GETTING THERE: BY CAR OR COACH

Road transport:

The Czech highway network:
The network of Czech motorways and high-speed roads is continually being developed. At present, over one thousand kilometers of these top-class roads is open; the total distance of them will reach 2,100 kilometers.
The most important motorways and high-speed roads in the Czech Republic include:

• Motorway D1 (Prague – Brno)
• Motorway D5 (Prague – Plzen – Rozvadov)
• Motorway D11 (Prague – Kolin)
• Motorway D8 (Prague – Litomerice)
• High-speed road R35 (Prague – Turnov)
• High-speed road R4 (Prague – Pribram)

Motorway fees:
Motorways and high-speed roads, which are marked with a road sign as a motorway or a road for motor vehicles, and their sections can only be used by a motor vehicle, or an articulated vehicle with at least four wheels, upon the payment of a fee for the use of motorways and high-speed roads. This fee can be paid for a whole calendar year, one month, or 7 days. Vehicles over 12 tonnes must pay via electronic toll. Motorcycles are exempt from payment. The fee is paid prior to the use of a motorway or a high-speed road by a motor vehicle. The payment of the fee is documented by a valid two-part coupon, one part of which is completely attached to the interior side of the clear glass of the windshield of a motor vehicle, in the lower right-hand corner (from the driver’s perspective), so that the driver’s view is obstructed as little as possible and the coupon is visible from the outside of the vehicle. The motorway coupons can be bought in all offices of the Czech Post, at gas stations, at border checkpoints and at other places providing services for drivers. These places of sale are marked with a sticker and information handouts are also available there. Ticket of up to CZK 5 000 or a penalty notice of up to CZK 500 000 in administrative proceedings may be imposed if a road subject to a fee is used without a valid two-part coupon (missing or out of date).

First-class roads:
First-class roads represent high-quality highways that create the backbone of the road network in the Czech Republic. Their markings are two digits and start with an E (in the case of international highways) or an R (in the case of high-speed motorways). In the year 2007, there were 5,843 kilometers of primary state highways in operation.

Other motorways:
Apart from highways and first-class roads, motorways in the Czech Republic can also be categorized as second- and third-class motorways. They are part of a dense network and enable travel to even in the furthest regions of the country. Altogether, there are a total 48,735 kilometers of motorways in the Czech Republic.