Prague to Cesky Krumlov to Vienna?
 

From Prague we are heading to Vienna and want to see Cesky Krumlov on the way.
Is it worth hiring a private driver or are you able to easily take shuttles and store luggage while we visit CK for 4 hours?

Perhaps if you explain a little better what you mean about taking shuttles. From where? And what do you mean by a shuttle, a bus or some car service or ? YOu don't mention where you will be staying during this trip to CK or how you are going to Vienna. I don't personally see how you could fit in a 4 hr trip to CK during a train trip from Prague to Vienna, for example. The train from Prague to Vienna is direct, I believe (I was on it once but got off at Prerov or somewhere in Moravia, I forget exactly), but not to CK, nor from CK to Vienna.

Are you taking a train between locations? Do you mean a shuttle from the train station?

It's 8 hours of traveling (an extra 3 hours on the train plus time to get from the station to CK and back) vs. 5 hours from Prague to Vienna.

If you can afford it I would take a private car but I don't think CK is worth the hassle or expense.

I drove there so can't comment on luggage storage at the train station but there are lots of threads with this information; you can do a search and have your answer in a couple of minutes.

The bus from Prague to CK is the better option in terms of travel time as it's only around 2.5hrs. Then on to Vienna I would suggest either a private shuttle (3hrs) or train (5hrs), but there will be around 2 changes and waiting if you take the train.

However, I would also suggest a night in CK rather than just a day trip. I know it all looks close on a map, but it's further travel time than you think, so if you can spare a night for CK you won't regret it.

Take the Student bus from Prague to CK, spend a night in CK, take the Lobo Shuttle from CK to Vienna.

thank you for your replies!
to clarify our trip is for early September (12 days/11 nights).
4 nights Prague
5 nights Vienna
2 nights Budapest.
we will have stayed 4 nights in Prague and then were heading to Vienna for 5 nights and finally 2 nights (2 full days) in Budapest
We had thought to take a bus or shuttle company (like Student Agency bus) to Ck and visit on our way to Vienna: from Ck had thought to take another Shuttle company like Lobo or debating whether to hire a private driver for entire trip (Prague-CK-Vienna) to arrive at Vienna by night time.

We don't want to spend night in Ck as we'd rather spend the night in Vienna

Only way we would use the buses/shuttle company, is if there is a way to hold luggage while we explore CK for about 4-5 hours
your thoughts are appreciated!
We will have other questions about itinerary, but will post in another topic later on.

For me, this would be too many days/nights in Vienna. You have the time to give up a night should you really want to see CK.

If you can't or do not want to, I would not bother to stop for a few hours.

thank you CE!
reason for 5 nights in Vienna, is we want 3 full days and then 1 day in countryside (boat Vienna to Melk and walk along Danube)

anyone else ever do a stopover on way to Vienna via private driver?

It surely can be done. We went by a private driver which our hotel in Prague arranged. If I were to do this, I would probably arrange a driver.

Yes, there have been other threads where people mentioned they used a private driver, one of them was Stu Tower if I recall correctly. So, you'll need to search other threads to find them.

We used a driver on the way from Prague to Salzburg, and he was wonderful. He met us at the hotel, drove to CK, gave us three hours to tour the castle (helped buy the tickets for us), and drove us to our hotel in Salzburg. I figured it was about $100 -150 more than if we'd done cabs, train, cabs, and our luggage would be safe/easy.

They do offer the transfer you want. http://mike-chauffeur.cz/central-europe-trips.html I'd highly recommend them - they'll also get you at the Prague airport, if you wish. Click on my name for my trip report if you're interested.

Have a great trip!

I can recommend Mike's Chauffeur service as dependable and professional. I used Mike in Prague.

I need your advie guys! I need a lot of advice!:-)I should probably start a new thread with my question, but I see a few experienced travelers here and would like to capitalize on your experience in Prague in particular... I am planning a surprise New Year's trip for my husband and my 19-year-old daughter. Is it worth going to Prague around New Year? What events would you recommend? any particular places to visit besides Charles Bridge? Any events, festivals, concerts? or is it worth going to another city, which European city would you recommend for the best new year's celebration experience? we like fireworks, street parties, food and drink, classical concerts, cooking, art and travel. Looking for both Old World charm, history and party kind of thing..and not too cold, -5 C is OK...Thanks in advance!

Another vote for Mike. We used his service a couple of times and were very pleased.

I was with you olgalita right to "not too cold". Prague May be cold.

I would suggest maybe someplace like Rome. My daughter and I had a fantastic New Year's Eve there.

Thanks ! How cold does it get around this time of year in Prague? We are very comfortable up to minus 5 Celsius...

It is hard to say... you should be able to pull the average temperatures for Prague.

Two years ago in Vienna at Christmas, I thought I would die. Last year was much better. -5C would seem safe, I think.