Prague to Karlovy Vary Day Trip
A spa town and a royal brewery in one day: ten hours, about an hour’s drive to each. A private day trip costs from €170 for the car — your driver takes you to the Krušovice brewery, on to Karlovy Vary, waits while you walk the colonnades, and brings you back to Prague the same evening.
Weather in Karlovy Vary
Updated 11 Oct, 14:39
Exchange rate
| 1 EUR (Euro) | 24.37 CZK |
| 1 USD (US dollar) | 21.75 CZK |
| 1 GBP (British pound) | 28.75 CZK |
ČNB rate, 9 Oct 2026
Route from Prague to Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary
What it costs
- €170 — car, up to 4 passengers
- €190 — minivan, up to 8 passengers
- The price is for the whole car and the whole day, not per person
- The brewery tour ticket is extra — 250 CZK, about €10 per person, paid at the brewery
What is included
- Pick-up at your hotel or apartment at the time you choose
- The driver and the car for the full ten hours
- An English-speaking driver
- All road charges, fuel and parking
- Child seats and boosters — free
- The return to Prague the same evening
How the day runs
About an hour west to Krušovice for the brewery, then roughly another hour on to Karlovy Vary. You get around two and a half hours free in the spa town — enough to walk the length of the colonnades, taste the springs and have lunch without hurrying.
You choose the start time when you book. The order can be reversed if you would rather do the brewery on the way back.
Krušovice
The brewery has been making beer since 1581 and was bought by Emperor Rudolf II in 1583 — which is why it has carried the title of royal brewery ever since. The tour goes through the brewhouse and the cellars and finishes, as these things do, with a tasting.
Karlovy Vary
The town sits in a narrow valley where thirteen main mineral springs come up hot out of the ground, and it has been built entirely around that fact since the fourteenth century.
- The Vřídlo — the hot geyser in the middle of town, which throws water up to twelve metres and comes out at around 73 °C
- The colonnades — the Mill Colonnade in particular, where you walk from spring to spring and taste each one
- The spa cups — the porcelain mugs with a spout in the handle, which exist because the water is drunk slowly while walking
- Becherovka — the herbal liqueur made here since 1807, sometimes called the thirteenth spring
- The Grandhotel Pupp — the grand hotel at the south end of the spa quarter, next to the funicular up to the Diana tower
Two things to know: the water genuinely tastes strange, and the oplatky — the large thin spa wafers sold warm on every corner — are what everybody uses to recover from it.
If you have time to spare in Karlovy Vary: swim in the rooftop pool of Hotel Thermal, with spring water at about 38 °C and a view over the whole valley, or tour the restored Imperial Spa (Lázně I), open again since 2023. Thermal pool and Imperial Spa: prices and tips →
More to see in Karlovy Vary
The two and a half hours cover the colonnades, the springs and lunch. If you want more, skip the brewery and you have about four and a half hours in town; because the car stays with you all day, the driver can also take you to the places outside the centre.
| What | Where | Allow | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moser glass museum and glassworks | Dvory, about 3 km from the colonnades, by car | 1–1.5 hours | The museum of the famous Bohemian crystal maker, and a guided tour of the working glassworks where you watch the glassblowers. Tours run in the mornings and early afternoon, roughly 9:00–14:00 Monday to Saturday, and should be booked ahead; closed shoes are required. Tickets are paid at Moser, a few hundred crowns per person; check the current price with them. Do Karlovy Vary first if you want the glassworks. |
| Funicular to the Diana tower | Lower station next to the Grandhotel Pupp | 1 hour | A three-minute ride up through the forest, every 15 minutes, to the Diana lookout tower with a lift to the top and a view over the whole valley. The tower is closed in January, and the funicular is occasionally stopped for maintenance. |
| Deer’s Leap (Jelení skok) | On the rock above the spa quarter | 45 minutes | The chamois statue on the cliff above the town, put up in 1851, marks the legend of how the springs were found: Charles IV’s hunt chased a deer up here and a hound fell into the hot water below. Get off the funicular at its middle stop, Jelení skok, and walk about 700 metres along the yellow trail, or climb up on foot from the Vřídlo colonnade. |
| The Christmas House (Vánoční dům) | Doubí, on the edge of town, by car | 1 hour | A small château above the Ohře river with Christmas decorations all year round and a museum of more than ten thousand teddy bears. Good with children, and in December on the way back to Prague. |
| Thermal pool at Hotel Thermal | Hotel Thermal, in the spa quarter | 1.5–2 hours | The rooftop pool with spring water at about 38 °C and a view over the valley. Prices and tips → |
Tell us when you book which of these you want, and we will plan the day and the order around them.
Book a day trip
Tell us the date, your hotel, what time you would like to leave, and how many of you there are. If you want the brewery skipped or Karlovy Vary on its own, say so and we will price that.
+420 773 477 799 — WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram
cz@cztransfer.com
Order
Frequently asked questions
How long is the drive to Karlovy Vary?
About an hour to Krušovice and roughly another hour on to Karlovy Vary. The whole day is planned as ten hours.
How much is the day trip?
From €170 for a car of up to four people, €190 for a minivan of up to eight. The brewery ticket, 250 CZK per person, is paid separately at the brewery.
How much free time is there in Karlovy Vary?
About two and a half hours — enough for the colonnades, the springs and lunch.
Can we do Karlovy Vary without the brewery?
Yes. Tell us when you book and we will adjust the day and the price.
Can we visit the Moser glassworks on the day trip?
Yes. The glassworks is about 3 km from the colonnades and the driver takes you there. Tours run roughly from 9:00 to 14:00, Monday to Saturday, so book the tour ahead and plan Karlovy Vary before the brewery.
Can you really drink the spring water?
Yes, that is the point of the colonnades. Buy one of the porcelain cups, taste your way along, and keep a spa wafer to hand.