Get to Prague:
Ruzyně International Airport , ( IATA : PRG ), +420 220 111 111, +420 296 661 111, . Located 20km northwest of the city centre, it generally takes about 30 minutes to reach the city centre by car. ČSA (Czech Airlines) is the national carrier operating to many European destinations. There are also many cheap direct flights operated by easyJet, Ryanair and BMIbaby from UK, by SmartWings from Continental Europe & Turkey, Aer Lingus from the Irish cities of Dublin & Cork, by SkyEurope from assorted destinations and by Sterling from Scandinavia. Starting on May 2nd, 2007, Delta Air Lines will start flights to Prague from Atlanta in the United States.
Getting into the city from the airport
By bus: The cheapest way to get to the city is by bus, but be sure to have some Czech Crowns ready. Buy a ticket from the kiosk in the arrivals hall or the vending machine, next to the bus stop, for 26CZK. You can also buy the ticket from the driver, but it is more expensive. No machines or drivers accept foreign currencies. Take bus 119 to its terminus (Dejvická) and go downstairs to the metro. Your ticket will continue to be valid in the metro. Alternately, Bus no. 100 brings you to subway station Zličín (metro B). Remember to validate your ticket as soon as you get on the bus . If you fail to do so and a revisor catches you, you'll be fined for 700 CZK. Neither is advisable. Tickets are also available from the DPP kiosk in the arrivals area of Terminal 1. Day, 3-day and weekly tickets are also available here.
Airport Express (bus operated by Czech Railroads): These buses leave the airport every 30 minutes; the first one at 4:40 a.m. while the last one at 9:10 p.m. at a price of 45CZK per person. Tickets are available from the driver. They will take you to the railway and subway station Nádraží Holešovice (metro C), which is also the railway station to take a train to Berlin and Vienna .
Cedaz bus: These buses operate from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. every half hour. They will take you past the subway station Dejvická (metro A) and into the city centre to the Náměstí Republiky (metro B). Fares are about 90 CZK per person. The easiest way to get to your hotel, however, is to use the company's shared-ride transfer service. They will take you direct to the door of your hotel, delivering groups of 1-4 passengers for 480 CZK. The drivers can be clearly seen straight outside the doors of the terminal building, just be sure to check that they have the correct identification.
By shuttle: Various companies run shuttle services to the hotel and back. These can be found at the airport arrival halls. One company is called Smart Shuttle , who run for Smart Wings airline , however some customers have found their services to be unsatisfactory. An option may be the 123-Prague.com shuttle operated by HFS s.r.o. Prague 123-Prague airport shuttle which charge 9 EUR per person. There are also private companies that provide transfers and will meet you in the arrivals hall, one of which is the American operated Prague Airport Shuttle and another Czech operated Prague Airport Transfers or Airport Transfers by Mary's . They usually charge around 600 CZK for trip and in general are a bit cheaper than the taxis. If you are looking for something more special you can try another service provided by HFS s.r.o., the 123-Prague-airport-transfer.com that guarantees Mercedes Benz, Superb cars and also provides extra such as champagne and flowers on board.
By taxi: The most comfortable method to reach the city will cost 350 - 700 CZK with AAA. AAA ] has an exclusive contract with Prague airport to have a fleet of taxis waiting. For a bargain, call one of their competitors such as Profi Taxi or Halo Taxi . Avoid cab drivers who solicit inside the terminal building - they will charge 50% to 100% more for the same journey.
By train
Prague has two international train stations: Hlavní Nádraží (the central station, also known as Praha hl.n. ) and Praha Holešovice . Both have connections with metro line C.
The park in front of the main train station is a haunt for some of the cities undesirable elements and should be avoided after dark. If you do have to come through on foot its best to avoid coming through the park and approach from the Southeast along Washingtonova. As you get to the corner of the park there's a police station, so the likelihood of running into problems from this direction is minimalised. The Station is currently undergoing a major refurbishment, alas the 70s style will be lost, but the toilets might be cleaned once in a while.
