Explore CR by rental car or public transportation

the public transport system in the CR is superb, both in cities and between towns and cities.It is efficient and very cheap
this website will give you a lot of help
http://jizdnirady.idnes.cz/vlakyautobusymhdvse/spojeni/
really easy to use and very seldom do you really need to book. the world ice Hockey championships will be held in the CR during the first weeks of May and i will be there for the semis and finals on the 16th and 17th May being held in Ostrava and the final in Prague. there is also a beer festival running from the 7th to 23rd May.

A personal car is a major handicap in cities.

Buses between towns are possible, but as you get away from the big cities and tourist areas, the number of English speakers diminishes. It's a good idea to get someone to write down your destination instructions in Czech if you have a non-English speaking bus operator.

As Unclegus and Edgar say public transportation is very good. You can get by train or bus or combined virtually everywhere. But with your two weeks you can see quite more having a car. Stay in Prague for about three days then take a day trip to Karlstejn castle, another one to Kutna Hora. In May there is an International Music Festival (classical music) in Prague: http://www.prague.eu/en/event/707/prague-spring-2015-70th-international-music-festival . If you are into hockey there is the World Championship in Prague in May. USA plays there, too:
http://www.icehockey-2015.com
Then rent a car and go to Cesky Krumlov. On the way you can stop at Konopiste castle, historic town of Tabor. Stay overnight in Cesky Krumlov. It's a gem and therefore very touristy. Evenings and early mornings are much quieter. On the way from C.K. stop in Ceske Budejovice (German name Budweis) with a nice historical center and a large square. You can also take a tour through the original Budweiser brewery. IMHO beer is much better than from St.Louis brewery. Then you can stop in Trebon, have some fish speciality from the local ponds for lunch and drive to Landstein castle (mostly ruins), farther on the way see Slavonice, Telc, maybe you can make it all the way to Brno (it's not in R.S. book but worth visiting). Stay overnight there. See castle Spilberk, St.Peter Cathedral, walk through the small downtown, get more ideas in the Visitor Center. From Brno it is easy and short drive to Mikulov, Valtice, Lednice. From there you can drive via Breclav, Hodonin, stop in Petrov to admire one of the most beautiful wine cellars Plze, stop in Straznice to see skansen of eastern Moravia village, you can stop in Kunovice to visit an airplane museum and (or) take a sightseeing flight. In Uherske Hradiste you can see Slovacke museum. In nearby Buchlovice you can visit Buchlov Castle or Buchlovice chateau (or both). May 24th there is a traditional mowing grass with a scythe (no lawnmower) in Buchlovice chateau park starting early morning. Accompanied by folk music bands and singing. IMHO worth seeing (and hearing). If you happen to be in that area between May 29 and May 31st there is a ride of kings in Vlcnov (about 20 km east of Uherske Hradiste):
http://www.czechtourism.com/e/ride-of-the-kings-vlcnov/ or you can also google ride of kings Vlcnov.
From U.H. you can drive to Roznov pod Radhostem to see the most famous skansen in C.R., visit nearby Pustevny where Rick Steves Eastern Europe Tour stays overnight. Then you can go and see Olomouc. On the way to Prague if you didn't do day trip to Kutna Hora you can stop there now. If you still have some time left I would recommend Karlovy Vary (not in R.S. book) and nearby town and castle Loket somewhat resembling Cesky Krumlov but not yet discovered by hordes of tourists. In May you can be very flexible and generally you don't have to book accommodation ahead, that way you can stay overnight where you like it or if you don't feel like driving anymore that day. You will find out that there is so much more to see in C.R. than what is in R.S. book. Of course it's easy to explore C.R. by public transport but it takes longer and you will see less.

Wow!!....such prompt responses. All your comments are greatly appreciated. :-)

I like the independence of renting a car but wasn't sure of the logistics. Perhaps you have some insights into finding a reputable company.....insurance....how safe is it to leave belongings in the car while sightseeing.....renting a car in Prague and navigating out of the city.

