Czech Republic

IDOS offers an exceptionally useful website with integrated timetables for all trains and buses in the Czech Republic, including all intra-city and inter-city transports. The German version is available.

By air

There are domestic flights from Prague to Brno and Ostrava. They are operated by CSA Czech Airlines. There were also flights operated by Discovery Link, from Prague to Uherské Hradiště, but this airline stopped its flights in 2005.

By bus

A cheap and excellent means of travelling between Prague, Brno, Plzeň and Liberec are the buses from Student Agency. A line to Ostrava via Olomouc was introduced recently. Apart from this operator there are many other bus companies that link Prague and many other cities regularly. The buses leave Prague from Florenc Bus Station or Černý Most Bus Station (both are also Metro stations). Except for the Praha-Ostrava line, the buses are bit faster and cost less than the Czech trains (not considering discounts). Usually, you do not have to book a seat but if you travel on Fridays or before holidays from Prague, it is recommended. Timetables are available on the IDOS website.

By car

Driving in the Czech Republic is not as expensive as it is in other countries, but there are specific things that must be kept in mind. The first thing is that the Czech Republic is a zero tolerance country. It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle under the influence of any amount of alcohol, and violations are very heavily punished. The people in the Czech Republic drive sometimes aggressively, but it is not same "madness" like in southern Europe countries for instance. In order to drive on the well-kept motorways, however, you need to purchase a toll sticker. These stickers cost about CZK 100 for ten days, but can be purchased for longer periods of time as needed. If you do not have a toll sticker on your car when you drive on the motorways, the fines can be very steep. The condition of many roads is improving, but to be safe, drive on the motorways as much as possible, although if you want to get the remote parts of the country you will be forced to take bumpy side-roads sometimes. Speed limits in the Czech Republic are usually 130 km/h on motorways, 90 km/h off of motorways, and 50 km/h in towns. Petrol is not so expensive (CZK 31 / 1,15€), but it is expensive compared to the United States. Traffic fines are to be paid on the spot.

By train

The trains go even to the most remote locations of the Czech Republic and unlike buses, they also operate regularly during off-peak hours. However, outside the modernized main corridors, the standard of travelling is often the same as it was in the 1970's, and therefore it is quite time consuming to get to the provincial towns or villages. The trains tend to meander around the countryside and while this may sound like a nice afternoon ride, it's usually more hassle than it's worth. However, things are changing constantly and we can expect some further modernization in the near future. Due to the complicated discount policy of the Czech Railways (especially for foreign travellers), the standard one-way tickets are twice as expensive as the bus. However, you can get a discount for a return ticket, for group tickets (two travellers are considered as a "group") or with a special "customer" card. Especially the group discount is very useful, because you get the same fare as using the customer card (about 70% of normal ticket) even for two people and from the third traveller on you pay half of the customer card price. The customer card (Karta Z) costs 600Kc and is valid for three years. This makes the trains much more useful, sometimes even cheaper than buses. Its price can be recovered quickly but it takes some time to issue the card and you need a photograph. For the complete list of discounts in English visit Czech Railways' website. Categories of trains:

• Osobní - slow "local" trains, stops everywhere (abbrev. Os)

• Spěšný - faster than "osobní", usually skips little villages (Sp)

• Rychlík - fast trains, stops in major towns, relatively safe and commonly used trains for longer distances(R)

• Expres - faster and usually a bit cleaner kind of "Rychlík" (Ex)

• Intercity, Eurocity - pretty modern, clean and fast trains, stopping in major cities only (IC, EC)

• Supercity (Pendolino) - fastest new trains bought recently by Czech Railways, operates just between biggest cities, have special ticket rates (SC) (Time schedule)

If you take Supercity (SC) Pendolino, you have to tell at the counter when you buy tickets because they do not know what kind of train you will travel with. There are extra charges for these trains mentioned above. If you are not sure, try to ask for help some younger people waiting in the queue as they should speak some English. Although many train stations were repaired and modernized, the rest is still like a trip back in time to the communist era including the main station in Prague (main station in Czech is abbreviated as hl.n.). There is no need to be afraid but try to avoid them in the late night hours. Trains are generally safe (there are regular police guards assigned for fast trains) and very popular mean of transport and they are widely used both by students and commuters. Especially Prague has pretty good network of local trains connecting it with suburbs and surrounding cities and the tickets bought for these trains are valid for municipal transport. Check Prague integrated transport (PID), in Czech only.

By bicycle

The Czech Republic is an excellent place for cycling. There are lots of pleasant country lanes, cycling marked paths and picturesque villages along these paths (always with a pub...), it's easy to find the way, and the trains have bicycle racks in the baggage section for when you get tired. Try cycling in South Moravia region (close to Austrian borders) where you can find dozens of well-marked paths that will lead you through beautiful countryside full of vineyards, vine cellars and colorful villages (do not drink and drive, remember "zero tolerance" to alcohol). Also border mountains (Krkonoše, Šumava, Jeseníky etc.) are more and more popular among mountain-bikers. There are usually no fences along the trails but always keep to the marked paths here as these mountains are "CHKO" (i.e. protected as national natural heritage) and you can be fined if you cycle "off the beaten track". CzechCycling.info [3] is a non-profit website with cycling information for Prague and surrounding areas.

On foot

In addition to walking in the cities, there are a great number of hiking paths and scenery-rich trails going through the Czech Republic's forests and natural areas, and the Czech Tourist Club (Klub českých turistů, a member of the European Ramblers Association) has mapped and marked these trails so that walkers can easily locate and navigate thousands of kilometers of scenic paths, in fact it is probably the best maintained system of marking in Europe. You can buy maps of their paths on their website, or in the Czech Republic in most bookstores, tobacco shops or museums (green maps, marked with the organization's symbol and the words EDICE TURISTICKÝCH MAP KČT 1:50000 at the top). These maps are based on military maps and very precise. It's also possible to go by train to a small village at the edge of a forest and find the on-site map of the surrounding area, and four possible paths will be visible, marked in red, yellow, green, and blue (nice tourist maps). Nearby such a map will be a set of directing signs, usually posted to a tree, pointing the initial direction on any of the colored paths. The path's color will be marked on trees throughout the path: three short horizontal bars, the outer two white and the innermost the color of the path you're on. This symbol at times will appear as an arrow, indicating a turn. Bus and train stops will also be indicated on signs. You can also register to become a member of the Czech Tourist Club, where you can camp for 30–50 Kč a night in cottages around the Czech Republic.

By boat

Travelling by boat is an interesting way to get between Budapest and Prague, but be prepared to take some time because you have go through a large part of Europe, via Slovakia. The Vltava (Elbe) mouth opens into the North Sea, whilst the Danube mouth is in the Black Sea.

By thumb

Take care to use very a clear gesture with the thumb pointing upwards. A gesture looking like you are pointing to the ground may be mistaken for prostitution solicitation. Try a letter-sized (A4) piece of paper with the destination written on it so it is clearly visible where you would like to go. See some other Tips for hitchhiking.