Prague to Olomouc

My husband and I and two of our sons were in Olomouc this past summer. We went there primarily to explore the Moravian countryside and villages nearby where my ancestors emigrated from in the 1800's. We used Olomouc as our home base. My regret was that I only allotted a day and a half for the Moravian area. We stayed in a RS recommended lodging in Olomouc and rented a car for a 24 hour period to explore the towns and villages where my ancestors lived. I could have easily stayed another day or two. The countryside is gorgeous with rolling hills and vistas and a few castles as well. Olomouc was fun to explore with its cobblestone streets, beautiful churches and buildings, fascinating astronomical clock, and its plague column (although it was covered with scaffolding due to restoration), and the historical area is not crowded or touristy. We stayed overnight at the Pension Royal located in a lovely, historical house where a very delicious breakfast was provided. The workers at the hotel all spoke English and provided lots of helpful advice and information. I arranged a car rental before we left for our trip from Angel Cars, autakpronajmu.cz We were quite nervous about doing a car rental but it turned out really great. The owner speaks some English, made certain we knew how to properly operate the car and even brought the car to us at our hotel and picked it up there as well on the following day. The car had all the safety and warning features, was in excellent condition and was covered by insurance. The transaction was cash only so it made the rental less stressful. When driving, we navigated by Google Maps and avoided toll roads so we drove mostly on scenic back roads. Don't hesitate to rent a car because it really was so easy. As for tour guides, Rick Steves recommends the TI office in his Prague& the Czech Republic guide book to set you up with a local guide but to reserve ahead of time. The TI office will also sell you concert tickets and organize tours of individual sights. Their website is https://tourism.olomouc.eu While walking around Olomouc, we also encountered a few people at the astronomical clock who offered their services as a tour guide for a cheap fee but since we had very little time, we passed on the offers. I hope you have a wonderful trip! You are going to love Prague and Olomouc but do try to go to Cesky Krumlov as well.

Thank you so much this was so helpful.