🇨🇿Český Krumlov
A red-roofed medieval town inside a double loop of the Vltava, under a castle almost as big as the town itself. Tiny, very beautiful, and full of day-trippers from ten to four — so sleep here and have it to yourself.
Mid-range figures, per person · PRG is the nearest major airport
Per person, no flights — those are just below. The mid-range figure is researched; budget and luxury scale it, so treat the two as rough. The trip calculator and hotels below break the day down properly.
Fares are into Prague. Brno's small airport has few routes, so most visitors arrive by train from Prague or from Vienna's airport; Český Krumlov is about three hours from Prague by bus or train. Ranges are typical fares booked 1–3 months out, checked mid-2026 — school-holiday peaks run higher, and patient shoppers beat the bottom end.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Entry & visa
Czechia is in the Schengen Area. US, UK, Canadian, Australian and most other Western passport holders can stay 90 days in any 180 without a visa. Expect fingerprints and a photo at your first Schengen border under the EU's Entry/Exit System, and check whether the EU's ETIAS authorization, scheduled for the last quarter of 2026, has started before you fly.
Visa rules turn on your nationality and change often — always confirm the current requirement for your own passport with an official government source before you book.
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including the castle ticket office, but keep a few hundred crowns for small cafés and the river-rental outfits. There are only a handful of ATMs in the old town — use a bank's, and decline the machine's offer to charge you in your home currency. If a menu or shop quotes euros, pay in crowns anyway; the euro price is rounded in the seller's favor.
What locals earn
| Average monthly salary (Czechia, Q2 2026) | CZK 51,966 gross (≈ $2,480), roughly CZK 40,700 ($1,940) take-home | a national figure; wages in rural South Bohemia run below it |
| Minimum wage (2026) | CZK 22,400/month (≈ $1,070) | the floor for much of the town's hotel and restaurant staff |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch at a Czech pub | CZK 180–260 | $8.60–12 |
| Main course at a riverside restaurant | CZK 250–400 | $12–19 |
| Coffee | CZK 60–90 | $2.90–4.30 |
| Half-liter of local Eggenberg beer | CZK 55–80 | $2.60–3.80 |
Transport & sights
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Bus from Prague (RegioJet), one way | CZK 200–450 | $9.50–21 |
| Castle tour, Route I | CZK 300 | $14 |
| Castle Museum & Tower | CZK 280 | $13 |
| Baroque Castle Theatre tour | CZK 400 | $19 |
| Raft or canoe trip through town, per person | from CZK 490 | from $23 |
Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | CZK 400–600 ($19–29) | A few small hostels in the old town, several with river terraces |
| Guesthouse (penzion) | CZK 1,500–2,500 ($71–119) | The classic stay: a room in a Renaissance house, breakfast included |
| Mid-range hotel | CZK 2,000–3,200 ($95–152) | Book ahead for summer weekends; the whole town has only so many rooms |
| Luxury | CZK 5,000+ ($238+) | Hotel Růže, a former Jesuit college, is the grand option |
Been recently? Check our prices
One tap per figure. Check-ins reset whenever this guide is re-priced, so they only ever vouch for the numbers you see here.
Trip cost calculator
$219 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel)
A rough estimate from this page’s daily budget and hotel prices — not a quote. Lodging assumes one room for the group; flights use the midpoint of the Getting there ranges above.
Getting around
- Getting there
- No airport — it's about three hours from Prague. RegioJet buses leave Prague's Na Knížecí station (metro Anděl, line B) roughly hourly in season and stop at the Špičák bus station, a five-minute walk from the old town. Trains take longer, change at České Budějovice, and arrive at a station twenty minutes' walk uphill from the center. Door-to-door shared shuttle vans also run from Prague, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg.
- On foot
- The whole town is a fifteen-minute walk end to end, on steep cobbles. Cars are kept out of the old town; drivers use the paid lots around the edge.
- Local buses
- A town bus exists (CZK 15 when checked; since July 2026 it is part of the regional IDESKA ticket system), but you will almost certainly not need it unless your guesthouse is out on the hills.
- Day trips
- České Budějovice, home of the original Budvar brewery, is 30–45 minutes by train or bus, and the white Hluboká castle is a short hop beyond it. Both make a good half day if you have a second night.
