budapest to moscow

[beergal]

going to be living in budapest for 4 months in september (im from england!) and wanted to know if anyone knew the best way of getting to moscow from budapest? It will be my 25th birthday while im there and wanted to do something a bit different so russia here i come!
Oh and if anyone knows some great places to trave round eastern europe would be greatly appreciated
cheers me luvvers!

[tumblezweedz]

Hey, we may be coming down to Budapest this fall, let us know any tips you might have! We've four little kids, so family-friendly attractions are popular!

Why're you going to be in Hungary? If you have time, come on up to the Baltics - we've usually got good weather in September and sometimes into early October, but the snow hit before November this past year, so pack warm if you're visiting later in the year! Lithuania is awesome, Vilnius bustles in the fall, and it's sooo pretty. Once the snow falls, it takes a special kind of person to appreciate its charm, but still...

Haven't been to Latvia and Estonia yet (later this summer), but you should be able to get cheap flights from Budapest to either Vilnius, Riga or Tallinn come fall. AirBaltic is a current low-cost airline serving the area, and we hear rumours that EasyJet is on the way, but nothing concrete yet.

I tried to get from Kiev to Hungary by train in 1991, but all the tickets were sold, so I ended up in Prague, instead. I think the route you want to take may take you through Belarus, with its delightful transit visa requirements. You can probably fly for less, by the time you work out the visa expenses, plus the time, of course. Perhaps you could fly to, say Riga, spend a couple of days and then fly to Moscow. Or, you could fly to Helsinki and take a cruise to St. Petersburg. Or a train. Don't know if you especially want to go to Moscow, or just somewhere in Russia? I was in Moscow in January 1991 and while I'm glad I went, I don't know that I'd go again, just for kicks. Course, it was January. And Soviet times.

Oh, that's cool, I wanted to spend my 23rd birthday in Budapest, but couldn't (because the tix were sold out, as I mentioned) so ended up in Austria by way of Prague, instead. I fully support birthdays in unexpected places.

Let us know if you decide to come to Vilnius, if we're around, we can introduce you to our favourite places.

(Another key selling point of the Baltics. CHEAP!)

[beergal]

thanks for the info on eastern europe, travelling with kids i bet thats an experience on its own ha ha As soon as i get over to budapest i will source out info for family orientated things for you. Special thanks for the info on russia thinking about it now it will prob be a long way to go for just 3 nights! Where do you live now?

[tumblezweedz]

Lithuania.

It's far for 3 nights, unless you fly, of course. Can't stretch your time, can you?

Thanks for looking into family stuff - it's always good to have info on the ground!

[tumblezweedz]

Looks like we might be heading to Budapest next month, instead! Flexibility is such a great thing!

[worldwidemike]

If you're going from Budapest to Moscow, I definitely recommend flying. You will HATE the ground crossing border checks in on the former Soviet states. My all time worst crossing was from Lithuania to Poland...oh my god. It took hours on the overnight bus to just clear the border station.

The (drunk) border guards come on board, collect everyone's passports, disappear for a long time, come back on board, pull some people off to talk to, fuss with luggage, give some of the passports back, forget to give others, almost pull off without those howling passenger's passports being handed back...ugh.

Not fun. Fly.

Try Malev Hungarian airline for a direct flight, or use any of the other ones for a connecting flight. They should all serve Moscow.

worldwidemike