Other forms of Transport
This page deals with Prague private transport options like taxis, private bus and coach, car hire, boats, bikes, hitchiking and walking. If you want public transport info (metro, trams, trains etc) then click here.


Prague Taxis

Prague has a bad reputation with taxi drivers but it has been improving. If I use a taxi then usually it is AAA Taxi as they are not expensive and the operators speak English, just dial 14014. Another option is Profi-Taxi on 14035. Hailing taxis on the street or using a taxi parked in a major tourist area is still hazzardous and is not recommended. It is not even safe to let them use the taxi meter as many are rigged. If you are going to your hotel, ask at the reception if the price the driver wants is correct as this simple action will often result in the driver backing down, not wanting to get the Police involved. As a rule, try and give the taxi driver a piece of paper that clearly shows the address for where you want to go. Prices should be clearly displayed on the side of the taxi. The most common transport tariff in central Prague (in 2007) will be 40, 28, 6. This means the moment you get in the taxi you are charged 40kc, each kilometre after that is 28kc and waiting time is charged at 6kc per minute. Watchout for taxis displaying max99, max99, 6. Obviously the cost could skyrocket depending on what tariff the driver uses as well as the entry charge. Your hotel will give you an idea of how much a Prague taxi should be depending on your location. There is an official complaint procedure but, it is so complex and requires so much information as to make it not practical for a tourist.


Nostalgic Tram 91

 You can hire an Historic Tram (or a modern one) by the hour for various rates (www.dpp.cz has details) payable in cash. They can supply music and catering facilities as well.


Bus/Coach Transport

 There is a transport network of coach lines which is mostly operated by state bus company Ceska Autobusova Doprava (CAD) and more recently the private transport company Student Agency (www.studentagency.cz - yellow coaches). Student Agency long distance coaches tend to be faster, more frequent and cheaper than trains and CAD buses. Get timetables and reserve places by email, then pay at their offices in Prague.
Long distance domestic coaches and International coaches depart from the main bus stations at Florenc or Andel as do buses to most regional destinations. Schedules and fares are available at the departure point. Long distance domestic bus tickets are sold from the ticket counter and the regional ones are also sold on the bus.

Students also qualify for bus discounts at the GTS site www.gtsint.cz travel site (English option) which co-operates with existing public bus services on routes from Prague to other European cities.


Car Hire

 There are the usual mainstream options like Hertz/Avis/Sixt etc but, I recommend the following local options:
Czechocar. Good if you want one way travel out of Czech or if you want to drive to some of the cities/towns outside of Prague (Plzen/Olomouc/Kutna Hora etc).
Alimex. Good "mini" car options for weekend breaks in Prague.

For people travelling from the uk I would recommend taking a look at Argus Car Hire as they can get a better deal than if you book direct. Airport drop-off incurs an extra charge (500kc) which is not listed in the base price. Be aware that you'll need safe parking and CHECK YOUR EXCESS i.e. how much money are you responsible for paying in the event of damage to the car.


Boat Hire

 Boat transport during the Summer is mostly for pleasure. The Paroplavba (www.paroplavba.cz - Prague Steamboat Company) harbour is located on the east bank north of the Palackeho bridge, 2 blocks from metro station Karlovo Namesti (exit to Palackeho namesti).

Enjoy a 55 minute cruise to the Vysehrad castle for 150Kc. The boat leaves in summer daily every hour (first at 10 am, last at 6 pm). Enjoy a cruise through the wild, green landscape to the big dam at Slapy. The boat departs in Summer on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9 am, arrives back at 6:30 pm (@350Kc return). Also, you can take a boat to the Prague Zoo (3 times daily, last boat back at 1700).

You can hire a row boat or pedal boat on the river island Slovansky Ostrov (next to Palac Zofin) in Summer for 80kc per hour but, be prepared to leave a hefty deposit (2000kc) or identity document.


Motorbike Hire

 HD Rentals. HD Rentals will hire you a Harley Davidson for a day or more. Quite a reasonable deposit required given the value of the bike but, bring lots of documentation with you.


