Prague Airport Transport to City Guide

Obviously times and costs depend on several factors - where you exactly want to go and traffic volume being the main ones. But for comparison, here is a quick overview of the transfer options available to you. I have excluded the more exotic ones, like renting your own helicopter ;-), and prices are per adult person and include luggage. Children and seniors travel even cheaper by public transport.

You see, choosing public transport is not so much slower and saves you a lot of money. In case you wonder, public transport here in Prague is safe, reliable and clean ;-)

After going through passport control and luggage pick-up, you come out into one of the main arrival halls. Those for both terminals are actually connected, so no worries about that here. If you haven't brought any Czech currency, called 'koruna = crown', head first towards the ATMs located in the arrival hall and get a few hundred or thousands, depending on the length of your stay, to get you going. Despite what many travelers think, the Euro is not, yet, the official currency in the Czech Republic and whilst Euros are accepted in some places, the exchange rate will be really bad most of the time. After that is done, you can now choose from several options regarding how to get to Prague city center, see below.

Some hotels offer an in-house shuttle service. Others will help you to arrange this in advance, when booking your accommodation, with a partner company. Obviously this is the most comfortable solution, which typically starts at CzK 700 and can go up to several thousands. You don't need to worry about finding your hotel, it will find you and your luggage and transfer you from Prague airport to your hotel in style. Plus, the cost is normally added, conveniently, to your hotel bill. That way you only need to pay once ;-) As far as I know, none of the luxury hotels here in Prague offers this as a complimentary service, i.e. for free, but if you stay longer, or visit more frequently, you can always ask your personal secretary to inquire with them. In the end, if you spend several hundred Euros per night, they can at least pick you up and bring you back to the airport for free ...

There are, at the time of writing (2012), two companies that are accredited as 'official Prague airport taxis'. One is called AAA and the other, don't laugh, is called 111. You see, they made sure they turn up first in the yellow pages. Whilst the times of the 'Wild East' with rip-off taxi drivers taking advantage of tourists are definitively over, there are still some rogue taxi drivers and companies around. To avoid paying fantasy prices, only use these two taxi companies mentioned. They have fixed rates, safe cars and most of their drivers speak basic English. To find a taxi at the airport, simply go out of the arrival hall and you will see them lined up in front of you. Prices vary, as Prague taxis take both time and km traveled into account. The typical Prague airport taxi cost to the city center is around CzK 500 and both companies will offer you a discount voucher for the transfer back to the airport when it comes to the time to say Good-Bye to Prague.

Both companies also operate mini buses that can transport up to 8 people plus their luggage. To make special arrangements, like wheelchair transport or larger groups, please see these links (website in English in both cases):

• 111 Taxis
• AAA Taxis

So far we have always used AAA when we needed a taxi and were every time very happy with their service and prices. Oh, and don't forget to add a tip when paying, rounding up generously, to around 10% of the price, is a nice gesture. Wages are low in this country!

This one is part of the Integrated Prague Public Transport network, but you will need to buy a special ticket for it. The other tickets or day-passes are not valid on it. Ticket prices are 40 CzK to Dejvická and 60 CzK for the other stops and can be bought either in the arrival hall or from the bus driver. Costs are slightly higher than those for 'normal buses', but these buses are more direct and will get you to the following central points.

• Dejvická – Main connection point to metro, trams and other buses.
• Masarykovo Nadrazi - One of Prague's four railway stations, close to the city center.
• Praha Hlavni Nadrazi – Prague's main railway station, also in the center.

If your hostel or hotel is close to one of these stops, or if you plan to travel on by train into the Czech countryside, this is your best option. Also if you are only coming for the day, this might be the best and quickest option, disembark at 'Masarykovo Nadrazi', which is pretty close to the Old Town and start exploring Prague from there.

If, instead, you would have to take tram, metro or another bus to get to your final destination, you are better off going by 'normal public transport'. This way you can save some money and will not spend much more time.

