Prague holiday

Delvis

Delvis

Delvis

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Hello all

Going to Prague soon with some people and wanted to confirm some things...

-Having looked online, the currency is the Czech Crown, however various places state they take Euros also, would I be better to just take Euros? Or just stock up on the Czech Crown?

-Also, what do people recommend doing over there (I'll obviously look up some more closer to the time)

-Thirdly, commuting from the Airport, I assume this is a standard 'grab a taxi' affair or is there decent public transport links, if so, is it a pay as you go type thing or are there transport cards to purchase?

Thanks x
 
Lots of places accept Euros, but the exchange rate works out really poorly. You're best taking the crown. We just got taxis from the airport, price was reasonable.

As for things to do, we just looked at trip advisor and went to a bunch of the top stuff, really enjoyed the trip.
 
Best to stock up on Crowns. As Judgeneo says, the exchange rate for Euro's isn't good at all, so you'll be stiffed regularly if you do go over.

Order your Crowns in advance -- high street exchange places in the city are a rip off.

A taxi from the airport is reasonable, but you can also take the shuttle bus for MUCH cheaper. There's a ticket booth for it right outside arrivals. It takes slightly longer as it makes a couple of stops at other hotels on the way, but it isn't bad and can drop you right next to Old Town square, or next to Wenceslas Square.

There are loads of things to do in Prague. Check out TripAdvisor for anything that really takes your fancy, but it's also a great place to just walk around all day and find random treasures. You've got the castle, miniatures museum, Old Town, the Jewish memorial, can get out on the Charles River on a boat for dinner or just lounge around and drink beer.

It's a great city, and despite the reputation only tends to feel seedy if you're looking for that kind of thing, really.
 
I've read to either take the Czech Crown or just get it from ATMs over there and selecting local currency if it pops up...?
 
Take czk. Non tourist places Will not accept euros here and you will get a really bad rate.

The weather has been lovely the last few days.

Public transport is paid for per day or per hour. It's quite cheap.

Taxi from the airport is a little expensive bur even I just grab one to save the hassle of calling one.

When on the street it's also quite expensive if you just flag down a taxi but Urber is really cheap here I don't even need a car anymore.

There are many threads on prague so do a quick search and you will find lots of info. If you have any specific questions ask and I will do my best to answer them.
 
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Another thing to remember is when using the metro/underground, make sure that you put your ticket into the little stamping slots at the top of the stairs before you get on a train. This stamps your ticket with your "start" time (eg. if you have 24-hour ticket, it marks when the timer begins).

You get police in the stations that actively look for tourists that didn't know/understand this and hand out fines.

Also -- go to the zoo! Prague zoo is brilliant.
 
Dr House said:
Take czk. Non tourist places Will not accept euros here and you will get a really bad rate.

The weather has been lovely the last few days.

Public transport is paid for per day or per hour. It's quite cheap.

Taxi from the airport is a little expensive bur even I just grab one to save the hassle of calling one.

When on the street it's also quite expensive if you just flag down a taxi but Urber is really cheap here I don't even need a car anymore.

There are many threads on prague so do a quick search and you will find lots of info. If you have any specific questions ask and I will do my best to answer them.
Click to expand...

Ahh sweet, thanks bud :)

And thanks everyone
 
Take a tram (No 22 Pražský hrad stop) up to Prague Castle/Cathedral, spend a morning up there sightseeing and then walk down to Malostranská where you can get the metro back across the river into town.
 
Delvis said:
-Having looked online, the currency is the Czech Crown, however various places state they take Euros also, would I be better to just take Euros? Or just stock up on the Czech Crown?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't take either... just withdraw cash and or use card when there (ideally the Clarity card from Halifax)

people who change money in advance via the post office etc.. are just getting screwed
 
I went in February and had a really good weekend, we did two walking tours from the same company (Can't remember the name but it was located just off the old square in a small shopping corridor?). One was the free walking tour which takes you around the main tourist spots (old square, Jewish quarter etc) you just pay whatever you think it was worth as a tip. The 2nd tour was the castle tour which included a tram up to the top. Both were really good and worth the money in my opinion, you get to learn lots of information and facts you probably wouldn't get just walking around yourself.

Make sure you try pork knuckle and drink lots of pilsner! We had one night in a nice-ish hotel so booked the transfer through them, it was quite expensive compared to the transfer we booked through the hostel on the way back, I believe it was around £20 from the hostel and £30 from the hotel. Was good to be able to get straight off of the plane and into the taxi though.

We took around £300 in Czech crowns and then just withdrew some more when there. It's a relatively cheap city, you pay around £1 for a pint of the Pilsner in most places, even near the old square.
 
All very interesting, I don't think I'd want to be paying on card all the time (as im with a group of people ) so I'll take some money with me.

I'll probably end up doing more on my own as everyone else will be hung over no doubt :p
 
I've been to Prague myself a few times - it's one of my favourite cities in europe!

I'd avoid a taxi from the airport - many will be reasonable but czech taxis are renowned for taking you round backstreets, charging you 100x the normal rate and then turning nasty when you question it - happened to a few friends! Much easier is to get a bus from just outside the airport to the metro, then take the metro to your accomodation (buy a ticket at the tourist information office - one ticket covers both and was about 37czk for an hour and a half's travel last time I checked - remember to only stamp it at the start of your journey and not when you change or you may get a telling off from the inspectors).

Prague is beautiful just to walk around, but the history behind everything is incredible. I wouldn't usually do a free walking tour because obviously they can be of questionable quality and often nag for tips, but I did one a year or so ago run by an american girl holding a red umbrella which was brilliant. I think it would probably have taken me a week to find and see everything we covered in one morning on the tour, and there are so many stories behind all the buildings that it was really worthwhile. I'd definitely check one of those out. You do it all quite quickly so I'd take some time another day to re-visit anything of interest and take pictures etc!

The beer is amazing - not very family friendly if you're taking kids but many of the pubs brew their own in-house and it's cheap as chips so definitely worth sampling!

EDIT: r.e currency - I've never used euros in prague - always czech koruna. I tend to take some out before I go, and just use my card when I'm over there but I've never really paid attention to what my bank is charging me - whoops! Post office were good about giving a variety of denominations - I arrived late at night after everything had shut once and was refused travel on a bus because the driver couldn't give change because the smallest note tesco currency exchange had given me was ~£20!
 
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Most of the points to note have been covered already.

Re: airport transfers, I used https://www.prague-airport-transfers.co.uk/zakaznik/index.php on recommendation of a friend who lives there, was about £15 each way, £18 for a nicer car (valentines weekend, so was making it as nice as possible)

I thoroughly recommend one of the beer halls, http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attrac...2-Reviews-U_Zlateho_Tygra-Prague_Bohemia.html was the best we found, it's the one thing that felt genuinely different, and from the locals we spoke to in there, geniunely czech.
 
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