The Practicalities of Prague
Getting from the Airport (Or Bus/Train Station)
1) Taxi: Taxis are always waiting in front of the exit from the airport and often also at the bus/train stations. For rides from the airport, specifically, see here. Your Uber app, if you have one, should also work here (there is also Bolt which seems to be more popular among Praguers.)
3) Public Transportation: It is also possible to use public transport from the airport (and if you are arriving in Prague by bus or train this may be a better option). You may use the Prague transportation website (dpp.cz/en) to find the best routes or ask the PSP staff for instructions ahead of your arrival. You will not receive your complimentary public transportation pass until Orientation (more on that below) so you will have to initially buy a ticket (it will not cost more than 32 CZK, less than a $1.50). You can buy a ticket from yellow ticket machines, at tobacco/magazine stores, from bus drivers (not tram drivers), or through text message (instructions on text message tickets here.) If you buy a print ticket, you have to validate it. There are random checks.
Transportation in Prague
With your orientation materials, you will receive a transit pass which will allow you to use all of Prague’s excellent public transportation services (bus, tram, metro, ferry) for the duration of your stay. YOU MUST CARRY YOUR PASS AT ALL TIMES! Checks are random and if you are caught on public transport without your pass you will be charged 1500CZK (about 64 USD).
When finding your way using public transport, we suggest you make the Prague public transportation official website your guide: dpp.cz/en. If you click TRANSPORT AROUND PRAGUE and then JOURNEY PLANNER, you can find routes to wherever you´re going along with exact departure times.
Cabs on the streets may overcharge you. No a days, people use taxi apps (Uber, Bolt) but if you want to support regular taxi companies, we recommend calling one of the following: Nejlevnější Taxi (mostly cheapest), Profi Taxi, and AAA (contacts below).
Taxi contacts (enter +420 first if calling from a non-Czech phone):
Nejlevnější Taxi: 226 000 226
AAA: 14 0 14
Money Exchange
The conversion rate for Czech crowns and US dollars is usually around 25CZK to 1 USD. We strongly recommend that, upon your arrival in Prague, you take out about 2000CZK from an ATM (“Bankomat”). It´s best to take out larger amounts of cash from an ATM rather than to pay with your credit card everywhere, as you are generally charged for each use of your credit card abroad (there are also numerous establishments in Prague that do not take credit cards). ATM machines are the quickest, most efficient means of accessing your funds at home, and give the best conversion rates. There are ATMs located around the corner from the hotel, across from the post office.
There are few trustworthy money-exchange places in Prague. If you must exchange money, we prefer the Exchange on Kaprova 13/14, near the Staroměstská tram and metro stop (see map here and website here.) Avoid all other moneychangers on the streets! They’ll always rip you off.
Phoning home
If your family, friends, and significant others wish to call you while you´re in Prague, be sure to remind them that when they dial a Czech number they must first dial +420. All Inos hotel units have phones from which one may receive calls. You may request the direct number for your room upon check-in. We strongly recommend you simply use Skype, or similar online calling.
Postal Services
The central post office (Jindřišská 14 near the Museum metro stop, on the C line) is open from 2 a.m. to 12 a.m., seven days a week. The post office nearest the hotel is right around the corner, on Podolská 21 (open from 8a.m. to 6p.m. on weekdays only). From the dorm, it would be easiest to take one stop on the metro to Pankrác, where the post office (on Na strži 42) is open until 8pm on weekdays and 1pm on Satuday’s. Orange mailboxes on the streets are for stamped post, which is collected several times a day. International postage to countries both inside and outside the EU is 25,00 CZK for letters up to 50g.
Copying and Printing
You may do smaller-scale print-jobs at the hotel for 3CZK a page. The most convenient copy place for larger copying is Copy General, on the I.P. Pavlova metro stop (Londýnská 57) for 2,50CZK under 100 pages and 2,20 above 100 pages. The PSP staff will be in charge of printing for classes and conferences (more at Orientation.)
Medical and Dental
There are several options for medical, dental, or emergency care. English speaking facilities are available at: Doctor – Health Centre Prague, International Clinic (Vodičkova 28, www.doctor-prague.cz), at the Polyclinic at Národní (Národní 9, poliklinikanarodni.cz/en/) or at Canadian Medical Care (several clinics, see website for details, www.cmcpraha.cz/en-US) A pharmacy open 24 hours a day is at Palackého 5 in the Old Town and at Vítězné náměstí 13, Prague 6. Generally, you will have to pay about 1000-1500 CZK upfront per doctor’s visit, even if you have travel insurance. Most importantly: Do not hesitate to contact PSP staff with your medical needs. They will assist you both in scheduling an appointment and getting you to your appointment. They may also pick up medication for you.
Doctor’s appointment contacts (enter +420 first if calling from a non-Czech phone):
Doctor – Health Centre Prague: 603 433 833, 603 481 361
Polyclinic at Národní: 222 075 119, 222 075 120
Canadian Medical Care: 235 360 133, 724 300 301
Emergency Medical Service: 155
Laundry, Groceries, etc.
The dorms include cloth washing facilities. Hotel Inos may wash your laundry on weekdays if you bring it down to the reception (details are in the Inos info booklet in your room.) There are a couple American-style Laundromats in Prague. We recommend Andy’s Laundromat (praguelaundromat.cz).
There are many small grocery stores around Prague – in fact, you would be hard-pressed not to find one five to ten minutes from most place within the city proper. These stores increasingly do take credit cards but some still only take cash.
Praguers like to recycle, so please do so, too. Recycling bins are ubiquitous.
Prague tap water is drinkable so we encourage you to drink it rather than buying bottled water.
Safety Tips
One should be vigilant as a visitor to any city in the world. That said, while crimes of stealth used to be very common in Prague after ’89, they are increasingly rare. Still, use your common sense: Hold your purse close to you at all times on public transportation, and put your backpacks in front of you, and your wallets in your front pockets. Never leave your bag unattended anywhere. Don’t carry any more credit cards or identification cards than needed. Technically, any foreigner should use their passport as an I.D. when in the Czech Republic, but we recommend you make a scan/copy of your passport instead and use it in conjunction with another I.D. (driver’s licence, for example) so as not to carry your passport around the city.
Emergency contacts (enter +420 first if calling from a non-Czech phone):
Emergency (ambulance, fire dpt.): 112
Central Police Station (specialized in helping tourists 24/7): 947-851-750