Czech Republic country information

Czech Republic
Area: 8,866 sq km
Population: 10,424,926
Population density: 132 per sq km
Capital: Prague

Passport & Visa

Passport Required?
British	Yes/1
Australian	Yes
Canadian	Yes
USA	Yes
Other EU	2
Visa Required?
British	No
Australian	No/3
Canadian	No/3
USA	No/3
Other EU	No

Note :

The Czech Republic joined the Schengen Agreement on 21 December 2007 for overland entry points and seaports, and on 29 March 2008 for airports.

Passports

Passport valid for at least 90 days beyond length of stay required by all nationals referred to in the chart above except:
(a) 1. British nationals whose passport should be valid for intended length of stay;
(b) 2. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.

Passport Note

Minors are allowed to travel on their parents' passports up until aged 15 years.

Visas

Not required by all nationals referred to in the chart above for the following durations:
(a) nationals of EU countries who may stay for an unlimited period;
(b) 3. nationals of Australia, Canada and the USA for stays of up to 90 days.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements.

Visa Note

(a) EU nationals, and those who do not require visas, whose stay will exceed 30 days, must register with the Alien and Border Police within 30 days of arrival. All other nationals must register with the Alien and Border Police within three days of arrival, regardless of intended length of stay. Generally, accommodation providers will arrange this for their guests.
(b) British Overseas Citizens require visas as do holders of British Travel Documents (blue) under the 1951 Geneva Convention, and holders of British Travel Documents (brown) for tourism and business trips, and must apply in person.

Getting there

Getting There by Air

The national airline is Czech Airlines (OK) (website: www.csa.cz ).

Approximate Flight Times

From London to Prague is 2 hours, and from New York is 8 hours.

Main Airports

Prague (PRG) (Ruzyne) is 20km (12 miles) northwest of the city. To/from the airport: Cedaz (website: www.cedaz.cz ) operates a shuttle bus to the city centre and a 24-hour door-to-door minibus service. Public buses run every 10 minutes or so from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 to the Zlicín and Dejvická metro stations. Bus 100 goes to Zlicín (line B) (journey time - 15 minutes) and bus 119 runs to Dejvická (line A) (journey time - 20 minutes). The night bus 510 links up with the night tram 51 at Divoká Sárka. Minibuses and taxis are also available; some major hotels operate shuttle-bus services. Facilities: Duty-free shops, left luggage, post office, banks/bureaux de change, restaurant and bar, car parking and car hire.

Departure Tax

Included in ticket price.

Getting There by Rail

The Czech Republic forms part of the European InterCity network. The most convenient routes to the Czech Republic from Western Europe are via Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Nuremburg, Munich, Vienna, Würzburg or Zurich to Prague. The Vindobona Express is a once-daily through train that travels from Vienna to Brno and Prague and on to Berlin. Rail travel information is available from Czech Railways (tel: 8401 12113, within the Czech Republic only; website: www.cdrail.cz ). Train timetables are available at www.vlak-bus.cz .

Rail Passes

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (website: www.raileurope.co.uk ).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited travel in 20 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days to three months, or for 10 or 15 days travel in a two-month period. The Eurailpass Saver ticket offers discounts for two or more travellers. The Eurailpass Youth ticket is available to those aged under 26 and offers unlimited travel. The Eurail Selectpass is valid in three to five bordering countries and allows up to 15 days travel in a two-month period. The Eurail Regional Pass allows four to 10 travel days in a two-month period in two or three neighbouring countries. Children receive a 50% reduction. The passes cannot be sold to residents of Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, or the Russian Federation. Available from The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com ).

Getting There by Road

A network of international motorways (or 'E' roads) link Prague and the Czech Republic to neighbouring Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria.

Coach: There is an international coach network covering most European cities. There are connections to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Vienna and other main cities from the Florenc and Zelivskeho Bus Terminals in Prague. Touring Bohemia/Eurolines runs services from London Victoria to Plzen, Prague and Brno (tel: 2242 18680; website: www.bei.cz ). In the UK, you can buy London-Prague coach tickets through National Express/Eurolines (tel: 08717 818181; website: www.nationalexpress.com ).

Coach passes: Prague is one of 40 cities that travellers can visit with a 15- or 30-day Eurolines Pass. These can be bought online from Eurolines (website: www.eurolines-pass.com ).

Cycling & Maps

Cost of living

Czech Republic: all prices in Czech Republic Koruny (CZK)

drinks and snacks			food: local markets; restaurants; and stores
water (mineral) juice soft drink (can) soft drink (bottle)	1 litre 1 litre 300ml 1 litre	17.20 25.00 tba 21.50	bread loaf-white bread loaf-whole grain	600g 750g	21.00 27.00
			local market food pizza -takeaway	one serving one serving one serving med	tba tba tba tba
beer - local wine	330ml 750ml	12.70 81.00+
tea coffee (cafe / bar) Nescafe instant coffee - ground	25 bags per cup 125g 500g	26.00 34.00 74.00 188.00	rice (white) pasta eggs tinned tomatoes	kg 500g per dozen 250g	25.30 14.20 26.70 18.00
milk yoghurt / curd cheese Magnum icecream	1 litre 500g kg each	14.30 9.50 155.00 tba	potatoes onions tomatoes green beans	kg kg kg kg	13.00 11.00 25.00 45.00
chips salted peanuts dried apricots	200g packet kg kg	tba tba tba	apples oranges bananas	kg kg kg	25.00 28.00 35.00
cornflakes chocolate biscuits - plain biscuits- chocolate	375g packet 100g block 200g packet 200g packet	33.00 22.00 15.00 2 0.00	pineapple (can) oil (corn)	500g can 500ml	21.20 14.00
			peanut paste jam	500g jar 400g jar	tba 27.00

accommodation			personal
budget city hostel	180-350+ per dorm bed 600-1000 twin share bathroom 1200+ double with bathroom		deodorant - roll-on soap shampoo toothbrush toothpaste disposable razor toilet paper	50ml 150g bar 200ml each 100ml 5 pack each	65.00 19.20 56.00 tba 25.30 108.00 tba
camping 1 star wild camping	150 tent + 2 persons
internet	60-100 per hour

* tba = price to be announced
* January 2009: at time of writing 1.00 USD = 23.30 CZK
all prices have been taken from internet resources such as wikitravel, hostel world, leading supermarket chains, travel blogs, forums and of course our own travel experiences and purchases of everyday products in food markets, bazaars and local shopping facilities. They are only an indication and designed to give you a general impression of the cost of living in Czech Republic. Items are geared towards the budget conscious traveller with an occasional craving for a bit of luxury.

Source:www.exchange-rates.org