Prague to Ceske Krumlov/Telc, etc--Is this tour worth it??

For this price you can stay two weeks in the Czech Republic.

Why not use Tabor as a base? Very nice historical small city, 1,5 hrs from Prague. The Market Place is somewhat like that of Telc, and has a choice of cafés and restaurants. (There is a decent Hotel Tabor at less than 10 mins from the railway station. Can be booked through Booking.com.)

Ceske Krumlov is 1,5 hrs from Tabor by a more or less hourly direct train. On the way back you can have a stop in Ceske Budejovice, if you've got the time and/or energy.

Train schedules can be found on the website of the Deutsche Bahn. Write down the details to avoid any confusion at the ticket window. Second class is comfortable enough.

Such a trip would cost you about 10 percent of the tour you've been offered.

If you need a direct connection from Prague to Cesky Krumlov, these buses are comfortable and easy to book: www.studentagency.eu/en.

Do it on your own and save a lot of money but see less in the same time. There is one direct train a day from Prague to Cesky Krumlov leaving Prague Main Train Station (Praha Hlavni nadrazi) at 8:02 arriving to Cesky Krumlov at 10:50. Cost: 195 czk = US$ 8.49.
All other train connections are with change of trains in Ceske Budejovice. There are many direct buses (about every hour during a day) from Prague to Cesky Krumlov. Cost is about the same. I recommend train. More comfortable and better scenery. It is a good idea to stay overnight in C.K. instead of a day trip. C.K. is crowded during a day but early morning and late afternoon crowds dissipate.

Thank you! Do you happen to know when it leaves Cesky Krumlov back for Prague?

Thank you!!!

The train leaves Cesky Krumlov at 14:02, arrives in Prague Main Train Station at 16:57. The train is direct. All other trains are with a train change in Ceske Budejovice.

https://jizdenky.regiojet.cz/Booking/from/10202003/to/17904009/tarif/REGULAR/departure/20170711/retdep/20170711/return/false?2#search-results

you can use also that :)

Ilja--if I take the train (which looks exciting to me), do you pay for tours of the castles when you arrive? Do you know approximately what those cost?

Thanks!
Rachel

Yes, you pay for tickets to visit the castles. Here is the website for Cesky Krumlov Castle and what the different tours cost:
http://www.ckrumlov.info/docs/en/atr3.xml

If someone can get €1450 for a two day trip in the Czech Republic (even given that it includes hotel and car with driver), I'm in the wrong business!

Do you have Rick Steves Prague And The Czech Republic? He has all the details of how to do this on your own, for a fraction of the cost. That includes buses and trains from Prague to Cesky Krumlov and Telc, and seeing the castle and theater.

Even if you don't use the cheapest bus available and don't stay in the cheapest accommodations, you can do much much better than that. 3 years ago I did an overnight in CK (from Prague) and my total was about $200. I took a shuttle one way and the bus the other way, I stayed in a very nice b&b, enjoyed a visit to the castle and the brewery, a nice dinner and a quick on-the-go lunch. I didn't use a private guide and didn't stop in Ceske Budejovice, Telc, or Hluboka castle so that would probably add additional transportation and entrance fees and maybe additional meal costs. But I can't believe that additional touring would be worth an additional $1300. Only you can decide if luxury and a private guide for the 2 days is worth that much. It wouldn't be for me, but then I'm a budget traveler - wouldn't know 1st class from a hole in the ground.

I thought this price sounded really high--we are going to skip it, take the direct train (more fun!), stay a night in cesky krumlov so we don't have to rush, and use Rick's guidebook per Harold's suggestion. Thank you, everyone, for the help!!!

There is also a shuttle service that might give you more options.

https://www.ckshuttle.cz/transports/transfer-from-prague-airport-to-cesky-krumlov/

I booked them from Hallstatt and then on to Vienna for later this summer. They have good reviews on the RS forum and on Tripadvisor.

Many of the highest ranked hotels and B&B's (Tripadvisor) were less than $100/night.