City Tours: Krakow to Prague

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Krakow to Prague

We will be travelling this summer :

a) Arriving in Krakow from 7/22 to 7/27

b) Going to Prague from 7/27 to 8/1 or so

c) Going from Prague to Salzburg (8/1 to 8/5)

d) Going Salzburg to Munich %26amp; Bavaria area

( 8/5 to 8/12 )

My questions:

a) We would like to drive a good part of the trip, but wouldn%26#39;t this mean large drop off fees ?

b) I%26#39;ve heard the smaller airlines fly directly from Prague to Munich - is this a better option than driving ( and paying drop off fee )

- Any small airlines go from Krakow to Prague?

c) What concerns are there are , safety-wise, about driving in Poland?

Any suggestions are much appreciated!

d) Also , does this leave enough time to see a good part of each area?

Jim

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Seems like a great plan you have! I would have kept the car plan though, so you can explore the scenic polish and czech countryside.

When it comes to safety you must remember to use supervised garages, both in Poland and Czech republic, especially if you drive a nice car.

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www.skyeurope.com has I believe just launched a Krakow/ Prague link. Or Could do overnight train.

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Youi are correct that if you pick up a car and drop it off in Germany, you will incur high drop off fees, but you need to calculate whether this is higher than the cost of travel for all of you.

If you hire a car, take out the maximum insurance you can and make sure you are allowed to take it out of the country you hire it in. You may alos want to do the calculation as to whether it is cheaper to get from Krakow to Prague by public transport and then hire the car for the next Prague, Germany and Austria trip than to hire the car in Poland.

Only Czech Airlines flies Prague to Krakow, but it flies twice a day on most days.

There is an overnight direct train from Krakow to Prague. If you don%26#39;t like overnight trains, there are trains during the day, but you need to change at Katowice. Journey time takes 10 hours, but it will take you at least 6 hours driving and the Polish roads are notorious

Czech Airlines and Lufthansa fly Prague to Munich. Noone flies Prague to Salzburg and the train journey involves many changes, which is why a car on this leg may be more advantageous

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...some tips concerning point c)...

1. Compared to roads in the US, Polish roads are narrow, with a tendency to squeeze two lanes into one:)

2. Some signs here are different so I suggest you do a bit of research there.

3. Turning right on red is ok if you have a green arrow.

4. When driving on roads with wide shoulders, be prepared to drive onto the shoulder if someone wants to pass you even though there%26#39;s traffic coming from the opposite direction. Similarly, you might think someone is heading straight for you, in your lane - just drive onto the shoulder.

5. In the summer you%26#39;ll find people standing on the shoulder (almost), selling fruits, vegetables, mushrooms (in the countryside). Be careful there!

6. Sounds challenging but it%26#39;s enough to keep your eyes on the road and concentrate...

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We tried to find an airline to fly from Munich to Prague in December and couldn%26#39;t for under $400USD, so we took the train instead. Maybe you know of some avenues to explore that we didn%26#39;t. Sounds like a fun trip!

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Thanks for the great info.

It looks like the price for airfare on

Condor Air ( I think that%26#39;s the name) from

Prague to Munich is incredibly cheap - can anyone verify this ?

Also, if we are driving from Germany to Austria, or maybe Prague to Austria, are there delays in crossing the borders?

Finally, any suggestions at

( say up to about $ 150.00 or so per night in Prague / Salzburg ?

thanks !

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