terkar

My wife and I are in the early stages of planning a driving trip through Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Has anyone done this? How is the driving? We did an 18 day trip thru Turkey and found it to be quite easy.
Are we being too ambitious to attempt to see these 3 countries? Any suggestions? Best time of year to go? etc, etc.
Thx
Terry in NC

tomboy

We found driving in the Czech Republic and Hungary to be easier than in the Midwest. Roads were AS good, for two lane roads, and similarly for the expressways; and traffic seemed fairly light. Our exposure to Poland was somewhat limited, but not as favorable. We entered Poland from Slovakia, near Svidnik; an easy two lane road to Lancut. From there to Krakow was one continual road repair project. A very slow 80 miles, or so. After leaving Krakow, the traffic on the two lane roads was fairly heavy.

Highway signage in all three countries is not on a par with other, more developed countries. They need to send their highway commissioners abroad to see how other countries do things better. I think the nadir of our trip was to Bratislava, where expressway ramp signs read, "BA 8 km". Who would know they meant Bratislava? I had the idea that "Bratislava 8 km" would have required a 12 foot wide sign, and all they had were 6 foot signs, so they made do with what was available. P.S. Bratislava was not whatsoever impressive, particularly for a capital.

tomboy

A further thought: Driving in Poland gave me the impression that I had time-traveled back to a 1960's highway system, and had taken a 1990's level of autos-per-capita with me. Not so if CzRep or HU (altho we only drove from Sopron thru Budapest to Eger, then north, so it's not as large a sample).

joegri

terkar: We have driven all over Hungary, Poland and a good part of The Czech Republic. As tomboy points out, the roads in Hungary and The Czech Republic are fine. We had no problems what-so-ever.
The roads in Poland are not that bad. You'll get more two lane roads and they can be slow, particularly in the countryside if you get behind some trucks, or a tractor or even a horse and cart. However, the Poles use the "third lane" system pretty effectively. In heavy traffic, everybody drives to the right, partially on the shoulder. This leaves a "lane" open in the center which is used for passing. If the lane is empty, you occupy it by signalling a turn into the lane with your turn indicators and turning on your headlights. You are supposed to have access to the lane (for passing only) as long as your headlights are on. It is common courtesy to leave the center lane as soon as you have passed the cars in order to give access to someone else. You signal your turn back into the shoulder lane as well. Works fine.
We did each of these Countries as seperate vacations as is our practice. So, I can't comment on three Countries in one trip, especially since you don't say how much time you will have.
These are great Countries for touring; beautiful, interesting, great people, good food and lodging. We loved each Country, but then, we wind up loving all the countries we visit. If you have any questions please ask. There aren't a lot of people who do these countries extensively, particularly Poland. Have a great trip.

aeiger

Hi
We've driven throughout the Czech Rep. except for Prague. Driven to Kutna Hora, Csesky Krumlov, and basically throughout the country as well as Hungary. The expressways are very good and usually marked well. The state and other roads can be heavily trafficed and slow. Get a good current road map. Look at the published date as roads especially in central Europe tend to be built so rapidly so that it is similar to the the rest of Europe. I find that the road maps sent by the Governments tourist offices too small, especially if you want to get off the main roads. You didn't say how long your trip was going to be. I found that if you are planning anything like your trip to Turkey was 18 days or maybe another few for the major cities to be sufficient. we travel leisurely and if you have the time you will enjoy it. We usually travel in late sept. or early Oct. though we found that last year in Warsaw, it rained for the 5 days we were there and more rain was forcast. This was late Sept. We had previously been to Krakow and Auswitz and had driven from Slovakia on that trip. Road are generally good. Enjoy your trip.

joegri

terkar: just remembered a little trick a Polish fellow taught me in order to find my way in the countryside. Write the names of your destinations on a piece of paper and when out in the country or in a remote village where it might be difficult to find someone who speaks English, show the appropriate slip to anyone and get pointed in the right direction. Worked every time, especially where signage was nonexistant.

vanya

As an immigrant living in the Czech Rep. (South Bohemia, near the Austrian border) - here are my tips. Get a very good MAP - but it probably won't help as the roads are notoriously badly marked - apart from the major highways, from which you don't really get to know the country.