Google rental car Prague. There are many international and american rental car companies in Prague. Rental is usually more expensive than in US, gas also. The rule is manual gearshift. It's harder and more expensive to get automatic. Get a car with the trunk and leave your valuables there, not somewhere inside the car where they can be seen. I use a car often there and never been burglarized (yet). Just exercise caution like you would in this country. A lot of cars come with GPS so you should not have problem getting out of Prague. Get International Drivers Permit in AAA. In Prague get a good road atlas (scale 1:100,000). Learn international traffic signs. Remember speed limits -if not posted otherwise then in towns and villages 50 km/h, outside towns and villages 90 km/h, on freeways 130 km/h. Police can stop you randomly to check your car, to let you blow into breathalyzer, to fine you for speeding etc. When they measure speed they are usually in hiding and radio ahead license plates of speeders. Another group of policemen ahead are then stopping every speeder. Important! Zero tolerance of alcohol behind the wheel. Penalties are severe. Few times I was fined for speeding. Other than that never had problems with the police. Nowadays they are polite.

might be worth considering renting a car for the airport once you have had a few days in Prague, very easy to get there by public transport and you are away from the main city to start your touring.You will have the choice of the big international companies from the airport.
some great suggestion of places to visit ,Tabor is really lovely and a morning in that small town would be lovely, Konopiste is great but if you are not a fan of stuffed animals stay away.Ceske Budujovice is a nice stop off place and the brewery well worth visiting there but make sure the driver stays of the beer,they are very generous with the samples there.
As Ilja says Brno is not mentioned by RS but it is a lovely city, I have friends that live there and it really is a lovely place to visit .I love the Dam area just outside the main city I could spend days walking around that area.

Hi Unglegus
Thanks for your input. I like your idea of just returning to the airport to rent from the agencies there.

This is the first time I've used a Travel Forum and it's so nice of fellow travellers to help out....it's inspired me to do the same in the future. :-)

Glad to be of help. i have been using travel forums for over 10 years now though only joined this one a few weeks ago.I am a regular on Trip Advisor and Fodors where i have the same screen name and also on Thorn tree where I am known as Craigmiller.
forums are a great way of getting good advice and more importantly up to date info from people that are often in the location you ask about.
I have been travelling to the czech republic for over 20 years now and try to make at least 2 visits every year.I will be back in Prague from the 15-22 may.meeting up with friends i have actually made through the Trip Advisor forums.Hoping to get to the Hockey finals with my friend Martin who lives in Prague (he is czech but has lived all over the place including the states)My mate steve from kansas is meeting up with me on the 18th for a few days checking out the many micro-breweries of the city.If you are in the city around the same time and want a few drinks one evening with folk that know the city pretty well just let me know.

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/members/unclegus#CITY_TILES
this is my contribution ;list on Trip Advisor, lots of reviews of places there and mentions of lot of places I have visited as well as numerous photos most of which are of me enjoying a beer in the various places i visit.

Like Unclegus I also like the area around Brno Lake behind the dam. If you have time you can either drive there or take a street car (tram) #1 toward Bystrc, get off at stop Pristaviste then walk about 5 minutes and board electrical ship and go on the lake to the stop Veveri castle (about one hour cruise). You can walk little up to see it and have refreshment there. What else to see in Brno: nearby Austerlitz (in Czech Slavkov) battlefield where Napoleon beat much bigger Austrian and Russian Army. The city bus (I think #47) goes to the museum and Cairn of Peace. Or (and) you can visit Mendel Museum where this founder of genetics did his experiments. Or villa Tugendhat under UNESCO Heritage List. You will need to make an appointment online. I am afraid that with two weeks for the whole C.R. you won't have time for all of this.

Thanks so much IIja and Unclegus....fantastic information. I know that 2 weeks will only wet our appetites and we'll need to return again. I'm sure it's gorgeous in CR in the fall.
Unclegus it would of been nice to connect with you but we depart the morning on May 16.
Happy, Healthy travels.
Cheers,
Jj

goodlight, isn't it funny, you will be leaving on May 16th and we will be landing the same day so we will be in Prague for the finals in ice hockey.

