I have a long trip coming up and will be doing extensive travel from Prague to various places (within 5 hours of Prague) to parts of Slovakia, Austria, Poland and other surrounding countries etc. Prague will be my home base during the week - with travel on the weekends. For those who have used Czech rail and bus - which is better? (Driving is not an option.) I have read some dismal reviews about the Czech railways on trip advisor and now i'm very worried about using them. Thank you in advance for your advice and help!
Posted by
Sweden
6375 posts
Without knowing where those various places are, it is hard to tell. But in general the train is a good option.
And keep in mind that all those that have had great train trips in the Czech Republic are unlikely to write a review on Tripadvisor.
Posted by
San Diego, California
4695 posts
CK Shuttle is a shuttle service we used and were impressed by their professionalism, command of English, promptness. As it sounds, it is a small van service that transports small groups of people, and it's door to door. (You don't have to fill the van with your group.) At the time, the RS Guide book reported that the Czech train schedules were unnecessarily confusing. Obviously it costs a bit more, but was worth the convenience. They have a schedule online.
Safe travels.
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
We were also impressed with CK Shuttle transfers in 2019. We were transferred from hotel to hotel.
Vienna>Česky Krumlov>Prague. We appreciated the reliability, guaranteed departure, affordability,
& friendly driver. We would definitely hire CK Shuttle again. The only train service we used was from Budapest to Vienna. It was a pleasant experience. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiT8ovXv7P8AhUODDQIHT5EAqEQFnoECBwQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ckshuttle.cz%2F&usg=AOvVaw18Q7L_W0xhj0zsgdAjmgPi
Posted by
Prague
407 posts
I'd always take the bus if you are going between Czech cities and major towns then use the train from those places if you want to get out in the sticks. Flixbus and StudentAgency both run a very good national service. Make sure you have an audible translation app with you if you need to take regional bus services because the use of English drops off outside the cities and tourist areas. You might find the timetables will have varying departure/return times like it might be better to go one way on one service and return by another service. If you take regional trains at the weekend then be prepared for a replacement bus service every now and again. All part of the fun.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
1416 posts
I have traveled throughout the Czech Republic on several trips and also think the Czech trains are fine- I wouldn’t be overly concerned about a couple negative comments on TripAdvisor coming from unknown reviewers.
I would check train and bus schedules for where you want to go. Go to www.TheTrainline to get a quick idea of train schedules and a ballpark idea of ticket pricing as it’s easy to use, it will list all available international trains and it’s in English. Then, for the best ticket prices go to www.cd.cz /en. This is the Czech National Train company’s website in English and it’s the ONLY website selling the least expensive train tickets for Czech domestic and international trains. The fares can be unbelievably inexpensive ( like $15 for Prague to Budapest) Senior fares are discounted 50%.
If you’re going to Vienna, have a look at Railjet trains which can have the best prices.
It is true in the Czech Republic as in many Eastern European countries, that buses often are faster than trains in getting to smaller towns. But you can’t stretch your legs by walking around on a bus as you can on a train and there are few, if any, restrooms on a bus. You can view bus schedules and ticket prices at www.BusBud or a similar bus ticket website.
Have a great Trip!