Useful Tips for the First Steps in Prague

Money

The official currency of the Czech Republic is the Czech crown (CZK), or koruna česká (Kč) in the Czech language.

We advise always checking the official exchange rate for all the currencies on the Czech National Bank's website. 

In Prague contactless payment (payment by a debit card or by Apple Pay/Google Pay) is accepted almost everywhere. You may need cash for payments in small private supermarkets, or when paying small amounts of money (sometimes, payment by card is only accepted if the amount is higher than 50 CZK (about 2 EUR)). You will also need cash when loading money on your university card/ISIC for payments in the university canteens. 

If exchanging money, we advise being extremely careful. Never ever change money with strangers on a street! There are lots of scams going on and you may end up with invalid money. Always exchange money in an exchange office! 

Be also cautious when choosing the exchange office – there are a lot of exchange offices that offer 0% commission, but they have a very bad exchange rate. We advise watching this video in order to learn where it is safe to exchange money.

ATM machines in the city center will also take a large commission, so be careful.

Public transportation

The most used transport in Prague is the metro and trams. There are three metro lines: Line A (Green), Line B (Yellow), and line C (Red).

UCT Prague is stationed near metro A station “Dejvicka”. For the dormitories nearest station is the station of line C “Chodov”. Line A and line C intersect at the “Muzeum” station.

Prague has about 130 bus lines which run every 6-8 minutes during peak time, every 10-20 minutes during off-peak hours, and every 15-30 minutes during weekends. There are also night buses (501-513) which run every 30-60 minutes from midnight till 4.30 am. 

On every bus and tram station, there is a schedule of the bus arrivals and routes of the lines.

Buying tickets

Tickets for public transport can be bought at the airport, inside every metro station, and at the dormitories (however only with a debit card or coins of Czech crowns).

There is an option to buy a single ticket for 30 minutes, 90 minutes, 24 hours, and  72 hours. Once validated, the ticket is valid on all means of transport, and you don't need to validate it again when changing from the metro to a bus. 

Student passes with a discount (students of age 15-26) can be bought at dedicated places when presenting an ISIC card (issued at UCT Prague). Passes are sold for: one month/30 days, 90 days, and one year/365 days.

Note that you may be issued a fine for not having a valid ticket on you when traveling on a means of public transport. Controls in public transport are frequent, so it’s best to avoid any troubles. 

Find detailed information about the Prague transportation system here. 

Buddy Programme

Buddy is a person who provides help and information to incoming students after their arrival and during their stay in Prague. They can pick you up at the airport, show you the University and the dormitories, and help you settle in. They will provide you with “inside” information about life in Prague and studying at UCT Prague. This service is proving to be invaluable for a smooth start in a new country.

Buddy is a volunteer programme organized by ESN, it is completely free.

You can apply for the buddy here: https://esn-uct.artemis.esnhk.cz/accounts/signup/

For more information check the ESN website: http://esnuct.cz/buddy-exchange-students