Map
Drag to look around, or open Google Maps ↗ · Apple Maps ↗
Neighborhoods to stay in
- Inner Town (Vnitřní Město)
- The river-wrapped island of the old town. Beautiful, central, and noisy with groups until late afternoon; blissfully quiet after.
- Latrán
- The street below the castle, across the bridge from the Inner Town. Just as atmospheric, and the closest to the castle gate.
- Plešivec & the edges
- Across the river to the south or up the hills — cheaper guesthouses, parking, and views back over the rooftops, five to fifteen minutes' walk in.
Things to do
The castle
In town
Food & drink
Tipping & etiquette
- Say dobrý den when you enter a shop or small restaurant. It matters more in a small town than in Prague.
- People live in the old town. Keep voices down in the lanes at night, especially around guesthouses.
- The castle has a resident bear in the moat, a tradition going back centuries. Don't throw food down to it.
- Put a coaster on your beer glass when you're done, or another will arrive.
How to spend a trip to Český Krumlov
Everything here is within a fifteen-minute walk, so the constraint is the crowd curve: coaches arrive around ten and leave around four, and the castle interiors only open from spring to autumn.
One day, with a night on either side of it, covers the town properly. As a same-day return from Prague it is a rush.
- MorningThe Castle Museum & Tower at opening, then the Route I castle tour.
- MiddayLunch at Hospoda Na Louži, a few streets back from the square.
- AfternoonThe Castle Gardens, then the Seminary Garden viewpoint, or a raft trip through town in warm weather.
- EveningWalk the Inner Town once the coaches have gone, then dinner at Krčma v Šatlavské.
Two days is the honest maximum for the town itself. A third works only if you spend it out of town or at a very slow pace.
- Day 1The one-day plan above: the tower, the castle tour, the gardens and an evening in the empty lanes.
- Day 2A river trip on the Vltava in the morning, the Egon Schiele Art Centrum after lunch, and a beer at Eggenberg Brewery.
- Day 3A half-day to České Budějovice and Hluboká castle, or the Baroque Castle Theatre tour if you booked it, then move on.
Five days is far more than Český Krumlov needs, and we'd rather say so than pad it out. Treat it as a two-night stop on a longer trip through Czechia.
Safety & common scams
About as safe as a town gets. The real hazards are wet cobbles, the steep castle ramps, and the river: weirs can flip a raft, so wear the life jacket and follow the outfitter's portage advice. Summer crowds in the Inner Town bring the odd pickpocket.
Scams to know
- Euro pricing — shops and restaurants that quote euros convert at a rate in their favor and give change in crowns. Pay by card or in CZK.
- Exchange-office rates — the same game as in Prague: a headline rate you won't get. Use a bank ATM instead, and decline its home-currency conversion.
Emergency numbers: 112 (general, English spoken) · 155 (ambulance) · 158 (police) · 150 (fire). The regional hospital is in town.
Phone & internet
Same as the rest of Czechia: EU SIMs roam free; otherwise buy a prepaid O2, T-Mobile or Vodafone SIM in Prague (about CZK 250–500, $12–24, for 10–15 GB) or an eSIM before you fly. Signal is good in town, patchier on the river upstream. Guesthouses nearly all have Wi-Fi.
First-timer FAQs
How many days do I need?
One full day, ideally with a night on either side, covers the castle, the gardens and the old town. Two lets you add the river trip and a slower pace. More than that, and you should be taking day trips or moving on.
Day trip from Prague, or stay over?
Stay over. It is three hours each way, and the town is at its best before the first coaches arrive and after the last ones leave. A day trip gets you the crowded middle of the day.
When is the castle open?
The Castle Museum & Tower is open all year, closed Mondays in winter. The Route I interior tour runs Apr–Oct, Route II and the gardens from spring, and the Baroque Castle Theatre only in the warm months on special tours. From Nov to Mar you get the town and the tower, not the rooms.
Is the river trip worth it?
Yes, in warm weather. Floating under the castle is the best view of the town, and the weir chutes are fun rather than frightening. Book with an established outfitter, which handles the transport, and expect company in July and August.
Similar cities to consider
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Český Krumlov or…?
Side-by-side cost comparisons with the other Czechia guides.