whereas the reality is different. You just have to be content with "available in theory" sometimes :-)
Well it is a Polish company after all ;) Just seems illogical that 'In theory' you can book it but not in practice..... I'll check out Momondo now then and see what the prices are. Looking at other replies on this thread I will be looking at about 300 PLN if I have to book a train ticket at short notice. Might well prove cheaper to fly and a lot faster than the 8 hr train trip, although to be honest I quite like train travel.
Don't think I'll bother with Polskibus, especially if it takes longer than the train, and it certainly won't be as comfortable.
Just seems illogical that 'In theory' you can book it but not in practice.....
Welcome to Poland, world leader in paradox.
Might well prove cheaper to fly and a lot faster than the 8 hr train trip, although to be honest I quite like train travel.
I did it once on the slower local train from Warsaw to Prague. It wasn't in any sense comfortable, but it was cheap - and we bought the tickets minutes before the train started.
Bookmarked this site now. Just over £40 for the Warsaw to Prague flight including baggage with Czech Airlines. That was cheaper than booking it directly with them! They are also selling Ryanair flights cheaper than Ryanair.
So at that price it works out about 100 PLN cheaper than the 300 PLN figure quoted by a couple of posters earlier for the train. No brainer really and helpful for other posters to know there's a cheaper alternative to the train. So thanks for that site recommendation, will definitely be using them again.
So thanks for that site recommendation, will definitely be using them again.
Remember to clear your browser history, cookies etc between searches. This is the same for train (and hotel) booking sites. Otherwise the price goes up a little bit every time you look.
For the Prague trains, the fast ones are very comfortable and when online booking finally works, it will be great. Some of them do go the long way round though.
Remember to clear your browser history, cookies etc between searches. This is the same for train (and hotel) booking sites. Otherwise the price goes up a little bit every time you look.
Didn't know that, thanks for the advice.
It's a shame that Intercity.pl haven't got their act together yet as regards online booking. I really didn't think i was going to have a problem booking my train ticket to be honest. I would imagine Warsaw to Prague would be a popular route too, was quite looking forward to seeing the countryside on the way, but never mind, I'll get more time in Prague to see the sights!
Another problem is that on the IC webpage it's impossible to buy one ticket for a connection with changing trains (which should be possible from a half a year according to their promises). Or if you want to take a bike with you. Not to mention the problems when you want to return such an online ticket or change its date.
Interestingly, in the online shop of another Polish train operator, running mostly local trains - Przewozy Regionalne - this is no problem from a few years, although initially, buying a ticket with train changes was also impossible.
Welcome to Poland, the land of absurds :) These are public companies, so they exist and will exist irrespective of whether they bring money or not.
