Prague: Money & Costs

Currency

Name

Czech Koruna

Symbol

Kč

• Changing Your Money

  Travellers cheques are easily cashed throughout the Czech Republic. Eurocheques are cashed free of charge at Komercní banks, and there are American Express and Thomas Cook offices in Prague which will change their cheques at bank rates free of charge. Upper end hotels and restaurants in major tourist centres accept some credit cards, usually American Express, Visa or MasterCard (Access) and sometimes Eurocard, Diners Club or JCB. Most travel agencies and some tourist shops in Prague accept credit cards, but most shops prefer crowns. Don't bother exchanging money on the black market: the usual rate is barely above the bank rate and there are plenty of scammers ripping off tourists with discontinued old crown notes or worthless Polish zlotys. Be especially vigilant when changing money anywhere in central Prague, especially around Wenceslas Square.

• Money Tips

  Costs in the biggest tourist centres - Prague especially, but also the Bohemian spas, are higher than elsewhere, though things are still fairly cheap for Western visitors. The big exception is accommodation in Prague, for which tourist prices are in line with those across Western Europe. By staying at cheap hostels and campsites, sticking to self-catering, pub grub and stand-up cafeterias, you might get away with Kč500 per person per day in summer. In a private home or better hostel, with meals at cheap restaurants and using public transport, you can get by on Kč700 - Kč850 . To share a clean double room with bath in a mid-range hotel or pension, and enjoy good local or Western meals, plan on at least Kč1000 - Kč1300 . In Prague, figure a third to half again as much, and even more if you want to be close to the centre. On the other hand, except for Easter and Christmas-New Year, many bottom and mid-range hotels drop their prices by a third or more outside the summer season.

• Sample Price Guide

  loaf of bread

  Kč 0.20

  chocolate bar

  Kč 0.12

  litre of milk

  Kč 0.18

  24-hr travel card

  Kč 80.00

  small bottle of beer

  Kč 25.00

  double room in Malá Strana hotel

  Kč 4500.00

  pork & dumplings

  Kč 100.00

  portrait by Charles Bridge caricaturist

  Kč 200.00

  souvenir t-shirt

  Kč 300.00

  Average Room Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  Kč500-2500	Kč2500-5499	Kč5500-7500	Kč7500+
  Average Meal Prices
  Low	Mid	High	Deluxe
  Kč150-300	Kč300-600	Kč600-1000	Kč1000+

• Tipping

  After fair service in a restaurant, round up the bill to the next Kč10.00 (or the next Kč20.00 if it's over about Kč200.00 ). The same applies to tipping taxi drivers. If your driver is honest and turns on the meter then you should round up the fare at the end of your journey. In restaurants, the usual protocol is for the waiter or waitress to show you the bill and for you, as you hand over the money, to tell them the total amount you want to pay with the tip included. Change is usually counted out starting with the big notes, on down to the littlest coins. In more posh restaurants, if you say děkuji (thank you) during this process, your waiter may assume the rest is a tip.

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