Guide books

Definitely get one. There are a ton of them out there on (Insight, Frommer’s, Baedeker, Time Out, Lonely Planet, the Rough guide are just a few from Amazon) and they are now all pretty good. The writers copy each other so much that it is hard to differentiate them aside from their target audience’s budget. I would recommend one covering Prague and Czech republic if you plan to travel, which we do recommend.

Web help

There are also many resources now on the web for both Prague and Czech travel that it is not possible to list all of them. Many have photographic tours, walking tours and a lot of good information that is printable. Some of the sites are as follows:

• www.prague2001.com
• www.czechsite.com
• www.pragueiguide.com
• www.kosherprague.com

There are also specific sites for activities such as rafting, golf, biking, hiking and other outdoor events as well as the Karlovy Vary film festival.

Tips & Precautions

Although we consider Prague to be one of the safest large cities in the world, like every city it also has its problems. There are over 100 million tourists each year in the Czech republic, and there is a small, but thriving industry in ripping tourists off which has not been well controlled by the police or authorities here. Here are a few things to watch out for, so you do not become a victim:

• Be aware of pickpockets, especially on trams and when in large groups of people. Wallets inside of purses, mobile phones and billfolds are usually targeted.
• Do not take your passport, flight ticket or large amounts of money out of your hotel. Use the hotel safe.
• Take a photocopy of your passport and leave either one credit card or at least the numbers in a safe place.
• Don’t change money on the street or at a “change office” that is not a bank. Wherever you change, ask the exact amount you will receive before handing over your money.
• Best is to change with an ATM machine, or American Express which is on the Wenceslas Square and Celetna streets.

• Taxi warnings:

  Prague taxi drivers are known to cheat their passengers; so here are some tips to avoid this:
• First, use taxi companies, which you or the hotel will order by phone, such as CITY TAXI and AAA TAXI. These two companies are the most professional, speak English and they will not overcharge.
  The numbers are:
  CITY TAXI: 257 257 257
  AAA TAXI: 222 333 222
• If you have to use taxi from the street, make sure to fix the price with the driver before you enter the car. Typical prices are up to 25 Kc/km. Unless you are going to the airport or outside of Prague, the price should not be above 300 kc (12 USD). Mostly it will be below 150 Kc.
• Hotel cars are ok to use, but will likely be about 25-50% more expensive than regular taxi service.

Tipping

At better restaurants you can tip up to 10% of the bill. Normally, a Czech patron would simply round up at most establishments amounting to some 3-7% perhaps. Hotel baggage, 20 Kc per bag carried is acceptable. Taxis - don’t bother, they probably added it in somehow already. Tour guides - if they are good, we recommend you to tip them accordingly.

Public transport in Prague

You can use

• Metro (Subway)
• Public buses
• Trams

All of these are belonging to the central public transport and you have to use valid tickets to use the public transport in Prague.

There are two basic kinds of tickets:

• tickets for 14 crowns are valid for 15 minutes or 4 stops of the metro (not including the departure station) and you can not change from one public transport to another.
• tickets for 20 crowns are valid for 75 minutes (90 minutes on weekend and every day between 8PM and 5AM) and you can change freely the public transport within your 60 (90) minutes limit.

After you enter the bus or tram, you have to invalidate your ticket by the Yellow ticket printer inside the bus or tram. At the metro, it is when you enter the entrance. The ticket is invalid without doing this. If you see people not doing this it is either because they have permanent tickets or are riding “black”. Going without tickets or not validating them is quite dangerous, because you can pay a large fine.

You can also buy long-time tickets for

• 1 day (24 hours) for 70 Kc
• 3 days (72 hours) for 200 Kc
• 7 days (168 hours) for 250,- Kc
• 15 days (360 hours) for 280,- Kc

Transportation from Prague airport

When already in Prague, you can use the airport minibus company "CEDAZ", which will take you to any address in Prague for only 360 Czech crowns, which is about 14 USD. This price is for up to 4 persons going to one address (if 4 people go together to one address they pay only 360 crowns together, not per person). If there is only one person, so the price is also 360,00 Czech crowns. If there are 5-8 people, the price is 720 CZK (approx. 28 USD).

It is also possible to use airport TAXI cars (white cars standing in row by the arrival hall), but they are quite expensive. The price is a fixed price of about 30 USD to any address in Prague.

Both companies are OK and they do not cheat their passengers.

Car rental

Car rental is not expensive (35-40 USD/day for an Octavia which is like a VW Passat) and although gas runs 3,50 USD, you will find that airfares and train fares in Europe are not such bargains for one-destination trips. It is usually cheaper for two to travel by car than train or plane. Plus as I said, there is a lot to see along the way. Note that it takes some comfort with European driving to drive in Prague. Contact us (You can use the form below) to arrange a car for you.

DISCLAIMER:

 WE DO CAN NOT GUARANTEE, THAT THE INFO AT THIS WEBSITE IS UP TO DATE, AS IT IS UPDATED FROM TIME TO TIME ONLY

• Site map of JewishPrague.Info