Prague with all its attractions has made it a world tourist destination. The large number of tourists visiting this city has caused prices to rise and Prague is no longer a cheap destination like it was in the 90s. However, Prague is still affordable and traveling costs here are still cheaper than other big European cities such as Paris, Vienna, Rome and others.
There are still ways to save your budget when visiting this beautiful city, but don't worry, being frugal doesn't mean being poor and you can still enjoy your holiday happily. The following is a summary of my tips and tricks for traveling in Prague.
First you must to cheap flights search from your country to Prague.
Choose the right area as a place to live The city of Prague is divided into 10 districts with the city center being at Prague 1.
Prague 1 is a tourist destination. The old town area, Prague Castle, Charles Bridge and all the places usually visited by tourists are in this area. You won't be too far from all the tourist attractions in the old town and you only need to walk. However, because it is in the center, prices for accommodation, food and drinks tend to be more expensive than other places. Apart from that, you will feel like you are in a "tourist camp" so you won't be able to experience the local style like in other areas.
Because my wife and I prefer to live in a place with a local feel and far from touristy places, we chose to live in Prague 6. Prague 6 is the residential area for Prague residents. Because it is quite far from the old city area (about 20 minutes by tram), the prices for accommodation, food and drinks are not as expensive as in Prague 1. Apart from that, you can enjoy local experiences such as shopping at grocery stores, cheap meals in the canteen or chatting with local people at the cafe. If you don't mind taking the tram to visit the old town and other tourist destinations, then staying at Prague 6 could be the right choice.
The transportation system in Prague is very good. The 10 districts of the city are connected by trams, buses and metro which operate from morning to evening. Even when the metro and most trams are not operating, night trams are ready to serve passengers to replace trams that do not operate at night. Prague applies a one ticket for all system, which means the ticket we buy is valid for all types of transport. Transport tickets in Prague are divided into two types, individual tickets and daily tickets.
Individual tickets are then also divided into two according to duration: tickets valid for 30 minutes cost 24 CZK and 90 minutes for 32 CZK. Daily tickets are divided into 24 hour tickets (110 CZK) and 72 hour tickets (310 CZK). Before use, this ticket must be validated in the yellow box available in front of the metro door or in trams and buses. Officers in thug uniforms are sometimes present to check your ticket, if you forget to validate it or provide a ticket that has already expired you can be subject to a fairly large fine. Apart from a good transportation system, Prague also has comfortable walking paths.
The streets in the Old Town area are designated for pedestrians so you can enjoy ancient buildings such as the Clock Tower, Powder Tower and of course, Charles Bridge without worrying about being hit by cars. If you live in the Old Town area, you can walk to all the mainstream tourist destinations in Prague. Exchange Money and Take Money at the Right Place As the tourism industry in Prague increases, so does the activity of parties trying to take advantage of this tourism activity.
For an honest place to exchange money, watch the Youtube clip Honest Guide by Janek Rubek which gives lots of tips and advice for traveling in Prague. Avoid withdrawing money from ATMs with the Euronet logo. Euronet provides a low exchange rate and also charges quite high admin fees. We discovered this when we withdrew money from a Euronet ATM machine at one of the minimarkets on our way to Prague.
Because we would arrive in Prague in the morning and didn't have any CZK at all, we ended up taking money from the machine and as a result we lost a lot. Withdraw money from local bank ATM machines such as Ceska Sporitelna, CSOB, Komercni banka, Czech National Bank, and Czech Export Bank. I took money at the Ceska Sporitelna ATM in Prague City Hall and the rate was much better than what I took at the Euronet ATM.
Go to Free Tourist Attractions
The most fun thing about visiting European cities is the many free tourist attractions such as city squares, parks or other public spaces. In Prague there are quite a lot of free tourist attractions. We didn't even pay a penny to relax and enjoy the view of Prague from Prague Castle. A walk on the famous Charles Bridge is free. Most of the ancient churches with their beautiful mosaics and architecture do not require payment. Here are the free tourist attractions we visited in Prague:
Prague Castle area : St Vitus Church, Golden Lane (after 7pm)
Charles Bridge
Petrin Hill
Wenceslas Square
Old Town
Vysherad Castle
Lennon's Wall
Eat in the Canteen
If you want to eat cheaply and enjoy the local atmosphere like local people, try eating in the canteen. There are many canteens in Prague and the prices are cheap because the market share is local residents. The canteen usually provides a daily menu which we can see on the notice board in the restaurant. Thanks to the Zomato application, we can find places to eat according to our budget. Just select the “canteen” option and we can find a canteen with prices according to your budget and high reviews. Lidova Jidelna is a canteen that we visited thanks to the Zomato application.
Be Local, Stay with Local
Three days living with Anicka (although we rarely saw each other) taught us a few things about Czech people in general. For breakfast, Czechs generally eat at home and rarely go out for breakfast. Czechs usually visit supermarkets or shops near their homes to buy groceries to cook. For lunch they eat in a canteen or restaurant.
Dinner is usually at a restaurant or at home depending on their taste. Living in Anicka's apartment also saves us money on laundry because Anicka allows us to use her washing machine without paying. Imagine if we lived in a hotel and paid laundry fees which are not cheap.
You can wash it yourself at the hotel, but it will definitely be difficult to dry wet laundry. Anicka is also considered an uncalculating host. We can still use the apartment facilities even though it is past check out time. Living in Airbnb is the right option if you want to save money.
Dont Forget you must be have Travel Insurance.
Please choose what you want to do in Prague;