5 Days Based in Prague, Plus Side Trips

Five days, one city day and four gateway trips. This extends the 4 day version of this itinerary with a fifth day in Karlovy Vary, the slowest-paced trip on the list and a deliberate change of gear after Terezin’s heavier Day 4.

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Day 1

Reach Old Town Square before 9am, ahead of the tour groups, then cross Charles Bridge slowly. Spend the afternoon at Prague Castle, free for the grounds and courtyards, paid from around CZK 450 for St Vitus Cathedral’s interior. Close in Mala Strana, where a 0.5 litre beer runs CZK 40 to 60 in a neighborhood pub.

Day 2

Train to Kutna Hora, 41 to 50 minutes, CZK 100 to 140 one way. Start at the Sedlec Ossuary, its chapel walls built from an estimated 40,000 human bones, on your pre-booked timed slot. Continue to St Barbara’s Cathedral in the old town, a combined ticket around CZK 360. Return by afternoon train.

Day 3

Train to Karlstejn, 40 minutes, then the 2.5km, 30 to 40 minute uphill walk to the castle gate. The guided-tour-only interior runs roughly CZK 180 to 330 depending on circuit; check current tour times on hrad-karlstejn.cz . Book ahead for weekends and summer. Back in Prague by early evening.

Day 4

Bus from Florenc to Terezin, about an hour. This WWII ghetto and transit-camp memorial, plus the separate Small Fortress Gestapo prison, costs around CZK 310 combined; pamatnik-terezin.cz has current hours. Give it the full day; it’s heavy material and doesn’t pair well with a lighter stop the same afternoon.

Day 5

Direct bus to Karlovy Vary, 1 hour 35 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes depending on the operator and route; the train takes closer to 3.5 hours with more transfers, so the bus wins. This is a strolling day: colonnaded walkways, mineral hot springs you can drink from public taps, the Becherovka herbal liqueur, and the Grandhotel Pupp, a Bond-film filming location; karlovyvary.cz is the town’s own tourist site for current colonnade hours. After four days of trains, museums and a heavy memorial visit, treat this one as intentionally slow.

Day Focus Travel time from Prague
1 Prague core: Old Town, Charles Bridge, Castle none, city-based
2 Kutna Hora and the Sedlec Ossuary 41-50 min train each way
3 Karlstejn Castle 40 min train + 30-40 min walk each way
4 Terezin Memorial about 1h bus each way
5 Karlovy Vary 1h35-2h15 bus each way

Does Cesky Krumlov work as a day trip from Prague?

Not inside 5 days, and this itinerary’s five days are already spoken for. At roughly 2.5 hours each way, Cesky Krumlov wants an overnight rather than a bolt-on; the 6 or 7 day version of this itinerary is where it earns a proper stay.

Should Karlovy Vary come before or after Terezin?

After, as this order does. Terezin is the heaviest stop on the list, and Karlovy Vary’s slow, colonnaded pace works well as a deliberate reset the following day rather than a jarring swing from history back into sightseeing momentum.

Getting around

A weekly-equivalent stack of daily DPP tickets, or a 72 hour pass plus single tickets for the remaining days, covers Day 1’s transit and the connections to Hlavni nadrazi and Florenc on the other days. Validate every paper ticket on board; unstamped tickets aren’t valid even if purchased, and on-the-spot fines run roughly CZK 1,500 to 2,500.

Five days covers four distinct gateway trips without repeating a mode of transport two days running, which keeps the whole week from feeling like one long commute.