Travel Risk Atlas

Czechia

Central Europe · Capital Prague

Level 1 United States Exercise Normal Precautions FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Green Netherlands Green — you can travel Level 1 Canada Take normal security precautions AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Czechia — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

9.8 Very low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 16th safest of 220
gray concrete bridge near buildings
Photo: Martin Krchnacek / Unsplash

Prague's reputation for ripping off visitors is older than its reputation for beauty, and both are earned. Violent crime is rare and the city is safe to walk at night; the risk is almost entirely to your wallet.

The classic taxi racket has faded now that ride-hailing works, but exchange booths, card terminals and a small number of bars near Wenceslas Square still run set-ups that have been documented for thirty years.

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives Czechia as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Jihomoravský — No specific warningJihočeský — No specific warningKarlovarský — No specific warningKrálovéhradecký — No specific warningLiberecký — No specific warningMoravskoslezský — No specific warningOlomoucký — No specific warningPardubický — No specific warningPlzeňský — No specific warningPrague — No specific warningStředočeský — No specific warningStředočeský — No specific warningVysočina — No specific warningZlínský — No specific warningÚstecký — No specific warning
What governments advise No specific warning

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole country — No specific warning. No government currently advises against travel to any part of this country. The colour reflects general caution levels only, not a warned area.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Political stability
10% of score
22/100
30th of 220
Crime
15% of score
19/100
32nd of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly flooding
16/100
7th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
13/100
43rd of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
7/100
28th of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
6/100
53rd of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
0/100
16th of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
34/100

Biggest factor here: political stability. Risk of unrest, coups and abrupt instability disrupting a trip.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
112
Single European emergency number — police, fire and ambulance, free from any phone
Currency
CZK Kč
€1 ≈ 24.21 CZK
Languages
Czech
Slovak
Visa (EU passport)
Visa free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 90 days visa-free
Population
10.9m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Prague
Driving
On the right
5.9 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F
220-240V
Safely managed water
98%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+420
GDP per capita
$36k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
37.2m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Prague, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around May to September.

Daytime high cold mild warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Common scams in Czechia

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

Exchange booths with a rate for nobody

Prague — Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, Charles BridgeVery common

The board shows an excellent rate that applies only to transactions over a large amount, or is the "sell" rate rather than the one you get. You hand over euros and receive far fewer koruna than the sign implied.

How to avoid it: Czech law gives you the right to cancel and reverse a currency exchange within three hours, and booths must display the true rate. Ask for the exact amount you will receive in writing before handing anything over.

Sources Czech National Bank — exchange office rules UK FCDO Czechia — safety and security

Wenceslas Square bar and club bills

Prague, upper Wenceslas Square and side streetsCommon

A tout or a woman who strikes up conversation suggests a nearby bar. Drinks are billed at extraordinary prices, an unadvertised cover charge appears, and door staff make leaving without paying difficult.

How to avoid it: Do not let a stranger choose the venue. Ask for a menu with prices before you order and settle each round as it comes.

Sources UK FCDO Czechia — safety and security

Taxi overcharging away from the apps

Prague — ranks near Old Town Square and outside clubsCommon

A rank taxi quotes a flat fare, or runs a meter set to a high tariff, for a journey that should cost a fraction of it. Prague caps taxi tariffs and requires a printed receipt, which the overcharging drivers avoid issuing.

How to avoid it: Book by app or phone rather than hailing at a rank in the tourist core. Ask for a receipt — the legal obligation to give one is itself a deterrent.

Sources Prague official city guide

Fake police asking to check your money

Prague, usually just after a currency exchangeOccasional

Men in plain clothes show a badge, claim to be looking for counterfeit notes and ask to inspect your wallet or passport. Cash goes missing during the inspection.

How to avoid it: Czech police in plain clothes will not ask to inspect your cash. Decline, keep hold of your wallet, and offer to walk to the nearest police station or call 158.

Sources Police of the Czech Republic

Pickpocketing on tram 22 and Charles Bridge

PragueVery common

Tram 22 runs the whole tourist route to Prague Castle and is worked systematically. Charles Bridge crowds, the metro escalators and the Astronomical Clock on the hour are the other reliable spots.

How to avoid it: Bags in front and zipped on the 22; phones away in crowds. Pickpockets here are skilled and unremarkable-looking, and you will not notice the moment it happens.

Sources Prague Public Transit — safety

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Czechia is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Upper Wenceslas Square after dark Street crime

Touts, inflated bar bills and drunken confrontation cluster here. The lower square and Old Town are noticeably calmer.

Tram 22 Pickpocketing

The route linking the old town to the castle, and the most consistently worked pickpocketing environment in the country.

Prague Main Station underpasses Street crime

Rough sleeping and occasional aggressive begging late at night. Unpleasant rather than dangerous.

Czechia uses the koruna, not the euro

Prices are in Czech koruna and roughly 25 to the euro, which makes mental arithmetic easy to get wrong by a factor of ten — a favourite with anyone quoting a price verbally. Card machines and ATMs push dynamic currency conversion aggressively here; always choose CZK.

Independent ATMs in the tourist core, particularly the yellow-branded machines, charge steep fees and offer poor conversion. Use a machine belonging to an actual bank.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Czechia:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.