Help with Czech Republic Itinerary

Of the sites you mention, I have been to and can recommend Karlovy Vary, Plzen, Ceske Budejovice and Olomouc. For practical purposes, I would suggest you limit your travel to the region of Bohemia (the western portion of the Czech Republic of which Prague is its historic capital). That would argue against Olomouc in that it's about 2-3 hours east, although I believe it is technically in the eastern-most portion of Bohemia and served by good rail service.

Other Bohemian highlights you might consider should include Tabor (a hot-spot of Hussite activity), Jindrichuv Hradec (Henry's Castle, another of many Czech castle towns, home of the Bila Hora-White Lady-ghost) and the concentration camp at Terezin (about 30 miles from Prague).

Have fun!

Cesky Krumlov is just a few minutes away from Ceske Budejovice....well worth an overnight stay. Much more interesting the Bud and has more to offer.

In addition to Prague, we visited Plzen and Brno. In Plzn we did the Pilsner Urquell brewery tour, visited a "history of beer" museum, and toured the tunnels under the town. These were, of course, all my husband's ideas. :-) In Brno, we visited the nearby gorge/caves and had a wonderful time. There was a restaurant at the foot of the gorge area that served the most delicious food. You'll have a great time no matter where you go.

We went to Karlovy Vary after seeing it on the movie Last Holiday and we loved it. It's one of the most gorgeous towns we've seen and we've been all over Europe on 12 trips. The spa is also very nice and it's great. We stayed at Hotel Romance right in the middle of town and it was very nice and reasonable. I think if you do some research, you'll like what you see.

We also went to Cesky Krumlov and it was a nice old medival town to visit for a couple of days. Haven't been to the others outside of Prague but according to Rick Steves, Cesky Krumlov is the best of all the old ones you list.

Cesky Krumlov has a wonderful mideval festival during the 3rd week of June called Festival of the Five Petal Rose. It is great. My wife and I stayed at a private B & B just outside the old town she found on the internet.
Also be sure to try draft Pilsner Urquell at a "tanku" bar in Prague. It requires such special handling only ten places have it. We enjoyed it at a restaurant next to the British Consulate. It was air conditioned with very good food. When the fresh beer is considered; it was heaven. RIck's suggestion of the Hotel Julian is correct.

If you have the extra time then go to Plzen but the town itself is not all that exciting and the brewery tour is not that great. It is fun to see the real Bud factory in Ceske Budejovice. Make sure to have a Budvar Super Strong. =) I went to a little town called Melnik not far from Prague and did a wine tasting. You pay a very small fee and they put you in a wine cellar with about 10 types of wine, a glass, and some bread, and let you drink and taste as much as you can for an hour or so. The town also is very cute and right on the river. One of the favorite things I did while I was living in Prague. Telc is a small town but it does have those very cute painted buildings. Konopiste was also beautiful. In Prague, go to a pub/bar called U Fleku. It is the oldest bar in the world and has AMAZING beer. Karlovy Vary is a very cute town too. And they have the thermal spas! Cesky Krumlov is great. It may have been one of my favorite towns in the Czech Republic. You will have a great time!

I just traveled to both Marianske Lazne and Karlovy Vary. I highly recommend both even though they are very different. Marianske Lazne is quieter and full of German senior citizens. Karlovy Vary, the site of Queen Latifah's "Last Holiday" film, has a lot more activity. It mostly has Russian tourists. The cab driver says that five 737's come every week from Moscow...travel is fun!

I am a native of the Czech Republic and have been to all places you mentioned. First I recommend Rick Steves book: Prague and the Czech Republic. It's excellent. Despite the Czech Republic small size if you have only 5 days left it's important not to backtrack. Here is my suggestion: from Prague to Marianske Lazne, stay at least one night (I liked hotel Koliba), then to Ceske Budejovice, go and see the main square, few hours will be enough. Then it is a short way to Cesky Krumlov. From there Trebon (I would stay one night). Then by bus to Telc, stay till next bus (few hours)to Brno. There change to train to Breclav. Short way from there is Valtice. In it's Chateau is hotel Hubertus and also in the Chateau they have wine tasting: www.salonvin.cz It's possible to rent bicycles and go to nearby Lednice, Mikulov, Pavlov. See Rick Steves book. Then when the time comes you can go back to Breclav and it is short way to Vienna by train and they are many. I'll be happy to answer more questions.