Advice on trips to the Czeck Republic and surrounding countries

[AndyT]

My colleagues and I are toying with a trip to Prague at the begining of July and I would be grateful of any tips on other areas worth visiting in the region. I really fancy Slovakia and Hugary, has anyone experience of these and if so any particular region. I remember from "Long Way Round" that there were some fantastic places in Slovakia and will watch the DVD again.

Are there any Mountain ranges with interesting roads on the way over from Belgium to that area?? I can't think over any and only the Mossel valley appeals at the moment. One of the guys will be on a FJR1300 so off roading is out


Also whats the chance of picking up Hitels in the region without booking in early July??? Are we on a hiding to nothing here?

Many thanks in advance

AndyT

 

[Schwarz Baron]

Andy,
I can't give you any advice on the Slovakia side of things, but one too give thought to for the route back, would be the southern Czech mountains which lead over the hill, into the start of Bavaria, at Passau, on the Danube, where it meets the Ins. The mountains although not that high, are stunningly beautiful, and will give you a different perspective on the Czech Republic. It has that Germanic slant to it, and seems to be slightly better off, than the rest of the country. We still rode through the snow line at the end of April. There are a lot of large/stately homes in that area, for you to have a look at and some stunning river valley scenery. If you look at Prague on the map, the area I am talking about is directly south, towards Passau. Worth a look, good luck!...... .

P.S. If your heading towards Prague, the route, Mrs Baron and I took was through Sauerland, just North of Siegan, using Tourenfahren Accomodation, on the way. crossing into the former Eastern bloc and heading along the mountain region of Wald, before dropping into Adorf, again overnighting in Tourenfahren accommodation, staying with very friendly people. In fact anyone we met from the former DDR was very friendly, much cheaper than the West. We headed east towards Prague, through Karlovy Vary. watch out for the cops in the villages, they are everywhere, stick rigidly to the speed limits or you will suffer. The regions we travelled through where hills and valleys,and forests, ideal GS touring roads, and we managed to stay away from motorways altogether, until nearing Prague, where we had no choice, and which the speed limit was 55mph. Hope this is of some use to you,

PPS. if you look at the TourenFahren accommodation site, you can book online. We have never had a problem booking at short notice, any places we have stayed, have been top notch, some even have there own brewery's attached. Their standards are very high, and again the food is excellant. for example. We averaged about £30 a night for double room, evening meal and breakfast.. Unbelieveable.. right i'm off this time, if I can be of any further help pm me. I can mark the route out on a map for you..cheers

 

[Chisurz]

Andy, I had to go the Prague for a conference last year so went by bike, naturally!

Route out was fairly quick, across Germany without using Autobahns. Some great small roads included an area called Harz (between Hannover and Leipzig, though I avoided both of those). My policy was to always pick a small crossing on a yellow road, so went into Czech Republic via a place called Bozi Dar.

Had longer coming home so went south via Passau, through Austrian Alps, to Dolomites, then back via Swiss Alps. Plenty of good roads that way.

Outbound can be more interesting than many think. Belgium doesn't have to be done via an Autoroute. The way through the Luxembourg region (of Belgium and country itself) provides some great roads (and good food, chocs, etc.). If you have the time, would recommend Slovenia, as a great detour for the the way home.

Accommodation was never a problem, but then I went slightly earlier. There is so much of it, especially B&B type stuff.

 

[drinkingparrot]

czech republic

Did the GP last year and had a great time, but beware of the police, they will pull you and they are after money. we heard a few horror stories in and around Prague and Brno of people who were pulled over by the police, and ended up shelling out just to get on there way.they will pick you up on anything, but there favourite subject is paperwork, and if you cant prove that you own the vehicle ie a V5,( and they wont accept anything else, or photo copies) they will start to make life uncomftable untill you cough up some money, and that generally goes straight in there back pockets. we did;nt have any problems with accomodation, there seemed to be plenty of places to stay where ever we went. Great place though, Im sure you;l enjoy it.

 

[Dave Barrett]

Andy,

We rode through Czech, Slovakia, Hungary plus some others last year. Full write-up is Here .

Forget Hungary - it's boring and the people weren't anywhere near as friendly as in the neighbouring countries.

For interesting mountain roads on the way, if you divert just a bit South, you can ride through the Black Forest area of Germany (where I live during the week). For a further diversion, you can always drop down into Austria and then ride up to Prague.

The direct route will take you via the Erzgebirge (Chemnitz or Dresden to Prague). There are some good roads here - probably your best bet if you don't want to detour South, although the range is not high as in the South of Germany/Austria, meaning less curves......

It'll be good, whichever you choose.

 

[AndyT]

Excellent tips guys. I'm going to try and convince the gang to go a bit earlier to miss the school hoidays which start at the end of June uip here. It will also be generally less crowded and the ferry cheaper.

Have Fun

AndyT