Travel to Prague
Flying to Prague
Numerous airlines operate direct flights to Prague from Europe, including British Airways (www.britishairways.com), Czech Airlines (www.csa.cz), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), Ryanair (www.ryanair.com), SmartWings (www.smartwings.com) and Wizz Air (https://wizzair.com). With so much competition, cheap deals are available year-round, though you need to book well in advance to bag a bargain in school holidays.
From the USA, Delta (www.delta.com) operates a direct flight from New York to Prague. American Airlines (www.aa.com) also operates a direct flight from Philadelphia. From Toronto, Air Canada (www.aircanada.com) flies direct to Prague.
Flight times
From London - 1 hour 50 minutes; New York - 9 hours 25 minutes; Los Angeles – 13 hours 50 minutes (including stopover); Philadelphia – 10 hours; Toronto - 9 hours 20 minutes; Singapore – 14 hours 30 minutes (including stopover); Sydney- 22 hours (including stopovers).
Travel by road
Traffic in Prague drives on the right and the legal driving age is 18 years. Speed limits are 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas, 90kph (56mph) on main roads and 130kph (81mph) on motorways. There is zero tolerance for drink and drugs.
An annual toll must be paid to use Czech roads for all vehicles with a weight of 3.5 tons or over – in December 2019 a new satellite-based toll system was introduced. This means that the toll process is now automatic, and all transactions are done via an On-Board Unit. EU licence holders must have an International Driving Permit (IDP) if their normal licence does not have a photograph. An IDP is required for drivers from all other countries.
A car registration document and country sticker are also necessary, as well as a first-aid kit (in-date), high-vis vest and a warning triangle. Note that headlights must be used at all times. Third-party liability insurance is compulsory. For drivers based in the Czech Republic for longer than six months, the car must be registered with the Czech authorities - duty and taxes will cost about half the value of the car and minimum third-party coverage with a Czech insurer is also required.
Emergency breakdown services
ÚAMK (tel: +420 261 104 333; www.uamk.cz).
Routes
The main routes to Prague are the D1/D2 to Brno. From Belgium, the best route is the E40 to Cologne, then the A4, A3 and A6 to get onto the E50 crossing the German/Czech border at Waidhaus/Rozvadov. From Vienna, the A22 leads to the D1 motorway, the E55 from Dresden and Berlin, the E67 from Wroclaw and Warsaw, and the E50 from Paris.
Coaches
International buses depart either from the Florenc coach station, Křižíkova 8, Prague 8, or from the coach park at Želivského Station, on the corner of Vinohradská and Jana-Želivského, Prague 3.
The main international operator is Eurolines (tel: +420 731 222 111; www.eurolines.cz). Regional services are provided by Dopravni Podnik (tel: +420 296 191 817; www.dpp.cz/en).
Time to city
From Vienna - 3 hours 45 minutes; Warsaw - 7 hours.
Travel by Rail
Services
Praha Hlavní Nádraží, Prague's main railway station at Wilsonova 300, is a wonderful piece of domed art nouveau architecture. Prague's other international railway station, Nádraží Holešovice at Partyzánská 1546/26, is its second largest. This is the point of departure for trains heading to Berlin and Vienna. Although located on the north side of the city, it is well connected to the city centre by the metro, just a few minutes from Wencelas Square on the C-Line.
The Czech Republic itself is well served internationally by high-speed and overnight sleeper trains, with direct links connecting Prague to multiple major European cities.
For local trains, you can catch the tilting Czech Pendolino, the country's own high-speed trains, which travel between Prague and the Czech Republic's other big cities, including Olomouc and Ostrava.
Operators
České dráhy (ČD) (tel: +420 221 111 122; www.cd.cz/en) manages Prague's railways and stations.
Journey times
From Vienna - 5 hours 15 minutes; Munich - 6 hours; Berlin - 4 hours 40 minutes.
