accomodations in Prague for New Years

[germommah]

Hi Ray,

I'm arriving in Prague the morning of the 31st of December and I'm wondering if I should make reservations in the city for the new years festivities. Could you recommend an area to focus on accomodations, or any place you recommend? There is a group of four of us. I'll be stayin until the 4th of January.

Thanks!

Geri ;D

[BigRay]

Hi Geri,

If I were you, I would definitely make reservations for a place to stay. I am not sure how crowded things will be here then, but New Year's is a big holiday, and I would definitely feel more comfortable knowing I had a place to stay.

As for areas to stay, I would highly recommend staying in Prague 1 (Old Town - Stare Mesto / Lesser Town - Mala Strana) or Prague 2 (New Town - Nove Mesto). New Year's last year was amazing. I didn't see one big organized fireworks show, but rather thousands of people in the streets with all manner of fireworks from regular ones and bottle rockets to enormous ones. Things were going off everywhere from your feet to the sky. It felt like being in a war, and there are people EVERYWHERE. Some main streets around Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square are very difficult to walk through. I have heard that this is also prime time for pickpockets, but I did not experience any trouble last year.

Since there will be four of you, I would highly recommend renting an apartment. It will be your own pad while you are here, and it will be cheaper than a hotel. Here are some links to apartment rentals:

1. Mary's Apartments - highly recommended
www.marys.cz/en/index.php

I had some friends visit me in September and they had an apartment through this service and everything was great. They didn't have the most luxurious apartment, but it was big and very central. They were very pleased. Total cost: 60 Euro/night

I have no direct experience with the following links, but they all offer some sort of apartment accommodation:

2. myCzechRepublic.com
www.athos.cz/accommodation?svn=myczechrepublic.com

3. Prague Holiday
www.prague-holiday.com/pragueholiday.htm

4. Konvex91 Apartment Rental
www.konvex.cz/index.shtml

5. Prague City Apartments
www.prague-city-apartments.cz/

Hope this helps! Have a great time! I will likely be back in Prague for New Year's, so please keep me posted on your plans if you care to have a guide for a day while you are here.

Cheers,
Ray

[germommah]

HI ray!

I totally forgot that i asked a question here! But THANKS for all ur tips. I'll be in Prague the 31st to the 4th, we gotta meet up so u can give us a grand tour of the city. My mom already booked a holiday inn in prague =( without telling me so i'm kinda bummed but I hope she picked a decent spot, but I bet its far from everything?

How is the public transportation there? Is there a metro system or is it kind of hard to get around? And what time does public transportation shut down over there?

Also, is there any kind of winter gear you recommend i get? Right now I' have my water/wind proof jacket, wool socks, waterproof shoes...

SOrry so many questions but i'm so excited to be going there!!

THanks !

Geri

[BigRay]

Hi Geri,

If the Holiday Inn you are staying at is the one I am thinking of (I'm not sure if the one I have in mind is a Holiday Inn or not), then you are not quite in the center but close to a convenient metro stop that will take you close to most of what you will want to see within 2-4 stops.

Public transportation here is excellent. There is a metro, trams, and buses. There is only one kind of ticket and it works on all of them. You can buy different durations, though (ie, 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days, etc) and it is very cheap. All operate on a normal schedule from 5am to about 12 midnight. From midnight to 5 am, there is a system of night trams and buses (metro is closed) that run every half hour.

As for winter gear, it sounds like you have more stuff than I do!

Actually, the only things I got that I didn't have in San Francisco are gloves and a hat. Other than that, I just layer up and use a thick jacket. I do have some Goretex shoes, though, that are great, so I am sure you will be happy you have yours. I would expect temperatures here right around the freezing point when you are here, sometimes a little above, sometimes a little below.

Cheers,
Ray

[me]

seem to remember that the escalator down to the metro took forever. . . wondered if a red guy with horns and a tail would meet us at the end.

- d

BigRay said:

Public transportation here is excellent. There is a metro, trams, and buses.

[jennifer]

Hahaha so true!
I noticed the same thing!
Good one! ;D