Neil

We have an opportunity to spend 5 nights in Prague in June '01, using Prague as our home base, where can we get to and back in a day by train.

mel

Neil- myhusband and I took a 10 day trip to Prague and Vienna 2 years ago, staying 4 days in Prague; we didn't take any day trips, but wish we had. Vienna is too far to squeeze it into a 5 day trip. The advice I have is regarding the Prague train station- at the time we went there were MANY unsavory characters around, and we were there during the day. Also- please make sure you take a reputable taxi, not just a driver who approaches you; there was a scam with local young men posing as taxi drivers for tourists and charging up to $60 to get you to your hotel. So, make sure you discuss taxi rates before loading your baggage into the car. We had a wonderful time in Prague, but the train station was really bad news- however, hopefully it's been cleaned up by now. Have a great trip!

ldsant

I went to Prague last year and was there for 8 days. Prague itself has a lot of fascinating things to do and see, but some of the day trips I took (and of course, this is depending upon your interests) included a day trip to Terezin concentration camp. It was led by a survivor and was fascinating as well as very powerful. You pick the tour bus up in Prague. The other trip was to Chechy. I think some other folks have previously written about this trip on this board. If you check the fodors guidebook, there are also good tips in there as well. I would definitely not plan on going to Vienna in a day. I came to Prague FROM Vienna and it is a pretty far train trip. Vienna was interesting to see the art as well as how the architecture has been blended so nicely between old and new, but I really think you need more than a day to plan getting there/back/seeing things. Finally, I would also suggest you try and see Slovakia. I wish I had - hear it's beautiful, people are very friendly, etc. Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

Christina

In contrast to some other European countries, the rail system in the CR is not that good, so some places are actually easier and quicker to get to by bus than train (ie, Karlovy Vary , Kutna Hora, Konopiste castle, and I think Terezin, although I did not go there because I ran out of time). So you might want to reconsider that criteria after looking into it. If you wish to go by train, some reasonable day trips are Dresden in Germany, a few castles right near Prague (ie, Karlstejn and Krivoklat), and Plzen (beer town). Marienbad is a bit far but accessible by train (about 3 hrs each way).

Art

Hi Neil, Christina has some very good suggestions. The only one that I can add would be to take a day trip to Ceski Krumlov. It is an enclosed 13th century village pretty much untouched. It has the 2nd largest castle in the Czech Republic and very interesting. The village is charming and worth while seeing. The best way there is bus. Have a great trip.