While I used Uber and Bolt quite often during my time in Prague, I found the express bus was a convenient and cheap way to travel from the city center to the airport.
Prague Airport Express Bus Review
I used to get around exclusively by public transportation when I traveled. Heck, I resisted getting a car until I was in my 20s and even used public transport in Los Angeles (not for the faint-hearted…). These days, I mostly use ridesharing because it’s just easier, but I believe in public transport in the sense that when it is carefully planned, it can make more sense than using a car.
I noticed when preparing to leave the Andaz Prague that Prague Main Railway Station (Praha hlavní nádraží) was just a short walk away and that from there I could travel nonstop by bus to Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG). The journey takes 40 minutes and costs CZK 100 (about 4.75 USD). That’s about 1/4 the cost of Uber or Bolt.
Arriving at the station, I found the signage a bit confusing and wound up on a railway track…but thankfully found the pick-up point just outside the station on the upper level (Wilson Street). As an aside, although the station looked somewhat brutalist on the side I arrived on, the other (older) side is quite ornate, with architecture befitting of Prague.
The Airport Express leaves the station every 30 minutes on the hour and on the half between the hours of 5:30 am and 10:00 pm.
Onboard, you can tap to pay by card or pay by cash. Seating is typical for a city bus, but there are luggage racks. There are no power outlets, USB ports, or Wi-Fi on this service.
The journey was smooth and we arrived at the airport within 40 minutes. The bus stops at Terminal 1 first and terminates at Terminal 2.
While buses are sometimes more trouble than they are worth, that is not the case in Prague: I recommend the Airport Express, especially if traveling solo.
You don’t use trains that much in Europe?
I don’t usually have reason to, but I am not opposed.
Ok but how often would you say you used them traveling to/from airports?
The trains I take to airports in Europe have become increasingly packed experiences. Sometimes I can’t even squeeze on board the next train to my primary EU airport; and if my travel party is 3 or more people, there is a choice matrix that comes into play to balance cost, passenger/luggage capacity, comfort, signal faults and track congestion.
And big price hikes for train/bus transport to airport don’t seem to necessarily come with improvements in the things that matter to me.
If travelling solo, I would buy 90 minutes ticket for 40CZK and take metro+bus. The same journey would take 40 minutes instead of your 32 minutes, but the cost is 60CZK less.
Excellent recommendation. In my case, I used the last hour of my 24-hour transportation pass, which cost 120 CZK (USD 5,20).
Easy peasy!
Sadly, it’s just been announced that the fare will double in January. At about $9, it’ll still be a pretty good deal for solo travelers, but for more people this approaches Bolt territory. At least the bus runs more frequently during the summer (every 20 minutes) and there are plans to make it every 15 minutes, at least until the airport train link is finally opened in 2030(?).
The most braindead part is that these buses are painted in the PID system livery, which should signify they belong to Prague’s vast unified fare system—and yet they’re the only service where standard fares aren’t accepted.
Why on earth is it taking so long for the tram to reach the airport? There’s lots of space on Evropska, why can’t it just get extended to Ruzyne??
The project has been in development hell for 30 years, with different aspects facing opposition from different groups—primarily a wealthy neighborhood located along the current, 19th century single-track rail line. Some parts are now finally moving ahead, but the most challenging section—a deep-bore tunnel—is yet to get final approval.
AE bus frequency is really not an issue. Not only does it operate every 20 minutes nowadays, but most people who use transit to/from the airport use regular city buses anyway. The 59 runs every 3-5 minutes, so there’s barely any wait there.
For an 18mppa airport, I’m surprised at the lack of a rail connection but I see that they’re planning to start construction of same in 2027. Also, a frequency of 2 per hour is pretty poor. By contrast, Basel airport, with half the passenger volume, has a bus every 10 minutes.
Going from the city to PRG airport, this bus has sometimes been so miserably full over the years. But your photos seem to show a visit during some of the cooler/colder months of the year, while the crazy full buses from that train station have primarily been during when the weather is warmer or hot.