Have you used the Prague Card?
 

I am going to Prague for 4 days and would like some feedback on the Prague card. I have an interest in museums and other sites. Is it worth it to get the card? What if I just get the transportation card? Thanks for any information.

Prague is the one capital city in Europe where you really don't need a transportation card. The most important area's are stare mesto, josefov, mala strana, hradcany, nove mesto, Karluv most (bridge) and vysehrad. You can easily explore these area's by foot in four days and there's no significant ugly part that you'd want to skip. In Prague you don't need a museum. The city itself is the museum. And whatever you do, don't take the metro to the castle! Climb the Nerudova!

I've actually used it once and since I was staying in a hotel above the castle area i found it especially handy when taking trams...and I took a LOT of trams while I was there.

As I recall it is like a lot of other "city" cards..if you plan on seeing a lot of the included sites, nuseums, etc., then it may very well be worth it.

I honestly don't know how many places you need to go before you break even.

I agree that Pargue is quite walkable but I also think there are some places that are better reached by either the Metro or the trams, especially if you are tired of walking.

It's like Venice Card that includes waterbus, museums (and a few public toilets). I have never bought it. Perhaps not easy to get even. Instead I buy always 72hr waterbus pass. That's plenty enough for me. I cannot enter more than 2 museums a day (or one or even none). So I just pay entrance separately. Good thing about pass is you enter just to take a look and go out and if you liked it so much you can come back later within the validity of the pass.

The same thing with Prague Card. It's not necessarily a good deal. Except perhaps if you really plan to visit many museums.

I always buy 3day or 7day pass. Even this, many people may not need. But where I usually stay in Mala Strana has so many tram lines so I could use them all the time, with the pass, even for a couple of stops without worrying about paying the each ride. And of course, when I go to Vinohrady or Vysehrad that are slightly out of city ceneter, tramway is very handy. Also I use it for the bus to get from the airport into the city too. These tram/metro/bus passes are inexpensive.

You can also buy a few single tickets in advance too (each of which you validate each time you get on the tram)like you buy a carnet of metro tickets in Paris.

> .. don't take the metro to the castle!

You can't. These is no metro line that goes there. You can take trams to the castle area (well behind the castle).

... so although I don't really know what you want to do, I'd recommend buying a transportation pass or tickets. When you get out of the airport custom, there is a stand for that in front of you on the right. 3 day pass is actually good for 72 hrs from the time of validation so you may need just a 3 day pass that is 220 Koruna (about 8€).

Hradcanske has an underground station. You can get to the (back of the) castle by underground.

> Hradcanske has an underground station

Sorry I missed that one. But how parctical is that one compared to walking from the tram stop Pohorelec to the castle, distance and view-wise? I thought taking a public transportation to the castle usually means the tramways, e.g.22 & 23.

Thanks all to your informed responces. If I buy the Prague card at the airport can I use it for a discount on the airport minibus? I am concerned about taking a cab.

a big advantage of having a museum card in Paris is that you escape the entrance lines. Is this the same in Prague?

ttt

I believe any close Mtro stop to the castle is considerably down the hill as opposed to the tram stop which puts you closer.

I always get a transportation card if I'm in Prgue for very long, I don't agree with Wesse on that one. I'm sure it's true for some tourists who don't go very far from the main square, but I use the metro trama and bus a lot when I'm there. Vysehrad, for example, is not somewhere you are going to want to walk to from, say, the Charles Bridge area.

Would a pass like this be helpful if you are staying in the west side in an apartment. I think from looking at maps and from responoses we will need to tram or bus to most places, can the pass be used from the airport. also are there student fares we have 2 teenagers with us. eds

Prague is a very compact and walkable city. For our 7 days in Prague, we bought several "transfer" (20Kc) and "non-transfer" (14Kc) tickets, and did not use all of them.

Woody

> Would a pass like this be helpful if you are staying in the west side in an apartment.

Probably, but if you can tell us the address/locatioon of the apartment, we may be able to give you a bit more info.

> can the pass be used from the airport..

Yes, as i wrote above and if you are ok with taking bus and changing to tram/metro. It's most probable that one of the busses, 100 or 119, will not go direct to your destination. These busses make many stops on the way so it takes longer (is not a problem to me usually when I visît Prague)than a shuttel bus that does airport - city center direct.

> also are there student fares we have 2 teenagers with us.

http://www.dpp.cz/en/
Click on "tariff and fares". Single tickets have reduced rates for 6-15 y.o. but not mentioned on multiple day paases. I don't think it means there are no reduced rates for passes but I'm not sure. Other posters might know from thier experience or you must ask at the ticket counter (e.g.at the airport).

Woddy's comment on single tickets is good too. For my 4-day (or more likely 80 hours) stay last April, I bought 72 hr pass that I used from the airport. On the 4th day when my pass was no longer valid, I bought a single ticket to get to the airport. But other times (also 4 day stays) I simply bought 7-day pass that was cheaper than 3-day + 1-day passes.

I think we have narrowed down the accomodation to the Kampa Garden Hotel near the Charles Bridge. We were originally looking at apartments in the Brevnov area, Prague 6. Sounded like a pretty good deal but out of the way. Thought we might like to be able to go back to the room during the day without taking a bus. Giving up kitchen facilities but breakfast is inluded. Thanks for the reply. We are interested in heading out of the city for a day. I posted a request for 1 day trips and had several suggestions.