Travel in the Czech Republic by rail is very affordable and convenient. This country has an immense network of rails and you can get to anywhere you need to go. Like other European countries, the Czech Republic is full of rich history and some of the most fascinating architecture in the world. You can visit Prague or you can travel back into time by visiting villages like Moravia and The Czech Republic is also famous for its Pilsner beer.
There are different classes of trains in the Czech Republic. You have the Rychlik, Expres, Specny, and Osobni as a few examples. If you can avoid taking the Osobni train, try to. The journey on the Osobni will take longer because it stops at every station it comes to. Now, if you have plenty of time and want to take it slow then this train might be for you but most want to get to their destination fast.
Prague is serviced by several train stations making it able to service many destinations. The stations are:
Praha Hlani Nadrazi
This is the main station located in the center of the city close to Wenceslas Square. This is always a stop for the east-west trains from Vienna and Munich.
Praha Smichov
This station is in Smichov and can be reached by Metro in 15 minutes from the center of Prague. This is mainly a station for trains traveling to the west (Karlstein).
Praha Holesovice
This station is to the north of the center of the city and three stops on the metro from the main station Hlani Nadrazi. It services incoming trains from the north cities such as Dresden and Berlin.
Praha Masarykovo Nadrazi
This station is located in the center of the city near the Florenc Bus Terminal and Namesti Republiky. It services trains from Hora, Hradek, Kolin, Kutna, and Kralove.
A favorite trip for some is to travel to Prague from London by rail. You can do this by going through Brussels and your choice of Frankfurt, Cologne, or Berlin. You start your journey in London on the Eurostar to Brussels. Then in Brussels, pick up a train to Cologne. The train you take to Prague is the Kopernikus sleeper train. Or, you can leave London in the early evening and take the Berlin overnight sleeper. If going to Berlin, you would take the EuroCity from Berlin to Prague. On the last leg to Prague, lunch would be served.
If you leave London in the morning then you can head to Frankfurt from Brussels and ride the Frankfurt-Prague sleeper and end up in Prague the next morning rested and be able to spend the whole day there.
What about rail passes in the Czech Republic? Most report that it is not worth buying a pass for traveling in the Czech Republic because the fare is so inexpensive anyways. You can buy point-to-point tickets in the Czech Republic.
There is a pass option you can consider that extends your Eurail Pass that you may have purchased to travel in other countries. It is the Prague Excursion Pass and it is an add-on to your Eurail pass making it convenient for you to travel into the Czech Republic without having to buy point-to-point tickets.
There is also a youth version of the Prague Excursion Pass for those under age 26. This pass is good for taking one from the Czech Republic border to Prague (the pass does not originate from Prague) and must be used in conjunction with another rail pass. It is good for seven days and the days can be used consecutively or non-consecutively. This pass is like a round-trip pass from the Czech border to Prague then from Prague back to the Czech border but you can make stops along the way both ways. The Czech border you return to does not have to be the same one either.
For so many years, east Europe was closed from the west. Now that it is open, take advantage of the rail passes and see all there is to see by rail in the Czech Republic.