Full-Day Countryside Bike Tour to Karlstejn Castle (small group)

Had a good trip to the castle, myself and my friend joined a tour off 5 led by Guide Peter who did a great job off pointing out things off interest and looking after us all. A 32km ride in the beautiful chezch countryside mostly flat and taken at a steady pace would recommend to anyone.

I set out to go solo, but glad I didn’t. Small group of 5 with an excellent guide (Mike). Easy pace and beautiful scenery. 40km ride with the train back all included in the price. If you’re thinking of doing it alone it’s doable, but navigation is not straight forward. If you think you can do there and back as I did, hire the bike for 24 hours as it’s a lot to do in a day and you’ll likely miss time at the castle. Guide was informative, really added value to the trip. Manual bike used but ebike available. Easy, flat with exception of 2 small climbs. Great lunch spot, own cost here but very cheap.

Wonderful trip! Susanna is a fantastic, interesting and kind guide. Got an ebike but didn't need it, ride was pretty level. (I'm 58 years old, in good shape but not a cyclist.) Most of the ride was along the river and in the suburban countryside so really relaxing with beautiful scenery. Fun to see Karlstejn castle then and ride the train back to Prague. I booked online before leaving the US and relied on my tour company's info that Euros are broadly used in the Czech Republic. Bad advice, get yourself some Czech Crowns. (Euros are accepted many places but not preferred.) Susanna graciously accepted Euros as a tip anyway. This was the perfect trip for me to get to see a bit of the Czech Republic outside of Prague, without having to be up at the crack of dawn and still be able to be back at the hotel by 5:30 for meeting. Loved getting to move my body after the long flight from SF/USA. Definitely one of the best experiences of my trip, highly recommend!

I stumbled into these guys by accident after a Viator-arranged bike trip to Karlstejn Castle fell apart (note... Karlstejn is typically closed Mondays). I should have gone straight to the source to start with as renting from Praha Bike directly is cheaper and as or more convenient. The patient, friendly, sympathetic service is tremendous: they have lots of available options and fit you to a cycle of your choosing, their advice is absolutely solid, they set you up with a digital and paper route, and remain there for you if you need help after you've rented. (Note: I arranged for my bike in person the day before, and it was all ready to go for me first thing the next morning, but I could have had it that moment had I wanted it.) Two other tips if you go without a guide and decide not to return by train as I did: (1) it's very doable, but leave time for mistakes because the way to Karlstejn is littered with unmarked turns onto side paths as well as bridge and railroad crossings and bike-speed bumps. Not counting the side road to the castle itself, there's also one extremely steep hill to navigate (with speed bumps!) -- I wasn't riding hellbent for leather, but all told, it took me about 2.5 hours to get there and another 2.5 hours back. (2) I can't stress enough how careful you need to be riding in the city proper. The cobblestoned streets and walks are treacherous, and I crashed hard on my return trying to follow traffic instructions and get inside the tram lane after catching my wheel in the rail rut. Thanks to the Praha Bike team for the peroxide and band aids! Cobblestones and trams are infinitely better suited to pedestrians than bicyclists.

Ahoy! My lovely wife Linda and I went on the castle tour with Suzanne In April. Actually visited the shop another day to purchase a T Shirt, it's a wonderful old shop with none of the intimidation that you may have felt in bike shops at home. Suzanne was competent, friendly and very knowledgeable about both the route to the castle, and maybe even more important, the proper way to get through traffic and out of Prague proper. The bikes were standard rental fare, well maintained and adjusted to fit each of us. There is really no better way to see the countryside and learn a bit about your surroundings than being on a bike with someone who knows what is there and the history behind it. We enjoyed the whole experience. If you have a day to spend off the beaten track you would be hard pressed to find something more rewarding. I'll add what most don't include in their reviews: My wife and I are both 70. We ride our bikes and swim regularly at home. We found the ride mostly flat, comfortable, and relatively easy.

35 km excursion to Karlstejn Castle on May 23, 2024. This excursion is recommended by Michelin and Le Routard. The journey is interesting but less bucolic than expected. Leaving the city takes a third of the time. It is indicated as an "easy" route but the bikes are heavy (only one chainring, 8 speeds), more or less comfortable for an excursion of several hours. I highly recommend renting an electric bike. The guide Richard is excellent. We had lunch in a small non-tourist station before Karlstejn. The climb to the castle must be done on foot (2 km) on a steep street. We hadn't planned to visit the castle. I would recommend more stops for photos, especially in the countryside part.

We booked this experience for our first full day in Prague.....and we slept in! We called Praha bikes...they said they would wait for us. We were only a few minutes late, but they gave us time to go across the street for coffee. It was raining, so the tour operator opted for us to ride the train out, and cycle back. This was a very good call. It rained steadily until about 1pm, then cleared. Richard, our guide, was very informative. He told us of the history of the area, and some of his personal history as well. Multi-lingual, well traveled. The bike ride was sometimes challenging....some rough gravel, some hills. If you don't cycle 25 miles regularly, opt for an e- bike. Plenty of stops along the way to rest, grab coffee or a snack. The city streets can be challenging as well....keep your eyes open! The tour operator will permit cycling both ways, but if it is a group he will stay with the group.....you may have to navigate.

The actual ride was amazing! We booked a tour 4 months in advance. 36 hours before they cancelled our guided tour and said they didn’t have enough people so our options were a self guided tour or pay for a private tour. We ended up doing the self guided which turned out amazing and glad we were on our own. We were able to stop as much as we wanted.

Richard, our guide was excellent. He was very informative and helpful, providing information about Czech culture and history, as well as information relevant to the tour. The cycling was a good pace and he checked on us regularly. Bikes could do with a little maintenance.

We took the self-guided tour to Karlštejn since there weren’t enough people to make a guided group trip. It was great! They provide super easy directions on your phone and a phone holder on the bike. The ride was relaxed, the views were so pleasant and it was great to get out and see some countryside. The only tough part was getting out of the city, but it wasn’t too bad. Highly recommended!