How Far Away Is My Hotel? and other Prague, Czech Republic Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Here's a tip for assessing the distance of a hotel from the city center. If the address is Praha 1 - that is the historic center. If it is 2, it is a little farther away, but still within walking distance. If the number is higher than that, you will probably need to use the metro or trolley to get downtown.

The "transfer ticket" you buy at the metro station (good for 1 hour, 90 minutes, 24 hours or 3 days) can be used freely on all forms of transportation in the city - metro, trolley and bus - until the time runs out.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: To use a public transport ticket for the first time, stick it in the yellow box when you board buses or trolleys, or at the metro turnstile. This stamps a date and time on it. Then use it freely on any form of transportation until it expires. (The machine will spit it back if it's no good).

Rumor has it that inspectors appear periodically to check your ticket, although we never saw a single one during our 5 days in Prague. Basically, they use the honor system. You buy the ticket, you validate it, and "you got a ticket to ride," to paraphrase the Beatles. Prague residents who use public transportation buy monthly passes, which of course we didn't know. So we felt a little strange at first, as if we were the only "paying customers" and everyone else was boarding for free.

It turns out, though, that there are hefty fines if you are caught without a ticket - and according to what I've heard, they don't make allowances for tourists or playacting that you don't speak the language...

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: To reach downtown Prague from Ruzyne airport, the cheapest option is to buy a timed bus/metro/trolley ticket, good for an hour, a day, etc. The booth is near the airport exit. Validate the ticket in the yellow box on the airport bus, which runs every 10 minutes. At "Dejvicka," get off the bus, go down the stairs, insert the same ticket in the turnstile and get on the Metro. The whole trip takes 45-50 minutes.

But first things first. Go to currency exchange and pick up some koruna (Kc). Don't exchange large sums of money . There are plenty of places downtown that charge no commission and offer a better exchange rate. But a word of caution: Don't be tempted by guys who approach you in the street and offer what sounds like a great rate. They are rip-off artists. A friend of mine was dumb enough to fall for it. The "money-changer" walked off with a few hundred dollars of his, leaving him with a large wad of out-of-circulation bills from another country.

Next, head for tourist information. Ask for a free map and have the clerk circle the location of your hotel. If you plan to use public transportation, ask the clerk to write the names of the stops on a slip of paper for you. From my experience, you will be very lucky to find anyone who speaks English - or ANY language other than Czech. In fact, most of the people I tried to get directions from on the street walked right past me, as if I were invisible. Since I don't look very suspicious, and I was traveling with my little daughter, I found it a bit strange. A holdover from Communist times, or something. But we did find our way in the end - and armed with that slip of paper (do you really think anyone is going to understand your feeble attempts at Czech pronunciation?) - so will you.

Try this only if you have a small piece of luggage and arrive at a normal daytime hour. If you are traveling with several other people, have heavy bags or come in late at night, a taxi or shared van outside the airport will make more sense (remember to settle on a price beforehand).

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