Czech Republic
Information | |
Language: | Czech |
Capital: | Prague |
Population: | 10,403,100 |
Currency: | Czech crown (CZK) |
Hitchability: | <rating country='cz' /> |
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots or BeWelcome | |
<map lat='49.7' lng='15.5' zoom='6' view='0' /> |
Contents
Czechia, officially Czech Republic (Czech: Česká republika or Česko ) is a country in Europe, bordering on Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia. It is a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement.
In most cases hitchhiking there is quite easy. Czech Republic is a transit country with dense traffic on its main roads. Along with the local drivers you can find there many drivers (especially truck drivers) from nearby countries. Older drivers usually speak only Czech, sometimes some Russian and more seldom German. Younger drivers usually have at least a basic level of English.
In past many people used to hitchhike so you get a lift usually quite fast. Hitchhiking on normal roads works very well so if possible try to avoid going by highways. In Czechia there is very many gas stations on the highway which means that there aren't that many cars on any of them which can make gas station hitchhiking bit annoying. If you wanna just pass Prague it is not very easy as most people on the highways go only there and no further so instead of getting stuck on a gas station before Prague it can be faster and less frustrating to get droped in Prague and get to a highway on which you wanna continue. For driving on a highway one needs to have a vignette. Most people have it but some people who don't drive often far don't have one so you can get sometimes a longer lift by those people also on small roads parallel to a highway but as mentioned before most people have it.
Hitchhiking directly on motorways and expressways is not allowed; pedestrians are not permitted to walk on these roads for safety reasons. Thus hitchhiking typically involves standing on onramps or at petrol stations on the motorway. While it is not suggested that one hitchhike on highways, actual confrontations with police are rare, and in the unlikely event that a police car does stop, it is best to be polite and feign ignorance of the rules, and they will usually not give you a fine.
When hitchhiking on regional roads make sure you are at a spot that is perfectly visible to the drivers - in summertime there are many speeding motorcycle drivers.
Border crossing
Czech Republic and all neighbouring countries are Schengen members, so there are no regular border controls any more, though German police often check the documents and backpacks of hitchhikers near the Czech border. Some border crossings remain good places to get an onward lift.
With Poland
Public transport
Public transport is generally not too expensive. Use this very convenient search engine for public transport in the entire CR.
Phrasebook
Czech is a Slavic language. Phrasebook with recorded sounds Phrases with trans-scripted pronounciation
- Hello (formal/casual) Dobry den/Ahoj
- Are you going to ...? Jedete do ...?
- Are you please going in direction of ...? Jedete smerem na ...?
- Thank you Dekuji
- Goodbye Nashledanou
- Yes Ano
- No Ne
- Next petrol station Na dalsi benzinku
Links
Personal Experiences
On normal roads I get usually lift in about ten minutes even though I look male and crusty. On highways entries and gas stations it takes usually more time. For me one of the most hitch-friendly country in Europe.
Nomadwiki & Trashwiki
Check Trashwiki for dumpsters...and share your wisdom :)
> 1.000.000: Praha
100.000-500.000: Brno • Ostrava • Plzeň • Liberec • Olomouc
50.000-100.000: Ústí nad Labem • Hradec Králové • České Budějovice • Pardubice • Havířov • Zlín • Kladno • Most • Karviná • Opava • Frýdek-Místek • Karlovy Vary • Jihlava • Teplice • Děčín
20.000-50.000: Chomutov • Přerov • Jablonec nad Nisou • Mladá Boleslav • Prostějov • Třebíč • Česká Lípa • Třinec • Tábor • Znojmo • Příbram • Cheb • Orlová • Kolín • Trutnov • Písek • Kroměříž • Šumperk • Vsetín • Valašské Meziříčí • Litvínov • Uherské Hradiště • Hodonín • Český Těšín • Břeclav • Krnov • Litoměřice • Sokolov • Nový Jičín • Havlíčkův Brod • Chrudim • Strakonice • Kopřivnice • Klatovy • Žďár nad Sázavou • Bohumín • Jindřichův Hradec • Vyškov • Blansko • Kutná Hora • Náchod • Jirkov