I have driven all over the CR and it was a lovely place to drive and just stop whenever something looked interesting. I rented after a stay in Prague...just went to the airport and it was easy to get out of the city and on our way. The parking in Cesky Krumlov was a little tricky, but not bad. The forests that were on the drive to that area were stunning.... they reminded me of fairytale forests in books I had read as a child...(I had one of fairytales from foreign lands) and these were exactly as I had pictured them, especially with the sunlight streaming through the trees. We stopped at one tiny town and ate at a family owned restaurant... the ambience was wonderful, but the food was horrendous!:) We ate the fries and tried to escape without offending the owners...not quite sure what the meat was! We made a bit of a cirle and then returned our car to the airport the night before our flight. I rented from whoever was cheapest at the time. There were 4 of us so we needed a decent size car. I never prepay so I can change my reservation if a cheaper rental become available. I check on priceline a number of times before my trip, and change when necessary.

Hi Terry
Thanks for adding your experience. Sounds like you had the kind of trip we would love to have. We'll be driving around CR for 9 days.

Did you have a map, and if yes, where did you buy it?

I've read that theft of the car, or parts of the car, is a common thing, and that leaving luggage in the trunk while one is sightseeing is a bad idea....what are your thoughts/suggestions?
Did you get theft insurance?

It's a cost vs interests and priorities issue for me when I travel. If all I want to do is get from point A to point B or if it all I can afford a train is great. But when the train passes that great little town you cant exactly pull over to see it (unless you hit the emergency button, but that will get you in trouble). For instance, between Prague and Vienna there is Cesky Krumlov, Karlstejn Castle and Zikov Castle, Melk to name a few of the great sights. https://vasvaripalvacationphotos.shutterfly.com/czechrep

Of course if I had two weeks I would get out of the Czech Republic and see some more of the world. Great length of time for the classic CZ / AU / HU tour.

You guys are killing me! We planned an overnight in Cesky Crumlov, added one in Germany instead. With our 4 1/2 days in Prague, I dont know if we can do Prague justice if we leave to anywhere other than Kunta Hora, which is a must-see for me.
Would a full day trip with Kunta Hora and another nearby city be doable?

Jason-Erik, Kutna Hora is certainly doable as a day trip from Prague. What other nearby town you wanted to see? Should I understand your question that you want to visit Kutna Hora plus another town in one day? Will you travel by public transportation or by a car? By the way notice spelling of Kutna Hora. I already wrote about it before, why not to repeat it for fun.
I noticed recently that more people write Kunta Hora instead of Kutna Hora. I advise against that. Kunta sounds very similar to the certain word in Czech language which is considered vulgar. President Zeman got himself in trouble when he used that word several times when he spoke about Pussy Riot in Russia.

Dang it! I read that post before too! Now I cant break free of it. Lol
My wish is to go alone to kutna hora very early, try to find a cheap guide and hit another nearby town and doing the same before returning late.
my logic is we can see some spots before the groups arrive, walk a bit and go somewhere else for the evening. By the time we arrive at town 2, the tours should be clearing out, giving us a more "quiet" visit.

Or just do some Prague stuff early two days and leave for the towns in the early afternoon?

There are two nearby towns to K.H.. Good connection to both by train and bus. They are both untouristy, with a nice centers, square, church. You can stop at visitor center there an find what else to see. It is Kolin and Caslav. Kolin is bigger, closer to Prague with more trains to Prague. Caslav is quieter, maybe more historical.

We did have some kind of a map but I do not remember the details. I had downloaded the maps for CK as well as Poland on my GPS... so we had that as well. We did have a bit of a problem at one point my GPS did some crazy thing and was routing us in circles, so glad we did have a map we finally looked at. I will PM you with my route info once I can locate it. I actually got my car in Prague, then drove to Kutna Hora on our way to Krakow. From there we returned to CK and I will find the route and email it to you.

There were 4 of us renting so I did take the xtra insurance... did not want it all on my shoulders if there was a problem. But it was still far cheaper than the train. We priced it out and for what we wanted to do the car was the only feasible option unless we wanted to hire a private driver who would stop every time we saw a wonderful field of poppies in bloom! We were all photographers, so we need our flexibility.

I wonder if we should leave prague early our last day and stop in cesky Crumlov on the way to Vienna...

Jason-Erik, you certainly should stop in Cesky Krumlov. It is a picturesque fairy-tale town. Rick Steves made it famous and now it gets after Prague the most American tourists.