Zürich Travel Deal Posted by GyuriFT

This is a typical "Sparschiene" offer with advance booking (7 day) and limited seat contingent. As most railway offers from countries from former "East Block", this is NOT an on-line offer. The link to the web site is merely for information. Booking is in person at the station - but you have to know about this offer in order to ask for it, otherwise you can lose well over 100 Euros! Wasteels agency at the Keleti station in Budapest is pretty professional and there aren't any booking fees.

Sparschiene prices:

39 Euro: couch
49 Euro: 6-bed couchette (the web site is incorrect, it mentions 4-bed couchette for 6-bed couchette price)
59 Euro: 4-bed couchette

However, if the conditions aren't met (the biggest problem is usually not the seat contingent but the advance booking) the discounted "Global Price" is still very good:

51.90 Euro for the couch
71,90 Euro for the 6-bed couchette
81,90 Euro for the 4-bed couchette

http://www.mav-start.hu/res/ulo-halo-_es-fekvohelydijak-2008.pdf
(as usual, the document is in Hungarian, the Zürich special is on the page 7)

Otherwise the regular price even in couch is "ouch!": 109.60 Euro!

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/7613/zurichgq9.png

Important: Same prices do apply either way if buying the ticket in Hungary! That means, even if someone does not qualifies for the "Spar-Schiene" offer due the 7-day advance purchase rule being not met, one still may qualify for it for the trip back!

Sample: a US citizen is visiting Budapest and Zürich. He is spending 4 days in Budapest and 4 days in Zürich before flying back from Budapest. Without knowing about this offer he would probably buy an expensive railpass or spend almost 220 Euro for the round-trip.

Instead, he will pay 51.90 Euro for the trip to Zürich and 39 Euro for the trip back. A total of ca.90.10 Euro - saving almost 130 Euros just because he knows about this offer.