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Czech Republic
There are some terrible stories when taking taxis in Prague. We used Prague Airport Transfers for our trips in Prague. They had great drivers speaking well English.
www.prague-airport-transfers.co.uk
Prague toll free 800 870 888
My husband and I just returned from Prague where we had a great time! We stayed at the 987 design hotel and it was very nice. Sadly we were picketpocketed on our last day and the only thing we had left was the business card from the transfer company that picked us up, we called them and they actually came to help us, they took us to the embassy and the police station, all the time they were saying how sorry they were that it happened, they did not accept any money when we offered at the end. Be very careful on Charles bridge!
1) Instead of taking a taxi on the street, use the marked taxi stations.
2) Write down the registration number and the number on the door of the taxi.
3) Check the price written on the taxi doors. The maximum rate in Prague in 28 CZK/km.
4) Check whether the taximeter is working. Check the receipt for whether the driver charged you the standard tariff.
5) Make sure that the receipt contains personal details of the driver. If the driver refuses to give you the receipt, make sure you know the registration number and the number on the door.
www.abcprague.com/2007/01/16/how-to-avoid-being-rubbed-by-taxi-drivers-in-prague
This is, I believe, the very best way of getting from the airport to your hotel and vice-versa.
The Shuttle (NOT to be confused with a number of recently arrived imitators with "similar' names" offers a truly excellent service that I have used many times when visiting Prague.
The drivers are all English speaking and a mine of local knowledge. Most importantly there is none of the "white knuckle" experience during the trip that colleagues have experienced with other services.
Trams/ buses/underground all use the same ticket which must be purchased BEFORE travelling and is only available at certain locations. The no. 12 tram passes many places of interest – good to jump on in a downpour of rain.
Tickets can be bought at offices located at some metro stations, at a Tabák/Trafika, at some newsstands, and at tourist information centres.
We booked a private airport transfer with from Prague and the driver took us around city and explained everything. Great introduction. When we were picked up from the hotel on our way home we enjoyed another great ride. They were both superb, pointed out places of interest that we passed and were interested in our experiences of Prague.
tel: UK: 0131 208 0620; Prague: 420-234697486; USA: 214 329 9025
e-mail: info@prague-guide.co.uk;
www.prague-airport-transfers.co.uk
This private airport transfer service will take 1-4 people into the city centre for about £12 (for 5-8, simply double it). There is a stand opposite international arrivals. Pay there and they give you a voucher for the driver outside. Don't get a taxi: at least Dick Turpin, the original highway robber, wore a mask.
If you're on a budget you could do worse than bus 119 from outside the terminal. It goes to Dejvicka Metro station, which is just four stops from Wenceslas Square. You can buy a transfer ticket in the terminal for about 30p. Make sure you validate your ticket in the machine when boarding the bus, or you will be travelling illegally and liable for an on-the-spot fine from the plain-clothes inspectors who target unsuspecting tourists.
In the international arrivals at Ruzyne Airport;
tel: +420 224 281 005;
email: cedaz@cmail.cz
A reliable, reasonable and comfortable private car service from the airport to your hotel and back.
International tel (phone or text): 00420777885925;
Czech tel (phone or text): 777885925;
American tel (phone or text): 011420777885925;
www.123-prague-airport-transfer.com/index.html
Get yourself a three-day transport ticket from the stand in the airport – it only costs 220Kcs, and pays for the 119 bus to the metro, plus all metro and trams while you’re in town. You can’t buy a ticket on the bus and, if you are foolhardy enough to leave it, attempting to get a ticket once you reach the metro can be somewhat problematic. The ticket machines don’t take notes for the 20Kcs (single journey) ticket, and staff can be reluctant to deal with pesky tourists. Having been to Prague twice, and never been checked for a ticket once, I told my girlfriend we’d be ok to get tickets later… a decision which could have proved costly, as the trams/metros now seem extremely well populated with plain clothed, badge wielding, ticket inspectors. The only reason we escaped on the spot 500Kcs fines was that the inspectors at Muzeum Metro station were over occupied with collecting 4500Kcs from “Reservoir Stag” weekenders… nice personalised t-shirts lads although, in the circumstances, not brilliantly inconspicuous.
