Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Flights from Australia and New Zealand
Flight times from
AustraliaandNewZealand
to Prague are twenty hours or more, depend-
ing on routes and transfer times. There's a wide variety of routes; those touching down in
southeast Asia are the fastest and cheapest on average. Given the length of the journey, you
might be better off including a night's stopover in your itinerary - indeed, some airlines in-
clude one in the price of the flight.
The cheapest direct scheduled flights to London are usually to be found on one of the
Asian airlines. Average
return fares
(including taxes) from eastern gateways to London
are Aus$1500-2000 in low season (Oct-April), Aus$2000-2500 in high season (May-Sept).
FaresfromPerthorDarwincostaroundAus$200less.You'llthenneedtoaddAus$100-200
onto all these for the connecting flight to Prague. Return fares from Auckland to London
range between NZ$2000 and NZ$3000 depending on the season, route and carrier.
Trains
Youcantravel
bytrain
fromLondontoPragueovernightinaroundtwentyhours.Faresstart
at around £125 return but depend on the route you take and how far in advance you book. To
reach Prague by train you first have to take the
Eurostar
from London St Pancras to
Brus-
sels
. From there, the most direct, and usually cheapest, route is
via Cologne
, from which
there's an overnight service to Prague, arriving around 9.30am the following morning.
Although you can crash out on the seats, it makes sense to book a
couchette
, which costs
anextra£15onewayinasix-berthcompartment, risingto£25inathree-berthcompartment.
Couchettesaremixed-sexandallowlittleprivacy;forabitmorecomfort,youcanbookabed
in a single-sex two-berth
sleeper
for around £50.
Fares
for continental rail travel are much more flexible than they used to be, so it's worth
shopping around for the best deal, rather than taking the first offer you get. Tickets are usu-
ally valid for two months and allow as many stopovers as you want on the specified route. If
you're travelling with one or more companions, you may be eligible for a further discount.
Thecheapestwaytobookticketsisusually
online
,butyoumayhavetouseseveralwebsites
to get the best deals. For more details, visit the superb website
seat61.com
.
Buses
One of the cheapest ways to get to Prague is by
bus
. There are direct services from London's
Victoria Station more or less daily. Coaches tend to depart in the evening, arriving eighteen
hourslaterinPrague'smainbusterminal,Florenc,intheearlyafternoon.Thejourneyisbear-
able (just about), with short breaks every three to four hours. Prices between companies vary
only slightly; a return ticket starts at around £80, less if you're under 26 or over 60.
