BillT

A few questions for our visit to Prague in May:

1) We are staying at the K+K Central Hotel- need some restaurant suggestions where there are no scams being played.

2) Trains- we will be taking a train from Prague to Dresden- in the station are there signs in English? Do they speak English there? How are the Czech trains?

3) Have been reading about various scams in play there what has been your experience?
(taxi scam, restaurant scam, wallet scam, etc).

Any other tips would be welcome,
Thanks!

nytraveler

I think you need to stop focusing on scams and instead focus on what you will be seeing and enjoying. (Yes, there are scams everywhere - incluidig your home town and the local mall.) Overall crime in europe is WAY less than in the US and as long as you use basic common sense you should have no trouble. In terms of taxis, make sure you know the approximate fare in advance and tell the drive that. If they don;t agree - just pick another cab.

As for restaurants, look at the menu and pick what you want. You are much less likely to run into scam if you reat in local places - rather than tourist places with menus in 14 languages or even worse - picturs of the food.

The tourist infrastructure is quite well-developed - much more so than when I was first there 15 years ago - and basic English is widely spoken in tourist sights - but do bring a basic menu reader with you and learn the basic polite phrases before you go

Prages is a gorgeous and fascinating city with incredible options for all types of musical activities - and has a richness of architecture found almost nowhere else - since Chamberlain handed it to Hitler - preventing it from being destroyed in WWII as many central european cities were.

sparkchaser

Scams are easily avoided if you don't act like an idiot.

unclegus

I would agree with Nytraveller. scams are really not a problem in Prague.
http://www.livingprague.com/scams.htm
this link will give you info on scams and what to look for ,but really it is not a major problem, you may get a little over charged in some tourist resturants but it is nothing really.
thee are several fairplay taxi stands about ,one beside the Municiple house usually AAA taxis which have a good reputation
The Main Train station in prague has been recently refurbished though they are still working on the old entrance area but you would.nt notice (i was in there last week) plenty of english signs and the major train announcements are in English. The international trains are in the main pretty good though talking to a friend over dinner last week there are some routes best avoided,i got too drunk to remember which.
There are loads of resturants within a few minutes walk of your hotel most if not all will have English menus and most staff will have decent English and many have superb English, the Reatuarny Hybernia is pretty decent and right across from the hotel and round the corner is a Potrefena husa place(staropramen brewery chain) which does good bistro style food. the nearby Municiple house has several bars and restuarants inside but it has been quite a while since i ate in there.
overall Prague is one of the nicest ,cheapest and safest capital cities in Europe if not the world, worry not about scams.

BillT

Thanks- I have done quite a lot of research on what to do and see and now I am just trying to do some research on what might happen if I'm not aware and prepared ( we are not novice travelers). For example in some Prague restaurants we were told to read the menu carefully as there may be fine print indicating further pricing info. Also we were informed that if bread is on the table and you do not want to eat it tell the waiter to remove it otherwise you would be charged and also ask for an itemized bill and keep the menu with you to check the bill when it arrives as you might forget what the price of the meal was. I did such preparation in Italy and was glad I did as we were ready for the Gypsies!
Knowing what might happen and being prepared goes a long way to ensure one's trip is not spoiled by these situations.

gh21

Spent 6 days in Prague in Sept. Certainly anytime you are approached on the street by someone you do not know you should be cautious and walk away if necessary. Our guide on a walking tour cautioned not to exchange money with anyone on the street ( duh--common sense) as they will probably give you bills from another country ( at lesser value) than Czech currency. As we were leaving an ATM we were approached by someone asking if we had change for a large bill. A firm NO from us and he walked away.

As far as restaurants, Pasta Fresca which has been mentioned in previous posts is great. Perhaps our best meal was at Tri Stoleti in Malay Strana. We had 2 drinks before dinner, 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, a decent bottle if wine-- all great and only $75 US--recommend reservations as we saw several parties being turned away.

BillT

Thanks Unclegus - your info is just what I was looking for!

adrienne

<< How are the Czech trains? >>

It depends on the type of train. They're basic and fine. But why do you think you'll only have a Czech train? You could get a German train. The trains go back and forth.

<< in the station are there signs in English? >>

Can't really remember but I never had a problem in any train station in Europe with signage. What type of signs are you looking for? Train stations are intuitive without signage. There will be a board for arrivals and departures with track numbers and corresponding track number on each track. Even if the heading is in Czech it's easy to understand. Don't worry...you'll get where you're going and there will be enough people who speak English to help you out if you need it.

<< need some restaurant suggestions where there are no scams being played. >>

What type of scams? Getting chicken when you ordered pork?

My advice on restaurants is to watch the portion size and pay attention when the number of grams are shown as you could get a much larger portion than you want. But this is not a scam.

The Czech's are very fond of lots of raw onions and sometimes you get them even when you specify no raw onions.

<< Have been reading about various scams in play there what has been your experience? (taxi scam, restaurant scam, wallet scam, etc). >>

I've been to Prague twice, the last time on my own. Never experienced any scams that you mention (although I'm not clear what they are). What's the wallet scam? What's the restaurant scam? You need to read a different type of book.

