Going to Prague

EM2008 wrote: »

hi
I'm heading to Prague from a Fri afternoon to Monday afternoon. we've an apartment booked for the weekend in Old Town Square (6 girls).. now my question is to all those who have already posted about heading over earlier this year is roughly how much money would I need for the weekend. we will be doing a bit of site seeing but I'd say the most of my money will be spent on dinner and beer (we'll prob stock up the apartment for breakfast lunch)
Was it as cheap as you expected?
thanks in advance for your replies.

If your accomodation is already paid for, you can have a wonderful time on a very low budget. Beer is very cheap, so if all you do is drink it, your wallet will be quite full at the end of 4 days. To be comfortable, I would say have about 300 euro, but I have spent weekends in prague myself and not spent more than 100. The maximum you should pay for a pint is about 60 crowns, which is about 2.50 in euro, though assuming you dont spend all your time in tourist traps, 30 crowns would be more reasonable.. Lunch will vary but much more than 150(6 euro) would be considered pricey. And you should have change from 250(10 euro) for Dinner.

To put it like this, if you were to eat out for lunch and dinner everyday, and drink 10 pints per day(alot), you would spend about 400 on beer, 600 on lunch and 1000 on Dinner, which comes to a grand total of 80 euro. When I go away I like to have about 50% more than i think Ill need for emergencies, so adding general travel, sightseeing tours, and souvenirs, you should have change from about 300 euro.

Most places have the menu up outside before you go in so you can see what they are charging. The only places where drinks are through the roof generally speaking are strip clubs and Prague airport, and I am assuming 6 girls wont be attending any strip clubs.

rossie1977 wrote: »

^^^

are tourist trap bars and normal bars easily identifiable from one another in prague?? or is it a case that all bars in the city centre are more expensive??

I should point out that yes most bars in the city centre are more expensive, but not rip-off republic expensive. In a regular pub your talking about 30 crowns(E1.20), in a city centre bar about 40-50(E1.60-2 euro), and the tourist trap, 60-70(2.40-2.80).

I should also point out that these prices are based on 500ml draught beer. There are hundreds of cafe bars in and around the city centre which happily charge 70 crowns for a 330ml Bottle of Lager. If your on a relatively tight budget, I would try to avoid these. Most have tables outside with the menu on the table so you can have a quick look before you sit down as to what they have. Beer in Czech is Pivo, and bottled in Czech is lahové. Generally speaking if it says lahové pivo and does not say any other kind of pivo(apart from non alcoholic/nealkoholické, then they will have no draught and might be expecting quite a bit for the bottles.

Thanks a million syklops your post is really helpful.
That's what I was budgeting for but want to bring too much than too little..
I wouldn't rule the strip clubs out yet were a very incusitive bunch and may go for a look see
Usually our touristy/cultural bit of seeing a city is the open top tour bus but that's not a runner for Prague. We'll probably go see a few things but the theme of the weekend is to chill.

Ok, if your do plan on visiting a strip club, this is where you are most likely to be fleeced. However, some forward planning, and being a bit careful and you should be grand. In the Czech republic, what they call nite clubs are actually strip clubs, and most strip clubs are also brothels/bordellos. If you want an Irish style nite club, look for a sign for a disco. Prostitution is legal in the Czech republic so it is all above board, and they are often a destination for visiting business men. Some clubs, see opportunity for massive profit from business men's expense accounts and charge whopping amounts for the drinks in the clubs. Some also remove some of the transparency of the transaction. Here is an example:

A friend was telling me he was in a place where he got 5 fake hundred dollar bills to pay for his drinks with. When he ordered a drink, he would slot one of the bills into the waitresses underwear to 'pay' for the drink. That was all fine, bit of a laugh. One of the girls sat beside him and asked if he would buy her a drink, which he did and after a couple of drinks he was out of his fake bills so asked for some more, and they said ok, but you need to pay your bill, and he got a 3000 crown bill(Which is about 120 euro). He paid and then left, very disgruntled.

If you want I can ask him the name of that place and can pm you it. There are some places of course where there is no entrance fee, and no exorbitant prices on drinks, and good service, but you wont find many right in the city centre. I can also ask my friend if he knows of any good ones if you like. Perhaps one with some male strippers? Ill have to tell him the reason I want to know though in case he thinks I need to tell him something.

I would recommend a bus tour, around the city or a walking tour(though not in the current heat) though. As well as being a very attractive city, it has also been the set location for lots and lots of movies, so if you have someone to point out places to you you will start to recognize places. Mission Impossible, Casino Royale, XXX, Bourne Identity, The lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, A Knight's Tale, Van Helsing, Hellboy among many many others all had scenes filmed on location in Prague. I always get a kick out of watching films and going "That's not actually Miami, that's Prague, I have been there!".