Prague Airport by bicycle

(This article was updated on 22 January 2016)

If you’re planning to start and/or end a cycling tour in the Czech Republic, you may be wondering how to get from and to Prague Airport with your bicycle. It’s not easy on the face of it; bikes are banned from the vast majority of the city’s buses, and the metro and tram lines don’t even run to the airport. Yet there are few options available. Read on for a guide.

Prague Airport

The first option is to use the AE Airport Express bus service operated by Czech Railways. The buses run every 30 minutes between the airport and the main railway station (Hlavní Nádraží) in the city centre. (Those running from the airport into the city centre also stop at Náměstí Republiky and at Masarykovo Nádraží railway station.) There are two stops at the airport, one outside Terminal 1 and the other outside Terminal 2. The journey takes around 35 minutes. Bikes go free but must be boxed ready for air travel. Tickets can be bought from the driver. The fare is CZK 60 for adults and CZK 30 for chidren (6-15 years).

AE Airport Express

Another way to get to Prague Airport is to cycle there. You’ll find a cycle map of Prague here (cycle routes are indicated on this map by purple lines and yellow numbers). My advice is to start by taking the metro to Veleslavín (line A). That way you’ll avoid the crowded city centre. Bikes can be carried free in the rearmost space of each carriage (maximum two bikes per carriage). Access can be a problem in the rush hour, especially at the busy central stations, but at other times you should be okay.

Bikes go free in the Prague Metro

Turn right at the top of the escalator at Veleslavín station, walk through the underpass to get to the far side of Evropská Street and join the cycle path running west alongside the road. This path ends at Divoká Šarka (at a McDonalds drive-in). Continue along the main road (or, if you prefer, cross over to the other side and cycle along the parallel side streets). Just before you reach the Prague orbital road, join the track next to the road and cross the highway using the pedestrian tunnel. Then join the A168 cycle path (marked with yellow signs), which will take you all the way to the airport. This is all marked on the map below.

View Prague Airport Run in a larger map

If you’re coming from the airport, simply do the reverse trip. Turn left out of the Terminal 1 building and walk along the pavement (sidewalk). About 50 yards beyond the end of the building take the left-hand branch of the path as shown in the following image. This is where the A168 cycle route starts - you'll soon see the signposts.

View larger image

The final way to get to the airport is to take a taxi. Prague taxi drivers are notorious for ripping off foreign tourists. Worse still, you may find they’ll refuse to carry your bicycle even if it's packed (this happened to a couple of friends of mine a while back). However, AAA Taxi should oblige if you phone them in advance and explain what you’re trying to do. Other cyclists who contacted me through this blog have used Prahabike for airport pickups, so you might like to try them.

Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions. Šťastnou cestu (bon voyage), as the Czechs say!