Czech Republic

Currency and money

The Czech currency is the Koruna, which means crown and is usually abbreviated to Kc. Each Koruna is divided into 100 haleru, although in Prague particularly you will rarely see anything smaller than a Koruna. As a rule of thumb the exchange rates as at December 2005 are as follows:

• 1 Euro = 30Kc
• 1 Pound Sterling = 40Kc
• 1 US Dollar = 25Kc
• 1 Canadian Dollar = 20Kc
• 1 Australian Dollar = 20Kc

Notes and coins come in a wide variety of denominations, with quite large notes in popular use. This is worth bearing in mind when getting cash from a cash machine, as if you ask for 2000Kc they will happily issue a single 2000Kc note. 2000Kc will pay for rather a lot of stuff in the Czech Republic, and if you try and use this note to pay for anything costing less than about 200Kc you will be very unpopular indeed. It is a good idea to ask for slightly less than what you want - for example 1800Kc. The machine will then be forced to issue you with a range of smaller notes.

Exchanging money.

Prague, and other major towns have a large number of currency exchanges located around main streets and stations which tend to offer a better exchange rate and lower charges than banks - feel free to shop around for the best rate. It is quite common for people to offer to exchange money in the street in Prague. Needless to say, this is an obvious con and you will end up penniless and possibly arrested.

ATMs

. Cash machines are located almost exclusively at banks, of which there will be several in a town of any size. They do not make a charge for withdrawals in addition to the charge made by your card issuer. The usual range of Mastercard, Visa, Maestro and Plus cards are accepted.

Travellers Cheques

. There is little point in getting travellers cheques in Koruna, as they are not generally accepted for payment. Cheques in other currencies can be exchanged at banks and exchange offices, though the comission is usually much higher than for cash, and the rate may be worse as well.

Credit Cards

. Credit cards are widely accepted for reasonably large sums at restaurants, shops and hotels. They are not usually accepted at hostels, and can only be used to pay for international train travel.