Travel Tip: Money matters

Dear Travelers, for more information on how to handle your travel funds, this is a website recommended by one of the CIC tour members: Here is lots of useful information about Travel money comparison also you can directly apply for money cards, travel cards and travel currency cards.
From Incantato's experience, we recommend bringing a small amount of cash (ideally already in Euro) plus a debit card; this allows you to withdraw money from any ATM machine with only being charged a small withdrawal fee. The fee differs between banks. The ATMs in the various countries have only their local currency. Be sure to call your bank before your departure to tell them where you are going and for how long so they won't freeze your account. Some debit cards given by the bank have the compatibility of Visa, MasterCard, however, Visa is the most widely accepted worldwide. If you bring cash, you can exchange it but you will be charged commission and given a less favorable exchange rate to pay for this service. Most places in Europe won't accept traveler's checks anymore or only at a hefty fees, thus we do not recommend to bring them. Also, be prepared to pay for water and a little fee for restroom use. Last not least, there are no free refills on soft drinks in Europe which is why most Europeans ask for little to no ice in their drinks.
Around 20 Euro per day should cover a snack for lunch, drinks, postcards, some souvenirs. Dinners start around 15 Euro and there is not limit to the sky. Now you may be a more conservative spender and there are many ways to lower your expenses such as:
· Most restaurants have menus outside so you can check their price range.
· Venture off the main roads to find a restaurant. These usually have more character, better food, and better prices.
· Bring your own water bottle. Most places have safe tap water to fill up with.
· Buy food from the "convenient" stores. You don't have to sit down in the restaurant for every meal.
· Shop around for souvenirs; many stores have the same things on sale for very different prices.

Last not least, remember that your Incantato Tour Manager is with you pretty much 24/7. Barbara is there to help you make the right choices.

What's going on in the Czech Republic?

If you would like to know what is going on in the Czech Republic, then take a look at the website CzechTourism. There you can find news about festivals, gallery openings, new exhibitions and many more. For example the Bohemia Jazz Fest, which is an open-air festival taking place in mid July on beautiful medieval squares in seven cities throughout the Czech Republic, featuring top jazz artists from around the world such as Stanley Clarke Quartet, Yellow Jackets, Roy Hargrove Quintet and many others. All concerts are free of charge, more info: www.bohemiajazzfest.cz. And then there is the new Krehky Gallery, which just opened in Prague. The Krehky Gallery will showcase the "Krehky Limited Edition" consisting of contemporary Czech glass and porcelain sculptures by Czech artists. More info: www.krehky.cz.

Travel Tipps from Greg Egan

Dear CIC travelers,
Here is some interesting information about your upcoming trip. Thanks to Greg Egan!

Currency: Every country accepts Euros. That makes life a lot easier since we’ll only need Euros and, in fact, some places take U.S. Dollars but prefer Euros.

Carry on Items: Liquids and gels in carryon luggage have to be no more than 3 oz. each and all of them have to fit in a 1 quart zip lock bag. That bag has to be placed in the tray on the X-Ray belt. They have always asked me to take my camcorder out of my backpack and put it on the belt as well. This is also true for Laptop Computers. If you are carrying a netbook (one of the little laptops in a protective sleeve) you can leave it in its sleeve but it must be put on the belt or in a tray. You can leave the power supply in your carry on. For more information you can go to this website http://www.tsa.gov/311/index.shtm where there is all of the information about what’s permissible.

Locking Luggage: If you plan on locking your luggage you should use a lock that is sold as a TSA lock and has the red diamond on it. The TSA agents at US airports have a key that opens the lock so they can inspect your checked luggage. These locks are sold everywhere (Target, Wal*Mart, REI). In that way they can open and relock your luggage for overseas travel. If they do open your luggage they leave a nice note telling you they did. Every time they’ve inspected ours everything inside was just as we left it. I wish I could repack as well as they do. I guess practice makes perfect.

European Weather in June

June 23 through July 2 2009 temperature history
	Prague			Budapest			Vienna
Date	High	Low		High	Low		High	Low
6/23/09	61	52		68	59		60	54
6/24/09	60	53		76	61		68	58
6/25/09	71	59		81	60		76	59
6/26/09	75	56		74	61		77	60
6/27/09	73	59		76	56		78	58
6/28/09	68	59		74	62		70	63
6/29/09	77	61		81	76		80	62
6/30/09	79	59		85	65		82	61
7/1/09	81	59		87	65		85	63
7/2/09	79	61		85	64		84	61
Averages	72.4	57.8		78.7	62.9		76.0	59.9

Many thanks to Greg Egan who did the research about the weather!

Eating in Prague

Eating in Prague can be difficult. There are so many places to choose from with traditional Czech dishes, but the closer you get to the Old Town Square, the more expensive it can become (but at least the beer is pretty cheap!). Here are a couple of suggestions from Incantato Tours.

If you do not mind spending the money, I can suggest Restaurace U Supa, quite near the Old Town Square. It is just one of many traditional restaurants in the old town of Prague. It has a great outside cafe area right on the pedestrian street Celetna, and on a warm day, you can watch the people walk by and take in the old buildings around you. Here was the view from my table.


The menu offers a variety of food, with a large section of traditional Czech dishes, as well as pasta dishes and great appetizers for beer drinking :)

I ordered a Caprese Salad and a Pilsner Urquell (the main beer brewed in the Czech Republic - it is like Guinness to the Irish), and had quite a nice lunch, but be prepared to spend about $15-$25 per person.


Keep in mind that there are cheaper places to go for lunch, such as Paneria, where you can get many different kinds of baguettes, paninis, salads, etc. for a very good price. A meal will cost you about 150-200 Czech Crowns (less than $10).

Happy Eating!

-Tasha

Incantato Impressions: Cesky Krumlov

Incantato Impressions: Prague