Vienna to Prague by train takes just over four hours, with no change, from Wien Hauptbahnhof (Vienna's main station) to Praha hlavní nádraží (Prague's main station). Austrian Railways (ÖBB) and Czech Railways run nine of these trains a day, about every two hours, and RegioJet runs up to four more. Booked early, a second-class ticket costs from €14.90; bought on the day, it can cost €60 to €80. Book a few weeks ahead and plan at least one night in Prague, because as a day trip it is not worth the eight hours on the train.
What you'll find on this page
Prague is the long trip in our day trips from Vienna guide, and that guide's advice is to give it a night rather than a day. We are the host team at MINT @Naschmarkt, five serviced apartments by the Naschmarkt (Vienna's open-air food market), three U-Bahn stops from the Prague trains. Times and fares below were checked on 18 September 2026, so confirm yours when you book.
- The trains, how often they run, and where to book
- 2026 fares, and how to avoid paying €60 to €80
- Getting to the train, and arriving in Prague
- Day trip or overnight, and the bus, car and plane
- The trip back, plus Bratislava and Budapest
Which trains run from Vienna to Prague in 2026?
Two companies run the fast direct trains. ÖBB's Prague page says a Railjet leaves Vienna for the Czech capital every two hours. ÖBB and Czech Railways (ČD) run these trains together, and Seat61 counts nine a day, taking just over four hours centre to centre. The first leaves Wien Hauptbahnhof at 05:10 and the last at 19:10, and the fastest run on Czech Railways' own page takes 3 hours 57 minutes. RegioJet adds up to four direct trains a day, per Seat61.
| Train | Direct trains a day | Time | Fares from (2026) | Leaves from | Book with | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Railjet (ÖBB and Czech Railways) | 9, about every 2 hours | Just over 4 h | €14.90 | Wien Hauptbahnhof | ÖBB or Czech Railways | ÖBB, Seat61 |
| RegioJet | Up to 4 | Similar to the Railjet | €14.90 | Wien Hauptbahnhof | RegioJet | Seat61 |
| REX regional train via Gmünd | 2 | 5 h 10 min | Not confirmed | Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof | Not confirmed | Seat61 |
We recommend the Railjet, because it runs more often and a seat reservation is optional. RegioJet starts at the same €14.90, so check it when its departure time suits you better. Do not confuse either with the REX, a slow regional train from a different station, Wien Franz-Josefs-Bahnhof, which Seat61 calls a secondary route.
A night train does exist on this route, confirmed independently by both Czech Railways' and Interrail's own pages. It takes roughly five to seven hours, slower than the day trains, and needs a mandatory seat or berth reservation. We could not independently confirm a specific train number or exact departure and arrival times for this season, so book directly with Czech Railways or ÖBB rather than relying on a schedule here.
How much does the train to Prague cost in 2026?
Each train has a limited number of cheap seats, and fares rise as the departure date approaches. ÖBB's Sparschiene page for the Czech Republic, in German, advises booking these saver fares in good time, above all in peak season, and ÖBB sells tickets up to six months ahead.
| Ticket | Price (2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Railjet advance, 2nd class | From €14.90 | Seat61 |
| Railjet advance, 1st class or business | From €29.90 or €44.90 | Seat61 |
| Czech Railways First Minute Europe | About €14 (384 CZK) | Czech Railways |
| RegioJet, Low Cost or Standard | From €14.90 or €19.90 | Seat61 |
| Booked a few days ahead | €30 to €50 | Best Prague Guide, April 2026 |
| Bought on the day | Can reach €60 to €80 | Best Prague Guide, April 2026 |
| Fully flexible ticket | €88.40 from ÖBB, about €59 from Czech Railways | Seat61 |
Best Prague Guide, published in April 2026, puts early fares at around €15 to €20 and says midday trains on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually the cheapest. A Winter Escape suggests booking 2 to 6 weeks ahead in shoulder season, and its writer paid about €35 for a non-refundable second-class ticket. Compare Czech Railways with ÖBB before you buy: the same flexible ticket costs about €29 less from the Czech side.
Watch out: austrianrailways.com is not ÖBB. The site says it is "brought to you by Rail Ninja" and that "we do not own or operate any of the trains in Austria". Book with ÖBB, Czech Railways or RegioJet directly.
A seat reservation on the Railjet is optional and costs €3; a RegioJet ticket is already for one specific train. Interrail passes are valid on all three trains in the table: on the Railjet the reservation stays optional, on RegioJet you must buy one for a few euros, per Seat61, and on the REX you just get on and show the pass. With a Eurail pass, confirm with the operator before you travel: we could not confirm Eurail acceptance by name on this route.
Bottom line: Book both trains once your dates are fixed, compare ÖBB with Czech Railways, and do not leave the ticket until the day.