You did not ask about this but here's some helpful advice. Make sure you know the Czech word for each sight you want to visit. There are sign posts in Prague but only in Czech.

unclegus

last time I got charged for bread in a Prague resturant it cost me 5kc a totally insignificant amount ( an Italian Pizza Place), though some places do chagre 20-50kc cover charge which is still peanuts and last time I had that amount charged was several years ago.
One thing to note is that when ordering fish or maybe a steak you will be chagred per 100g ( as mentioned by Adrienne),don't see this so often these days but i know it does happen especially for fish but not always ,the higher end resturant tend to do this more than the places i frequent.

Ingo

Platform/track numbers for trains in the Czech Republic are only assigned quite late, unlike in Germany e.g. Can be a bit unnerving to wait for the announcements (on big screens). The EC trains that run Prague - Dresden are usually NOT Czech trains, often Austrian, Hungarian or German trains. They are ok, but the standard is not comparable to German ICE or French TGV, of course.

Christina

I might be wrong as it's been a few years, but I do not think signs are in English in Czech metro or train stations. YOu should learn some basic Czech words (such as for platform/quai, entrance, exit, etc.). There is one window in the main station where they speak English but it often has a long line and even then, the person there is not always super fluent. But there is one. As I said, I haven't been there in a few years, so maybe there are more windows like that now, but I wouldn't count on it.

I don't remember ever having a problem in Prague with being forced to pay for things I didn't want in a restaurant, like in some other countries (eg, Italy and Spain, they do that, also). But I do know various basic Czech words, so maybe I just knew what was up and said I didn't want it. I just don't remember that, but I don't stay in the main area where the most tourists are and don't eat there usually, either. But I have, of course.

Leely2

I was in Prague for six days this summer, neither speak nor read any Czech, and had no problems.

There is a farmer's market by your hotel. We had a light dinner there one night, buying sausages, glasses of wine, some fruit and sweets from various vendors as we wandered around.

I also had dinner night at Ambiente Pizza Nuovo, which is up the big street from your hotel, closer to the river. No scams, but then I didn't experience any scams at all while in the CR.

Lokal was across the street from our apartment and very good ( casual). It's on Hastalska Square. We also had a blow out tasting menu w/ wine pairings at La Degustation, a Michelin-starred restaurant on Hastalska Square too. Expect Michelin prices if you go!

We used AAA taxi, great service.

http://www.aaataxi.cz/?xSET=lang&xLANG=2

unclegus

I can assure you there are signs in english and czech,even transport the tickets have english on them though not the domestic train tickets. The train station is very different from a few years ago,there is a separate international and domestic ticketing area(next to each other).
word of waring if using the transport system in Prague is to make sure you have a proper validated ticket BEFORE you enter the barrier area of the metro or validate your tickets as soon as you get on a tram or bus,yellow boxes to do this are very obvious.
again Living Prague has the answers.
http://www.livingprague.com/transport.htm
BTW I have no comercial affiliation to this website, just know the guy that runs it.

unclegus

The farmers market that leely metions is very good, not on every day but usualy 2 or 3 days a week,lots of great food stuff but also craft stalls as well.

When in May are you visiting as there is an excellent beer festival on in the Holesovice exhibition area at that time of year ,usually last 2 weeks of may but not had the info on the dates for next year yet. I will be in the city for part of the beer festival.
http://www.ceskypivnifestival.cz/en/czech/prague-2013/

BillT

We will be in Prague May 17,18 and 19. Another question about the trains. As I said we will be taking a train from Prague to Dresden. We will be taking 2 large suitcases - where can we put these on the train. Is there a luggage rack as you enter each car? And is it safe to leave it there if I can't keep an eye on it from my seat?

adrienne

If it's a compartment train then you put your luggage on the overhead rack. Depending on luggage size, a large bag may not fit.

Trains with coach seating will have overhead racks above the seats and storage at the end of the car.

hkto

Really large suitcases don't fit in 6 person compartments unless there are empty seats which is a good possibility. Overhead racks are for smaller luggage, may be 20-22" at most. There are no other separate luggage racks in these rail cars. Local Czech trains (regular bench seating) go to Decin (about 30 min from Dresden), they might have more space.

unclegus

Billt, there is a good possiblity I will be in Prague on these dates.I just got back from a visit on Thursday and know I will be in prague for part of the beer festival though might be just after your dates.
hard to say about luggage storage as it really depends on the train and as i said before the quality of which does vary/
I would check with this website for info regarding the train.http://www.seat61.com/

kappa1

Restaurant scams in Prague : there are some notorious ones, they may not be spoken of here much but check on tripadvisor forum.

For a starter :
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#53776976

Especially read the post No.12 that says 4 well known ones. Café Trinity at the end Old Town end of Wenceslas Square and Mystic Café by the Castle are well located so I would not be surprised that, without knowing their reputations, you go there by chance and get scammed. Fortunately I had read about these places before so never set foot in myself.

kappa1

I should add, I have been to Prague around 20 times so far and never got scammed with restaurants and cafés. It's not difficult. Most places are ok and I love and enjoy visiting the city every time without problem.