プラハからの夜行

二分割でも足りませんでした。でもほとんどが他人様の丸写しですが・・・。

Prague to Krakow by train

A comfortable, daytime EuroCity train called the Cracovia and a safe & cosy EuroNight sleeper train called the Chopin link Prague with Krakow, city centre to city centre in either direction every night. And since July 2018 these trains have been joined by a privately-operated Leo Express train, initially only at weekends, now 4 days per week, to become daily in due course.

EN 443/IC 406/EN 406 EuroNight Richtung: Warszawa Wschodnia

Option 3, by EuroNight sleeper train Chopin...

This is a comfortable air-conditioned sleeper train run jointly by national rail operators CD (Czech Railways) and PKP (Polish Railways), using Czech rolling stock. It runs between Prague and Warsaw, calling at Krakow. EuroNight is a generic term for good-quality air-conditioned overnight trains used by many European train operators.

How much does it cost?
Cheap advance-purchase fares start at €29 with couchette in 6-berth, €39 with couchette in 4-berth, €39 with a bed in a 3-bed sleeper or €49 with a bed in a 2-bed sleeper or around €75 with a single-bed sleeper all to yourself.

However, these fares are not offered in the busy summer period June-September when CD/PKP can sell tickets at full-price. You'll also have difficulty buying these cheap fares for journeys starting in Poland because PKP Polish Railways don't offer online booking, relatively few tourists can get to Krakow station in person two weeks before travel date, so most people order tickets from agency Polrail who only sell full-price fares. You might consider taking the privately-run Leo Express train instead if you don't mind the early start and the days of running suit you, as this is easily bookable online at cheap prices.

How to buy eastbound tickets starting in Prague....
Option 1, book online at Czech Railways www.cd.cz.

Booking usually opens 60 days before departure on this route, although this can shrink to less than 60 days for dates immediately after the mid-June and mid-December timetable changes. There is absolutely no need to book further ahead that this, you can usually find the cheapest fares even booking just weeks ahead and there will be places available even on the day.

Select 22:00 as your departure time, find the train EN 443 shown as No transfers & click on the green Price in the next step button. You should see a cheap no-refunds no-changes First Minute fare. Click modify against seat reservation and change it to a couchette or sleeper and click the pencil symbol to change the type of sleeper from 3-berth to double or single, or the type of couchette from 6-berth to 4-berth.

You print out your own ticket and can board the train, simples! The printout must be stamped by the Czech conductor on board the train before it will be accepted by a Polish conductor after crossing the border, which is why you cannot use cd.cz to book one-way or round trip journeys starting in Poland. It also means you must print your ticket, it cannot be shown on a laptop or smartphone screen.

Oh, and only one passenger name is needed to support a print-your-own ticket, even if that ticket is for two or more people.
あとは実践あるのみ。