How to travel on Prague public transport: The Easy to follow Guide (2025)

Prague public transport is fairly easy to navigate and use. The centre is well connected with the outer boroughs and you’ll find that you can get to one place by various different types of public transport. This makes it quite easy if you get lost because there is always a tram or a bus to take you back to the centre.

The whole of Prague operates a so-called integrated public transport, which means that you only need one ticket and you can use the tram, bus, underground (metro), train, water ferry or cable car for your journey as long as it’s within the ticket time restriction.

I use the Prague public transport all the time and especially trams are my favourite way of getting around the town. But, I hope that even if you are completely new to Prague, my guide will help you to get around the town without any problems.

What’s new for 2024/2025?

119 Trolleybuses to Vaclav Havel Airport

From March 2024 Prague has a new trolleybuses, yay! They were specially commissioned to replace the 119 airport bus and they are spacious and long with plenty of space for luggage and more importantly with easy access, so you don’t need to climb any stairs.

The new trolleybuses follow the same route as the previous 119 bus and will take you from the Vaclav Havel airport to the underground station – Veleslavin, where you can get a direct metro to the centre. They start from the same place as the previous 119 bus (right outside the airport) and cost the same 40 CZK for 90 min as before.

Complete Re-furbishments of Petrin Funicular

The Petrin Cable car is currently being completely re-furbished and updated. The estimated re-opening is scheduled for early 2026. In the meantime, there are other ways to get to Petrin Hill, that also show you this part of Prague in a complete different way.

The types & Prices of public transport tickets in Prague for 2025

Short time ticket – 30 CZK

This ticket is valid for 30 minutes from validation time. This ticket is perfect if you need to travel few stops or don’t want to walk up the hill to Prague Castle.

Longer time ticket – 40 CZK

This ticket is valid for 90 minutes from validation time, which is plenty for any interchanges you need to make, travel across the whole Prague or get from the airport to the centre.

Day ticket – 120 CZK

If you know that you are going to be using public transport during your stay ( personally I think it’s the best way to get around the town), you can also buy multi day tickets.

The great thing about these is that you validate them at the beginning and they are valid for 24 hrs or 72 hrs. This means that if you buy the ticket at 2 pm one day, it’s valid until 1.59 pm the next day, giving you in effect 2 days worth of travelling.

There is no restriction on this ticket. It is valid any time (peak, off-peak, night time), which makes it such great value.

3 day ticket – 330 CZK

The three-day ticket works in exactly the same way as the one day ticket. If you are in Prague for more than 4 days, I think it’s worth planning your days, so that you get the most out of your travel card ticket.

For example, visiting the whole of Prague Castle can take the best part of the day, which means you only need a short term ticket to get to the top of Prague Castle by tram.

But if you fancy visiting different places, or Prague parks, smaller musems or cafes, it’s worth planning them together and then get a longer ticket such as the one-day or three-day ticket.

Monthly ticket – 1000 CZK

The monthly ticket (valid for any consecutive 30 days) might look like too much money, but even if you are in Prague for 2 weeks, it’s still cheaper than buying individual tickets. You don’t need to have any ID proof or ap to buy this ticket and you can also share it with other people (if you are not traveling yourself). This is a paper ticket, which you will need to carry with you at all times when you travel.

More importantly for the sum of approx £33 (1000 CZK) you can use any tram, bus or train within the greater Prague public transport system and you don’t need to worry about getting tickets every time you want to catch a tram or remembering to get off because you’ve run out of time on your ticket.

Monthly Ticket – 550 CZK

This monthly ticket is only available if you download the PID app to your phone and upload your photo. It’s pretty simple to do, but I’d suggest to do this in plenty of time before you want to take the first bus or tram connection.

If you are asked for ticket by the ticket inspector you will need to show them your e-ticket which will be in your PID app. This means you will need access to the internet and more importantly have a roaming switched on. It’s best to check if your mobile provider includes the Czech Republic in your free data so that you don’t incur unexpected roaming charges.

Prague public transport concessions – children, students, senior citizens

Children up to 15 years old and seniors over 65 travel free, but they have to have an official ID with them. The only official ID the ticket inspector will accept from foreign visitors is a passport. (for Czech people this is either ‘obcansky prukaz’ citizen’s id card or passport or a specially issued card by the public transport department).

Students (up to 26 years) only receive a discount on a monthly travel card, but it’s pretty much the same cost as a day travel card (130 CZK for a month or 120 CZ for a day – not discounted).

So if you are staying in Prague only for a few days, it’s still worth getting the monthly ticket as it will be much cheaper). You will need to purchase the ticket via the PID app.

If you are age 60-65 you are entitled 50% off the regular ticket price – 15 CZK for 30 minutes ticket, 20 CZK for 90 minutes and 60 CZK for 24 hrs travel card.

The monthly travel card will cost you only 130 CZK, but you will need to purchase this one via the PID app, as the paper one will require you to have a specially pre-approved card by the public transport for which you would need a photo and Czech ID and proof that you live in the Czech Republic, which of course you won’t have.

AE bus from the Vaclav Havel Airport to the centre (Main Train Station)

The tickets are 100 CZK (50 CZK concessions) and no further discounts are offered. Free travel doesn’t apply here (but don’t worry you can use all the other buses – 59, 191 and 100 from the airport for the regular public transport tickets)

How to buy and use the public transport tickets

Tickets can be bought in yellow vending machines at the entrance of any underground (metro) station.

You can also buy ticket on the trams and buses, but you need to use your payment card for this. The ticket machines inside the trams and buses are easy to use, you just select the type of ticket you need and tap your card. The ticket is valid straightaway (which makes sense as you are already on the bus or tram).

