We are visiting our daughter who is studying in Prague this summer. What recommendations do you have for a 14 day trip? We are interested in visiting Cesky Krumlov & Ceske Budejovice and Krakow. We would love to add additional countries since this is a trip of a lifetime. Any help most appreciated.
Posted by
shingle springs, CA, USA
782 posts
You need to tell people here what your interests are,do you like big cities or small towns and rural areas.Help the forum people help you.
Mike
Posted by
OP
2 posts
To add to my earlier post, we are mostly interested in smaller, rural areas. We live in a large city in the U.S. and can see high rises everyday so we would love to experience how people live day to day. We would like to travel by train between destinations. We currently have a room booked in Cesky Krumlov for 3 nights. What side trips are best from there? We would also like to visit the wine region of the Czech Republic. What are the best towns to stay in for that leg of the trip? We've purchased Rick Steves Prague book and it has been so helpful!
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17909 posts
I guess you are renting a car? You expressed an interest to see “Central Europe” but seem to be more focused on seeing the Czech Republic and Krakow? Okay, you have some reservations but I will throw in my two cents just the same.
Fourteen days really isn’t much time and I wouldn’t spend what precious little time I have trying to get to Krakow. So, for a mix of small towns and larger cities (with few or no observable tall buildings)
1 Arrive Prague
2 Prauge
3 Prauge
4 Prague to Cesky Krumlov by Bean Shuttle
5 Bean Shuttle to Vienna (I love Cesky Krumlov but there is a lot to see and not much time)
6 Vienna
7 Day trip to Melk and the Wachau valley towns
8 Vienna
9 Train to Gyor and the Archabbey at Pannonalma
10 Train to Budapest
11 Budapest
12 Day trip to Szentendre
13 Budapest
14 Head home
If you decide to just hang around the Czech Republic then Karlstejn and Zvikov Castles are worth seeing and maybe an extra night in Cesky Krumlov makes sense. Bigger budget? Fly Prague to Krakow the Krakow to Veinna, then on to Hungary and back north through Veinna and Cesky K to Prague.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
On a recent trip to Prague... after seeing the city, we rented a car at the airport and hit the road for Krakow (via the bone church) Spent a few days there (did not need the car, but our hotel had parking) saw the sites then headed out to Auschwitz/Birkenau (sp) After that we took a leisurely drive to Cesky Krumlov, stopping at whatever town looked interesting. It was a lovely drive. A few days there (we did not need our car) we then headed through the countryside and back to Prague to return the car. When renting you want to make sure of the drop off fees if you want to return the car to another country. It was a leisurely trip as the driving was quite easy. We did have my GPS loaded with maps, so that was a help, but it would not have been necessary, as most roads were well marked.
Posted by
Iowa-Nebraska border
2 posts
We just returned from a trip to Prague and Česky Krumlov. We enjoyed a leisurely road trip through the country side visiting a number of castles and towns on a day trip to CK from Prague with a tour guide. The town I enjoyed the most was Písek which has the oldest stone bridge in the Czech Republic. It happened that they were having a sand sculpture festival which made the visit that much more special. The town has a nice riverside walk with parks along the banks. Another town/Castle I would have loved to have had more time to explore is Dobríš. It has a huge wonderful garden that I was only able to take a photo of through the garden gate. Think tree lined carriage paths and formal gardens.
If you haven't picked up Rick's guidebook to Eastern Europe, do so as it has wonderful suggestions for exploring this area of Europe within the time you have available. Make a must-not-be-missed list and go from there. I might suggest limiting yourself to just one or two countries beyond the Czech Republic. If you've had any experience traveling by car in the midwest such as the vowel states along I-80 Ohio-Iowa I think you'd have a good feel for distances in Eastern Europe. Think of each country as a state and how long it takes visit museums and historic homes (castles) in those locations.
Enjoy your visit and seeing your daughter!
Posted by
49 posts
To get from Prague to Krakow, consider using czech-transport.com. I found them surfing the net and took a chance. It worked out very well for us - professionally run and they will respond to individual questions via e-mail. There's no direct train, so they have a train/ shuttle bus connection that worked great and was very reasonably priced.