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Traveling from Barcelona to Prague

We are looking to get from Barcelona to Prague, we do not need an immediate route. We will have many days to arrive. Does anyone have experience with this. I am weighing renting a car, flying, or taking a train. I can find benefits and challenges with each option. We are a group of 4 traveling, I would love some input on the best and most adventurous (safe) way to arrive in Prague.

Thank you in advance for your input! This forum is such a wealth of information and such gracious travelers to share their wisdom on those of us who need to benefit from it!

Steph

Posted by
27142 posts

ViaMichelin estimates the driving time via the shortest route at about 16 hours (with no stops), and folks here tend to think VM's estimates are optimistic. The cost in gas and tolls is estimated at 235 euros. You'd need to add car-rental expenses to that, and of course the extra charge for picking up a vehicle in Spain and dropping it in Czechia would probably be very high (many hundreds of euros, I would guess). You might want two or more people to share the driving, which I suspect could add to the basic rental cost as well. So I think driving would be very costly. But there are lots of interesting places along the way:

Spain: Girona, Figueres
France: Montpellier, Nimes, Arles, Avignon, Lyon, Colmar, Strasbourg
Germany: Heidelberg, Rothenburg od Tauber, Nurnberg

Or you could spend an extra 3 hours or so driving and instead be near:

Spain: same as above
France: Montpelier, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille, Nice
Italy: Genoa, Lake Garda, Verona, the Dolomites
Austria: Innsbruck
Germany: Munich, Regensburg

Sad to say, the rail options all seem to take a bit over 24 hours. You can take a look at what's available on the Deutsche Bahn website just to get an idea of routing options, but really, just looking at a map might be better. As with driving, there are lots of interesting places more or less along the way. It all depends on what interests you.

If you want to spend your time in Barcelona and/or Prague rather than at points in between, flying is certainly an option. Several airlines offer non-stop flights. You can check the possibilities on Skyscanner.com.

Posted by
7175 posts

Whilst being given 'carte blanche' sounds attractive, this question is really like asking 'how long is a piece of string?' Some parameters, such as a time frame, really are needed.

Posted by
16893 posts

Flying is both cheapest and easiest for this long distance; several airlines offer nonstop service (www.skyscanner.com). The only reason to choose other transport is to stop and see other destinations that are of interest to you. Sometimes, the particular stops will dictate the transportation, if you have some rural destinations in mind.

If stops in France are not a priority, then you'd be better off to fly to the first place that you do want to see. Rick’s Train Travel Time & cost Map gives you an overview of the fastest train travel times in hours. Trains from most neighbor-country big cities take 4 - 6 hours to Prague, but longer from Poland.

Posted by
4535 posts

Flying is the simplest and cheapest way to go. Fast too.

Driving is not going to be easy. You'd have to find a rental agency that would allow a one-way rental and driving into Czech. And then pay through the nose for that. Plus the very high cost of gas, tolls, parking, tickets, etc...

Taking the train works just fine if you plan to make several stops along the way. Lots of options. More expensive than flying but you are getting to see things and enjoy the journey.