7 nights in PRAGUE September 2012 (official thread)

[devonutopia]

Yeah - I remember struggling last time to find someone who issued the passes. Hopefully we will have more success this time. I still have the one from the last trip in my windscreen so I can point at that and shrug my shoulders looking confused.

[devonutopia]

Ah, just reminded myself of one important driving point...

"You must have your headlights on dipped beam when driving anywhere in the Czech Republic, at any time"

AND

It is a requirement under Czech law that all private cars, including those of foreign visitors, carry the following items:

Fluorescent Green High Visibility Safety Jacket

First Aid Kit

Warning triangle

Complete set of spare bulbs

Complete sets of electric fuse

Jack

Spanner

Spare wheel or special tyres repair set

Just read the CZ motorway tax "vignette" is only 100 CZK so about £3 for 10 days.

[sharkrider]

Hello,

I confirm your rezervation one family room 13.-20.9.2012,parking place for car with price 13 eur/car/day.

Regards

Zuzana Angerová

Front Office Manager

Hotel Olšanka, s.r.o.

Táboritská 23/1000

130 00 Praha 3 – Žižkov

tel.: +420 267 092 212

fax: +420 222 713 315

E-mail: [email protected]

www.hotelolsanka.cz

[devonutopia]

I had a look around the hotel on street view last night. Seems nice and the underground parking entrance is on the left side of the building as you look at it.

[Tigger_1979]

I think we will be hitting rush hour through Belgium, and stopping for Breakfast and lunch will prob make arrival time about 5pm 6pm Czech time.

[devonutopia]

I think we will be hitting rush hour through Belgium, and stopping for Breakfast and lunch will prob make arrival time about 5pm 6pm Czech time.

I think the key is getting past Brussels before 7am - land @ 5am, and about 100 miles. Hopefully rush hour elsewhere on the route will not be too bad. Looks likely 9am will be Cologne roughly. Maybe a good time to stop for Breakfast is after Brussels but before Cologne, maybe just in to Germany near Aachen.

[Loz]

I shall aim to be back at the hotel for 5ish on the thurs. there's a bar outside isn't there?

[octimark]

Theres a bar inside to the right of the reception desk

[devonutopia]

Not sure if this is accessed from inside or outside but looks to be a bar/restaurant right outside to the right of the entrance.

Hopefully there's other good bars in the area which are decent value

[Loz]

Theres a bar inside to the right of the reception desk

Can you recommend a nice restaurant nearby? Me and the boyf will need somewhere to eat when we arrive on the Weds evening! Also, we are due to book an airport taxi, I have tried googling and most people seem to think Prague Airport Shuttle (http://www.prague-airport-shuttle.com/) is good. Do you know anything about the taxi services?

[devonutopia]

I would just be careful of being ripped off. Airport is other side of the city so potential for someone to try and go the "scenic route"

[octimark]

Can you recommend a nice restaurant nearby? Me and the boyf will need somewhere to eat when we arrive on the Weds evening! Also, we are due to book an airport taxi, I have tried googling and most people seem to think Prague Airport Shuttle (http://www.prague-airport-shuttle.com/) is good. Do you know anything about the taxi services?

TBH last time I stayed at this particular hotel it was 10 years ago so any decent restaurant might not be any good anymore. I will ask some friends in Prague and see what they recommend in the Zizkov area (a very short walk from the hotel and a nice, safe area).

Part of the fun is to go for a walk around the streets and fine a restaurant yourself. Take a phrase book just incase your enough of the beaten path that no one speaks English. Have a go at ordering in Czech and if it doesnt work just point at the phrase book. Reminds me of a really funny story when some family members tried to order chicken and chips but they said it slightly wrong and ended up with coffee and chips, lol.

Theres also an expat site called expats.cz: http://www.expats.cz/

They have some good restaurant reviews on there and you could register and post a question and hopefully someone local would give you a good suggestion.

Theres really only 3 choices with airport transfer:

1. Pre booked taxi (a lot cheaper) or taxi outside the terminal (expensive)

2. Shuttle bus taxi from the airport

3. Public transport

In summary the taxi will be expensive as you can imagine. I estimate for that area it might be £50 or more. A pre booked taxi is a lot cheaper but still expensive. The shuttle bus is a great idea but it can be a but frustrating. The system works like a shared minibus type of thing. A minibus will leave when it is full. Last time I used it (again a few years ago as I normally have a lift or hire car) it was very disorganised and you end up going all over the place and it takes a while. Its cheaper than a taxi but its still not cheap. By far the most cost effective way is public transport and the quickest way is to get the bus from the terminal to the 1st stop with a metro station (They recently changed it and extended the metro line so I dont know which stop it is anymore) and get off the bus and on to the metro. Its a much quicker way than staying on the bus into Prague.

