Prague is a beautiful city full of some very nice people and great history. So it’s well worth the visit. Hopefully these hints and tips will help you to get the most from your holiday. In no particular order;
Cost
We were going to book four nights Monday to Thursday inclusive with Bed and Breakfast, Airport Transfers and flights from Birmingham. This cost around £900 but instead we booked the same hotel, the same Airport Transfers and the same carrier for three nights at the end of the same week and the cost was £400 less. This booking was made with the same travel company with the comparisons made within minutes of each other. Advice: compare costs by varying the number of nights and if flexible by varying the start date.
Evening River Cruise and Dinner
Our river cruise was going to be a highlight of our holiday with the cost of the river cruise, taxi and alcohol coming in at £104 in total. It was absolutely dreadful with a capital ‘D’. Imagine your worse ever self service very long queue Social Club buffet with a tiny tea plate and you might just get the picture. There may be constant interruption by a waiter who was intent on selling you as much alcohol as possible. If you are lucky there may be a view out of your window from your central table, but the view is pointless while the craft labours in and out of the lock. Being static is not a river cruise. Gosh it was bad, and I only hope that this advice saves a few grateful soles from wasting their hard earned cash. It’s billed as a gastronomical delight, but the only similarity between the billing and the experience is that you might catch gastroenteritis. It was a total unadulterated rip-off where it was all about the coin in our pocket. Advice; maybe try a daytime river cruise but not one with food, and for the evening, go and find yourself a good public house that serves food and enjoy a great night together at probably a fifth of the cost.
Money scam
I got hit twice by the money scammers but had wised up by the third attempt. Our currency goes 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 with the 100 being our £1 coin whereas in Prague it will be a 100 note. Their notes seem to go 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 where at today’s rates 2000 is worth £78 and 1000 is £39 and therefore 100 is £3.90 and it would be a good idea to round up your exchange rate values so that you can keep an eye on the coin in your pocket. We put our decimal currency into the camera bag and I was surprised to find a 50p piece in my pocket on Day 1. We moved that coin out of the equation and at the end of Day 2 we found another one amongst our change and then realised what was happening. If you were due 87 in change they would hand over 37 of the local currency and a 50p piece. We count automatically and miss that it is our 50p piece that is worth 50p whereas their 50 is worth circa £2. Another scam involved handing over 270 whereby only 100 was a note i.e. lots of coins. When I checked the change there was 3 x 2 coins instead of 3 x 50 i.e. the trader would have pocketed circa £6. Advice; make sure that you understand the exchange rate, watch out for the 50p piece scam, and if there are not enough notes being handed back, take extra care over your change.
Charles Bridge
Don’t miss a trip to Charles Bridge. When we walked across there were several bands playing. Advice; watch out for pick pockets as the bridge will be crowded and handbag or pocket dipping could be easy. We picked up a CD of “Charles Bridge-Swing Band (3)” while strolling across the bridge, and I am enjoying every minute listening to the music back home.
Music
I wanted to take in a concert but unfortunately our three night stay and the river cruise meant that I missed what are considered to be some of the finest musicians that you will come across. Advice; make sure it’s a good venue and good players with stated durations as a city that is out for your coin will con you into a short poor performance if it can. I had not experienced this problem, but a couple at the airport told us how disappointed they were with the performance that they chose.
Food and drink
Think Paris prices and you will not be far wrong! Astonishing I know but that’s the way it is. We paid £20 for a coffee and a cake and a hot chocolate and a savoury crepe. That was near Charles Bridge and we spotted a group of young girls walk in and checkout the prices and walk out. I would have also walked out but I was exhausted and didn’t have a walk left in me. Advice; avoid the extortionate coffee shop on the right hand side of the far side of Charles Bridge
Pub grub
We had deer goulash, bread, and the best ever dumplings in the world. This was accompanied with four beers between us and £20 the lot. Advice; check out the eating places carefully and remember that a good pub will bring in a good reward in both price and quality of the food.
Metro
You need a Metro ticket for the Metro and the Tram. It costs about £2 for up to 30 minutes for two people. You can buy your tickets from machines in the Metro station and then validate them by inserting them into a yellow machine on a pole in a tram or before you proceed further into the Metro station. There are inspectors and on the spot fines for those without a ticket or those who have a ticket and have failed to validate the ticket. Advice; an inspector carries two forms of identification with the number on their photo I.D. matching the number on their badge. Apparently there have been scams with fake inspectors. So ask for both forms of I.D. if you are stopped, and if you are certain that you have done nothing wrong; then insist that the police are called.
Pushy hotel staff
We were accosted and conned by our hotel staff. We were offered paintings that we declined and expensive tours that we also declined. With the latter we found out that the receptionist worked for the tour company. But we were conned when we asked for a taxi for a certain time rather than hailing one that could be unsafe in the street. I was expecting professionalism and a genuine taxi to be ordered, I was not expecting her brother or her lover. £12 we paid for a £5 journey and in a vehicle that was of course unregulated and could have been unsafe. Advice; don’t be afraid to say ‘no’, we did and stuff them. As for taxi’s it may be worth telling the receptionist that you want a ‘yellow’ safe cab and nothing else.
Fake Taxi
We paid for Airport Transfers as we had heard about the danger of fake taxis in Prague. At the airport there are clear signs directing travellers to the genuine taxi stands. Our Airport Transfers were well worth the money as the airport is a fair way out of the city. Advice; Airport Transfers may appears expensive but they are safer and we were told by one couple that they had paid more for their two taxi journeys.
Enjoy Prague and don’t be put off by these notes. They are provided to help you get the best out of your trip and to enjoy the warm and honest welcome that you will get from the majority of the city dwellers and fellow travellers.
