|
Railways
|
  Main information source:
Home page of
Czech Railways - ČD
Czech Republic has one of the most extensive railway networks in Europe (see map). You can reach almost every small town by rail and trains are indeed a romantic way of travelling around the country. Travel can be rather slow, however, often involving several changes. The quickest way of travelling along the major lines are the expres or rychlík trains. Local trains osobní vlak stop everywhere and are very cheap (US$1 gets you about 60 km away from Prague). Somewhat faster are services called spěšný vlak which stop less often but cost the same as local trains.
Combined train and bus timetables or
an alternative site
There are four major train stations in Prague:
- Praha Hlavni nadrazi (Main train station)- located in the city centre; near Wenceslas square. All trains on the east-west route stop here (trains from Wienna, Munich, Pilsen etc.).
- Praha Holesovice - located nort of city centre; just 3 stops by metro from Hlavni nadrazi. This is a terminal station for trains comming from north (i.e. Usti n.Labem, Dresden, Berlin)
- Praha Smichov - Located in Smichov, about 15 minutes by metro from the city centre. Somewhat smaller station for trains departing west (the train for Karlstejn castle goes from here, for example)
- Praha Masarykovo nadrazi - the oldest station in Prague; located in the city centre, near Namesti Republiky and Florenc bus terminal. Here you can catch trains going north east, i.e to Kolin, Kutna Hora, Hradec Kralove etc.
All of these train stations are easily acessible by metro network.
|
|
Buses
|
 There are
two main companies serving the Czech Republic
network : CSAD (Česká automobilová doprava) and somewhat smaller
Čebus. Čebus serves mainly fast motorway routes between Prague, Brno, Karlovy Vary and Liberec.
|
|
Car rental
|
|
 Renting a car is the best way of
exploring the country, or for making daytrips from Prague. To rent a car
you must be over 21 and have a driver's licence. The insurance is usually arranged directly by the rental company. The well known car hire companies (Avis, Europcar, Hertz) charge usually much more than the local Czech companies, such as for example ABA car, or B&M car rental.
|
|
Air travel
|
 The national airline -
Czech Airlines (CSA) - flies from Prague's Ruzyně airport to all major international destinations. CSA also offers internal flights to to Brno, Ostrava and to the Slovak republic (Bratislava, Poprad, Kosice). However, it might be faster to rent a car (self-drive or with a chauffeur) to travel within the Czech Republic.
When travelling from London most flights to Prague are offered by
British Midland, CSA, and British Airways.
|
|
PRAGUE Ruzyne Airport - transport from airport
|
|
Prague has only one international airport - Ruzyne Airport which is located to the north-west of the city, about 17 km from the city centre. The Ruzyne airport is operated by the Czech Airport Authority alongside with airports Brno - Turany, Ostrava - Mosnov, and Karlovy Vary.
Ruzyne airport departures and arrival timetables for scheduled flights
The airport has no metro or train connection with the city centre and is only served by buses and taxis.
Three local buses connect the airport to metro stations.
- No. 119 goes to Metro Dejvicka - green line A
- No. 108 goes to Metro Hradcanska - green line A
- No. 179 goes to Metro Nove Butovice - yellow line B
Local buses run between 5.00 and 24.00, approximately every 20 minutes and cost about 10 Kc. Before you go check the web site of
Prague public transport company and the
maps of Prague transport.
There is also a relatively cheap airport bus which will get you to Namesti Republiky in the city centre. These buses run roughly every half hour during daytime.
Another option is an airport taxi. A taxi should not cost more than 600 Kc.
If you don't want to use public transport or start looking for a taxi once you arrive in Prague you can book a car from abroad and have it waiting for you on your arrival. The cost is comparable to a cost of a taxi and you have an added assurance that the car will be there even if you plane is delayed, at no extra charge. To find out more, look at
Airport transfers - ABAcar.
|
|
|
©