If you decide to go down the public transport route, you should consider buying a ticket that is valid for several days. That way, you not only save money, you are also 'done' with it for the rest of your stay. Unfortunately, at the airport, you can only buy tickets valid for 3 days (72h) or less. If you are after a longer duration, you need to fill out quite some paperwork, but that is material for another article. The 72h ticket is valid for you, your luggage and you can use all Prague buses, trams, metros, the funicular and the cute little passenger ferries over the river with it. Just stamp (validate) it when you board the bus for the first time and keep it with you in case of being controlled. For the duration of your ticket, you can now jump in and out of Prague's public transport as often as you like.

Where to Buy your Public Transport Ticket

From 07:00 to 22:00 hours you can buy a ticket from one of the official Prague public transport counters in each of the arrival halls. Outside these hours, you can buy your ticket from vending machines at the bus stop (you will need Czech coins for that!) or directly from the driver (slightly more expensive, but he will accept notes / bills also, but again, only in Czech Crowns).

Where to find the Bus to Prague

As Terminal One and Two are so close together, the bus stops are just in front of you, just go out through the main door, straight ahead, passing the taxis, and you hit the public transport terminal. To find the right bus, simply look at the numbers displayed at the stops.

The most common situation now will be to take the airport bus (119) to Dejvická and then continue your travel with the tram and / or metro to your end destination, as most tourist accommodation is in, or close to, the center of Prague. Ask your hotel or hostel about the nearest tram, bus or metro stop and use the DPP website, link and explanation below, to find your connections. There are several bus lines that leave Prague Airport and go towards the city, the two most frequent variations are below:

Dejvická: As already mentioned, here is where the normal airport bus ends (119 being the daytime bus, 510 the night bus) and from here you can enter the metro system, green or A line, which goes directly to the center of Prague and beyond. As for trams, the number 20 and 26 (day) and 51 (night) trams depart from the same place, whilst around the corner (5min walk, take the underpass through the metro / subway / underground area) you'll find also the trams 2 and 8. A bit further down, from where you left the airport bus, you'll find a major bus stop from where a variety of buses depart, most of them towards the suburbs, so normally not of great interest to you.

Zličin: Bus 100 will bring you to the beginning of the yellow, or B metro line which in turn, goes towards Andel (Anděl) a major tram and bus hub in the south-west of Prague city center.

If all this sounds like 'Bohemian Villages' to you, like we say in German, have a look at the DPP website!

This is the official website for Prague's integrated public transport system, and thankfully, it has an English version ;-) Click >this link<, which will open in a new tab, and type 'terminal 1' or 'terminal 2' into the 'From' field, depending on where you arrive. Now type or copy and paste the nearest tram, bus or metro stop to your hotel into the 'To' field, set time and date and hit 'search'. You are now presented with a detailed travel plan from Prague airport to your hotel!

If your hotel hasn't provided you with that crucial bit of information about the nearest public transport stop, simply go to Google maps, search for the hotel address there and click on magnifying until the stops appear magically on the map ;-) Note name down and type it into the 'To' field of the DPP Journey Planer and you should be all set ...

• Bus + Metro / Tram: Cheapest and most time consuming, but also best if you stay longer then a few hours and want to take advantage of either the 24h or the 72h travel pass.
• Express Bus: A bit more expensive, faster and more direct. A good choice if you are only coming for a day trip and fly back in the evening or if you need to get to the railway station to catch a train onwards.
• Taxi: Both comfortable and actually not too expensive compared to what you pay in other cities.
• Pre-arranged transport via your hotel: Most comfortable and most expensive solution.

If Prague is not your end destination, you might be interested to hear that the >Student Agency<

(For English version click flag in the top right corner) also operates out of Prague airport. If you want to go to another place in the Czech Republic, or if you want to travel by bus to another place in Europe, check them out. They are often cheaper than taking the train and their buses are very well equipped and have free wi-fi, free hot drinks etc.

We live on the 'right' side of the city when it comes to reaching the airport easily. This has made us a favorite with a lot of friends and family members that use our home either as a convenient place to stay in Prague for a few days, or as a stopover for one night when traveling from the Czech countryside to the airport and further afield. I can't count how many times we have done the journey from the city to the airport, and back, in recent years, either by public transport or by car, so I thought I'd write up everything I know that there is to know about it in the hope of helping other travelers. If you still have a question, something is unclear or you simply want to say 'Hello!', please leave a comment ...