Basic travel info please

Hi,

I will be traveling to Prague from the US in April of next year. I have never been to Europe, so I apologize in advance for this question.

I%26#39;ve been researching my trip for quite awhile now and am confused when it comes to transportation throughout Europe.

Here in America, when going from city to city, your flight lands, you grab your bags and then you catch a taxi to the door of your hotel.

From my research, it looks like in Europe, you land at the airport, then you must find a specific bus number that will take you to a train or tram station, then you need to find another specific number or color of a tram that will then take you to a spot in the city where you must either walk a very long way, or catch another tram, taxi and/or bus to your hotel.

This seems like a lot of work to simply get from the airport to the hotel. Am I missing something, or can it be as simple as telling a taxi driver where you are staying and being dropped off at the door?

Thanks in advance for the help!

|||

Oh Panama City, if you are talking specifically about Prague, you need not do any of those described things, just grab a taxi at the airport, that%26#39;s what I do. Public transport and I are not the greatest of friends. However, it is more costly, so if you want to save some cash, you need to explore the joys of public transport. Hence the advice where to buy tickets, which bus to get, etc etc.

|||

That is good to know...thank you.

There will already be some confusion thanks to the language barrier, so I think I will take the easiest route and just grab a taxi from point A to point B.

The extra expence may be worth saving me the trouble of getting lost.

|||

There wont be a language barrier , We are put to shame by the amount of locals that speak English.

TORII

|||

as Penny says, we do have cabs (reputability aside) here, too. :) Flag one down, tell them the name of hotel and gett off. Do you want to make it a little more complicated? Get the public transport.

|||

nearly forgot, before you get in a cab AGREE ON PRICE, otherwise your first impressions of Prague may not be rosy, getting back to us here why we didnt warn you...

|||

xtremdelt8:

A little background on the taxis in Prague.

1) Unlike almost every large city in the U.S., the cabs in Praha can charge what they want. By law, they have to have the meter rates displayed, but the rates can be anything.

2) Taxis in Praha do not have the best reputation. IMHO, they are neck to neck with Athens in gamesmanship. That is not a compliment. %26lt;grin%26gt;

3) Some of the taxi companies have very GOOD reputations. I suggest you search the board here for recommendations (AAA is, I think, the largest taxi company and has a good rep.

While language will probably be less of a problem than you think, it is always a good idea to have the address and name of the hotel written down. I always do this when traveling to places where my attempt at the local language might not be clearly understood (Praha, Cairo, Mississippi, etc.)

Paul

|||

Thanks, Paul. I plan on writing EVERYTHING down.

Mississippi...very funny! I know what you mean.

Then again, as a southern Florida boy, you Minnisota people have a strange way of talking. My sister married a Golden Gopher and at their wedding, I had no idea what his family was saying half the time. :)

|||

The core of this difference in travelpatterns is probably the fact that the cities in Europe are built in a time when no one could eve imagine thousands of cars clogging the streets. London, Paris and Prague for instance, would be completely jammed if everyone was using taxis.

So every major city in Europe has dense networks of underground, trains and buses for transit.

And often train bus or underground to the airport.

But again there are always taxis. You cant beat the comfort of easy A to B travel, especially with luggage to haul.

|||

Americans have been raised from birth to think that cars are the only %26quot;real%26quot; mode of transportation. I may be strange, but I think half the fun of going to Europe is using the public transport. What a great network of trains you have! I can only dream that some day we can have the same kind of public transport infrastructure in the USA.

|||

tmynatt:

FWIW, I agree. My only exceptions to taking public transportation (when it is possible and reasonably efficient) are:

1) Arriving from a long flight. Sometimes it is worth the extra money just to get to the hotel NOW!

2) Physical limitations. Last year I did an around-the-world trip with one arm in a sling and needing to use a cane for walking. I did use more taxis that trip than usual. %26lt;grin%26gt;

For those not used to getting around via bus, tram, and light rail .... one word of caution. When crowded these are pickpockets%26#39; paradise. The problem is worse in some cities than in others (I think Barcelona is the leader right now), but one does need to be careful anywhere.

Paul