Travelling to Prague and bordering countries

by Christel
(South Africa)

Hi,

I was so happy to find your info here.

We are planning a trip to Europe (18 people in total) and we would like to spend a couple of days in Prague and then move on to the bordering countries. We have at most 14 days to travel.

Do you think it is doable? If so, which countries would you suggest are the best?

Or which cities in the bordering countries should we visit? We would like to see as much as possible (we will travel from South Africa).

Thanks!

Our answer:

Hello Christel,

Thanks for asking your question. It's a great big one, with many, many possible answers.

First, let's consider the Prague part of your trip. Our first thought is to make sure you give Prague enough time. Countless people visit the city and go home thinking, "I wish I had more time."

You said that you will stay "a couple of days," but you might feel rushed to see everything and to coordinate all your travel too. We suggest staying in Prague at least 3 days. This will give you time to sink into the city a bit instead of rushing with a map everywhere to try and "take it all in."

No matter where you travel, parts of your days will also be spent getting oriented and just getting around. Just something to consider!

From Prague, we can easily think of other countries to visit. From the travelers we've spoken to, it also seems popular to visit a city in Germany like Berlin or Dresden, along with Vienna and/or Budapest too.

These cities are easier to travel between and offer a wide variety of culture and sights. You could pick three or four cities and spend 2 to 3 days in each, depending on your preferences.

We always prefer to see fewer cities with more time in each one instead of trying to cover as many as possible. So, a trip covering Berlin, Prague and Vienna would be plenty for us. And, we would only do this by train. Traveling this way is more time consuming, but just seeing the countryside puts us in more contact with a country as opposed to visiting just another airport.

Of course, you may not get a true, deeper feeling for a country until you travel to its smaller cities and villages. We think these places hold the real keys to the heart of a country, which is not always evident in the larger cities and capitals.

Take Prague for example. It's beautiful, but it can be hard to get a feeling about the country or people based on the typical tourist experience.

But, if you travel to a smaller city, even something like Tabor, then you will give yourself a better opportunity to experience Czech culture - firsthand instead of through tourist glasses.

Anyway, these are just some random ideas about traveling in our parts.

The city suggestions focus a bit more on what's considered to be Central Europe, but many people combine city trips to more Western cities as well. We often hear of travelers coming from Amsterdam, Venice or Munich too. This would definitely give your trip a certain contrast.

And, just a quick note about traveling to Europe in general. From our experience, a lot of people forget to consider the demands that traveling long distances require. And, visiting many countries on one trip, requires even more planning and patience.

It may sound funny, but we suggest that you consider planning for other things like fatigue and basic orientation. These two points often go totally ignored.

Our American friends, for example, are often "destroyed" by the time they arrive after a long flight(s). It takes them a day just to get their bearings in Prague.

Lastly, here are two links that we enjoy sharing…

TripAdvisor - Prague, Czech Republic - look for other readers who have taken a trip through the country and offer advice. Some people have come back and offer "trip reports" that might be very helpful to you.

CzechTourism - this is the country's official tourism web site and has lots of info that most people miss. Be aware, it might tempt you into visiting more of Czech Republic than just Prague! We particularly like their interactive map of sites, towns and more and more.

Hope this information is helpful or gets you thinking about your trip.

If you have any questions, feel free to add a comment below or contact us directly.

All the best from Prague!

Dean and Martina

My Prague Sights