From the Naschmarkt to Wien Hauptbahnhof: 3 U-Bahn stops
From our front door to the Prague trains is three U-Bahn stops with one change. Kettenbrückengasse, on the U4, is the station at the Naschmarkt, and its exit brings you out right beside the market. Take the U4 one stop to Karlsplatz, about 2 minutes, then the U1 towards Oberlaa two stops, via Taubstummengasse, to Südtiroler Platz-Hauptbahnhof. The stops and the U4's 2 minutes come from ubahnwien.com and Ganz Wien's U1 station list. The rest is our own estimate: about 3 to 4 minutes on the U1, and roughly 8 to 10 minutes from door to platform, plus any wait for a train.
A hotel at the Hauptbahnhof would save you those minutes on the morning you leave, and if Prague were your only reason to be in Vienna, it would be the better choice. For your days in Vienna, the Naschmarkt puts you in the city's market and dining district, within walking distance of the Ring, the MuseumsQuartier and the museums around Karlsplatz.
Check-out at MINT is by 11:00, and we store bags free before check-in and after check-out. You can spend the morning in town and catch one of the midday or afternoon Railjets, which leave about every two hours until 19:10. ÖBB's station lockers cost €2 to €4.50 by size, for up to 24 hours.
Local tip: For the 05:10, look up the first U-Bahn from Kettenbrückengasse the night before, and book a taxi if it leaves too late.
At the border and in Prague: passports, koruna and a 14-minute walk
Austria and the Czech Republic are both in the Schengen Area, so the train normally crosses the border without stopping. The writer of A Winter Escape described the crossing as "No passport checks. No stopping. And no customs drama." Carry your passport all the same.
Prague uses the Czech koruna (CZK), not the euro. Best Prague Guide's money guide says restaurants, cafés, supermarkets, museums and most shops accept Visa and Mastercard, and suggests carrying 500 to 1,000 CZK in small notes and coins for small pubs and market stalls, which can be cash-only.
From Praha hlavní nádraží it is a 14-minute walk (1.2 km) to Old Town Square and 22 minutes (1.8 km) to Charles Bridge, according to Seat61's station guide, which also calls the station safe even late at night. Prague City Tourism places it near Wenceslas Square, served directly by metro line C and trams 5, 9, 15 and 26. If your room is not ready, the station has lockers and a staffed left-luggage office on level -1 that takes euros and koruna in cash.
Is Prague a day trip from Vienna, or should you stay 1 or 2 nights?
Catch the very first train out at 05:10 and the very last one back at 18:37, and the window in Prague stretches to roughly nine hours, but the day itself runs about seventeen and a half hours, door to door, from before 05:10 until near 23:00. That is the extreme case. Our own day trips from Vienna guide gives the steadier trade-off for a normally timed round trip: about eight hours of travel for five or six rushed hours in the city. Either way the verdict holds: this is not a comfortable day trip. Go for at least one night.
| Plan | Trains | Time in Prague | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day trip, first and last trains | 05:10 out, 18:37 back | Roughly 9 hours, on a day of about 17.5 hours | Possible, not worth it |
| Day trip at normal times | About 8 hours of travel | 5 or 6 rushed hours | Not worth it |
| One night | Out one morning, back the next day | About a day and a half | The minimum |
| Two nights | Out one morning, back two days later | About two and a half days | Our pick |
Train, bus, car or plane: which is best for the 300 km to Prague?
| Mode | Travel time | Fares from (2026) | Departures | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Train | Just over 4 h, main station to main station | €14.90 | 9 Railjets, up to 4 RegioJets a day | The default |
| Bus (FlixBus) | 2 h 55 min on the fastest run | €14.48 | 27 a day | Fair on price; check the stops |
| Car | About 300 km by road | Vignette CZK 230 for 1 day, about €9 | Any time | Only if you need the car after Prague |
| Plane | Under an hour in the air | Varies | Varies | Rarely worth it |
The bus starts at about the same fare as the train, and its fastest run is quicker. FlixBus's route page gives the road distance as 300 km, with 27 departures a day, fares from €14.48 and a minimum trip time of 2 hours 55 minutes. That minimum is the fastest bus, not every bus, so check the journey time and both stops before you book. We still recommend the train, which runs between the two main stations about every two hours.
Driving means buying a Czech motorway vignette. The official e-vignette portal prices the 2026 car vignette at CZK 230 for one day, CZK 480 for 30 days or CZK 2,570 for a year, in koruna only. At a rough 25 to 1 rate that is approximately €9, €19 and €103, our own estimate, not the operator's price.
The flight itself takes under an hour, but by the time you add the airport transfer, check-in and security at both ends, most of that time advantage over a centre-to-centre train disappears.
