Europe Travel Deal Posted by GyuriFT

As it was pointed out many times, the train ticket prices in Europe are asymmetrical: it is nearly always less expensive to travel from "EAST" to "WEST" than the other way.

An other proof is the Hungarian Railway (MÁV-START) Web page. They posted a series of good deals, as usual in HUNGARIAN LANGUAGE ONLY. These deals apply to every traveler: to test it by intent I used U.S. passport, not Hungarian at the time I was booking with the travel agent. No one objected it.

The prices are "two-level": for early booking (at least one week in advance) special "Sparschiene+10" or in the case of Venice "Smart" prices would apply:

13 Euro: Wien, no train change
29 Euro: Venice, München, no train change
39 Euro: Zürich, no train change
39 Euro: Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden, Kehl, Strasbourg, Saalfeld, Jena, Naumburg, Lipcse, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Berlin, Göttingen, Hannover, Hamburg, Aschaffenburg, Frankfurt Flughafen, Köln, Düsseldorf, Nürnberg (change trains in Wien)
42 Euro: Mannheim, Frankfurt, Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn, Arnhem, Utrecht, Amszterdam (change trains in Wien).

If the requirements aren't met, there is still a very good deal only in Hungary, without limitation and seat contingent. The passenger would pay in Budapest as if he would have a special Austrian discount card ("Vorteilscard") and 15 ? extra for the transfer to Vienna. This tariff is called "Cardpreis +15"

This offer is not limited to residence or citizenship. The best agency to use is WASTEELS at the Keleti Station in Budapest.

Example: with "Cardpreis +15" a Budapest-Amsterdam would cost 119 + 15 = 134 Euro, with "Sparschiene+10" a mere 39 Euro. The regular price on he same train if this discount is not mentioned is 218.60 Euro:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3391/cnljo4.png