Heres a link for Prague airport public transport information: http://www.pragueair...c-transport.htm

Heres a google search for transport to city centre: http://www.google.co...iw=1680&bih=894

Sorry but I cant even recommend a Prague taxi firm to pre-book a taxi as the ones I usually pre-book arent local to Prague. I've heard good and bad things about AAA taxi company but as Jason says its a well known scam for tourists to get taken all over Prague before getting to your destination. Unless you know roughly where you are and where your going all you can do is make sure the meters on and watch it to make sure its going up according to the tarriff. If the driver offer to take you anywhere for a set fee without the meter just so no and ask him to turn the meter on.

[octimark]

Not sure if this is accessed from inside or outside but looks to be a bar/restaurant right outside to the right of the entrance.

Hopefully there's other good bars in the area which are decent value

I think that picture is of the terrace outside the restaurant/breakfast room but I'm working from memory and mine is terrible, lol.

There was defo a bar on the inside to the right of the reception desk but the hotel could have had a change around since I last stayed there. I doubt it as its a huge hotel but it could have had structural changes.

[Can]

Just a quick thought if people are ordering money before they go if your in a car of two and only taking a small amount consider combining your money with the other person in the car as you tend to get either better rates or no comission on larger purchases of currency.

[devonutopia]

I've ordered £50 worth of cash through a local travel agent, and will get any more out from cashpoints as and when needed. My bank's rates are not horrific at all and I would rather not carry around a week's worth of cash all the time.

[sharkrider]

I'm just loading money onto my credit card at the moment.... if people in my car pay part of fuel in money, then I will have some money.... I can of course draw cash out on the credit card wherever we are... its not hugely expensive 2% conversion charge I think....

edit: you comming down to mine on the 11th and stopping the night Can? you are welcome if you wish... then to pick up Sam on the 12th, and down to tiggers, then off to the ferry early 13th

Edited 3 September, 2012 by sharkrider

[octimark]

I've ordered £50 worth of cash through a local travel agent, and will get any more out from cashpoints as and when needed. My bank's rates are not horrific at all and I would rather not carry around a week's worth of cash all the time.

I do this everytime I go. When you factor in commission rates and exchange rates it's the best option. Ive tried all sorts of ways over the years and this is what I do on every trip abroad now (in Europe anyway).

[devonutopia]

then off to the ferry early 13th

I hope we leave Tiggers a bit earlier than "early 13th"

I'm figuring in getting up Brizzle way for around 9pm, then we should be in Dover for around midnight I think?

[sharkrider]

good point jason, I keep thinking of it as the next day... maybe I should leave more time to get to tiggers.....

[devonutopia]

I'm finishing work @ 5, straight home, load last bits in car, off to get mate for 6, then OFF! Aiming (sort of) for 24 hours door to door.

In reality we don't need to be in Dover until around 1 hour before ferry leaves, else you just end up wasting time waiting until 2am. For me, its going to be a case of catching as much sleep as possible when stopped.

[devonutopia]

Got my £50 of crowns at lunch. Rather shocked to only get 25 crowns to the pound though! My bank converts at 29.4 at the moment, so even factoring in 2.75% fee, its better value for me to get cash from a cashpoint than get cash at my local forex outlet.... Kind of wish I'd never bothered now.

[softscoop]

Oh, well I got it at 29.something when I changed some money at the weekend.

That was just at Thomas Cook.

[octimark]

Got my £50 of crowns at lunch. Rather shocked to only get 25 crowns to the pound though! My bank converts at 29.4 at the moment, so even factoring in 2.75% fee, its better value for me to get cash from a cashpoint than get cash at my local forex outlet.... Kind of wish I'd never bothered now.

Yep

Thats what ive found over the years. Of course sometimes you can do better by shopping around but on average ive come out ahead just using a cashpoint the majority of the time.

[devonutopia]

Oh well, 1300 crowns might meet my bar bill on the first night.

[Loz]

30.1 koruna to my pound