Have you driven in the Czech Republic? What do you think of this itinerary?

You will enjoy it. We loved Cesky Krumlov. Good food and a lovely place to walk around and see every thing.

Our friends that live in Czech Republic told us when we were there they never stop for cars that are stopped on the side of roads.

We really enjoyed the food in CR.

Enjoy!

Good itinerary. Don't miss seeing the walled city of Jihlava (formerly a German language island in Czech lands) on the way to Telc. Going back toward Krumau/Krumlov, stop at Telc,(I'd stay only overnight) Trebon, and Jindrichuv Hradec. Southern Bohemia has castles galore, and most are still in good shape. Get a map for Jizni Cechy and start picking your route to include Hluboka nad Vltavou, just nortwest of Budweis/C. Budejovice. Outstanding Windsor castle quite at variance with the older medieval castles. Other spectacular towns are the little village of Holasovice just west of Budweis, Prachatice, Strakonice, and Tabor. The Sumava forest (Böhmerwald) stretches across Southern Bohemia from Germany well into Lower Austria and is a nature preserve made of relaxation amid historical sights.

Marcus, this is just a suggestion: The travel times between the cities you mentioned are short. Staying at least 3 nights in Prague makes sense, but you might save that for the end of the trip to eliminate that final night at an airport hotel. You could arrive in Prague and pick up a rental car at the airport and go to Kutna Hora for one night. One centrally located town further south could work as a convenient "base" for day trips to Telc, Trebon and Cesky Krumlov. Tabor is big enough to provide a variety of restaurants and shopping, but small enough that driving in and out of the city isn't difficult. Then go back to Prague for the final stretch of your trip. Between southern Czech Republic and Prague, you could also add a day or two near the spa towns to the west. The tiny hill town of Loket is a good base for that part of the country.
Happy travels!

What month will you be doing this? That will affect what you will be able to see. If anywhere between May - September you will be fine. Remember to stay in the right hand lane on the freeways unless passing. Be careful to know the CZ traffic rules and what their signs mean. Watch your speed entering and leaving towns.

All the items previous replies are very good for things to do. I wouldn't do Loket unless you are in the north west area of CZ visiting the spa towns. Karlstein is OK, Konopiste is good (don't eat at the pricy restaurants next to the castle - go into town). Unless you are doing spa treatments at any of the 3-T's, one night at Telc and Trebon would be sufficient.
Sleeping at any of the 3-T's can be very pricy. For a decent priced place to sleep in Trebon try Pohadka (fairytale) Pension. Only drawback is no parking located next to the pension, but that's pretty common with the lower priced places. You'd have to park at a paid parking area.
Website: http://www.penzionpohadka.cz/en/index.php

Good itinerary. We did all these towns just recently. In Kutna Hora I recommend to do the tour of silver mines, see cathedral of Santa Barbara and see the ossuary in Sedlec (suburb of KH). We took taxi. You can also go by city bus or walk less than hour. We stayed at hotel Garni. Nice spacey rooms. Ate U krale Dacickeho. Excellent boar goulash. On the way to Telc you can stop at Lipnice nad Sazavou. Nice castle in picturesque countryside. Jaroslav Hasek wrote his famous novel Good soldier Schweik in local pub. His bohemian lifestyle caused his death when he was only 40 and his grave is there. Telc has beautiful long square and ponds on both sides of downtown. I would give it just one night and Trebon two nights. From Telc drive through Slavonice. Worth two hours stop. We went up the church tower for views. Then you can stop at castle ruins of Landstejn. Spectacular views from castle tower. Trebon is pretty historical town. We stayed at hotel Bohemia on the shore of pond Svet (World) about 20 minutes walk from the square. Hotel rents bicycles. We did 12 km Journey around the World (pond). It takes you by Schwarzenberg tomb, looks like little castle. There are a lot of restaurants serving fish from local ponds, carp was surprisingly good. There is a brewery Regent in Trebon. You can tour it but I would rather do the brewery in Ceske Budejovice (Budweis), home of the original Budweiser. It will be on your way from Trebon to Cesky Krumlov. CK is fairy tale town, little disneyfied but not as much as german Rothenburg (yet). On the way back to Prague you can stop in Tabor. Founded by rebels Hussites in 1420. We saw Hussites museum and toured the catacombs. You would probably want to google names Jan Hus and Jan Zizka and Hussites. There are many historic sites in South Bohemia pertaining to Hussite movement. Enjoy your stay. I am originally from the Czech Republic and I'll be happy to answer future questions you might have.

Driving in the CR is a challenge because the roads are not well maintained. You will have difficulty in going as far in a day as you plan.

First thing I would do is to make an itinerary listing where I would spend each night. Then list everything you plan to do each day and allot time for each activity so you will know how much you can do.

Examine a highway map for mileage and allow more time than you think you will need to drive each day. I always estimate speed at 30 mph. Remember that in that part of E Europe the roads go through many small villages where the speed limit is not always posted.

I got a ticket for going too fast through one. When I protested that there was no speed limit sign the patrolman told me there is no need because everyone knows the limit is 30 kmh. That is 18 mph! I paid the fine.

To find the interesting sights in each town I would do a google search for each town such as 'Prague sights' I always do that and find more things to see than I have time for.

If no speed limit is posted then following applies: freeways: 130 km/h, other roads outside towns and villages 90 km/h, inside towns and villages 50 km/h. Speed limit 50 km/h starts with the sign of town and ends with the sign of town with the red line across the name of town. Freeways and first class roads are generally well maintained, the others not always. You have to know international traffic signs drivers in Europe are taught in drivers school. The biggest challenge of driving in the CR are very aggressive drivers, going well over speed limits, passing in dangerous places etc. Alcohol tolerance behind the wheel is absolute zero so you cannot have even half beer or less. Penalties are severe.

Just responding to Carl's quote "Driving in the CR is a challenge because the roads are not well maintained. You will have difficulty in going as far in a day as you plan."

I'm wondering where Carl was driving? I'm married to a Czech (Floyd is my maiden name kept for ease - most folks here wouldn't be able to pronouce my husband's name) we are there at least once a year & we drive all over CZ visting his very large extended family. Been there all seasons. I can certainly say the roads are way better maintained in CZ than they are in the San Francisco bay area & in many places in California in general. You can lose a car in some of the pot holes around here & there's even a website the State of CA even created to report them because its so bad.

I do agree it can take longer to drive from point A to B in CZ if driving on country back roads by American standards but that is only because folks have to slow down to 50km/hr going through the many small villages.

But freeway driving has come a very long way over the years with all the new freeway construction, so its a breeze to drive. I remember years ago a trip from Prague Ruzyne airport to Chodova Plana would take 3.5-4hrs, but now only 2hrs. My point is: don't worry about road condition - its fine - worry more about speed limits and road signs. Also, try to keep your driving to day time hrs, especially during winter. Its hard enough for folks to drive where they are not used to being without adding darkness lessening eyesight to it. Winter conditions over the mountains, compare it to traveling in the Rockies at that time.
P.S. the only road I really hate is the one from Branik to the Prague airport...but that's due to the terrible traffic....I like to call it Satan....Can't wait until the ring road around Prague is completed in a few years to have "through traffic" to/from Austria and Slovakia to/from Germany will go around Prague entirely.

Just a quick note: I agree with the comment that the roads are well-maintained. I also thought they were well-marked and easy to navigate.

I have found the roads in Czech republic to be well maintained and well signed. Be aware that parking in Prague is a nightmare, so try to get a place to stay with parking guaranteed.

Prague has so much to see, you may consider expanding your stay a bit, if possible.