ABD ends in Vienna - Need to get to Budapest

[Marthasor]

Hi! We are doing the Czech Republic/Germany/Austria ABD in July and when the tour ends in Vienna, we would like to hire a private car and guide to take us to Budapest with a possible stop for lunch somewhere interesting along the way.

I have looked at some companies online, including Lovely Budapest, but I'm a little nervous to hire someone without references. Has anyone hired a private transfer from Vienna to Budapest or other cities? Is there someone you would recommend?

Due to logistic reasons, we have decided not to take the train. Thanks!

 

[Woodview]

Just hold on ...


It is a long drive from Vienna to Budapest & to enjoy that trip I would

stay overnight someplace.

You really should consider Renting a car & drive yourselves

You drive on the same side of road ..... but MOST cars will Have

what you call Stick Shift ( Yes I did have an Automatic Merc. last week ..
but that has a long tale attached to it )

Tour guides .... I have no idea .

 

[sayhello]

Hi! We are doing the Czech Republic/Germany/Austria ABD in July and when the tour ends in Vienna, we would like to hire a private car and guide to take us to Budapest with a possible stop for lunch somewhere interesting along the way.

I have looked at some companies online, including Lovely Budapest, but I'm a little nervous to hire someone without references. Has anyone hired a private transfer from Vienna to Budapest or other cities? Is there someone you would recommend?

Due to logistic reasons, we have decided not to take the train. Thanks!

Hi, Marthasor! Definitely looking forward to your Report on this trip when you get back! I have my eye on this trip for next year...

I have a contact at ABD who is very familiar with the area, and she asked me to pass on some information for you:

It takes about 2 hours, 15 minutes to travel by car and about 3 hours to travel by train. Train schedules aren't necessarily published yet ... so if you look at the logistics online, it may seem off. I would recommend calling the Ritz Carlton in Vienna (they speak English) and ask to speak with the Concierge. A car and driver can easily be hired in Vienna (and it is safe) for less than it would cost to rent a car. It becomes difficult to rent a car in Austria and return in Hungry.

And PS. The train ride is beautiful and 3 hours on a train isn't all that bad. Not sure what "logistics" they are talking about. If they are looking at train schedules this far in advance .. it probably has them walking and taking a bus .. and a train. I've done the train ride. It's super easy .. with no changes ... as in connections.

PS, she voted for the train!

They can book the train through http://www.oebb.at/en/ But should wait until about 60 days out. And pay the 6 euros for a seat reservation. Probably about 35-50 Euros per person.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions, and I can ask my contact!

Sayhello

 

[Marthasor]

Hi, Marthasor! Definitely looking forward to your Report on this trip when you get back! I have my eye on this trip for next year...

I have a contact at ABD who is very familiar with the area, and she asked me to pass on some information for you:

PS, she voted for the train!

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions, and I can ask my contact!

Sayhello

Thanks so much! I called the Ritz Carlton concierge and they are going to send me the info regarding the car and driver! Apparently, we can also hire a car with a guide which we will consider as well. Hoping to stop in Gyor or Bratislava for lunch - I need to do a little more research on these towns.

I looked into the train and, yes, could not see the schedule! The train looks great, but we decided against it as we are traveling with my MIL70 and DS6 and, while it sounds like ABD would drop us at the train station, I'm afraid with navigating the stations with our luggage and then having to get a car from the train station to our Budapest hotel, it's going to be a lot of hassle. It will be much easier to have a car pick us up at the hotel in Vienna, load up all our stuff and have the car simply drop us off at our next hotel.

Thanks again for this great tip!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Thanks for posting this question. We'll be doing the exact same thing this winter. We won't be apart of an ABD as we will have my 5 and 2 yo with us, but we'll be looking for a driver to get us from Vienna to Budapest probably via Bratislava as you said for lunch. If you happen to remember, let me know what you find out!

 

[sayhello]

Thanks so much! I called the Ritz Carlton concierge and they are going to send me the info regarding the car and driver! Apparently, we can also hire a car with a guide which we will consider as well. Hoping to stop in Gyor or Bratislava for lunch - I need to do a little more research on these towns.

I looked into the train and, yes, could not see the schedule! The train looks great, but we decided against it as we are traveling with my MIL70 and DS6 and, while it sounds like ABD would drop us at the train station, I'm afraid with navigating the stations with our luggage and then having to get a car from the train station to our Budapest hotel, it's going to be a lot of hassle. It will be much easier to have a car pick us up at the hotel in Vienna, load up all our stuff and have the car simply drop us off at our next hotel.

Thanks again for this great tip!

Ah, I understand about the train & the shlepping thing. ESPECIALLY after being so taken care of by the Adventure Guides, you'd definitely have a hard time of it!

Glad the info about calling the Ritz Carlton seems to have worked out for you!

Sayhello

 

[Marthasor]

Thanks for posting this question. We'll be doing the exact same thing this winter. We won't be apart of an ABD as we will have my 5 and 2 yo with us, but we'll be looking for a driver to get us from Vienna to Budapest probably via Bratislava as you said for lunch. If you happen to remember, let me know what you find out!

I haven't received the info from the Ritz Carlton yet, so I went ahead and contacted Lovely Budapest and, I think, (unless I hear from the Ritz soon!), we are going to book our Vienna-Budapest transfer with them. We are going to stop in Bratislava or Gyor (I really want to do Bratislava, but it will add some travel time and I'm afraid my 6-year old will get very impatient). They can also stop in Bratislava AND Gyor on the way to Budapest if you would like. Not sure total cost yet. I think we are going to also hire them for a 4-hour Budapest tour and an 8-hour Danube Bend tour. Now, I realized, I really need to add a day in Budapest, so I'm off to call the airline to see how much it will cost to change our flight!

 

[Cousin Orville]

I haven't received the info from the Ritz Carlton yet, so I went ahead and contacted Lovely Budapest and, I think, (unless I hear from the Ritz soon!), we are going to book our Vienna-Budapest transfer with them. We are going to stop in Bratislava or Gyor (I really want to do Bratislava, but it will add some travel time and I'm afraid my 6-year old will get very impatient). They can also stop in Bratislava AND Gyor on the way to Budapest if you would like. Not sure total cost yet. I think we are going to also hire them for a 4-hour Budapest tour and an 8-hour Danube Bend tour. Now, I realized, I really need to add a day in Budapest, so I'm off to call the airline to see how much it will cost to change our flight!

Cool. Come back and share your experience with them. I'm sure it would be a popular post trip for others doing this ABD. We'll have our young kids too, so keeping things as convenient as possible is a must. However, I don't think I can be so close to Bratislava and not stop there. I haven't heard of Gyor. Other than book hotels and flights I've done little research on any of our cities (Prague, Vienna, Budapest). If I happen to run into any ABDer's I'll be very jealous.