Driving in the countryside is a fascinating experience! Most gas stations will give you advice when you get lost! Just point to your map, as the town and village names are all totally unpronouncable to the western tongue!

Keep a sense of humor at all times! Be prepared to get lost! You will have a lot of fun>>> Do try to see the most beautiful part of the country i.e. the south - Cesky Krumlov, Ceske Budejovice, Trebon etc. - the Bohemian forest is unspoilt and beautiful.

Avoid driving in Prague if you can! Find a hotel with a car park and use the public transport. I have driven in many large cities in my life, but Prague is the world's worst - due to poor street signs, one-ways, streetcars driving on the roads behind one etc. etc. The metro and streetcars provide adequate transport within the center - and walking is the best way to see Prague... so park your car safely - yes, car theft is common in Prague!

The roads in the country are very narrow (apart from the few highways) and have many blind corners. The Czech drivers seem to be on a Kamikaze course, so do beware of being overtaken on blind rises etc. This is why it takes so long to get anywhere, if one is to arrive safely -- do drive with extreme caution.

The villages have strict speed restrictions... 30 / 40 kph through the villages and fines are hefty if you are unlucky enough to be caught speeding.

There is Zero tolerance of alcohol, so don't drink and drive.

Bicycles and pedestrians rule... so take care. Many cyclists don't bother to have reflectors or lights on at night! If a pedestrian steps on to a zebra crossing, the motorist has to stop immediately.

So, take care and you will have a lot of fun - provided you have plenty of time and patience - and nerves of steel!

I would be interested to hear how you get on!

vanya

No you are not too ambitious to attempt the 3 countries -- the Cz. Rep. is very small from north to south, if you are American / Australian!

The weather is best from April to the end of August. Days are long and sunny. Avoid hazardous winter driving if possible!

tomboy

Good points above.
Re the 3rd lane concept: to the unknowledgeable Yank, being passed on the left on a curve on a two lane road seems insane. To them, it's normal. Just remember you're "not in Kansas anymore", and that one should pull to the right.
While I found the construction to be challenging, I enjoyed these countries and would definitely not avoid them; it's merely different than driving in Wyoming.
Re the map, and highway signage: I recommend buying a cheap compass. 2 years ago, in CzRep, driving from Cesky Krumlov to Prague on back roads, the road signs (which seemed about 15-20km apart on average) seemed to alternate. one would say X km townvillage. The next sign would say Z km to still a 3rd village, and W km to a 4th village, and absolutely no mention of Prague or the 2nd town. We fell back on navigating by the sun, heading northeast. Good thing it was not overcast.
You're not overly ambitious from our perspective-we just returned from 21 days driving thru AU/HU/SK/PO/CZ. Just allow enough "stretch" in your itinerary to permit leisurely driving.

eastave

My husband and I just returned from a trip where we drove from Budapest to Krakow and over to Prague. The driving was fine in Hungary, although we weren't there long. We were on mainly 2 lane roads through Slovakia. These were a bit slow, due to the occasional truck, but not bad. We found things much worse in Poland, mainly due to the increased traffic. I don't know if it was because we were on busier routes, or if it was country specific. It wasn't so much that things were slower, but that the exhaust was overwhelming. From Krakow to the Czech border there was continual construction, which really slowed things down - and made the 3rd lane thing impossible. Driving was very easy in Czech republic.

We had good road maps for each country, and for the bigger cities (Krakow and Prague) and had little trouble with that part of the navigation. The problem for us was when we got into a medium size city (Olomouc and Auschwitz) and needed to find a hotel or site. The maps of the cities in the guide books aren't meant for driving. We ended up taking the strategy of heading into centrum and then trying to read enough road signs to find ourselves on the guide book map. It was a bit of an adventure at times!

One other thing to note is that you need a highway sticker for driving on certain roads in Hungary and Czech Republic. You can buy these at the border. Poland charges tolls on some roads instead of the sticker.