If you are planning a vacation today, consider staying in Prague. This is one of the most beautiful European cities. Every day you are waited by excursions on ancient palaces, chapels and cathedrals, local shops surprise with an abundance of souvenirs and trinkets sold at low prices. And, of course, here you can taste 70 varieties of the best beer. It remains to solve the question of how to get to Prague.
Popular transport
Prague and Moscow have direct air links. As always, an airplane is the fastest means of transportation. From Moscow, you can easily get an Aeroflot aircraft. The ticket price is quite real, from 120 euros, if you take an economy class ticket.
For people who do not like airplanes, there is another type of transport, for example, a bus. From Moscow in transit through Riga you can get to Prague for about 85 euros.
Finally, the most popular and convenient form of transport is the Moscow-Prague train. It leaves daily, you do not have to adjust your vacation to the schedule of the railway. Departure takes place from the Belorussky station at about one in the morning.
What are the benefits of traveling by rail?
Significant savings in money is a very powerful argument for many people, especially if you are going on vacation with the whole family. The Moscow-Prague train never lacks passengers, because traveling in a compartment costs about 8.5 thousand rubles. This is available to most citizens and allows you to leave more money for traveling in Prague.
This is not all, airplanes and buses often cause discomfort, passengers are rocking, which cannot be said about the train. Here you do not need to constantly sit in an armchair, you can walk along the corridor, stretch your legs and look out the window. There is another big plus: the Moscow-Prague train passes through several European cities, each of which has a parking lot lasting up to half an hour. Passengers usually cannot be torn from the windows, and during the parking you can have time to take pictures and buy souvenirs.
Disadvantages of Traveling to Prague by Train
There are not many of them, usually tourists note the only thing - the duration of the trip. The journey from Moscow to Prague will take you about 30 hours. On the other hand, a comfortable location in a convenient compartment, the ability to walk, sit, lie, eat fully and sleep bring this drawback to nothing. And if you add the presence of a pleasant company, the possibility of leisurely communication with your family, then the minus turns into a plus, because in the everyday bustle this opportunity is not every day.
When to buy tickets?
Since the train to Prague is an extremely popular form of transport for Russian tourists, it is worth thinking about tickets in advance. If a vacation is usually planned for 4-6 months, then the transport issue should not be left unresolved. Often the seats are sorted out a month in advance, so book your tickets 6-8 weeks before departure. Then your trip will not be obscured by the need to urgently look for alternative, and often more expensive, ways to get to your vacation destination.
A separate issue is tickets for the Prague-Moscow train, or the return trip home. Tour operators advise paying immediately for a round trip, then by the end of the vacation you are guaranteed to appear at the workplace.
Train cars, or what to expect
The Moscow-Prague high - speed train surprises passengers accustomed to domestic wagons. These are quite comfortable coupes, standardly designed for a different number of people. There are double and triple European class, of course, costing more, and ordinary, for 6 people. The compartment and toilets are clean, comfortable washbasins and sockets for razors work (today they are more often used to charge cell phones and laptops).
The seats are comfortable and soft, you will ride in comfort, but keep in mind that there is not much free space in the compartment, especially in the standard one, with six seats. If you especially appreciate comfort, then take a first class ticket (only one person is traveling with you) or a suite, then you are the rightful owner of the coupe.
In the first class, sleeping places are located on one side, and a place for things, a hanger and a table on the other. By the way, under the table top there is a washbasin. It is quite convenient. There is also a folding folding seat and a cabinet-bar (though empty). What is remarkable, the upper berth is located so that even a tall person can comfortably sit on the lower one without touching his head.
The second class differs from the first in that it adds one more berth, so the level of comfort decreases sharply.
What to do on the go?
The presence of an outlet provided for undivided use determines the occupation of passengers. Mostly it is watching movies and reading books downloaded on a laptop or tablet. So it’s never boring on the road. Departure from Moscow takes place late at night, so as soon as the excitement from the landing passes, the tapping of the wheels begins to lull, and now the morning of the next day.
