The Best Ways to Get From Prague to Dresden in 2024

One of the closest day trips you can do out of the country from Prague is to one of Germany’s eastern cities, Dresden!

If you’re planning to experience the Dresden Christmas market or just go visit the beautiful city of Dresden you can easily go for a day trip thanks to the awesome public transport between the two cities.

The best part is that the trip from Prague to Dresden only takes a few hours and is a super easy and relaxed trip.

There are a few different ways to get between Prague and Dresden from trains to buses and renting a car. In this post, we’ve highlighted the best ways to get to Dresden with all the details you need…

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5 best ways to get from Prague to Dresden

Prague to Dresden is going to take you anywhere between 2-2.5 hours by public transport. It’s super easy and convenient to get between the two cities and both trains and buses run roughly every 2 hours.

That’s why you can easily make a day trip from Prague to Dresden. If you leave early enough in the day you can explore Dresden and all the fun things there are to do there and still be back in Prague in time to find your bed and sleep!

So how do you get there? Let’s get right into all the different options on how to get between Prague and Dresden. In this post, you will find the different options, ticket prices, links to sites where you can book your tickets, and reasons why we recommend each option for the trip between the two cities.

We love taking trains around the Czech Republic and Europe in general. So any chance we get to take a train somewhere we usually take it.

The train between Prague and Dresden is probably one of the most beautiful stretches we’ve been on in the Czech Republic as it runs along the Vltava River and close to the Bohemian Switzerland National Park. Especially from late spring through fall, this is super beautiful!

The nice thing about the trip between Prague and Dresden is that there are multiple trains that go each day. You’ll find trains leaving Prague’s main station on the way to Dresden every second hour of the day starting at 6:30 am. 

The trains in Europe are quite nice and usually have some sort of food service where you can order and buy food and drinks. Especially on these longer trips. Another reason why we like taking trains is that you just have more legroom and space to relax. So if that’s what you’re looking for the train will be your best bet.

Book your train ticket to Dresden here.

We’ve actually mostly taken the bus to Dresden as it’s been faster and slightly cheaper. Plus our old apartment was located very close to Florence station which is one of the stops that Flixbus leaves from.

The bus from Prague to Dresden is also a good option. And if you get a cheap ticket then it’s slightly cheaper than taking the train.

The only downside is that the bus journey is not as pretty as the train ride. However, it is slightly faster.

Busses between Prague and Dresden also run every 2 hours or so and it rarely gets fully booked. You can look both at Omio and FlixBus to find all of the departures available. 

In general, we do prefer trains over buses but for this trip, the bus actually isn’t that bad. You can look at the different time schedules and see which public transport works best for you.

If there are a few of you going or you need a car for a specific reason, renting a car may be the most convenient way to get to Dresden from Prague.

There are a lot of cool and historical places you can stop at along the way. If you’re interested in history, you can consider stopping at the Terezin Concentration Camp.

If you’re more of an outdoor lover, maybe Bohemian Switzerland and the Bastei Bridge in Saxon Switzerland National Park are more for you.

We recommend renting a car from Prague Airport since it’s usually the cheapest way. Plus the airport is located outside of the city center and you won’t have to drive into the city to get to Dresden.

This way you will avoid all of the crazy city traffic. It can be pretty stressful with all the trams, pedestrians, cars, and electric scooters!

One thing to take into consideration is that the further you book your car in advance the better deal you are likely to get.

Another thing to consider when booking a rental car from Prague is the price of gas. Gas in Europe is definitely not as cheap as say in North America.

Having a car will give you more freedom to explore and visit other areas near Dresden. It may be a bit more expensive but well worth it if you want to make a trip out of it.

One of the cheapest ways to get from Prague to Dresden is by rideshare. Since people try to save on fuel, the rideshare between these two cities is actually quite popular. 

Almost every day you’ll find people doing the trip so it’s not that hard to find a ride. It’s just about finding one that works for you. Just note that people usually don’t put in their rides too far in advance so anywhere from a few weeks to a few days before is a good time to look.

We actually quite like rideshares since you get to meet locals and talk to people you wouldn’t get the chance to otherwise. If you’re open to that then try Blablacar.

You’ll also save a bit of money if you get lucky with a cheap ride! We’ve seen prices as low as 135 CZK per person (roughly €5.7) up to 290 CZK (€12.3).

If you just want to zone out though and not talk to anyone then maybe it’s not the best option.

You may also like…

• 11 Must Do Weekend Trips From Prague
• Visiting the Bastei Bridge in Saxon Switzerland National Park
• 8 Awesome Day Trips From Prague You Need to Do
• How to Get From Prague Airport to the City Center
• How to Hike the Famous Pravčicka Brana Trail in Bohemian Switzerland

Recap on different ways of getting from Prague to Dresden

These are some of the different options you can take to get between Prague and Dresden. You can obviously use this post for the return journey as well if you’re planning on going back to Prague after your visit to Dresden.

We hope you enjoy Dresden! It’s a beautiful city which has rebuilt very well after World War II. There are so many fun things to do in and near Dresden that you can easily spend multiple days there.

If you have any questions about how to get between the two cities or things to do in Prague or Dresden, feel free to leave a comment below or reach out on Instagram. We’re always happy to help 🙂

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