Tickets don’t become valid until registered (with a date and time) and the little machines at the entrance to metro stations and on trams.
My wife and I used them from the airport to our hotel in Prague and it was brilliant. The drivers are all English speakers, mostly expats, and they give you lots of information about the city on the way to your hotel as well as bar/restaurant tips and local scams, the price was the same as the airport taxis, about £15.
There are now highly organised gangs that operate on the trams and Metro. We got robbed on the Yellow Line from Mosteck to Namesti Republicky. As we got onto a busy train they had a "blocker" in front to create a crush and around 4-5 youngish guys and a blonde girl followed in.
Our pockets and bags were opened and valuables disappeared in no time. We shoved off the train and they were gone as it departed. The whole thing only took a few seconds.
Another gang had a go at us on the 22 tram into Malostranske nam. They tried the same strategy but we were wise to it.
The police? None to be seen. Mind you, there were plenty of burly coppers sitting around in the cop shop drinking coffee and reading the paper when we tried to report the thefts.
Metro, trams
Prague taxis are very shady, and should be taken as a last resort - there's plenty of public transport (but always buy a valid ticket). If you have to take a taxi, order one from AAA. They are the most honest and reliable I found in the city, and they have English speaking dispatchers. Just tell them where you are and they'll send a taxi, normally within 10-15 minutes.
Tel: 14 0 14 222 333 222; www.aaa.radiotaxi.cz/en
The number 100 bus is signposted in English from the front of the airport terminal. Tickets can be purchased from the machine next to the stop; catch the bus to Zlicin at the end of the yellow metro line, and change onto the metro. From there to the centre of Prague. All signed in English. Easy and cheap; feel smug about how simple it all was afterwards!
Airport to Zlicin metro via 100 bus
Service 119 from the airport (in front of terminal at far right) runs to Dejvicka metro station. Price is 12 Kc. and enables transfer trips within 60 mins, or 90 after 20.00 hrs. Ticket machines only take coins.
The Praha Transport Authority (DPP) has an information desk in the Arrivals Hall, open 0700-2200.
Stamp the tickets when you are in the metro and on trams and buses (stamp them by pushing them into the slot on the orange boxes on the vertical poles, and a time is printed on them. The time printed on a ticket is the time until which it is valid. On the metro, stamp the tickets at the top of the escalators as you go in). Public transport is cheap and good, and the number of ticket inspectors has gone up massively recently.
Buy public transport tickets at a trafika (news stand/tobacconists).
To better understand the differences between the West and the Middle - in this case Mittel Europe - take the train from the UK to Prague via Berlin. Spend a few days in Berlin, then get back on the train and look out the windows, and make sure you get a seat on what will be the left side of the train, the east side. The last 2+ hours go through the Elbe Valley all the way to Prague. Nice. A special with Deutsche Bahn is a return ticket from London to Berlin with the Eurostar and DB Nachtzug (the night train). It starts at about EUR 200. A return ticket from Berlin to Prague is about EUR 80 more.
The best way to go around Prague is by using the underground. Reliable, but not particularly new.
Around Prague
Triple A taxis, or to give the full name of the company, AAA, is the best, most reputable service in the city. When you arrive at the airport, dial 14014, they speak English, will tell you when the car will arrive, and where to wait. To the centre should cost around 500kč - 12 pounds. They are the choice of expats and natives alike.
AAA Taxi tel 14014
You can buy travel cards for various numbers of days in the major Metro stations (such as Mustek, at the bottom of Wenceslas Square.) These entitle you to unlimited travel on any bus, tram or metro line in the city and represent an economic and convenient way to get about. At the time of writing, a 24-hour pass costs KCs80 (less than £2), a 3-day pass costs KCs220 (£5) and a 7-day pass costs KCs280 (£6.50)
Major Metro stations. Prague Transport Authority website: www.dp-praha.cz/en/
A taxi will cost around €20 or you could take a bus to the city centre.
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