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Useful Information for Travellers

Transport in Prague

There are several types of public transport in Prague: metro, bus and tram.

In Czech, transport is written “doprava”. For all types of transport a single travel ticket (“yizdenka”) is used. The ticket is valid for all types of transport, including the Petřín funicular, as well as when transferring from one type of transport to another. Short-term tickets (from 30 minutes to 3 days) must be validated  in one of the yellow validation machines that are located at the entrance to every metro station and on trams and buses. There’s an arrow on the ticket to show you which way to put it in the machine. Once stamped the ticket is valid and doesn’t need to be stamped again. To choose a convenient route from one point of the city to another, you can use the website www.dpp.cz or download the mobile application IDOS, Pubtran.

There is a schedule for trams and buses at each stop. It’s very accurate and calculated to the minute. The schedule is different for weekdays and weekends. On public holidays, transport runs on the Sunday schedule. There is a separate schedule for night transport, but the same tickets are used. At stops, night trams and buses are marked separately by the route number on a black background.

Daily trams: 4:30 a.m.–0:30 a.m., night trams: 0:30 a.m.–4:30 a.m. (with an interval of 30 minutes).

Daily buses: 4:30 a.m.–0:30 a.m., night buses: 0:30 a.m.–4:30 a.m. (with an interval of 30–60 minutes).

The funicular to Petřín Hill: 9:00 a.m.–23:30 p.m. (with an interval of 10 minutes in summer, 15 minutes in winter).

Metro in Prague – three lines A (green), B (red), C (yellow).

Metro is open from 5:00 a.m. to 01:00 a.m.. Train timetables are available at each metro station in Prague. Trains run strictly on schedule (interval 1–10 minutes).

Line A – from the station Motol (Motol) to the station Depot Hostivar (Depo Hostivař).

Line B – from the station Zlichin (Zličín) to the station Cherny most (Černý most).

Line C – from the station Haye (Háje) to the station Letnyany (Letňany).

Prague Public Transport Tickets and Passes

Information about transport tickets can be found here.

Depending on the time interval, you have several options for the type of ticket to use:

Basic ticket – 90 min – 32 CZK (price for children from 6 to 14 years old – 16 CZK).

Shortened ticket – 30 min – 24 CZK (price for children from 6 to 14 years old – 12 CZK).

One-day ticket – 24 hours – 110 CZK (price for children from 6 to 14 years old – 55 CZK).

Three-day ticket – 72 hours – 310 CZK.

In the Prague Integrated Traffic system (PID) there are price discounts for particular categories of passengers.

  • Children under 6 years old travel free of charge as well as one of the parents accompanying a child up to 3 years in a stroller.
  • Category from 6 to 15 years – 50% of the cost of a full-price ticket (the obligation to submit a valid “Special Fare Entitlement Document for a child between 6 and 15 years of age” recorded on a smart card or a paper form of a “Child 6–15” pass).
  • Category from 60 to 65 years – 50% of the cost of a full-price ticket (the obligation to prove the age by a valid “Special Fare Entitlement Document for a senior of between 60 and 65 years of age” recorded on a smart card or using a paper form of the “Senior 60-65” pass).
  • Category from 65 to 70 years – free (the obligation to prove the age by a valid “Special Fare Entitlement Document for a senior of between 65 and 70 years of age” recorded on a smart card or using a paper form of the “Senior 65-70” pass). PID cards for 30-day, 90-day, 150-day, 300-day and 365(6)-day paper coupons are issued on the spot at the sales points of PID travel documents. The applicant for a PID card is required to submit a 3.5 x 4.5 cm photograph, an ID card or a passport and, if applicable, a document using which the applicant proves his/her entitlement to a discount. The document price is 20 CZK.
  • Category from 70 years – free of charge, no proof is required.

Tickets for Prague public transport can be purchased:

  • in the yellow ticket vending machines installed at all metro stations and at selected surface transit stops (the vending machines accept only coins, not banknotes);
  • some busy places (e.g. Airport, Main train station) are equipped with machines that accept cards as well;
  • in kiosks selling newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, etc. (Trafika, Sazka, Real);
  • in information centres, one of which can be found upon arrival at the Václav Havel Airport;
  • via SMS only from SIM cards of Czech mobile operators. The price of the SMS is added to the ticket price according to the fare. You must send an SMS with the text DPT110 or DPT32, or DPT24 to the number 90206. The numbers 110, 32, 24 indicate the cost of the travel document.

Attention! Always pay the fare, do not risk travelling without a ticket, the controllers always appear unexpectedly, and the fines are quite substantial!

