Prague- what other cities to visit during a 10 day time period

Tough assignment. I would do one city each trip. Not enough time for more. I am biased for Budapest so:

Wednesday night or Thursday morning fly from Prague to Budapest? Or I guess you could take the overnight sleeper train. Then you have the rest of the day Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then head back on Sunday? Maybe take the train back or fly. When you book these short flights even if you are only going one way, check the round trip fare.

Then the second trip you might want to go to Berlin and get the other end of the spectrum and possibly enjoy a cheaper ticket home.

This was filmed almost entirely in Budapest
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7wvw/viking-river-cruises-see-things-differently-
and https://www.youtube.com/embed/o_TVq1UJw8I?showinfo=1&modestbranding=1&rel=0&wmode=opaque&autoplay=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vikingrivercruises.com
and
http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/holiday-cruises/2014/videos.html#video/shopping-budapest

For cheaper flights within Europe, try www.skyscanner.com. Each of those large cities have plenty of sites to keep you busy for the whole 3/4-day weekend. For instance, I'd want to spend that whole time in Berlin. However, Dresden is an easy stop along the train line to Berlin (total train time 5 hours).

When you go to Cesky Krumlov, you could do 2-3 nights at that destination, plus stops at Ceske Budejovice and at Benesov for Konopiste Castle en-route in either direction. For other Czech destinations like Kutna Hora, you'd travel back through Prague, which is the transport hub.

If you saw the movie "The Illusionist" you already saw glimpses of Konopiste since it was filmed there.

Your daughter has Thurs and Fri off, so you are going to Prague on Sunday? I would have to assume you will have her meet you at the first stop and then go with you after you visit her in Prague?

Anyway, I would fly into Berlin. There are ECs from Prague to Berlin (for her) and you can get advance purchase, Savings Fare tickets from the Bahn for as low as 29€ when they go on sale in a few weeks. Savings Fare tickets are train (date and time) specific and non-refundable.

After Berlin, the three of you can go to Prague on one of the ECs for 87€ with Bahn advance purchase, Savings Fare tickets.

After Prague, go to Munich and fly out from there. There is a direct bus from Prague to Munich, again for 87€ (29€/person) with advance purchase, Saving Fare tickets. The bus takes 4 hr 40 min.

There are also some direct trains from Prague to Munich that take about an hour longer, but you can use regional passes that are good for any train that day. A Bayern-Böhmen-Ticket, purchasable from a Bahn ticket automat in Berlin for 35€ will cover you from Pilsen to Munich, and you can get Czech Rail tickets from Prague to Pilsen for about 3,60€/person.

The trip from Prague to Cesky Krumlov is a little over 3 hours by train or train/bus, so you could do it as a long day trip from Prague.

Yes, my daughter will meet us in the first destination. Then off to Prague and she will come with us to the last destination and then she will head back to Prague while we head to Boston.

We just don't want to spend a good chunk of our time on buses and trains. That is why we're not sure how much time we need in Czech Republic. Maybe trying to add two more destinations is pushing it.

Thanks for the responses....appreciate it.

Tom,
it all depends if you like your vacation rushed or more relaxed. In 10 days in order not to spend too much time on trains, buses and waiting at the airports I would go from Prague for one overnight to Cesky Krumlov by Student Agency bus (Yellow bus), takes three hours. From there get by any bus to Ceske Budejovice (about half an hour). Then by Yellow bus to Brno (little over three hours), stay one or two nights, then by train or Yellow bus to Vienna (around two hours) so you will have around 3 to 4 days for Prague and Vienna each and you won't spend unreasonable amount of hours in transfer from place to place.

Hello from Wisconsin,
I like the question of, "Do yo want rushed or relaxed?" That is truly the question. 10 days in Prague by itself is doable. Find the walking book on line by Trump, called Prague Walks. Takes you to some really lovely locations.

A train or bus to Konopiste Castle is well worth the time. It is relatively close to Prague. It is as if the Arch-Duke has only stepped out of the castle to go kill some thing else. (You will know what I mean once you have been there). No other castle has ever been so real.

The Train to Brno. I love this city. The old town is nice and compact. It has not been ruined by tourists. I booked the monastery where Gregor Mendel did his pea cross breeding (and bees, but they got real nasty). The monastery is a short walk past the brewery (Staro Brno, stop for few !!!!) to the old town. And the traditional meals still served on the stare mesto (old town) are cheap and so big you can't believe it. My wife ordered the duck platter. It came with a WHOLE duck. I don't know how many pounds of pork came with my dinner. Way more than one.

Bus to Czesky Krumlov and spend a night there. This is a mini-Prague tucked in the oxbo of the Rive Vlatava. Because of the river limitation, new buildings had to be built outside and away from the old.

If you must ravel a larger distance to get 'your money's worth', I vote for Budapest. It is alive and vibrant. Nice coffee house culture. Too big so far to bend too much for tourists.. So real businesses doing real business.
wayne iNWI

Take the 2 hr. train ride up to Dresden, Germany. It was maybe the most beautiful city of Europe until the end of WWII when the Allies bombing destroyed much of the city. It's now being revived.

Cesky Krumlov is another great stop. There are mini van services that will take you from Prague to Cesky--and anywhere else in the region for very fair prices. Go on the local tourist office website, and the van services have advertisements listed.

Hello from Wisconsin,
I am sorry the Prague Walks book is by Edwards not Trump. It is hard to find on ebay or amazon, but worth the search.
wayne iNWI