The next day you will cross the state borders three times, visit various cities that you can look at from the window and get to know them a little while the train is parked. In order for you to better imagine what path the Moscow-Prague train will take, we will offer the route in a more expanded form.
2111 kilometers long
At about 3 in the morning you will pass the city of Vyazma, and at 5 - Smolensk. Usually, everyone is fast asleep at this time, so these stations go unnoticed. Also, in a dream, the Russian-Belarusian border crosses, and by 8 am you are already approaching Minsk. Locals are greeted with numerous offers in the form of a hot breakfast. Cooking is usually not bad, so if you stocked up only with dry rations, you can diversify the menu.
The next point is Brest, at about 3 in the afternoon. Next, the train enters Poland. Here only Terespol will please with a long stop, about an hour, the rest lasts only a couple of minutes. By night you will reach the Czech Republic and, having overslept safely until the morning, you will meet Prague.
Border crossing
This moment usually excites tourists who did not have much experience traveling abroad or who first chose the Moscow-Prague train as a transport. The schedule is designed so that you cross the first state border early in the morning. Usually there are no global checks here, and passengers sleep peacefully. Only in case of emergency, the conductor will raise everyone in advance to prepare the documents.
Next you will have a more serious test, which should be prepared in advance. Belarusian-Polish customs officers thoroughly check the documents, they can ask you to get and count your money with them (they must be declared), check your baggage. In general, if you are traveling on a package tour, then no problems are foreseen. You must have a migration card in your hands (you will receive it with your visa), and an entry stamp must be present in your passport. You can have up to three thousand dollars of cash with you (this amount can not be declared). If this amount reaches 10 thousand dollars, then be sure to declare. If more, then permission from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation will be required.
Carrying cash in cash is risky enough, so it’s better to use traveller's checks. To cash them in Prague is not difficult.
Another point: try not to have too much tobacco products (do not agree to transfer the hotel in the form of a block of cigarettes) or alcohol. When you go back, tea, coffee and perfume can be taken out without restrictions, and alcohol - from 1 to 4 liters.
Polish-Czech border guards are usually somewhat more loyal and confine themselves to checking passports. If you do not give an occasion to show interest in your person, then you will calmly cross all three borders, and in either direction.
Food on the go
If you are traveling with a small child, then you should take care of the stock of special food in advance, because you won’t be able to replenish it on the road. And if you travel in the company of adults, big problems never arise. Packed lunches can be taken from home. Tea is constantly offered by the guide, plus you can buy cookies and sweets from him. Waking up in the morning, you will hear a waiter handing out a menu from a dining car and collecting orders for breakfast and lunch. The restaurant only works until three o’clock until you reach Brest. Prices there, of course, bite. But the ubiquitous locals help out, at the shortest stops they manage to run along the carriage with bags, from which tasty smells of fresh homemade food come. Therefore, it’s unlikely to remain hungry. Moreover, the next morning you will meet already in Prague, where after accommodation in the hotel you can have breakfast calmly.
Passenger Safety
As at all times, tourists hovering in the clouds are periodically robbed, and those whose ultimate goal is Prague are no exception. Anyone can go by train from Moscow, and the completely flimsy chain on the door rests on parole. What can be done to protect yourself? Do not carry large amounts of money with you, use the services of a bank. Do not be zealous with dating, especially if “friendship” is held together by alcohol. At night, you can back the door with any suitable items. If you are traveling alone, then, leaving the compartment, take valuables with you, you can take care of a small suitcase in advance, which includes the most expensive items. If traveling with your family, leave the compartment in turn.
Brief conclusions
In general, the trip is quite pleasant, all the reviews of experienced tourists say this. The best transport is the Moscow-Prague train. Schedule, cost - everything is very convenient for any type of employment and income. Tickets are available, departure late at night, you manage to finish all things. The night passes quickly, the day is enriched by the impressions of the landscapes passing by, and there is only one night left to meet the shining Prague.