"Two in one: Krakow + Prague"

Good day to all! A week ago, my friend and I returned from the tour "Two in One: Krakow + Prague" (operator DavClub). My friend was on such a tour for the first time, and indeed abroad, so she looked at the beauties of the Czech Republic with wide eyes, and did not pay attention to the "everyday" little things. I, as a fairly experienced tourist, decided to write this review not because I want to criticize the operator company, but because, perhaps, thanks to my review, the company will be able to avoid such mistakes in the future and tourists will be able to save their nerves and strength.

Initially, we planned to go on another tour "Magnificent Europe", but after submitting the documents, we were informed that there was no quota for Czech visas for this tour, and we were offered a replacement. The question arises - does the operator, before organizing the tour, have no information about visa quotas? Most likely, this tour simply did not get enough tourists, and they decided to combine us (and there were a few people like us on the bus) with a group traveling through Poland into one big bus.

So - to which, personally, I have no complaints:

1. Bus. Quite comfortable and clean. The drivers were friendly, carefully drove the bus, helped with the luggage.

2. Hotels. In Krakow, the HOTEL "JUNIOR" *** was far from the center, but it was very comfortable, with a good breakfast, there were even fresh flowers in the lobby and on the tables. In Prague, the HOTEL FORTUNA WEST*** was very conveniently located, a few tram stops from the center. The interior is simpler, but quite acceptable for a sightseeing tour (we only spent the night there). Breakfasts are also normal, as for me. At home, I used to have breakfast with a cup of coffee , but here there is such an abundance .

3. Tour guides. In Lviv, the guide is Vyacheslav, who knows, loves his city, benevolent, very interesting storyteller. Thanks to him for the informative tour and the opportunity to visit the most expensive restaurant in Lviv "Masonic Lodge". In Krakow - guide Irina. Big respect to her!!! Despite the pouring rain, she was able to convey to us information about such a beautiful city in Poland in the most accessible way, and also took care of us by showing us a small cozy and inexpensive restaurant with mulled wine  so that we would not get sick, and also called us all a taxi to get to the hotel . In Prague, Alexander was with us on sightseeing tours. Everything is informative and accessible. One could feel his love for this beautiful city.

4. Well, and of course, the cities themselves! They are just great!!!!

Now about what left an unpleasant aftertaste after the trip:

1. Visa opening: The visa was opened close to the moment of crossing the border, so when at 23:45 we collected our passports (and the visa for almost the entire bus ended at 24:00), the border guard swore madly and said that next time tourists will be in trouble. And they would have been this time too, if the police hadn’t stopped us on the way and asked us to show our passports - one tourist had it in a bag in the luggage compartment (it’s good that it wasn’t at the reception at the hotel), so we had to unload luggage. It is not clear why, at the time of departure, the group leader did not consider it necessary to go by bus (as he did when collecting money for electives) and check the availability of passports for all tourists.

2. Organization of the tour:

Kyiv - Lviv 9:00 - 20:00 - 11 hours

Lviv – Krakovets – Wieliczka 20:00 – 7:00 am – 11 am

Wieliczka – Krakow 13:00 – 14:00 – 1 hour

Krakow - Prague 08:30 - 17:00 - 8.5 hours

Prague - Krakovets - Lviv 08:30 - 05:00 am - 20.5 hours

Lviv - Kyiv (also, I think about 10 hours)

in total - 2.5 days on the road (of which - actually 3 days for 8 hours a day).

The tour program posted on the site does not correspond to reality, because on the first day in Prague we arrived at 17:00 (and expected to be around 14:00 and we would have another half day). Likewise on the last day. The “morning program in agreement with the manager” turned out to be a departure at 8:30 from the hotel and a check-in for 1 hour at an unnecessary supermarket, in which people stocked up on washing powders immersed in the bus interior and stinking throughout the cabin. True, after a persistent request, at the next parking lot, the powders migrated to the luggage compartment. And thanks for that.