Once you buy your ticket, make sure you validate it in the smaller yellow ticket machine on any bus or at the bus stop. The machine stamps it with a date and time and you have either 30 or 90 minutes to get to your destination, including any changes.

You don’t need to validate the ticket again when you change, say from a bus to a tram, just keep it in your pocket somewhere safe.

Alternatively you can also download the PID app to your phone and purchase e-ticket. Once you do that you also need to active the ticket in the app to indicate that you are starting your journey.

There is 2 minutes delay before you can hop on the tram to prevent people from buying tickets only when they see the ticket inspector. That’s all well and good, but if you are not aware of this and buy your ticket and not activate it and then wait 2 minutes, you might still get a fine from the ticket inspector.

A word of warning – ticket inspectors are in plain clothes (not uniforms) and do regular spot checks. Currently, the fine is 1500 CZK, but if you pay on the spot or within 2 weeks, you’ll only pay 800 KCZ.

My favourite saving tip: If you know that you are going to be using public transport all the time whilst you are in Prague, you can buy the daily, 3 daily or monthly tickets directly at the Prague airport. The office is open every day until 8 pm and there is one office in each terminal.

I used to buy the first single ticket to get to the centre of Prague, where I would get my monthly travel card, but now I buy it directly at the airport. It’s not just about saving 40 CZK, but it’s more about having the flexibility of going out and hopping on the tram without worrying if my travel ticket is still valid or not.

Travelling by Prague Trams

Travelling by tram is one of the easiest ways of getting around in Prague. They are frequent and interconnected in many places. The distances between stops are usually very short – you can sometimes see the next stop ahead, so even if you forget your stop, you can easily walk back or hop on the next tram going back.

There are several different tram routes and the numbers start from 1-26 for day time trams and 91-99 for night trams (between midnight to 4-5 am). The night time trams use the same tracks as the day time trams but join up several routes together. They usually interconnect in the middle and you can change to get the tram you need.

The only difference is the historic tram no. 42, which has it’s own timetable, circular route and public transport tickets are not valid. You can buy separate ticket, which 200 CZK and it’s valid for the whole day directly from the tram ticket inspector dressed in a historic costume.

READ MORE:

Travelling by Prague Underground (Metro)

Prague underground has only three lines – Line A, B, C and it’s a quick and easy way to get across the whole of Prague. The three lines intersect in the middle and you can easily change to A, B or C regardless on which line you are.

It’s usually quicker to cover longer distances by underground and then change to a tram for the last few stops to get you wherever you need to go.

The metro (underground) opens at 5 am and closes at 12 midnight. The last train leaves from the last stop by midnight, so if you are a few minutes late past midnight you might still be able to get your train.

READ MORE

Comprehensive guide to Prague underground (Metro) >>

Travelling by bus

You will only find one or two small types of buses in the centre as the rest are more on the outskirts of Prague or where the trams can’t go (anywhere up the hills!).

You can buy a ticket inside the bus or sometimes at the bus stop. The same ticket is valid on the bus as it is on the tram or underground. You probably won’t really need to use the buses, unless you are thinking of visiting Prague ZOO where the only transport that takes you directly to the entrance is the Prague bus.

One thing that’s worth mentioning is that buses beginning with 300 are outer Prague buses. They usually start within the Prague zone, but quickly leave the zone valid on your regular ticket.

You can easily buy tickets on these buses, in fact the driver only opens the front door, so you have to pass by him – either showing him your ticket or buying a ticket from him. This for example happens on the bus to Pruhonice Park, Melnik or when you travel to Terezin.

READ MORE

The full guide to Florenc Main Bus Station in Prague >>

Travelling by train

The chances are that you probably won’t be travelling on the trains within the Prague travel zone as trams, underground and buses are much more convenient.

If you fancy a day out from Prague, for example to Pardubice, you might start your day at one of Prague’s few main stations and buy your train ticket directly there. Most trains leave from the Main Train Station (Praha – Hlavni Nadrazi) and only a few start from Masarykovo Train Station (Masarykovo Nadrazi).

Other Prague train stations are linked with either Main station or Masarykovo Train Station, but in most instances you will only need the Main station to start your journey from.

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Travelling by water ferry

One of my recent discoveries is that you can use the regular public transport tickets to travel on the water ferry! I mean, how cool is that!

There are 6 water ferries connecting the Vltava river banks and the Vltava Islands at different points across the town. They are usually in the places that are not that well connected via other means of transport or there are no bridges over Vltava River nearby.

Four out of the six river ferries operate only in the summer time (March – October), but two remain open all year (these are not in the centre of Prague, but in Sedlec – Zamky and V Podbabe – Pohori)

Using the Petrin Hill Cable Car (re-opening 2026)

Petrin Cable Car is a great way to travel up the Petrin Lookout tower and Petrin Park. You’ll find the cable car at Ujezd as you get off the trams no 9, 12 or 22.

The tickets requirements have recently changed and unless you have the day, three days or 30 days travel card, the regular tickets are not valid and you need to purchase a separate ticket (60 CZK) valid on the cable car only. You need to buy 60 CZK ticket for both journeys up and down, but most people will probably use the cable car to just go up the hill.

You can see that if you plan to use the Petrin cable car, it’s definitely worth paying for the day travel card, which is 120 CZK and then use it for the rest of the day.

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This blog post was originally written on 23 October 2021 and last updated on 7 March 2024

How to travel on Prague public transport: The Easy to follow Guide (2025)

What’s new for 2024/2025?