Can someone please give me advice on the best form of transportation to get from Prague to Krakow? We plan to rent a car in Czech Republic to visit rural areas but aren't sure we should return it in Poland. We've heard the train ride is quite long. We're not so young any more and this trip planning is hard work. Any help will be very appreciated!

I think you are wise to think about alternatives to driving a Czech car into Poland, hoping to return it there - - that will cost you a fortune in drop charge.

Take a look at http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34522187 for a lot of information on breaking the trip up.

Best wishes,

Rex

Take the trip in steps. Prague to Vienna, Vienna to Budapest, Budapest to Krakow. Piece of cake. Take the train, by all means. It's a most interesting journey.

Or go Prague to Dresden, Dresden to Berlin, Berlin to Warsaw, Warsaw to Krakow.

Thank you both. This is very helpful information especially the thread. I appreciate your help!

If you're flying to Prague overseas on Czech Airlines, you can purchase a segment ticket to Krakow for a very cheap rate. Ask your travel agent about segment tickets.

You can also take the night train from Prague to Krakow. It's about an 8 hour ride and gets in around 6 a.m.
The sleeper cars are clean and comfortable, although one of you will have to take an upper bunk. You will also be awakened around 3 a.m. for passport control.

I took the train, also, because I like to see the countryside and trains, in general. I deliberately broke the trip up because of the distance and because I wanted to stay in a smaller Czech town for a bit, anyway (after Prague).

I did Prague-Olomouc, then Olomouc-Krakow, by train. The trip is only a couple hours to Olomouc, where I spent the rest of that day and the next, and then the train to Krakow is only about five hours from Olomouc (it comes from Vienna). I did have to transfer to that train, I think at Prerov, Czech Republic, from Olomouc, but that wasn't a big problem.

I won't do overnight trains myself, don't like them. If I just want to get between two points, I'll fly instead, as an overnight train doesn't give you the advantage of the scenery.

Hi,
Just to let you know that you are not alone. I will be doing the same route only a couple of days earlier (16th). So far I am thinking overnight train = save on hotel, save time by traveling at night.