3. Group leader - Vyacheslav. He tried very hard to be polite, although at the end of the tour he already managed to do it with difficulty. By his own admission, he is not a leader, as such, but is the owner of the bus. Therefore, he organized the border crossing (the border was passed quickly back and forth), informed us about the time of arrival and departure, settled us in hotels (by the way, he did it quite quickly, for which many thanks to him), gave a little information about moving around Prague and money exchange, as well as collecting money for optional excursions. The latter he performed in a very interesting way - in fact, blackmail. He tried to convince tourists that if we did not go on any additional excursion, then we would have problems with opening a visa in the future. Experienced tourists did not fall for this, but beginners had to fork out for additional excursions, although the price / quality ratio of these electives leaves much to be desired. He did not provide any additional information about cities and countries, the trip there was generally, almost in complete silence - there were action films back.

4. Electives. This is a special topic for a story. Despite the passionate exhortations of our leader that everything is economically justified, I would like to say, according to Stanislavsky, “I don’t believe!”. As I said before, we did not take any electives, despite the threats of the leader, for several reasons: 1. We wanted to spend more time in Prague itself (2 full days we left the hotel at 9 am and few). 2. There were electives that can already be safely removed from the mandatory program of travel agencies (Ship on the Vltava, Fountains). In my opinion, these objects can be visited independently, and the pleasure from them is very doubtful. It smells a lot like a Soviet. One gets the impression that they survive solely due to the obligation, IMHO. It is not clear why the Wieliczka pits are included, because There is very little time left to explore Krakow. Such electives are needed for a more detailed study of Poland, and not for a transit visit there.

And most importantly - the main excursions (Dresden, Czech Krumlov, Karlovy Vary). Their cost ranges from 35 to 45 euros, but in essence it is 6-7 hours on the bus and 2-2.5 for a very quick tour of the city. Let me give you an example: a trip to Cesky Krumlov + Gluboka 45 euros + 270 crowns for the entrance to the castle. The first thing that “impressed” was that tourists were charged 270 crowns for entering the castle, although the entrance to the castle on their own is 200 crowns (including excursion services), and if this is a group tour, then, in my opinion, it should be cheaper per person. The castle is located almost on the road to Cesky Krumlov. Therefore, there are no additional costs for gasoline. Weird math.

Now about the time: Hluboka Castle 1.5 hours, Cesky Krumlov 2.5 hours of pure time, i.e. for 4 hours - 45 euros.

I will give an example of our independent trip to this Czech Fairy Tale. True, we had to leave the hotel at 5 am, but it was worth it.

1. 5:00-5:30 Hotel - Andel bus station. (tram 24 kroons)

2. 6:00 - 8:20 Bus station Andel (bus St) - Ceske Budevice - 160 CZK

3. 8:30 – 8:50 Czech Budewice – Deep above the Vltava – 21 crowns

4 (four hours in Gluboka!!!!!) we were lucky and the tour of the castle was for the two of us with a friend :-).

4. 13:10 – 13:40 Deep over the Vltava - Ceske Buděvice 21 crowns

40 minutes for a snack in the shopping center at the bus station

5. 14:20 – 14:55 České Buděvice - Český Krumlov - 32 CZK

4 (four hours in Cesky Krumlov!!!!!) managed to walk around the city and eat in cafes and buy souvenirs (they are cheaper there than in Prague)

6. 19:00 - 21:40 Cesky Krumlov - Prague (Andel bus station) - 195 CZK

7. 21:50 - 22:00 Andel bus station - hotel - 24 kroons

Total: our trip cost us 477 crowns - that is, 19 euros for 8 hours of pure time. And we were not in a hurry, we enjoyed our journey.

I think if we set out to go on our own to Dresden and Karlovy Vary, the result would be the same. I am not saying that such excursions do not have the right to exist. But they should be longer in terms of the net time spent at the excursion site and, of course, they should be voluntary!!!!

I really hope that my review will be informative and useful. I wish you all good travel experiences. Elizabeth

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