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This is my first question, so I'm excited to see how this goes.
I am planning a two week trip to Prague in late Oct-early November of this year (2009). I have never been outside of the US and am VERY excited. My friend has the lodging under control...he has friends in Prague, but the rest of the trip is up in the air.
For those who are cultured travelers or who live overseas, I would LOVE your input on everything that goes into traveling overseas. What are some Do's and Dont's? Any tourist-y "must see" recommendations in Prague? How much money is good to travel with? Are traveler's cheques the best? You get the idea...lol
Since this is my first overseas trip, I want to make the most of it. It has been a DREAM of mine to visit Italy. Ideally I would like to hit up all of Europe while over there, but I know I'm only going for two weeks. Should I save Italy for another time? Can we do Germany, and if so, where's the best place to go? I want to see as MUCH as I can without feeling rushed and while still reallly getting to see what each city offers. So if you happen to have the perfect travel plan, I'd love to hear it.
I know I'm asking for a lot, but I would appreciate answers to even one or two questions. I want to make the most of the trip and dont want to make any novice mistakes.
Spend all of your currency before leaving the country. Exchanging currency is a ripoff. Coins cannot be exchanged--anywhere, ever. Coins are yours to keep forever and always, so be sure to get rid of them before you leave any given country. Their value can often be up to $5.
Forget Travelers Cheques, useless old technology. Make every effort to never exchange currencies. Arrive at the Prague airport (or any airport) with about $50 USD just to have some emergency cash. Go to the nearest ATM machine, insert debit card, withdraw local currency. Spend all local currency before leaving.
Only in really remote backwaters will you not find ATM's--Africa, central Asia, really outback places. Otherwise you're all good. Prague is a first world city. No worries.
So far as the Czech Republic goes....get out of Prague to enjoy the country , it is a beautiful place. Buses are easy to get and go everywhere.
From the Czech Republic, Germany is doable, just a few kilometers away. Pick an area and go there. Italy is do-able. Ditto, pick an area and spend some time.
Things to avoid: too many places in too little time. Choose a destination or two to explore. A lot of time gets lost in transit with trains and planes and bus connections.
Slovakia is just hours from Prague and cheap. Austria. Poland. All easy to access with a train or bus ticket bought a day or so in advance.
It's easier than you think. Do a bit of research in advance on places that you might be interested in and places to stay, then make the travel ticket arrangements after you get to Prague. Europe is built for travelers, it's much easier than America.
Location: Originally from Cali relocated to Inman Park/Old 4th Ward/Westside Atlanta
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From Prague you can visit Berlin, Vienna, Slovakia and Budapest directly on the train/boat line so you should definitely check that out if your there for two weeks. Prague is a great city but 4 days is enough to get a feel of the city.
As previous poster said, Prague is very safe (except pickpockets) compared with any US city. Beer is cheaper than coke in pubs.
DO-NOT: Never pick first Taxi on some well known tourist spot. Make a call to reserve one, or make sure you agree on price beforehand, there are many shady illegal ninja-taxis ripping off the foreigners.
Location: Originally from Cali relocated to Inman Park/Old 4th Ward/Westside Atlanta
987 posts, read 3,912,422 times
Reputation: 352
I did Praha-Budapest last year in July and it was wonderful! Forgot the train line we took but it was a 7 hour ride and some nice scenery. Did 4 days in Praha and 4 in Budapest. If you have two weeks you can really have a great time in both places and see both cities/countysides more in-depth.
I will agree with what most folks are saying here. Enjoy Prague. It is a beautiful city. It is also mainly filled with drunk, chanting tourists and arrogant, jaded expats and puddles of sick. Czech has a lot of other really nice small cities. Cesky Krumlov, Ouloumoc, Brno (Moravia). You are also within striking distance of Bratislava, Vienna and Dresden.
To spend two-weeks in Prague would be waste of your precious time.
I backpacked around much of Western Europe for almost 3 months when I was 18. Despite all the time, I tried to see too much. Since then, I've travelled many times to Europe and have learned to slow down and experience more deeply. I strongly recommend staying in one country per trip. It gives you much more of a feel and gives you an opportunity to acclimate a bit to the culture, language, way things are done... You will have more opportunities to visit other European countries in the future.
Prague is very nice for 3-4 days. As others recommended, consider Cesky Krumlov and Brno. It's better to spend a minimum of a full 48 hours per city (that's barely touching the surface), else you're wasting time travelling and searching for your hotel, lugging your baggage around. If the weather is reasonably warm, pack lightly (one waterproof shell, one versatile sweater, comfortable walking shoes, extra underclothes and half the clothes you expect, a watch with alarm, some old unlocked GSM phones with local Czech SIM cards you can buy there (pay as you go), maybe a small GPS with European maps loaded for walking/driving, such as the Garmin Nuvi 275T).
Always wear an undergarment money belt for passport & wallet, and keep loose (daily spending) money in your pockets, apart from your well hidden money belt. Avoid strangers, sudden crowds and swarms of kids. You'll be fine. Don't rush and don't worry.
You have already received some good advice, but I am going to suggest that you might want to do some research over at the CD Travel forum.
There has been plenty of overseas travel discussion there. Travel
It would be a shame for you to skip Berlin. (IMHO)
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