Our Amazing Czech Republic Road-Trip with a Car Hire in Prague

Looking for a 4-day road-trip around the Czech Republic? Wondering where to go after picking up your car hire in Prague? Then follow our ultimate itinerary… starting in the amazing capital, exploring the beautiful countryside, and visiting some of the best and most surprising sights in the Czech Republic including the famous Kutna Hora Church of Bones, Český Krumlov, and Karlštejn Castle!

When people visit the Czech Republic, 9 times out of 10 they’ll spend their whole time in Prague. And while Prague is an amazing city to visit, you’ll miss out on so much more that the Czech Republic has to offer! 

So we decided to split our 4 days in the Czech Republic into 2 days in Prague, and 2 days exploring some of the other cities and sights in the country. And getting a car hire in Prague was the perfect way to do this.

Where to Get Your Car Hire Prague… Car Love Prague

We hired a car from Car Love Prague and we’d highly recommend using them. They have an office in the Hilton Hotel Prague in the city centre, meaning you can pick up your car after your sight-seeing in Prague, as having a car for your days in the city is a waste… you won’t use it and parking can be very expensive! And being able to drop the car off back at the airport made it even easier, with a rep meeting us in the short stay car-park to hand over the keys.

We got a Skoda Kamiq Monte Carlo edition… a very nice and new car! And we called him “Bill”, after the local supermarket chain “Billa” we stopped at first to stock up on road-trip supplies (and regular readers will know of Sneha’s love for trying the local supermarkets!)

But before we set off on our road-trip, we have 2 days to explore Prague first…

Days 1 & 2… Explore the Amazing City of Prague

You probably don’t need much of an introduction to Prague. With a beautiful Old Town full of world-famous sights and a vibrant New Town full of amazing coffee shops and bars, Prague is one of the most popular tourist cities in Europe.

We spent 48-hours in the city and used the Prague Visitor Pass to the max, visiting all of the best things to do in Prague.

Prague Castle is the largest castle complex in the world and we could probably have spent our whole weekend there. There's so much to do… from St. Vitus Cathedral, seeing the Crown of St. Wenceslas in the Old Royal Palace, and shooting crossbows on the Golden Lane. 

We also explore the Old Town and watch the show at the Astronomical Clock (a little underwhelming to be honest) and go up the Old Town Hall Tower (amazing views!). Of course we cross the Charles Bridge and go up the Towers (iconic experience!). And we see the more modern Dancing House, Dropstone Wall and Lennon Wall (all super cool).

And we tried some of the best food in Prague from the beef goulash and Svíčková to the chimney cake, and of course the local beers!

Read our full blog on Prague… The Ultimate Prague 2-Day Itinerary with the Prague Visitor Pass

Day 3… Visit Kutna Hora Church of Bones & Drive the Czech Countryside

With our 2 days in Prague done, it’s time to pick up our car and hit the road.

The pick up of our car “Bill” from Car Love couldn’t have been easier, and in just a few minutes after arriving at the office in the Hilton Hotel, we’re driving through the Prague suburbs on our way to Kutna Hora.

We make a quick stop at a Billa supermarket to get supplies, and in just over an hour we reach Kutna Hora and park in the free car park opposite the Cathedral of Assumption of Our Lady and St. John the Baptist. 

The Cathedral is interesting to look around, but it’s the nearby Kutna Hora Church of Bones which we’ve really come to see… a church where the bones of 40,000 people have been artfully arranged into chandeliers, pyramids, and even a coat of arms, creating an eerie and surreal atmosphere… very strange / scary!

The Old Town of Kutna Hora is also well worth a look around, maybe not quite as pretty as Prague but a lot more peaceful and relaxing and it’s nice to escape the crowds of the capital.

Our last stop is at St. Barbara’s Cathedral and don’t miss this, it’s absolutely stunning from inside and out!  

Read our full blog on Kutna Hora… The Scary Kutna Hora Church of Bones!

Czech Countryside & Villages

After our morning looking around Kutna Hora it’s time for us to hit the road again and start our way to Cesky Krumlov in the South where we’re staying tonight.

Google Maps shows 2 possible routes to get there, so obviously we take the more scenic looking one. And just a few minutes after leaving Kutna Hora we’re into the Czech countryside, passing through beautiful fields and woods, and pretty towns and villages.

The roads are all in pretty good condition too and Bill is great to drive. But he doesn’t seem quite fast rough for the locals as they all try and wizz by… we’re not sure of the speed limits on these country roads but we’re pretty sure nobody is sticking to it!

Every small town we drive through has a beautiful church with a large spire, and we wish we had more time to be able to stop in them all and have a look around. 

