Cesky Krumlov to Frankfurt

Look at Deutsche Bahn website. There are plenty of trains. Approximately 10 to 11 hours, two to five times to change trains. Going back to Prague would take even longer.

The trains that serve CK are slow with poor connections. So many hotels and B&Bs have van service to the nearby Austrian city of Linz. There you can get fast train service to pretty much anywhere. This is the best way to get anywhere from CK without backtracking to Prague. You can PM me for specific links and prices.

Thanks so much for the info, Ilja and Randy. It's a real help and I'll definitely follow up on these leads. It's a relief not to have to return to Prague!

Where are you flying out of? Prague or Frankfort? If Prague, I would train to a larger Western Czech town like Pilsen? where you can rent a car and drive down to CK - it is a lovely drive and with 4 of you, a cheap way to do that. Then just drop off the car when you get to Prague. Or if you are trying to get to Frankfort from Prague via CK- do the reverse.

Hi David, we're not flying out of either city actually. We start our trip with 3 nights in Budapest, then catch a night train to Krakow for 2 nights before another night train takes us to Prague for 3 nights. We'd like to visit Cesky Krumlov - catching a bus there in the morning, we thought, and staying over night.
We have to get to Frankfurt to meet up with another couple on a particular date then we're spending about 9 days touring southern Germany, visiting places from St Goar down to Fussen. That's why we were hoping to find a way from Cesky Krumlov to Frankfurt without having to return to Prague - and obviously it can be done!

Renting a car out of Prague, driving to CK and returning it in Plzen, to catch an international train to Frankfort would work.

Thanks, David, that's another option to consider. You think that would be better than training it to Frankfurt from Linz? Considering time and cost?

Compared to Linz, trains from Plzen run infrequently with multiple connections and without the opportunity for deep discount fare. The lowest fare I saw was 80Euro and the shortest duration was 6+ hours. That one was at 7AM. Other choices had multiple connections and were up to 11 hours. Generally speaking, driving is often a great solution. But in this case - with trips from Prague to CK so common and well served by transport, and with such easy connection to Linz from CK (in the Geman Bahn system where prices are clear and purchase is easy online and trains are fast and reasonably direct), I would stick with that.

Linz - makes car rental less practical because you are leaving the Czech Republic to return the car (and that will make it very expensive). With Four people car rental is often cheaper than public transport. I just think the Czech countryside is often overlooked and it is such a beautiful drive.

Hi Randy and David. I take David's point about the beautiful countryside and I am torn - teh four of us much prefer getting out and away from the cities - but I've checked out the links you sent me, Randy and it's looks like the shuttle services are quite competitive. Combined with a fast train from Linz, I think for simplicity's sake, that might be the way to go! From Frankfurt we're hopping straight onto a train to St Goar and for the remaining four weeks of our planned holiday we'll basically be enjoying travelling through the country areas, and staying at picturesque little places away from big cities!
Thanks so much for your suggestions. They've been greatly appreciated!! Cheers, Kathy

Just wanted to reinforce what Randy said...you can easily get transport (shuttle, taxi, van, etc.) to Linz, where there is nonstop train service to Frankfurt. However, just last week I made a similar trip from Cesky Krumlov by train to Munich, and while I could have gone much more quickly via shuttle to Linz, I'm glad I took trains all the way. We left Cesky Krumlov on the 8:35 am train for Cesky Budejovice and changed trains there for Linz. We rode with local workers getting off at various stops along the way. It's not a fast train...60 minutes for what would take 30 minutes by car...but we got a glimpse of every-day life in the CZ that we might not have otherwise seen. And, during the 45-minute layover in Cesky Budejovice, I strolled around a bit near the station where I could still see lots of leftover Iron Curtain influence in the architecture, mode of dress of the peole, lack of English on every sign, etc. Yes, the trains were slow and old, but in some ways I thought my time on them was the most through-the-backdoor experience of my week in the CZ. The www.bahn.de website give great info about trains in Europe, but often you cannot book trains that originate outside Germany. However, if you look closely on their website under Contacts, you can find local travel partners with local phone numbers you can call to help you out. Also, I'd recommend spending two nights in Cesky Krumlov, if you can manage it, so that you can have an entire day to explore the town. It really is lovely. Rick's recommendation for Castle View Apartments there was spot on. Regardless of what travel mode you decide on, have a wonderful time!

Thanks Beth, you've made some very good points and have given me even more food for thought! Cheers, Kathy