Day trips outside of Prague
There are many interesting places near Prague. You can visit them by doing an organized excursion which can be booked online before departure, or you can visit them autonomously. Here are the main excursions:
Page last updated: April, 2024.
Visit to the national parks of Saxon and Bohemian Switzerland
We recommend this to nature lovers: you can stroll through the spaces of this enormous park which is one of the most beautiful in Europe. It is located on the border between Germany and the Czech Republic, so take your documents with you!
We recommend booking an excursion with CAYMAN TRAVEL. The guide will show you around with commentary in English. The groups are small, maximum 6 persons, but this very comfortable trip is not cheap. For do-it-yourself travelers, the full itinerary of a one-day visit to Bohemian Switzerland (and not just that) is described below. Rent a car (take a look at the prices on the rentalcars.com website), but keep in mind that you will mostly walk and leave the car in the parking lot.
Name in Czech: Českosaské Švýcarsko.
Bastei
Bastei is a mountain park, a unique complex of rocks in the Saxon Switzerland national park in German territory. Walking through the Bastei park you will see some wonderful nature and wonder at the infinity of the canyons. Not far from Bastei park is the German city of Dresden, from where similar excursions are organized.
How to get there: Head for the “Berghotel Bastei, Lohmen, Germany” hotel. The parking area is indicated on the map.
Time needed for the visit: about an hour.
Important: there are many tourists here at any time of the year, so arrive at 9 am at opening time, otherwise you will not be able to take good pictures.
Map of the Bohemian Switzerland national park
Once you have visited Bastei, go into Bohemian Switzerland. Parking and bus stops are detailed on the map, with green lines marking the walking trails (in total about three and a half hours of trekking). If you book the excursion the duration of trekking is reduced to about an hour. The visit to this park is described in detail below.
Pravčice Gate
The largest natural arch in the world! The monumental measurements and the dizzying height of the gate are astounding. It is incredible to think that these rugged rock formations have been here for more than a thousand years.
How to reach it: the car must be left at the Hřensko - Obecní Úřad parking lot (indicated on the map) and buses will take you as far as the Pravčická brána from where you can reach the gates with a 45 minutes’ walk.
Time required for the visit: one hour + an hour and a half journey, then you can stop to rest in a cafe with a view to the gate. Prices are lower here than in Prague!
Name in Czech: Pravčická brána.
A walk through the Kamnitz gorge and boat tour
Perhaps the most beautiful and pleasant part of the day is the walk in the gorge. It is a very romantic and panoramic route along the Kamnitz River, which runs through the heart of the pristine rocky gorge.
How to get there: returning to the Pravčická brána stop, take the same bus and go ahead until Mezní Louka. The food is good here.
From Mezní Louka you can stroll toward the river, about 40 minutes, along one of the most beautiful trails. You will then take the boat and navigate through most of the wild ravine (Wild Gorge / Divoká soutěska) below towering cliffs.
Price: 60 CZK / €2.20 / $2.40. From 9 am to 5 pm (in October until 4 pm).
Then continue through the gorge along another trail near the mountain river for about thirty minutes until the next boat, to cross the Edmund Gorge / Edmundova soutěska.
Price: 80 CZK / €3 / $3.10. Open from 9 am to 6 pm (in October until 5 pm). The gorge is closed in winter (read below).
Name in Czech: Pravčická brána.
When to visit
All photos (except those shot in winter) were taken in autumn, with a phone, on 29 October. Bastei and the Pravcicka Gate are open all year round, but you can enter the gorge from the last weekend of March to the end of October. During winter, the tourist agencies replace the visit to the gorge with other interesting places in the park (depending on the weather). All the other seasons are good. In spring and summer here the grass is very green and it is pleasantly cool; in autumn, the trees with their hues of red and yellow are of an indescribable beauty and tourists are a little less numerous. If you love nature, visit Bohemian Switzerland alone or with a tour.