Taxi

Make sure to use the services of official companies only, otherwise, you risk losing a significant amount of money. Calling a taxi, immediately ask the operator about the fare, providing them with the address of your final destination. The maximum price within the tourist routes of Prague should not exceed 300–500 CZK. You can ask to send a Russian-speaking driver. There should be a logo and the company’s phone number on the front door of a taxi.

Choosing taxis

NEJLEVNĚJŠÍ-TAXI.cz: +420 226 000 226

AAA Taxi: +420 222 333 222

Taxi Praha 14007: +420 220 414 414

Green-prague: +420 721 111 112

Uber

Transport in the Czech Republic

Any city of the Czech Republic or Europe can always be reached by bus or train. To choose a convenient connection between Prague and the cities of the Czech Republic and Europe, please visit www.jizdnirady.idnes.cz

Railway Connection

Central station (Hlavní nádraží) metro station Hlavní nádraží www.cd.cz

Search for public transport connections www.pid.idos.cz

Buy tickets online www.cd.cz

In suburban trains, only children under 6 years old can travel free of charge accompanied by a passenger 10 years of age or older with a valid ticket. The accompanying person may transport with him/her free of charge at most 2 children under 6 years of age, provided only one seat is required for both of them. Passengers 70 years of age and older are not entitled to free travel on suburban trains. Students with an ISIC card are eligible for benefits. Concessionary travel passes (pensioners, disabled persons) issued in other countries are not valid when travelling by rail.

Bus Service

Prague Central Bus Station Florenc is considered the largest in the Czech Republic; therefore there is a bus terminal with city, suburban and intercity buses. The Prague Florenc Bus Station is located directly at the B/C Florenc interchange metro station www.florenc.cz (there is an English version of the site). The bus station is open daily from 03:00 a.m. to 00:30 a.m. Today, 10 bus companies operate at the bus terminal in Prague, the largest of them are:

Eurolines www.elines.cz

Regio Jet www.regiojet.cz

EcoLines www.ecolines.net

FlixBus www.flixbus.cz

This is a vast network of routes to Germany, Austria, Hungary and other countries. The bus station provides luggage storage service: 50 CZK /item/calendar day. Open daily from 5:00 a.m. – midnight. The most common ways to purchase or book a ticket are:

  • buy a ticket with a seat reservation at one of the advance ticket sales offices located in the bus terminal;
  • purchase or book a ticket through the selected transport operator’s website;
  • purchase your ticket from the driver before departure at the respective departure platform.

Useful Telephone Numbers

112 – is the European emergency phone number, available everywhere in the EU, free of charge. It should be called in all emergency situations (e.g. 911 in North America)

158 – Police

154 – Emergency Road Service

155 – Emergency Medical Service

150 – Fire and Rescue Service

Currency Exchange

There are exchange offices in all major tourist spots in Prague and at hotels. Better not to exchange your money at the Prague airport – they charge a very high commission rate. Banks also charge a commission for carrying out the currency exchange. In hotels, the commission is up to 5%. 

Always go to official exchange offices and avoid “street sellers” that might offer to exchange your money on a street corner. If someone tries to sell you a foreign currency on the street, you’re quite likely to part with a considerable amount of your money.

Private exchange offices take a commission of up to 10%. Be careful with the exchange points, before making any transaction read all the information. Popular currency exchange offices are located on Jindřišská and Panská streets: there is no commission, and the exchange rate is adequate.
Exchange offices in banks are open on weekdays 9–11 a.m. and 14–18 p.m. When leaving the country, banks can exchange a small amount of money back if you still have an original exchange receipt.

Currency

In circulation are banknotes in denominations of 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 CZK and coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 CZK. All known credit cards are accepted in the Czech Republic: MasterCard, MasterCard Electron, VISA, VISA Electron, American Express. In ATMs of the Czech Republic you can only withdraw money in the official currency of the country – the Czech Crown.

Tax-free

In the Czech Republic, as in many other countries, when you buy a product you pay VAT – value added tax, in the Czech Republic this is DPH – 21% of the cost of goods. This tax can be returned if the product is purchased in a store that is a member of the worldwide system for returning Tax-free. The goods must be exported from the country within three months from the date of purchase. But most importantly, in order to be eligible for a VAT refund, you need to reside permanently in a non-EU country and stay in the European Union for no more than six months. Also, the purchase amount must exceed 2000 CZK, and the goods must be purchased on the same day and from one seller. When paying for the goods, ask the seller for a Tax-free form. There are three tax refund places in Prague, where all Tax-free forms received in the Czech Republic are accepted, they are located in Kotva Department Store, at Opletalova 4 and at Celetna 3. Tax refund there is 15 to 18%, which is significantly more than what you can get at the airport or upon arrival home. You can get the VAT refund in cash or through transfer to your bank account. You can also get a VAT refund at the airport or at home.