Staying connected in Czechia.

Czech prepaid is inexpensive and widely sold, in O2, T-Mobile CZ and Vodafone shops and in supermarkets, and the data bundles are generous for the money. Because Czechia is in the EU, that allowance travels with you across the union under Roam Like At Home, so it is the better buy if Prague is one stop on a wider trip.

A Nomad eSIM at a few dollars per gigabyte is the frictionless option: no shop, no counter, working from landing. For a long weekend that convenience is probably worth the small premium; for two weeks moving through central Europe the local SIM wins. We earn on the eSIM, so it is worth being plain that on price alone the local SIM is ahead.

The expensive default is roaming on your US plan at about 10 to 12 dollars a day, so 70 to 84 dollars for a week. AT&T caps that at 10 daily fees per line per bill period, about 120 dollars, so a long trip stops compounding, while Verizon has no equivalent cap. Check T-Mobile first if that is your carrier: its current tiers include roughly 5GB on Experience More, Magenta MAX and Go5G Plus, 15GB on Experience Beyond and Go5G Next and 30GB on Better Value, slowing to 256kbps after.

What not to do is roam with no plan at all. Pay-per-use runs about 2 dollars a megabyte, thousands per gigabyte, and phones use data in the background, so turn off data roaming until something is active.

This section is short because Czechia does not give us much. Coverage is strong in Prague, Brno, Olomouc and the regional towns, across the countryside, on the trains and in the beer-hall basements, with 5G widespread in the cities. Deep in the Sumava forest or in the sandstone gorges of Bohemian Switzerland you can lose it, which is a hiking detail rather than something to plan a trip around.

We would rather say that plainly than invent a caveat to make the page look thorough. Download offline maps for a forest hike, on the general principle that a phone has other ways to fail. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For more, see cash or card in Czechia, taxis and apps in Czechia, and the Czechia money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Czechia

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do I need cash in Czechia, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards work well, especially in Prague, but the currency is the koruna, not the euro, so do not pay in euros. Carry a little koruna for small shops and pubs. Here is how to handle it.
• Tipping in CzechiaCzechia tips a little more than Western Europe: about 10% at a restaurant, told to the server rather than left on the table. Here is what you actually owe.
• Prague taxis, the apps, and the airport scam to skipPrague's taxis had a bad name for years, but apps have quietly fixed most of it. Here is which one to install, the airport trick that still catches people, and how to get into the city cheaply.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Czechia.Czechia runs on the single EU pet-entry process for a US-origin dog or cat: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Here is what that means for Czechia, and the local parts worth knowing.
• Common money scams in Czechia, and what they cost youCzechia is one of Europe's safer countries and violent crime against visitors is rare, so almost nothing here is dramatic. Prague's old reputation for fleecing tourists has faded a long way as ride apps took over, but three traps survive in the tourist core: the taxi that finds a reason not to run the meter, the exchange booth with an unbeatable-looking sign, and the bill with things on it you did not order. There is also a Czech law that quietly gives you a way out of the second one. Here is each, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
• What does getting sick in Czechia cost a visitor?Czech medicine is better than most Americans expect and priced for a country where doctors are paid in crowns. The part worth learning in advance is not the price. It is the mechanics at the front desk.