magical

We drove in CZ this past May 2008. Although driving is easy, there are 2 comments I have:
1. You need a road driving permit...we didn't know about it and got stopped at the highway rest stop by the police, who were also taking a rest stop. The fine is a steep "up to $2000"....but since we didn't know about the permit, the police let us just buy the permit, and gave a good talking to. You can buy the permit for, I think $15 from some highway rest stops.
2. The roads are narrow, except the freeways, and driving takes longer than you might think. Drive to Cesky Krumlov from Prague is a good 4 -4.5 hours or so, especially since there is a good amount of trucks on the road.

That said, I still prefer driving in CZ than taking the train or bus....personal choice. We used a Michelin map + GPS with a rental car. We rented the car in Munich, Germany, and drove thru CZ and Hungary, Austria, back to Munich.

Bigiain

For anyone hiring their car outside of the Czech Republic, just be sure to check that your vehicle insurance is definately valid for the Czech section of your journey.
It is a country where my personal car insurance as well as several European rental companies' policies are NOT valid.
Read the small print just to make sure, ok?

Iain

DeepaSingapore

My husband and I drove extensively in the Czech Republic almost 10 years ago and we had no problems at all. In fact we drove into Poland. We picked up the car in Prague and I remember that driving within the city (to make our way out) was pretty tricky with lots of one way streets etc. Karlovy Vary is a great town to day trip from Prague and Cesky Krumlov was a great stop for a few days. We also thought that Telc was a beautiful place to stop for a few hours but we did that on the way to Poland. You have to check your map to see if it works as a day trip from C Krumlov.

CptDondo

My take is that anyone renting a car in Prague is nuts. outside of Prague, OK. In Prague, forget it.

That being said, drivers are generally good, but very fast and often reckless. The death rate is about twice that of other european towns.

If you want to drive, you may want to base yourself from someplace like Beroun for a few days, which is within easy driving (and train) distance from Karlstejn and Krivoklat. I'd have to look at a map but it's in the general direction of Cesky Krumlov as well.

maitaitom

Drive to Cesky Krumlov from Prague is a good 4 -4.5 hours or so, especially since there is a good amount of trucks on the road."

In May it took us exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes from our apartment in Prague to in front of our hotel in CK.

Ozziez

Maitaitom, do you by any chance remember the route you used to drive from Prague to Cesky Krumlov? We will be doing the reverse in December and need to get to Mala Strana.

I have a copy of the AA Big Road Atlas Europe and see that there are a few routes we could choose.

maitaitom

"Maitaitom, do you by any chance remember the route you used to drive from Prague to Cesky Krumlov? We will be doing the reverse in December and need to get to Mala Strana."

We were fully at the disposal of Lady Garmin on this one. I remember we were on 4 for a long time after leaving Prague.

tomboy

If I remember correctly (back to 2002), an expressway went from Prague to Cesky Bud(ejoice?sp?), and a sparsely traveled 2 lane from there to Cesky K. Easy drive.

Re a post up above, the windshield highway pass is for the expressways (about $10-15), not the normal roads. I just viewed it as my contribution to their infrastructure

rosetravels

My DH and I spent almost 2 weeks if Czech in 1996. Driving was great then: there were few cars. My husband still talks about Telc - we loved that town. I highly recommend it.

easytraveler

Kutna Hora is well worth a visit. However, be prepared to be lost driving around as the roads in town are a bit twisty, but once you understand which are the main thoroughfare, it's easy.

I loved Zhikov Castle - thought it was the perfect King Arthur type of castle.

If you are staying in Cesky Krumlov, try spending at least one night in a hotel in the center of town. We ate at a restaurant right by the river near the castle and it was one of the best trout dishes I'd ever had.

Yes, do get the "carnet" for driving on the highways.

The Czech Republic - would love to go back again