best way to get to Prague old town hotel with luggage?

In July , I arranged transfer from the airport to town with:

http://www.prague-airport-shuttle.com/

the outfit was recommended on Fodor's , I found them excellent.

From Prague airport, I took a taxi... www.prague-airport-shuttle.com which is run by an American expat. $32 for up to 4 people.

You can rent a car in Prague (don't need to go back to the airport and always cheaper than picking up at the airport). But, I think you may end up paying a large dropoff fee for dropping in another country. If that isn't the case or doesn't concern you, drop the car at a city location after you check into your Vienna hotel. Again, no need to go to the airport and you won't need a car in Vienna so no need for the added expense of rental cost and parking fees. Take a taxi from your Vienna hotel to the airport.

Try kemwel.com for good rental car prices.

I understand your concern about traveling with luggage but if you're not stopping anywhere between Prague and Vienna (Cesky Krumlov is an adorable town with a great castle and baroque theater), you may want to take a bus to Vienna. They store the luggage under the bus and you can carry on your camera bag, etc. onto the bus. No steps, etc. as you would find on a train.

Sorry... my last sentence should have said: "No steps, etc. to carry on and off luggage as you would find on a train."

Unless you're touring between Prague and Vienna I don;t know why you want a car at all. It is worse than useless in either city.

In either case I would just grab a cab at the airport to your hotel or vice versa. To get from Prague to Vienna, just take a train. Only rent a car f you want to spend several days touring the countryside between the two cities.

I too can highly reccommend Prague-Airport-Shuttle.com.
I have used them several times and will be using them again in May 2010 when I visit again.They are owned and run by an American Expat and his Czech wife.
Btw there is a big Beer festival on in Prague in May 2010,it is on the outskirts of the city so won't affect people in the tourist areas,but it is a great thing to visit if you like that sort of thing.
http://www.ceskypivnifestival.cz/en/about-festival.shtml

As you come out of the airport, there will be plenty of taxis waiting. A company with a good reputation is AAA taxis. It will cost you about 700 crowns (39 dollars) to get downtown, depending on where your hotel is.

mitchesu, where is your hotel located?

I've never understood the US preoccupation with private cars waiting at the airport. Most cabs these days are reasonable vehicles and will take you anywhere you want to go at a reasonable price. Do some research before you travel to establish a fair fare!

All airports have official taxi ranks outside the doors and are usually cheaper than private companies, unless you simply must arrive in a Mercedes!

>> I've never understood the US preoccupation with private cars waiting at the airport.


Really? Where did you come up with that idea?

If you are flying into the airport, take a cab to your hotel, it is not that expensive. If you are taking a bus to Vienna, beaware of the bus terminal in Prague, it is a little scary and you can get a bus that breaksdown ( I did, had to wait on the side of the road for hours). Take the train, tickets can be bought prior to leaving your country.

Prague taxis for a long time have had a very bad reputation and even now problems still exsist with many people getting ripped off or in reality robbed by unscupulous taxi drivers.
In Prague there are a few private transfer companies that offer good reliable service at very reasonable cost,these are not limo services but good standard estate cars or MPV (Vans).

> Most cabs these days are reasonable vehicles and will take you anywhere you want to go at a reasonable price.

I hope so.

Myself I don't use a private car, notr taxi arriving in Prague because I always have a small luggage easily manageable in the bus and tramway. I'm a bit surprised unclegus, a regular traveller to Prague use the private car service. Maybe he travels with a small group, then I can see it can be practical/economical. Anyway concern about taxi in Prague is valid. Rip-off by taxi is a serious problem there, even a president of Czech Republic was a victim of it not a many years ago. It may be getting slightly better since then but I'm not so sure. I hear above mentioned AAA or City taxis are reliable. Careful though there are some with a AAA fake, slightly different logo that will surely rip you off. There was a post about that sometime ago here or on tripadvisor.com. The poster posted pics of a taxi with real logo and another with a fake one, which was interesting.

Private car services are often less expensive than taxis. Just depends on the city and where you are going in the city. Shop around.

Kappa,I just like the luxury of a private transfer.
when in Prague I am on holiday so the extra cost of a private transfer is not that great. and it is a completly stress free start.I usually travel with a good friend and sharing the cost between us is fairly reasonable and a great deal cheaper than we would be paying for travelling a similar distance in our home city.On my next trip there will be a small group of 4 of us so it will work out very cheap then.

I do use a private car service in Prague, but this is not some luxury limo service. It is extremely common in Prague for private car services to work with hotels and their rates are very reasonable. I do not have an obsession with it, the sole reason I do it in Prague is because the taxis have a very bad reputation, that's why. Otherwise, I wouldn't do it. Even the govt. acknowledged that, it is a well-known fact. So it is much safer to have a private car company that works with your hotel. I always just book this through the hotel, every hotel I've stayed at in Prague has someone they use regularly, and I think most hotels of at least 3* or higher do.

