Prague Card FAQ — the honest answers

Three passes cover Prague, each optimised for a different traveler. The Prague Visitor Pass is the only official pass (Prague City Tourism) and the only one with full DPP public transport + Airport Express included. The Prague CoolPass is privately operated and has the widest free-entry list (80+ attractions, including the National Museum which PVP doesn't cover). The Go City Prague has the cheapest starting price (€44) and is the only pass with the Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off (24 h) built in.

For a standard 2–3 day sightseeing trip with metro/tram use, the Prague Visitor Pass 48 h or 72 h is almost always the right answer — the full DPP transport ticket alone is worth ~€14, and the Airport Express (both ways) is another ~€8. Once you add 3–4 attractions, the pass has paid for itself.

For 4–6 days the Prague CoolPass 4-, 5- or 6-day gives the lowest per-day rate and the widest attraction list. If you can walk everywhere or don't mind buying a €14 DPP 72-h ticket on the side, this is the value winner. Museum-heavy planners specifically benefit from CoolPass because it's the only pass that includes the National Museum on Wenceslas Square.

Go City wins when the Big Bus Hop-on Hop-off is on your list — no other Prague Card includes it. Also strong for 1–2 dense days where you'll pack in Prague Castle, Aquapalace water park, Zoo and a river cruise (the All-Inclusive Pass covers all of these). And Go City's 90-day full refund on non-activated passes is unbeatable for anyone who wants to lock in a price early without commitment.

Not always. If you're in Prague for 1 day and only want to see 1–2 paid sights, a €5 DPP 24-h ticket + individual entries is cheaper. If your trip is mostly walking through the Old Town, over Charles Bridge and around the Castle from outside (all free), no card pays off. If you're on a business trip with a couple of hours per evening — most museums close 17:00–18:00, and hitting break-even is unlikely. Be honest about how much you'll actually see.

Go City Essentials is the cheapest at €44 (pick 3 top attractions). Prague CoolPass 1-day is €72, All-Inclusive 1-day is €64. The Prague Visitor Pass starts at €110 for 48 h — but that price includes full public transport, so the per-day cost is lower than it looks.

Go City has the strongest policy: full refund within 90 days as long as the pass hasn't been activated (no QR scan). Prague Visitor Pass + CoolPass via Tiqets: free cancellation up to 24 h before your first use, then no refund. All three passes: once you scan/activate, no refund.

All three passes give you a generous buffer: Prague Visitor Pass = 1 year, CoolPass = 12 months, Go City = 12 months. Buy now for a trip you're planning in autumn — no problem.

Prague Visitor Pass runs in rolling hours — 48 h means exactly 48 hours from your chosen start time, no midnight reset. Prague CoolPass runs in consecutive calendar days from your first attraction scan (a 3-day pass scanned Monday 10 pm effectively expires Wednesday midnight — plan accordingly). Go City All-Inclusive is the same: consecutive calendar days from first scan. Go City Explorer + Essentials are flexible: 30 days from first use for any of your picks.

Only the Prague Visitor Pass. It acts as a full DPP transit ticket for the whole 48/72/120 h — metro A/B/C, day and night trams and buses, trolleybuses, the Petřín funicular, ferries P1–P6, plus the Airport Express bus to Václav Havel Airport (both ways). Neither CoolPass nor Go City include any public transport. If you'll ride tram or metro on a CoolPass or Go City trip, budget €5 for a 24-h DPP ticket per day, or €14 for a 72-h ticket.

Yes, but not identically. Prague Visitor Pass and Prague CoolPass include the full Castle circuit (St. Vitus Cathedral, Old Royal Palace, Golden Lane, St. George's Basilica) as part of the standard pass. On Go City, the full Castle complex is only on the All-Inclusive Pass — not on Explorer or Essentials.

Only the Prague CoolPass includes the National Museum (Wenceslas Square main building + New Building + Vítkov Memorial + Dvořák, Smetana & Náprstek Museums). The Prague Visitor Pass and Go City do not. This is one of the main reasons museum-heavy travelers pick CoolPass.

No, none of them offer general skip-the-line access. At most attractions you queue with everyone else at the ticket desk to have your pass scanned. A few larger venues (like the Old Town Hall) have shorter "pre-booked / pass" lanes. The Clementinum requires an advance online reservation regardless of which pass you hold.

Only Go City includes a Hop-on Hop-off bus outright — the Big Bus Prague 24-hour service, on every tier (Essentials, Explorer, All-Inclusive). The Prague CoolPass offers a 400 CZK discount on a City Sightseeing HOHO ticket. The Prague Visitor Pass has no HOHO but includes the historic Tram Line 42 (a 24-h ride on vintage trams, essentially a HOHO on rails).

Kids under 6 don't need a pass at all — they enter free at nearly every attraction and ride Prague public transport free. On paid child passes: Prague Visitor Pass = 6–15, Prague CoolPass = 6–16 (and separate student tier up to 26 with ID), Go City = 3–16.

Highly recommended, not required. Every pass has a free companion app (iOS + Android) with digital pass, offline map, live opening hours and audio commentary. CoolPass and Go City are digital-first — the app IS your pass in most cases. Prague Visitor Pass gives you a real choice: physical card (with printed folding map) or e-Pass in the app. Both work identically; once activated you can't switch between them.

Only the Prague Visitor Pass is regularly issued as a physical card (with a printed folding map). Pickup points: Václav Havel Airport (T1 & T2, 8:00–20:00), Old Town — Na Můstku (Rytířská 12), Old Town Hall, Prague Castle (III. courtyard), Main Station (Hlavní nádraží, ČD counter 21). CoolPass has a legacy physical Prague Card at a few tourist offices, but the app is faster. Go City is 100% digital.

No. All three passes are strictly single-holder + single-device / single-card. Sharing risks the pass being confiscated on entry, with no refund. Two people = two passes.

Yes, all three passes work year-round. A few things are seasonal: some Vltava river cruises don't run November–March, the Aquapalace water park (Go City All-Inclusive) is fully open in winter, Petřín Mirror Maze has shorter winter hours. The Jewish Museum is closed on Saturdays and Jewish holidays regardless of season. Always check individual attraction hours in the pass's companion app.