One of the interesting journeys we did last year was travelling from Hungary to Slovakia to Austria and finally culminating the journey in Croatia. Since these countries lie quite near and share borders as well, it is easy to plan a journey wherein you cover at least the capitals of these four countries and thus claim to have visited all of them.

Quiz time

What is the capital of Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Croatia?

So if you know the answer to the above question, then you ave figured out the journey that we planned. We started our journey in Budapest (capital of Hungary), traveled to Bratislava (capital of Slovakia) and Vienna (capital of Austria) and ended in Zagreb (capital of Croatia). We flew back to Stockholm from Zagreb. We also spent few days in Graz (2nd largest city in Austria) before reaching Zagreb.

Planning a Journey till Hungary and stay in Budapest

We reached Budapest from Stockholm via Norwegian airlines. It takes 2 hours to reach Budapest by air and cost us around 150 euros for two persons (one way) by Norwegian airlines, even though we booked the tickets 3 months in advance.

Days spent in Budapest : 3 nights 2 days

What to do in Budapest?

Budapest is a fascinating city, lot to see and experience! Yet one of the comparatively cheaper places of Europe to travel and enjoy! I have written detailed experience of our trip to Budapest wherein I have highlighted must- see places (sort of itinerary) to cover on two different days, places to eat and other experiences in my previous blogs. Click on the links to check them out.

How to reach from Budapest to Bratislava?

Our original plan was to travel to Vienna, but Bratislava looked like a perfect stopover if we were anyway going to travel by road/ public transport. We booked our bus tickets from a website called GoEuro, which has now changed it’s name to Omio.

We booked tickets from Budapest, Népliget bus station till Bratislava Autobusová stanica Nivy. For a 2 hour and 50 minutes bus journey, this bus journey cost us only 14 euros for two people. Our bus left Budapest at 9:00 am, we could spend an entire day in Bratislava from 12 pm. Our bus journey was comfortable and easy to locate buses at both these stations.

Days spent in Bratislava: One day (6 hours)

When we reached Bratislava Autobusova station, station itself looked crowded but to enter the city we had to go to another closest public bus stop which looked deserted. We purchased the tickets on the busstop itself using our debit card. This new bus still left us a bit far from the center of the city, we had to walk. On a weekend, Bratislava people were very quiet even at noon. We were glad as the center of the city emerged, we could see people and thus started our day of exploring Bratislava Central area. So, much can be seen even in few hours.

What to do in Bratislava?

Here I have penned down my experience in two part blog series:
https://eatclicktravelrepeat.com/2018/11/23/a-day-in-bratislava-city-part-1/ and
https://eatclicktravelrepeat.com/2018/11/25/a-day-in-bratislava-city-part-2/

Don’t miss this cute capital if it’s on your way to somewhere else.

How to reach from Bratislava to Vienna?

After exploring Bratislava, we reached Vienna by one and half journey via bus. We booked our tickets from a website called amsbus.cz. It cost us only 10 euros for two persons from Bratislava,Petržalka,Einsteinova till Vienna Hauptbanhoff/ Vienna Central Bus station.

Days spent in Vienna: 2 nights 2 days

What to do in Vienna?

Vienna is a beautiful city and has plenty to explore! We really loved the city. I was discovering it for the first time but my husband has lived in the city for few months as an exchange student. So, he felt the instant connect and nostalgia. We managed to do lot of touristy stuff in this city which I have covered in this two blogs : Must see places of Vienna and Opera morning of Vienna.

How to reach from Vienna to Graz

Journey from Vienna to Graz one of the surprising train journeys. It was almost comparable to the one from Lucerne to Interlaken,just that there are lot of railway tunnels on this track. We booked our tickets again from the GoEuro website, though the tickets were for the trains from OBB (Austrian Fedral Railways). For a two and half journey, it cost us 18.70 euros for 2 persons. More on Graz will follow on this website.

How to reach from Graz to Zagreb

After spending amazing time in Graz, our last stop of the journey was in Zagreb. For this part of the journey we took a Flixbus. Have you tried Flixbus? You can also find them in Stockholm. Flixbus have buses covering travel routes of large region of Europe. Though, they have become too popular and may be won’t remain low cost as they once claimed to be. It took us 3 hours and cost us 36 euros for two persons to travel by Flix bus from Graz Central Station to Zagreb Bus station.

Days spent in Zagreb: A day and a night

What to do in Zagreb?

We reached Zagreb one day before Croatia was playing in World Cup football game. Zagreb was vibrant and preparing for the big day. Will write a detailed post about explorations.

Phew!!! By the time we left from Zagreb to Stockholm, we were away from home for a considerable amount of time. Hope you and your family also take up this route and also enjoy exploring four countries in one go! This was a educating experience as we were visiting usually not explored places like Graz and Bratislava and at the same time enjoyed visiting the eastern capitals of Europe!