Bike Hire

 The Czech countryside/parks are nice places to ride a bike especially in summer and a suggested destination might be somewhere like Brevnov (at the end of the number 18 tram). Or maybe Pruhonice Park where you would get the metro to Opatov and cycle the 4km to the park. Cycling for fun is not popular here although at the weekend you will often see bike club members riding south from Prague and others on mountain bikes will be heading south and west to the forests. Use the train to get down to Sumava for scenic rides and more challenging terrain. There is a special bus service in the Summer that takes people and their bikes up to Liberec to ride around that area. There are also posted cycleroutes that surround Prague but, are mostly located to the south. You can hire a bike at Praha Bike (www.prahabike.cz) for short duration trips. For longer trips more aimed at people wanting to ride a bike for days instead of hours then take a look at AVE Travel (www.bicycle-tours.cz). They do a special tour to Karlstejn where 1500kc gets you an all-in 32km (20 miles) tour more or less following the river including lunch and a drink, bike hire and the necessary train/metro tickets to get you back to Prague. Free pick-up from hotel. Runs April to October

There is now a company called Velotrixi (www.velotrixi.cz) offering escorted tours in a hired "3-wheeler" type of bike. The main city tour is 600kc for a 45 minute trip around town but, they do shorter trips which stay only in the really central area for 200kc. Most of the route is pedestrianised or on slow-moving roads. However, if you cross the river it's a bit hairy when you are doing 11km/h and everybody else is doing 50km/h.

There's also a great resource in Grant's Prague Bike Blog where you can read about how a resident enjoys biking in Czech. Also has great photos.

Finally, a great site has started at www.laduv-kraj.cz. It lists details of route numbers 20 to 30 which are in South-East Prague. As well as a good map it also lists route details like total length, length between villages, altitude and accommodation/attractions along the way. Multi-language site.


Hitch-hiking

 Hitch-hiking whilst on a motorway is illegal in the Czech Republic but, it doesn't stop hundreds of people thumbing a lift everyday. Most people will carry a sign indicating the area to which they want to travel i.e. somebody hitching from Prague to Brno may have a sign saying BZ, BV or BM (Brno west, Brno east or Brno centre). Likewise somebody coming the other way may have PZ, PH or PRAHA (Prague west, Prague east or Prague centre). The city is like an apricot where the stone equates to the city and when split in half vertically, the right half is east and the left half is west even though they cover the north and south as well. Confused? you will be.

Another way people indicate to where they are hitch-hiking is by exit number. The motorway exits are based on the number of kilometres from the start of the route i.e. exit 44 will be 44km away from the start of the motorway. Beware, although reasonably safe, you should take care with this form of travel. The main hitch directions are D1 Prague-Brno-Austria, D5 Prague-Plzen-Nurnberg and D8 Prague-Teplice-Dresden. For the Nurnberg option get the metro to Zlicin and walk to an accessible spot for the hitch (about 200 metres from the metro. For the Brno option get the metro to Opatov and again the motorway is about 250 metres from the metro. For the Teplice-Dresden option, take the metro to Holesovice, walk about 100 metres to the road called Argentinska and cross the road.


Walking

 Curious to think of walking as transport but, as you'll be doing it in Prague everyday there are things you need to know. There are two types of pedestrian crossing and motorists are required to give way to pedestrians at any of these points (this law was only introduced in 2001). Crossings are marked with a streetsign. A „protected“ crossing is controlled by lights which will indicate a „green man“ when you are authorised to cross the road. On a 3-way or 4-way junction be aware as you are crossing that vehicles will be turning into your path. An unprotected crossing is just white lines on the ground which are often poorly marked. Remember that cars don’t stop very well on tramlines which will be passing through the crossing. Also be careful when crossing a cobbled street as cars take longer to stop even on dry cobbles let alone when they are wet. There is a "rule" that when waiting at a protected crossing you must not cross unless the "green man" is lit. This is to set an example to children that may be present and of course it's safer for you. As in many capital cities, the fastest way to get things from A to B is by bike, so even if the green man is lit, just take a look to the left and make sure a bike messenger is not hurtling towards you.

Other

 Segway. Segway rents those glorified two wheel golf carts. One person stands on a platform between two fat wheels and holds the handlebars in order to drive and steer. I've not tried it.