Greetings - We%26#39;re renting a car for a week of travel in Bavaria and want to make an overnight trip to Cesky Krumlov. Couldn%26#39;t find a 6 passenger rental that I could drive in Czech so I%26#39;m in search of an efficient but frugal option for getting 6 family members to CK. We%26#39;re staying in a rural area northeast of Munich and a German contact suggested driving to Bayerisch Eisenstein and renting another car that could be taken into Czech (assuming border towns would not have the restriction). I%26#39;m concerned about getting to B.E. and finding out it doesn%26#39;t work. Also considered the shuttle offered by Pension Lobo - we could drive the 90 minutes to Linz and take the shuttle. Haven%26#39;t contacted them yet to see if there are discounts for 2 parents and 4 kids but even with a discount, it still seems expensive. Any other ideas? Also, we%26#39;ll be going next week - March 17-21 (one overnight sometime that week) and although it is still low season - it is a week when many Europeans are on Easter holiday - does anyone have experience finding last minute accommodations for 6 in a holiday week? In advance - thank you for any advice!
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The cheapest option would be bus/train. You did not mention the age of your children, but in most of Europe children between 6 and 15 travel half fare and children less than 6 travel free if they don%26#39;t use a seat. Since first class train travel in the Czech Republic is cheap compared to Western Europe, it is cost effective to use first class in the Czech Republic if you don%26#39;t already have a second class seat reservation during the crowded weekends and holidays. Since many discounted train tickets need to be bought in advance, as soon as you arrive in Europe check with the train station information center to learn what %26quot;special deals%26quot; are available to you. Often by changing your travel to a different day OR time of day you can save 25% to 50% of the fare. Try to find someone at the train information center who understands English fairly well and ask %26quot;What is the cheapest way for a family to get there?%26quot;
For more options read the second and third sections of the article %26quot;From Linz...%26quot; at www.castleview.cz (see left side of Home Page under %26quot;Getting Here%26quot;) where they mention such options as Krumlov Taxi that charges 1690 CZK (1790 CZK for a minibus) to go from Linz to Cesky Krumlov. With children and a lot of luggage this option would be much easier during the busy Easter week.
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I can%26#39;t see why a rental company wouldn%26#39;t let you drive into the Czech Republic - it is all part of the EU, indeed it is in the Schengen area (i.e. no border controls), and I have never heard of any such restrictions.
Saying that, as timkeane1 says, train would be the cheapest way, although not necessarily the shortest - it would take about 9 hours and you would have to change at Linz and Ceske Budejovice. Driving would take about 4.5 - 5 hours from Munich.
As an alternative, why don%26#39;t you drive south to somewhere like Neuschwannstein castle, or to the Alps, or to Salzburg (although I have dissed the place for being too kitschy in a previous post, you can always re-enact the Von Trapp family with your brood :) ) You could probably do both of those trips in a day.
Good luck!
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Thank you to timkeane1 and GCEK for your quick replies. GCEK, I wish it were not so but National, Hertz, Alamo and Europcar all have restrictions against taking the size vehicle I need (6 passenger)into the Czech Republic when rented in Munich (maybe it would not be so, if I rented elsewhere?). timkeane1, I have read the options offered on the site you recommended and emailed several places for quotes. Only our youngest is %26lt;16 so the half-price train is not an option. In Bavaria, they offer a %26quot;family ticket%26quot; that would cover 5 of us for discounted price but it is only good for travel in Bavaria. If we have not settled this before we go, I will check at the train station when we arrive to see what other options are available. GCEK, I had a good laugh at your suggestions for alternatives. We actually did both of those in 1998 when the 4 kids were under the age of 13 and they especially loved singing %26quot;So long, Farewell%26quot; on the Sound of Music Tour : ) Thankfully, we%26#39;ve all matured since then! Our oldest loved Prague when she traveled there during a study abroad semester so she would like to see someplace else in the Czech Republic. We are staying near Passau, Germany so Cesky Krumlov looked managable until we found the train trip would be 6+ hours. However, I%26#39;ve now read enough to be smitten with the place, so I%26#39;d like to find a way to make it work! We%26#39;ll keep you posted. Thanks again!
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Thanks again for your help. I received quick responses and bids from Krumlov Taxi and Mike%26#39;s Chauffer. There was a significant difference in price but both of them were out of our budget. According to Google Maps, it looked like an easy 2 1/2 hour drive from our pension in Bavaria to Cesky Krumlov. That visit will now have to wait for the next trip.....
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You don%26#39;t need to tell the car rental place that you are taking it to the Czech Republic - I have rented a Mercedes Viano from Hertz in Munich before and driven all over Europe, including Czech Republic and Hungary. Their insurance only stipulates that you must not take the vehicle into Eastern Europe (i.e. non-EU countries such as former Yugoslavia, Belarus, Russia, etc). The Czech Republic does not come into this category as it is an EU Schengen state and there should be no problem at all. There must be somewhere in Passau that you can hire such a vehicle instead of going all the way to Munich to find one - the car hire places in Munich are all out on the periphery and can be difficult to find so you can easily spend all day just sorting that out (it is actually quicker to drive to CK from Passau than to Munich).
I have just asked a colleague of mine who does this sort of thing all the time and he says that there is a Europcar in Passau where you can get an MPV. People drive from there to the CR all the time, just don%26#39;t tell them. Apparently it is against EU law to prevent free movement anyway.
Google %26#39;autovermietung passau%26#39; for car hire places.
From Passau it is a two-hour drive up through Philippsreut/Strazny and Volary then down to CK along the Vltava dam - you don%26#39;t need to go to Eisenstein or Linz. Check out www.viamichelin.com for directions.
Or if all else fails I found this nice little drive for you: independent.co.uk/travel/europe/road-trip-th…
Good luck!
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Here is a representative sample of the restrictions on the rental car web site:
Important Policy Information:Vehicles cannot be driven into the following countries: Albania,etc. All vehicles are permitted to enter the following countries: Austria, etc. Economy, Compact, Intermediate, Standard %26amp; the FVMR only maybe driven into the following countries: Czech Republic, etc..... Our car does not fit in the %26quot;allowed catagory%26quot;. We also need to rent the car in Munich due to other plans we%26#39;ve made in that area when we first arrive.
I appreciate GCEK%26#39;s spirit to %26quot;push the envelop%26quot; and if it were just me and my husband, I might take some chances but I can%26#39;t sign a rental agreement and then disregard the restrictions. Having said that - GCEK is awesome for finding other diversions for us. We had already planned some and now that there will be more time in the the Bavarian Forest, we will pursue others. Thanks!
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