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| Home > City Guide - Prague - Getting There By Road | ||
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Getting There By Road Motorways (limited in number) are marked ‘D’ and international routes by ‘E’. Minor roads are designated by a number of two or more digits. An annual toll of Kc1000 (Kc200 for a month and Kc100 for ten days) must be paid to use Czech roads – toll stickers must be displayed and can be bought at border crossings, post offices and petrol stations. The legal driving age is 18. Traffic drives on the right. Speed limits are 60kph (37 mph) in built-up areas, 90kph (56 mph) on main roads and 110kph (68 mph) on motorways. Seatbelts are compulsory for drivers and passengers, front and rear (if fitted). On-the-spot fines are high for all motoring offences. There is zero tolerance for drink and drugs (drivers are expected to have a 0% alcohol to blood ratio). EU licence holders must have an International Driving Permit (IDP) as well as the pink format EU licence. An IDP is required for drivers from all other countries. A car registration document and country sticker are also necessary. Third party liability insurance is compulsory. For drivers based in the Czech Republic for longer than six months, the car must be registered with the Czech authorities – duty and taxes will cost about half the value of the car and minimum third-party coverage with a Czech insurer is also required. 24-hour emergency phone lines are situated every two kilometres (1.24 miles) on motorways and international routes. Both the Ústredmí Automotoklub – ÚAMK, Central Automobile Club (tel: (02) 6110 4111) and the Autoklub Ceské Republicky – ABA, Czech Automobile Club (tel: 1240; website www.autoklub.com) have reciprocal agreements with many automobile associations and provide 24-hour breakdown service. Emergency breakdown services: Ústrední Automotoklub (ÚAMK) 154, 123 or (02) 6110 4111 Autoklub Ceské Republicky (ABA) 1240 Routes to the city: The main routes to Prague are the D1/D2 to Brno (travellers should avoid the D2/D1 route via Bratislava, as foreigners may experience long delays at the Slovak border). From Belgium, the best route is the E40 to Cologne, then the E31 to Heidelberg and the E50, crossing the German/Czech border at Waidhaus/Rozvodov. From Vienna, the E59 leads to the D1 motorway, the E55 from Dresden and Berlin, the E67 from Wrocław and Warsaw and the E50 from Paris. Approximate driving times to Prague: From Vienna – 4 hours 15 minutes; from Warsaw – 10 hours 15 minutes; from Bruges – 12 hours 30 minutes. Coach services: International buses depart either from the Florenc coach station, Krizikova 8, Prague 8 (conveniently located on both metro lines B and C at Florenc station), or from the coach park at Zelivského station (on metro A), located on the corner of Vinohradská and Jana Zelivského, Prague 3. Kingscourt Express (tel: (02) 2423 4583; website www.kce.cz) is the main bus service provider to Western Europe and the UK. For many destinations within the Czech Republic, coaches are far quicker than trains, which tend to stop at every station. Regional services are provided by the state-run company, CSAD (tel: (02) 221 445; website: www.csadbus.cz). Buses depart from a number of stations and the most convenient place for travellers to get information and purchase bus tickets is at Cedok (see Tourist Information). |
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