Poland vs. Hungary - trip advice

[StephenHunter]

Which of these would be better for an enthusiast to visit? I am looking to do Warsaw or Budapest next May.

 

[Adlington]

Poland is much bigger and much more mountainous than Hungary (I'm not exactly talking about Alpine landscapes here...). This of course is only one aspect of your choice.

 

[Segedunum]

Hungary I found easier to navigate as MÁV have an easy-to-use app for buying tickets on the go. It's probably easier to navigate than Poland as it has a reasonably dense network, though frequencies can be a little sparse on rural lines.

 

[Adlington]

Long-distance routes in Poland are operated (almost) exclusively by PKP IC, though with 3 different train types and fares. At least buying tickets it pretty straightforward.
Local services are very fragmented, each operator has its own tickets and fares (some limited cross-operator acceptance exists. And buying tickets for multi-operator journeys varies from difficult to impossible.

 

[70014IronDuke]

Poland is much bigger and much more mountainous than Hungary (I'm not exactly talking about Alpine landscapes here...). This of course is only one aspect of your choice.

In the south, yes, but vast areas of the country are are as flat as the fens.

Not that Hungary is exactly hilly for much of the middle.

I'd do a compromise and go to the Czech Republic (and maybe Slovakia).

 

[87015]

“As an enthusiast” is totally broad - what are you actually interested in? The only diesels on passenger in either that make any noise are MAV M41-1s but plenty of elderly and shiny electrics in both. Also FAR more to both countries than Warsaw/Budapest…

 

[StephenHunter]

“As an enthusiast” is totally broad - what are you actually interested in? The only diesels on passenger in either that make any noise are MAV M41-1s but plenty of elderly and shiny electrics in both. Also FAR more to both countries than Warsaw/Budapest…

Loco haulage in particular. Also want to do some steam as well. The capital will be my "base".

 

[SeanG]

For steam, then the Wolstyn line is an obvious choice.

I know that MAV also do heritage days down to Lake Balaton but not sure when they are.

Hungary is excellent for haulage as most services are loco hauled outside of the main cities

 

[gravitystorm]

Loco haulage in particular. Also want to do some steam as well. The capital will be my "base".

If you find yourself in the south of Poland, specifically near Kraków, then I can recommend the route south to the mountains at Zakopane. Make sure to visit the "Skansen" (open-air museum) at Chabówka, which has a huge collection of old railway locomotives and other vehicles, and the steam trips that start at the Skansen and head east down the little-used line towards Mszana Dolna in the summer.

The Chabówka Rolling-Stock Heritage Park "Skansen"

The Chabówka Rolling Stock Heritage Park "Skansen" was opened in 1993 on the site of the old steam depot.

www.parowozy.pl

There's a related organisation that also organise steam trips in the southern foothills of the Tatra mountains too, on other parts of the network, but I haven't made it onto any of their services yet:

Małopolskie Szlaki Turystyki Kolejowej

en.kolejegalicyjskie.pl

 

[Adlington]

If you find yourself in the south of Poland, specifically near Kraków, then I can recommend the route south to the mountains at Zakopane.

May be later.... Various bits of Kraków-Zakopane line are being rebuilt, with no great urgency. At the moment there are no trains to Zakopane.