And the views get better the more we drive too, as they open up and we can see mountains in the far distance.

Cesky Sternberk Castle

After almost 1 hour of driving from Kutna Hora we stop to stretch our legs… Sneha has been searching along our route and found a photo opportunity to stop at.

Cesky Sternberk Castle stands in the near distance and we have a perfect view of the imposing medieval fortress from the layby on the road. It’s one of the best preserved castles in the Czech Republic dating back to the 13th century and is a great backdrop for our first break.

Stay in Cesky Krumlov

It takes us another 2 hours to reach Cesky Krumlov and the evening is setting in as we park in the car park next to the Old Town (cars aren’t allowed into the Old Town without a special permit).

Walking under the Cloak Bridge into the Old Town in the dark, with the sounds of flutes and music drifting through the air, we feel like we’ve driven hundreds of years back in time, not just hundreds of kilometres from Prague!

We check into our hotel and then head out for dinner, as always Sneha has found a great little restaurant serving local and traditional food for us to try!

Day 4… Look around Cesky Krumlov Old Town & Cesky Krumlov Castle

Having had a walk around the Old Town last night and seeing the streets empty in the dark, we get up early this morning to get out and experience them empty in the daylight too.

All of the streets and buildings are so pretty, we really could be back in medieval times.

Cesky Krumlov Castle is one of the best things to do in Cesky Krumlov, and we head up there after breakfast. The Castle is on top of the hill overlooking the town, and has 3 brown bears living in the castle moat! 

It’s one of the most magical towns we’ve ever been to, and certainly the most surprising as we hadn’t heard of it before planning our visit to the Czech Republic (and we almost didn’t even come!)

Read our full blog on Cesky Krumlov… 5 Best Things to do in Cesky Krumlov

Karlstejn Castle

Our last stop before heading back to the airport is the sight Sneha wanted to see the most… the sight which made her want to come to Prague and the Czech Republic in the first place!

Karlstejn Castle was featured in an old Bolloywood movie called Rockstar, where the main characters of the movie sit in a meadow overlooking the beautiful castle.

The castle is a 2.5 hour drive from Cesky Krumlov (and around 30 minutes from Prague), giving us just enough time to stop on the way to the airport.

There are 2 great viewpoints for the castle, the first viewpoint is super easy to get to and is another layby on the side of the road, with great views from below the castle.

The second viewpoint is a little more challenging, but totally worth the effort. We drive up a narrow road which is more like a dirt track and park at the end of a walking trail. 

We then follow the trail for 10-minutes uphill through the forest, and just as we’re starting to wonder if we should turn back as we’re running out of time, the trees end and we enter a huge meadow. We keep going and there it is… the view of Karlstejn Castle from the Rockstar movie!!!

The perfect end to our amazing Czech Republic Road-Trip!

Where to get a car hire in Prague & Czech Republic and is it worth It?

Absolutely! You don’t need a car if you’re just going to stick with seeing the main sights in Prague Old Town, but the Czech Republic has so much more to offer and to see!

Our favourite place by far was Cesky Krumlov, and without a car hire in Prague we wouldn’t have made the trip to the beautiful medieval town. Not to mention the scary and surreal Kutna Hora Church of Bones.

If you are going to car hire in Prague then we highly recommend using Car Love Prague. We loved “Bill”, our Skoda Kamiq for our journey, and as said at the start of the blog, pick-up in Prague at the Hilton Hotel and drop-off at the airport couldn’t have been easier. Definitely one of the smoothest and easiest hire car experiences we’ve ever had.

Disclaimer: We were provided a promotional hire car by Car Love for our trip, but this blog is 100% independent and a true reflection of our experience. We only recommend experiences, hotels, products, and services we use and support ourselves, and we always give a true and honest account of our experience.

What is driving in the Czech Republic like?

Fast! While driving was pretty easy on mostly good roads and not too busy, the other drivers drove very very fast. I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly slow driver, but I’ve never been overtaken so often! It never felt unsafe, but just watch out for drivers wanting to get past and pull over if you can to let them.

We visited the Czech Republic on an amazing 4-day road-trip. We spent 2 days in Prague exploring the Old Town and exploring the best things to do in Prague using the Prague Visitor Pass. before getting a car hire from Car Love Prague. We hit the road and visited the scary Kutna Hora Church of Bones and the beautiful Cesky Krumlov, and ended with a stop at Karlstejn Castle. Read all of our blogs below…

The Ultimate Prague 2-Day Itinerary with the Prague Visitor Pass

The Scary Kutna Hora Church of Bones!

5 Best Things to do in Cesky Krumlov

Our Amazing Czech Republic Road-Trip with a Car Hire in Prague