My friend and I are trying to plan a two
week trip for this July. Prague sounds very
interesting; however, I enjoy big cities but
I also like to get into the countryside. Does
anyone know of a beautiful village,easy to
get to from Prague?
We also considered a few days in London,
rent a car and travel to Swansea Wales,
Northumberland and on to Scotland. We are on
a limited budget and since UK is not on euro,
would this be an expensive trip? Any suggestions
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

There are a lot of very beautiful small towns in the Czech Republic. Close to Prague, you might want to head to the spa town of Karlovy Vary, which is a relatively short trip from Prague. If you want to drive a bit further south, Cesky Krumlov and Telc are well worth going out of the way to visit. The value of the koruna still makes the Czech Republic a pretty good deal for people coming from the US, UK or Euro areas (not as good as it was 8 or 10 years ago when I first went to the CzRep, but still decent). Good travels,

-Richard

Sounds great, Richard, I appreciate your suggestions. You mentioned "drive". Do you know if there are trains or other means of transportation? If not, how is the driving there? Thanks again.
Xandra

When we visted Prague in 2004 we took day trips on a bus....info is easy to find at the TI, and for specific details I did write a trip report.

Driving in the Czech Rep. is pretty much the same as elsewhere in Europe. The roads are very good (though motorways don't go everywhere), and the pace of driving is fairly gentile (compared to, say, Italy). If I recall, it was about a two-hour drive south to Cesky Krumlov (which if you haven't read up on it, is a real gem). From there, fairly rural roads can take you about to the various smaller towns one might want to visit. Unfortunately, I can't say much about regional train or bus services, but I'm sure they are as extensive as anywhere in Europe (especially in the former "east" where per capita auto ownership is still considerably lower than in the "west"). Prague, being the capital is also the main transport hub of the country, and all trains, buses and roads lead here. Hence, trips out of Prague are quite easy. I'd recommend 5 days in Prague, and using the rest of the time to get around the country - there's more to see there than just Prague, and too few people know (or care) enough to go out and look around the countryside, especially when one is thinking "whirlwind tour" (which might include Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, etc.). I've found it much more rewarding as a traveller to limit my scope to a single city, region (or even country), and explore a little more slowly and thoroughly, as oppossed to trying to cram too much in too little time. Travel should be a relaxing experience, not a death march through 5 countries in 8 days...you spend too much time getting from place to place, and not enough time in the places! So, even if one were to limit oneself to the "urban" areas of the Czech Republic - Brno, Olomouc, Ceske Budejejovice, Plzn, etc offer more than enough to pique the curiosity and tantalize the senses. Happy travels,

-Richard

Thanks Richard. I feel the same way. I like
the small towns and villages.

I've not been to Prague and surrounding area, though it's definitely on the "must do" list, and Richard's ideas sound wonderful. Berlin, Budapest, Vienna - each fabulous in its own way, but I don't think I'd attempt all in one trip. I have to agree that you will probably be happier, see more, and have a more relaxed and enjoyable vacation if you concentrate on one area than if you try to "do it all." And as you say you are on a limited budget, it might be best to give the UK and Scotland a miss this time around. London in particular can be a real shock to the budget.

Whatever you decide, I'll be interested in reading your trip report when you get back. Enjoy!

Thanks to all for your suggestions and well
wishes.
Xandra

My wife and I stayed in a wonderful, small walled village in Austria called Freistadt near the Czech border. Stayed overnight in the youth hostel there on our way from Vienna to Prague. As it was September, we happened to be the only two people in the hostel which was very nice (the hostel and the fact that no one else was there).
I would go there again and love Prague. We have been there several times - three times to actually site see and once to just meander around the streets. This actually was the most enjoyable.
I would skip Karlovy Vary. I found it depressing each time we stopped there on the way to Prague.
St. Gilgen, although farther away (near Salzburg) was also one of my favorite small places because of the scenery.
Whatever you choose, I wouldn't miss Prague.
Joe

There is plenty to do in the Czech Republic and perhaps in a corner of Germany/Austria to fill those 2 weeks EASY. I am more familiar with the western part, although I have heard there are other beautiful places in the eastern part of the Czech Republic, too. I would recommend getting a Rough Guide and seeing what other towns are available, partiucularly if you headed more east than what I and previous posters have suggested. We spent about 6 days on one trip seeing Prague, Terezin (A Concentration Camp, up to you if that would be itinerary-worthy for you), Cesky Krumlov (not to be missed), Telc (also beautiful), Trebon, and a couple of other towns near Telc and on the way down from Prague. Ceske Budejovice is worth a brief stop, but not a detour or anything.... I had been to Prague and Cesky Krumlov (a gem) before, so I think I would otherwise have spent a few more days there if it were a first trip---(more than 6 on all those..., I mean, which is what we did) I don't know if I would stay longer than 5 days in Prague on a first trip--that's probably my max there, honestly, because I prefer seeing smaller towns and other more remote sites like castles, particular views and roads.... You could either explore further east in the Czech Republic with your spare time orhit up a neighboring country.

The Czech Republic was part of the east and I am tempted to recommend going to one of the areas nearby that was on the other side of the Iron Curtain (either Austria or Bavaria). Why? Because there are some dramatic differences in infrastructure and even management of the landscape/environment.... which I think put the Czech Republic into perspective. It depends on your experience in Europe... however, even though I had been many places before, I noticed (every time) a marked contrast when I would cross the border from Germany to South Bohemia--it's interesting.

Some 'western' places to go--Vienna, Passau, Munich, maybe some towns in southeast Bavaria (Burghausen, Altoetting), perhps Salzburg... (I would not go farther, probably not even that far because it's really a different region).... I also wouldn't try to do all of that... If you are interested in Bavaria, let me know, as I did a lot fo traveeling in teh south there over three years.

Another idea would be to head a bit north and go to the direction of Dresden and Berlin/Potsdam... I enjoyed them very much, but again, I would point out that you will see a lot of remnant of the Iron Curtain...

Again, why do I mention that? Well, I think that as beautiful as Prague, Berlin (less beautiful, when compared to Prague's well-conserved old town) and Dresden are, there is a depressing aspect to them because things were so destroyed, less cared for... the landscape is not as picturesque as say Bavaria or parts of Austria...

those are just some thoughts I am having...

but you really ought to look into going the other direction--Slovakia, etc...

get the Rough Guides and start reading... it will get your juices flowing, I am sure!

As for the driving: fine if you are confident or have some experience driving in Europe.

It's different... fromt eh states, slightly different from other European countries. One thing I noticed in the Czech Republic--lot's of roads that need expansion and some work--lot's of crumbing pavement/potholes (eastern block thing). One lane roads are common (for a single direction, i mean) and there is lots of crazy (truly!) passing in the countryside. I also never saw so many dead animals on the side of the road (sorry, too much information!). In Prague there are many one way streets--just have a map and be prepared to pull over often to figure out how to go because what you planned with the map may not actually work--you should only need to drive as you leave the city... since a car there is absolutely useless to you. I suspect there are buses to get to Cesky Krumlov, but it might be inconvenient or super slow... and then getting to Telc or other towns would be hard... (I would drive, personally)

Good luck, have fun!

You should post in the UK section about your other trip idea--- there will be more responses, I presume.

Many thanks for all the good information.We'll
be looking through those guides and doing
a lot of planning made easier by your suggestions.
Xandra

Thanks to all who were so helpful in answering
my questions. I'm sure we will have a great trip.
Xandra