Eurocity trains connect Prague to Berlin , Vienna and Budapest . It is a very comfortable way of travel, but not as quick as in other countries - Eurocity has average speed about 120 kmph as the Czech railroad network is not suitable for higher speeds. From Berlin , a train reaches Prague in just under five hours, from Vienna in 4-4.5 hours and from Budapest in 6.5 hours. The train line from Berlin to Prague passes through the Erzgebirge mountains, and for a couple of hours the passengers are treated to a series of beautiful alpine river valleys, surrounded by rocky escarpments and mountains.
Since 2005, faster Super City Pendolino trains operate between Ostrava (3.5 hours), Olomouc (just over two hours) and Prague (station Praha - Holešovice). Reservation is necessary on these trains. If you come to Prague by SC Pendolino, you can use Airport Express to Prague Airport without any additional fee. These buses operate every 30 minutes (5:15 a.m. to 9:45 p.m.). Without a SC Pendolino ticket, you will have to pay 45 CZK to the driver.
Train connections from western countries such as France and England are complicated and slow because of the layout of German railroads, which lead mainly from north to south, with no direct connections from east to west. The route with the fewest connections is Prague-Berlin-Paris, but you can shave a few hours off your route if you're willing to transfer several times; eg. Prague-Nurnberg-Stuttgart-Paris can be done in 12 hours.
It is important to note that travel within the Czech Republic is not included in the Eurailpass . A "Prague Excursion Pass" addon is available for Eurailpass holders, providing inbound and outbound travel to Prague; these tickets need not be to the same Czech border stations. Train and bus timetables and a map of the Czech rail network are also available online.
By car
Prague has highway connections from five major directions. Unfortunately, the highway network in the Czech Republic is quite incomplete and some highways are old and in poor condition. Thus, the highway connection from Prague to the border of the Czech Republic is available only in two directions - southeast and southwest. The south-western highway (D5; international E50) leads through Pilsen (Plzeň) to Germany. The D5 highway continues in Germany as A6, until the connection with A93 (the remaining of A6 through to Nurnberg is under construction). Riding from the state border to Prague takes about an hour and a half (160 km). The south-eastern highway (D1) is the Czech Republic's oldest and most used highway - as such it's in a rather poor condition. It leads through Brno to Bratislava in Slovakia . It offers a good connection to Vienna , Budapest and all traffic from the east. It runs for 250km, and usually takes over two hours. To the northwest you can take highway D8 (E55), but it is not complete to the German border. It ends now at Lovosice (about 60 km from Prague and starts again in Usti nad Labem and continues to the northern Germany via A17 ( Dresden , Berlin , Leipzig ). To the northeast you can take highway R10 (E65). It is strictly speaking a motorway, not a highway, but it has four lanes and differs little from a highway. It leads from Liberec through Turnov. It isn't regarded as an important access route, as there are no major cities in this direction (Zittau in Germany , some cities in Poland ), however it offers a good connection to the Czech mountains Jizerské hory and Krkonoše (Riesengebirge) with the best Czech skiing resorts. To the east you can take the newly completed D11 (E67), which goes to Hradec Kralove. It leads to Poland.
Czech highways are under development (D8 and D11 are being prolonged, D3 to Ceske Budejovice and Linz is supposed to be completed in 2020) so it's hoped that things will get better. Unless there are road works, there are only seldom traffic jams on Czech highways, with the exception of D1 near Prague (and near Mirosovice (direction to Ceske Budejovice and Linz, and Brno, too)).
Prague suffers from heavy traffic and on week days the main streets are one big traffic jam. Moreover, Prague still doesn't have a complete highway outer circuit. It is a really good idea to use the P+R (park and ride) parking places, where you can park your car for a very small fee and use public transport. The P+Rs are situated near all highways and are well marked. Note that traffic wardens are rife and parking in most residential streets in and around Prague city centre (even after dark) without a valid permit will result in a parking fine.
By bus
The main bus station for international buses in Prague is Florenc, Křižíkova (metro lines B and C). It is located east of the city centre.
Eurolines connects Prague to major European cities, some of them depart from Nádraží Holešovice (metro C) but the majority leave from the main bus terminal at Florence (also metro C).
By boat
You can travel down the famous Vltava River (Moldau, in German), which inspired writers and composers such as Smetana and Dvorak. |