I don't do it at all because of "luxury", it's just for safety. I have actually known several people ripped off in Prague, not just the fares, but in one case, the driver refused to give them their luggage until they paid him whatever he wanted. That's the problem with taxis, they have your luggage in the trunk and can hold it for ransom, basically. YOu can establish a "fair fare" all you want, but if they decide they want more (which they often do, claiming some reason), you are in trouble.

I don't know if lifeman has ever been in Prague or is just randomly commenting on this thread, but the govt. and a lot of frequent travelers to Prague recommend you book a service through your hotel.

#
Lifeman on Nov 3, 09 at 5:14am

I've never understood the US preoccupation with private cars waiting at the airport. Most cabs these days are reasonable vehicles and will take you anywhere you want to go at a reasonable price. Do some research before you travel to establish a fair fare!

All airports have official taxi ranks outside the doors and are usually cheaper than private companies, unless you simply must arrive in a Mercedes!"

I am not from the US, have done enough research and found private cars cheaper and more reliable in both Rome and Prague.
No need to lecture posters on their choices!

DISCLAIMER: I own www.prague-airport-shuttle.com
First, thank you for the kind words about my company, they are most appreciated!!

I must agree with Christina, some of the taxis from the airport are a bit dubious (of course, I would say that!) but, for the moment they are generally fine. There are a fare few companies like mine that provide normal cars and English speaking drivers that wait for you at the airport at a price comparable or even less that the airport taxis. Where I would disagree with her is to always use the hotel taxi as they can be very expensive, the Hiltons, Marriott etc and many others 700 - 800 crowns and more.

For the moment some of the taxis you will find outside the airport operate on a fixed fare system which is great for the traveler, this is about to change. The current contract is about to end for AAA and FIX taxis at the airport and new bids will be submitted shortly by four different companies. One of the new stipulations is that all the cars have meters (presently the FIX cars do not and this stipulation may be aimed towards them as they have been known to be a bit iffy in the past, just my opinion of course!)In any case, again IMHO, going to the meter in all airport cabs may lead to higher prices for the consumer as the driver may now find it more profitable to take the scenic route

kappa1 mentioned the fake AAA taxis, I did post this link on TA>
http://www.prague-airport-shuttle.com/fakeaaa.htm


Sorry for the long post!

> kappa1 mentioned the fake AAA taxis, I did post this link on TA>

Ah-ha ! so 2 posters from TA immigrated here, you and unclegus ! (ok, + me makes 3)

LOL kappa, I have been here since 2003!

Cab drivers can't cheat you if you know what the fare is suposed to be approximately. Have been to Prague 3 times and took cabs a lot. Only one (not from the train station or to the airport) tried to cheat me - and he didn;t get away with it.

If you prefer a private car service that's fine - but cabs are really not a problem.

> LOL kappa, I have been here since 2003!

Ok with a different name I guess Actually I too have been here longer than at TA, perhaps from about 2001 or 2. Ok then maybe Unclegus is the only "immigrant" here from over there

Ok, I saw your profile. You have always been ChrisinPrague since 2003. I just didn't notice your name I guess. (I was kappa - and others before that - before kappa1 but had a log-in problem like some other posters in 2008)

I have been a member here for over a year,but I still post over on TA.It is good that people can pass on their knowledge on both websites and I have found both places an excellent source of information.

Some Prague hotels will arrange a free private car pick-up if you are staying long enough e.g. 5-7 days. Ours did after I asked. Renting a car to Vienna can be expensive because of out of country drop off fees so make sure you are aware of those add ons. I agree with the suggeston of joannyc about considering a bus to Vienna for the reasons she states. We did that and it was fine. We did not find the terminal "scary." Old and somewhat run down yes, but "scary" is subjective. Our bus to Vienna was fine, taking about 20 minutes or so longer than the train. We were dropped off in the center of Vienna near the City Hall, not at the Vienna bus terminal which was convenient. It was also very cheap.

I agree with basingstoke2 that the bus terminal is not scary (yes, it is old and worn)... and I was a solo female traveler. Used the bus to go to/from Terezin and to Cesky Krumlov. No problems!

thank you all for your very helpful replies, we'll make our transportation plans based on the information you've provided. We would like to rent a car to make stops between Prague & Vienna whenever we see something of interest, so thank you also for the note regarding places to see from Joannyc & the festival from unclegus

mitchesu you might consider hiring a car and driver.It may be less than the rental fee and drop off charge, some companies are quite happy to stop along the way.