Route guide
Český Krumlov is the day trip and the overnight stop almost everyone adds to a Czech itinerary, and with good reason: a UNESCO-listed medieval town wrapped in a bend of the Vltava, under the second-largest castle in the country. It is about 170 kilometres south of Prague. There is no fast train, the bus is better than you expect, and the right choice depends mostly on whether you are staying the night or trying to see it and come back.
For most independent travellers the bus is the answer: RegioJet, FlixBus and Leo Express all run it in around 2 hours 40 minutes for roughly €13–22, several times a day, and they drop you a short walk from the old town. The train is slower and only has one useful direct service a day. Go by car — private transfer or a day trip with a driver — if you are three or four people, if you want to stop at Hluboká Castle or a South Bohemian village on the way, or if you are returning to Prague the same evening and don't want the last bus dictating your day.
Prices and journey times checked 25 July 2026. Operators change fares — check before you travel.
| Option | Price | Journey time | How often | Door to door | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus (RegioJet, FlixBus, Leo Express) | ~€13–22 one way | 2 h 40 – 2 h 55 | Several departures daily | No | Solo travellers, couples, and anyone on a budget |
| Train (České dráhy) | ~€26–40 one way | 2 h 30 direct, ~3 h+ with a change | One useful direct service a day | No | Rail passholders and people who simply prefer trains |
| Group coach day tour | ~€40–60 per person | Full day, ~10–11 h | Daily in season | No | Solo travellers who want a guide and no logistics |
| Private transfer (one way)Our service | €279 sedan, €359 SUV | ~2 h 30 door to door | Any time you choose | Yes | Groups of three or four, families, and travellers continuing on to Austria |
| Private day trip (return, driver waits)Our service | €399 sedan (up to 3), €499 SUV (up to 4) | Full day, ~9 h | Any day you choose | Yes | Seeing Krumlov in a day without an overnight stay |
Three companies run the route and all three are comfortable modern coaches, not the rattling minibuses people sometimes imagine. RegioJet is the one most travellers rate highest: reserved seats, wifi, a steward serving drinks, and fares that start low if you book a week or two out. FlixBus and Leo Express cover the same route at similar times.
The catch is that they leave from different places in Prague. RegioJet services generally go from Na Knížecí; FlixBus mostly uses Florenc, the main bus station, which is the most central and metro-connected of them. Check your ticket rather than assuming — this is the single most common mistake on this route.
Book ahead between June and September and over Christmas. This is one of the busiest tourist corridors in the country and the cheap fares disappear first. The bus sets you down at Český Krumlov's bus station, which is a five to ten minute walk downhill into the old town.
Czech trains are generally excellent, which makes this route the exception that catches people out. There is one direct service a day, leaving Prague's main station in the morning and arriving in Krumlov about two and a half hours later. It is a pleasant ride.
Miss it, and you are changing at České Budějovice onto a local service, which pushes the journey past three hours for more money than the bus. Unless you hold a rail pass or you have a strong preference for trains, the coach is simply better on this corridor.
One practical note on arrival: Český Krumlov's railway station sits above the town, about a twenty-minute walk down — fine with a daypack, less fun with a suitcase on cobbles.
Krumlov can be done in a day from Prague, and a great many people do. But it is worth knowing what a day trip costs you. The town centre is small and it fills with coach groups between roughly eleven and four, which is precisely the window a day tripper occupies. Stay the night and you get the place at dusk and at breakfast, when it is quiet and genuinely extraordinary.
If you only have the day, going by car is what makes it comfortable: leaving at eight rather than on a coach timetable, and being driven back when you are ready rather than at the last departure. A private day trip has the driver wait, so your day is as long or short as you want it.
If you are staying over, the one-way transfer or the bus both make sense — and many travellers carry on south to Austria from Krumlov rather than doubling back to Prague.
The drive south runs through South Bohemia, and two stops are close enough to the road to add without lengthening the day much.
Hluboká nad Vltavou is the white neo-Gothic castle that appears on half the postcards in the country — often described as the Czech Windsor, and about twenty minutes off the direct route. České Budějovice, the original home of Budweiser beer, has one of the largest town squares in Europe and makes an easy lunch stop.
Neither is possible on the bus or the train without losing hours to connections. If either appeals, that is one of the better arguments for taking a car — with a private transfer the stop is arranged when you book and costs nothing extra.
Český Krumlov sits close to the Austrian border, and a large share of visitors do not go back to Prague at all — they continue to Vienna, Salzburg, Hallstatt or Linz.
Public transport for that leg is awkward: it usually means backtracking to České Budějovice or Linz and changing. By road, Krumlov is a natural halfway stop between Prague and Vienna, and adding it to a Prague–Vienna transfer costs far less than treating it as two separate journeys.
If that is your plan, book the through journey rather than a one-way to Krumlov and a second trip afterwards.
Our private transfer from Prague to Český Krumlov is €279 for the whole car, fixed when you book.
The Český Krumlov day trip covers this as a round trip from €399 for the car, with stops wherever you like.
The bus. RegioJet, FlixBus and Leo Express all run the route for roughly €13–22 one way in about 2 hours 40 minutes, with several departures a day. Booking a week or more ahead gets the lowest fares.
About 2 hours 40 minutes by bus, around 2 hours 30 minutes on the single direct train, and roughly 2 hours 30 minutes door to door by car. Journeys with a change at České Budějovice run over three hours.
There is one direct service a day, leaving Prague's main station in the morning. Every other rail option requires a change at České Budějovice and takes more than three hours, which is why most travellers take the bus instead.
Yes, and many people do — allow a full day of roughly ten to eleven hours. That said, the old town is at its busiest between about 11am and 4pm, exactly when day trippers are there, so an overnight stay gives you a very different and quieter town.
€279 for a sedan carrying up to three passengers, or €359 for an SUV taking four, one way. That is the price for the whole car including tolls, not per person, and a stop at Hluboká Castle or České Budějovice can be added at no extra cost.
The bus station is closer — about five to ten minutes' walk downhill into the centre. The railway station sits above the town and is roughly a twenty-minute walk, which is noticeably less pleasant with a suitcase on cobblestones.
Fares and timetables come from the operators themselves. We check them on the date shown above.
Route guide
For one or two people, take the train. ÖBB Railjet and RegioJet both run city centre to city centre in about four hours, advance fares start around €15, and there are services through the day. Flying makes no sense over this distance once you count airports. A private car is worth the considerable extra cost in three cases: you are three or four people with real luggage, you want to break the journey in Mikulov or Český Krumlov and turn a transfer into a day out, or you need door-to-door at a time the timetable doesn't offer.
4 options compared
Getting around
Travelling light, on a budget, and landing during the day? Take bus 119 to Nádraží Veleslavín and change to metro line A — about 40 minutes and 50 CZK (roughly €2). Two or three of you with suitcases? An Uber or Bolt runs about €20–25 door to door and is usually the best value in Prague. A pre-booked private transfer makes sense mainly for families, groups of four or more, late-night arrivals, or anyone who wants a named driver waiting in arrivals at a price fixed before they fly.
5 options compared
Get a fixed quote within 1 hour. No account. No hidden fees. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup.
We use necessary cookies to run the site and, with your consent, analytics cookies to improve it and marketing signals shared with Google to measure our ads and personalise advertising. See our cookie policy.