Beautiful Day Trip from Prague: Cesky Krumlov

Cesky Krumlov, South Bohemia, Czech Republic

Cesky Krumlov is a beautiful historically preserved medieval village in the South Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive in a car and a 2.75 hour ride on a bus (the train won’t get you here) from Prague. This is one of the places I really wanted to get to, during my time in Prague. Recently I made the trip with a friend.

After looking unsuccessfully for trains or buses to get there (no trains go all the way) and having opted out of renting a car or a shuttle (geared towards tourists and picks up at hotels) due to the prices, I thought we were going to have to cancel.

Student Agency-The Best and Cheapest Bus Company in Prague

At the last minute though, I was directed towards the Student Agency Bus company, by a local Prague tour guide and blogger. What a great tip! They had super low rates (about 13 euros round trip per person), were comfortable, and were not only for ‘students’ as the name implied. They are now on my ‘must use’ list for travel between the Czech Republic and countries like Austria, Germany, Norway and Switzerland.

I was able to snag the last 2 tickets for a 10 am Saturday departure, but my suggestion would be to book ahead with these guys as seats fill up quickly (I was booking in Ocober), and book up much farther ahead during peak season.

I booked us an 8pm return so we’d have enough time to walk around and explore (since we had our apartment in Prague and didn’t want to pay for another place over night).

Cesky Krumlov in Fall/Autumn

The weather had gotten quite cold in the few days before we left Prague but much to our dismay it was even colder in Cesky Krumlov, because of the higher elevation and proximity to the mountains. Though very chilly, the air was clean and crisp, and the smoke from the fireplaces crackling in every bar lent a lovely mountain retreat feel to the over all ambiance. We decided to walk around and see everything we could, have a long lunch somewhere warm and then stop for a couple of drinks in spots that had fireplaces or heaters so we could keep warm.

A Small But Picturesque Town

It doesn’t take long to walk around most of Cesky Krumlov, but it’s picturesque place where you get the urge to retrace your steps a few times just to see the beautiful views more than once. The orange roofed houses and historic stone buildings dotting the hillsides on both sides of the winding Vltava River, with terraces and patios belonging to dozens of traditional restaurants and taverns lining the river banks make a fairy-tale like picture.

At lunch, sitting at the back patio tables of a Czech bar with our mulled wine, we watched canoers and kayakers pass by and envisioned how fun (and certainly much more crowded!) the village must be in the Summer.

Afterwards, walking through the city, winding around the 13th century Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque influenced castle and through the beautiful gardens behind it, we found dozens of perfect photo opportunities.

By the end of the day, we were quite stiff, cold and tired of navigating cobblestones, so we were happy to stop and have some warm drinks at yet another riverside tavern with views of the twinkling lights inside and outside the hotels, pubs, and bars on the river.

All in all, this was a great way to spend a day outside of Prague…. a glimpse of a little piece of Central Europe caught in time..