Private Driver or Tour Guide in Prague: What’s the Difference?

A private driver takes you by car, knows the places you visit and helps you on the day, but is not a licensed tour guide and does not give commentary on history and sights. That is the job of a licensed guide. With us, day trips from Prague come with an English-speaking driver and a licensed guide is an optional extra, while our private walking tours of Prague come with a licensed guide and no car.

What your private driver does

On our day trips you travel in a private Hyundai Staria 4×4 with room for up to 8 people. Your driver speaks good English, knows the places you visit and is included in the price. Your driver:

• picks you up anywhere in Prague, at the time you choose when booking
• suggests what is worth seeing in the time you have, the best viewpoints and where to eat
• can call ahead to a restaurant to check whether they have a table
• helps you buy tickets on the spot and find a table for lunch
• walks you to the entrance and goes with you wherever you need, including during visits; or waits with the car if you prefer to explore on your own

We do not book tickets, restaurants or tastings in advance; all of this help happens on the day.

What a licensed guide adds

A licensed local guide gives you expert commentary on history and sights. On a day trip, a guide is an optional extra:

• you ask for a guide when you book or plan your trip
• we send you a price for your date and usually confirm within 24 hours
• if no guide is available, the trip goes ahead without one and you pay nothing for the guide

Your driver stays with you either way, so on one day you have the car, practical help and commentary.

In Prague itself: walking tours with a guide included

Our private tours of Prague work the other way round: on foot, with a licensed English-speaking guide included, and without a car.

• Half-day walking tour, about 5.5 hours: Prague Castle (about 1 hour), Nový Svět, Petřín, Kampa, the Čertovka canal, Charles Bridge and the Old Town.
• Full-day walking tour, about 9 hours: the same, plus Loreto, Nerudova Street and the Jewish Quarter.

These routes are typical, not fixed: with a private guide, the day can follow your interests. You meet your guide in front of the main gate of Prague Castle; there is no hotel pickup. The price is for a group of up to 4 people, entrance fees are paid on the spot and lunch is not included. More in our Prague private tour guide and in Prague Castle private tour.

A third role: the castle's own guides

Some castles show their interiors on guided tours led by the castle's own guides. Tickets for those tours are sold by the castle, on site or on its official website, and they are not part of our price. Check opening hours and tickets on the castle's website before your trip; on the day, your driver can help you buy tickets on the spot.

A good example is our Karlštejn Castle day trip: your English-speaking driver takes you there, and the interior tour is led by the castle's own guide, included in the entrance ticket.

See the Karlštejn Castle day trip

Which one do you need?

• You want to see the countryside, castles and small towns at your own pace and will read up on the history yourself: a day trip with a driver.
• You want the same day trip with commentary: a day trip with a driver plus a licensed guide.
• You are staying in Prague and want to understand the city: a private walking tour with a guide.
• You are not sure yet: plan the trip and ask for a guide when you book. If none is available for your date, you still have the trip.

To compare costs, see How much does a private day trip from Prague cost? and Private tour vs group tour.

For a longer day out with a driver, see our Český Krumlov and Hluboká Castle day trip; a licensed local guide can be added on request for an extra fee.

See the Český Krumlov & Hluboká day trip