Prague to Vienna by train: first train 04:35, last Railjet 18:37
The return uses the same trains between the same two stations. The first leaves Praha hlavní nádraží at 04:35 and the last ÖBB and Czech Railways train at 18:37, per Seat61. The fares work the same way, so book the return with the trip out.
Vienna as a day trip from Prague is just as long a day: the 04:35 out and the last Railjet back at 19:10 give you roughly ten hours in Vienna, with the return to Prague after 23:00. Give Vienna at least two nights instead.
At Wien Hauptbahnhof, take the U1 towards Leopoldau two stops to Karlsplatz, then the U4 towards Hütteldorf one stop to Kettenbrückengasse. If you reach us before our 15:00 check-in, leave your bags with us and go out.
Combining Prague with Bratislava and Budapest: 2 or 3 nights in Prague
If you are covering Vienna, Prague and a neighbour or two, fly into one city and home from the other, so you take this train only once. Give Prague 2 or 3 nights and keep Vienna as the base for the shorter trips. Vienna to Bratislava is the easiest of them, a straightforward day trip. Vienna to Budapest can be done in a day with an early train out and a late one back, and our guide weighs that against a night there.
Where to stay in Vienna: 11:00 check-out, bags stored free
Our base is the Naschmarkt, for the reasons above: three stops to the Prague trains, and the city on foot for the days in between. Double MINT is 55 m² for up to 3 guests, from €205 a night, and Mini MINT, for up to 2, is from €185. Check-in is from 15:00 and check-out by 11:00, with free bag storage before and after; the minimum stay is two nights, and seven nights or more earns our Wochenend+ rate, 15% off. Our guide to where to stay in Vienna for a weekend compares the districts. When you know your nights, check dates and book direct.
Frequently asked questions
Is Prague a day trip from Vienna?
Not a comfortable one. The 05:10 out and the 18:37 back give you roughly nine hours in Prague on a day of about seventeen and a half hours, and at normal times you travel about eight hours for five or six in the city. Stay at least one night.
Is there a nonstop train from Vienna to Prague?
There is no need to change trains. ÖBB and Czech Railways run nine direct Railjets a day from Wien Hauptbahnhof to Praha hlavní nádraží, and RegioJet runs up to four. The Railjets do stop on the way, including at Brno and Pardubice, so they are direct rather than nonstop.
How long is the train to Vienna from Prague?
Just over four hours, centre to centre; the fastest Railjet takes 3 hours 57 minutes, and RegioJet's journey time is similar. The first train leaves Prague at 04:35 and the last Railjet at 18:37.
How much is the train from Vienna to Prague?
In 2026, advance tickets start at €14.90 in second class. A few days ahead, expect €30 to €50, and on the day up to €60 to €80. A fully flexible ticket costs €88.40 from ÖBB or about €59 from Czech Railways.
Is it better to fly or train from Vienna to Prague?
The train, for most people. The flight takes under an hour, but the airport transfer, check-in and security at both ends take away most of that advantage over a train that runs centre to centre in just over four hours.
Is there a night train from Vienna to Prague?
Yes. A night train does exist on this route, confirmed independently by Czech Railways and Interrail; it takes roughly five to seven hours, slower than the day trains, and needs a mandatory seat or berth reservation. We could not confirm a specific train number or exact times for this season, so book directly with Czech Railways or ÖBB.
Is the train ride from Vienna to Prague pretty?
It is a pleasant ride rather than a spectacular one. Writing about one trip, the travel blog A Winter Escape describes flatter Austrian countryside giving way to rolling hills and smaller villages, and suggests a window seat on the left-hand side when leaving Vienna.
Is Vienna a day trip from Prague?
Only as a very long day. The 04:35 from Prague and the last Railjet back at 19:10 give roughly ten hours in Vienna, with the return to Prague after 23:00. Give Vienna at least two nights.
Sources
- Prague to Vienna by train, Seat61
- Prague hlavní nádraží station guide, Seat61
- Travelling to Prague by train, ÖBB
- Sparschiene Tschechien, ÖBB
- Luggage storage, ÖBB
- Austria, Czech Railways
- Prague to Vienna by train, Interrail
- Prague to Vienna Train 2026, Best Prague Guide
- Vienna to Prague by train, A Winter Escape
- Vienna to Prague tickets, austrianrailways.com (Rail Ninja)
- How to get to the Naschmarkt by U-Bahn, ubahnwien.com
- U1 stations, Ganz Wien
- Prague currency guide 2026, Best Prague Guide
- Prague Main Railway Station, Prague City Tourism
- Bus Vienna to Prague, FlixBus
- Vignette price list, eDálnice
Last updated: September 2026. Christian, Host & Founder, MINT @Naschmarkt.
