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I have a single visit Schengen Visa in Cultural category for Hungary. I am flying from Delhi to Budapest and my duration of stay is 10 days.

My question is, what if I want to go to the UK from Budapest directly by train via stations to stations. Can I travel by train from Schengen area to England in the given time in which I have in my Visa? I have a valid UK Visa in my Passport.

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    What is your citizenship? The UK is not part of Schengen; if you needed a Schengen visa you’ll almost certainly be a visa-national and therefore need a visa to enter the UK. The train journey from Budapest to London will be around 20 hours.
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 14:34
  • My main purpose is to go by train from Budapest to London is because I want to enjoy the journey of my Europe. But I do not know the system or the situation when you cross the border of Schengen States and when you entered to the different country.
    – Rahul
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 14:53
  • @Rahul crossing internal Schengen borders is generally barely noticeable. Some officers might sweep through the train and look at some people's passports. But once you leave the Schengen area to go to the UK, you will not be able to return. You can spend a lot of time riding around Schengen countries without leaving the Schengen area, however, so maybe you should do that instead.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:19
  • Given the single entry restriction of your Schengen visa, consider going to the UK first, and then taking a train to Europe.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 16:33

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Yes. You have Schengen and UK Visas. As you travel through different Schengen countries, this is counted as one visit/trip. It is only when you leave the Schengen area like you will when you enter the UK) that this visit ends.

Please note that this single entry Schengen visa, which means that you will need to fly home from the UK, as you will have used up your one entry already.

The train itself is around 22 hours long, alternatively you could also fly using your visas. (flights are around 2.5 hours, and can be as low as £40, if time is your priority)

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  • Time is not my priority but how practical and logical to go to the London from Budapest by train?
    – Rahul
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:18
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    It's neither practical nor logical: flying is massively faster and probably cheaper.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:39
  • Absolutely sure to be cheaper, the BUD-LON route is served by many airlines, among them several ULCC and as such the price is really low. Try skyscanner.net. As of this year, even London City has a direct flight to Budapest, provided by LOT airlines. OTOH the train tickets will be anything but cheap and you'll need quite a few of them.
    – user4188
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:43
  • I saw your comment about wanting to see the views from the train, if you have the time and that is something you want then do it! If you would rather save the money, and hop on a ryanair flight for 40 pounds then think about that too. Crossing the boarders in most Schengen countries is like crossing town lines, you hardly notice it, you are perfectly fine to do both ways with your visas as long as you don't try to go back into the Schengen afterwards on the same visa :)
    – Uciebila
    Commented Jul 29, 2019 at 8:51
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You can use that visa to travel through the countries between Hungary and England, but because the UK is not in the Schengen area, you will need a separate UK visa to get to England itself.

Furthermore, I note that the title of your question mentions "single visit." If that means that you have a single-entry visa, once you get to England you would be unable to return to the Schengen area. So, in addition to a UK visa you would also need an air ticket from the UK to India.

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  • I have Uk visa too and I am planning to go to the UK.
    – Rahul
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 14:42
  • @Rahul what does your Schengen visa say for "number of entries"?
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 14:49
  • My Schengen-Visa says "number of entries" ( 1 ).
    – Rahul
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:00
  • @Rahul in that case, once you go to the UK, you cannot go back to the Schengen area. If you have a return flight from Budapest to Delhi, you might be able to fly from the UK to Budapest to take the flight, but you can only do that if you can avoid going through passport control in Budapest. This means that you cannot have any checked luggage. It also means that you do not have much control over when you arrive at the Budapest airport (flights can easily be delayed). If you miss the flight, you'll have to buy a new ticket. In other words, you should avoid going to the UK.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:12
  • So it means I have to book a ticket from UK to Delhi.
    – Rahul
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 15:15
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Can I travel by train from the Schengen area to England in my given time?

Yes. According to https://www.seat61.com/Hungary.htm you’re looking at a journey time of around 24 hours via Munich, Stuttgart, Paris, then London. You’d have to depart Budapest on day 9 to be sure of exiting Schengen on day 10.

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