Why fly out of Hamburg, why not Berlin?

I think that Dresden would be good for the children. The Green Vault has miniatures that are spectacular and the armory is also very nice.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/sets/72157623230920764/show/

Hi there,

it is very easy to go from Prague to Dresden via train. You can book the tickets on www.bahn.com. There journey is only 2 hrs.
Dresden has a lot of historic sights thus there is plenty to see in 3 days, such as Old Masters Gallerz, Opera House or the Green Vault. I suggest you book your tickets online for the Green Vault since it is quite difficult to get them. Here is a link: http://www.skd.museum/en/museums-institutions/residenzschloss/gruenes-gewoelbe/index.html

With regards to explore scenic areas, have a look at Saxon Switzerland. It is a beautiful national park with interesting sandstone formations. It is a very popolar spot for hiking and rock climbing. It is close to Dresden and you could either take the famous steam boat or train. Here is another link: http://www.saechsische-schweiz.de/start/click.system?navid=65.

I am sure the kids would love it.

There is a very scenic National Park half way between Prague and Dresden called Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland. While the mountains are by far not as tall as in real Switzerland, it has bizarre sandstone formations, glens, canyons with boat trips, vast forests, excellent hiking, impressive castles, picturesque villages, spas. The kids would love that, although there are no cable car rides in the area.

An excellent base is Bad Schandau. Centrally located, good access by public transportation to all the places. See my pages on several towns in the area on Virtualtourist.com to get more info:

Bad Schandau:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/12ca7/
Hinterhermsdorf:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/d034/
Hohnstein:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/cb3b/
Königstein (castle/fortress):
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/b0ff/
Kurort Rathen:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/ab24/

And on the Czech side:
Hrensko/Pravcicka Brana:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/634fb/

Train ticket Prague - Dresden (official on-line shop of Czech Railways):
https://www.cd.cz/eshop/
Bus ticket Prague - Český Krumlov (Student Agency company):
http://jizdenky.studentagency.cz/
I agree that Saxon-Bohemian Switzeland is really worth visiting. I suppose children would love it. If you go there, do not miss this place:
http://www.pbrana.cz/en/
I would definitively recommend to go to Český Krumlov. It is an amazing medivial town with a beautiful renaissance castle. Also vicinity of the town is very nice.
http://www.charming-krumlov-hotels.com/cesky-krumlov-information

Thanks all for the wonderful ideas. Am in the midst of exploring if Bad Schandau is a good base for a couple of days.

Also, looking for advise which are the other towns/cities which we should visit while in Czech Republic. Is Telc, Olomouc worth visiting if we consider flying in/out of Prague.

Await your views.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11

Cesky Krumlov, Telc and Olomouc are all worth visiting if you are in/out of Prague

I didn't visit Telc but did visit Olomouc and really enjoyed it. Ceske Budejovice has a few sites of interest, also.

As for the train from Prague to Dresden, I did that and just bought my ticket in Prague a few days before. I think at that time it wasn't easy or feasible to buy them online from bahn.de, but in any case that train is pretty cheap anyway, no matter what.

So if you can't buy online, you can buy at the train statioh or (which is what I did), use Cedok which is a big travel agency (used to be state-run). They have English speakers and it is very convenient. They charge a very small fee for doing that but it was really worth it versus dealing with the train station (which I've done also, I prefer Cedok). There is a Cedok near Powder Gate and also near Wenceslas Square.

I agree w/Aramis as well..

With 4-5 nights in Prague I would do one full day trip to Kutna Hora and one to another town/city. Olomouc is very beautiful, but almost too much for one day IMO. Another idea is Pardubice. Totally different style would be Karlovy Vary, the famous spa town.

Don't miss the lesser known gems in the outskirts of Prague - Chateau Troja, the zoo/Stromovka park, Brevnov ... and nearby castle Karlstejn.

Thanks all for the lovely inputs. Ingo, we are looking at staying in Dresden for 3 nights. Any recommendation for pension which is conveniently located within walking distance from the main Hauptbahnhof since you are a local ? Can you please advice and guide us how do we go about seeing the attractions outside Dresden like the bastei and Hrensko/Pravcicka Brana using the public transport?
Also, which are the local supermarkets in Dresden? Is there a weekly farmers market? We love to try the foods especially the pastries in the farmers market.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11

Finding a Pension/B&B in walking distance to the main train station is a tough job. A small hotel that gets good reviews is Hotel Kipping www.hotel-kipping.de Probably your best option.

I personally like Pension am Zwinger www.pension-zwinger.de very much, friends of mine stayed there and loved it. In walking distance to train station Dresden-Mitte.

If it's in your budget, try this one: www.hotel-martha-dresden.de It's in the Dresden-Neustadt district, in walking distance to the other major train station (Dresden-Neustadt) where most trains Prague - Dresden - Berlin stop. And in walking distance to the old town, too.

Since the public transportation network is sufficient, I would not totally ignore the B&Bs (and maybe rental apartments) in the lovely 19th century residential areas. Keep in mind that May is peak travel season.

A local supermarket/grocery is "Konsum", some of their groceries run under the name "Frida". Here is a list:

http://www.kaufda.de/Filialen/Dresden/Konsum/v-r249

click on "Karte" to get a map.

Farmers markets:
30 April - 20 May is a big "spring market" with lots of local/regional farmers (and non-food selling folks) on the Altmarkt square in the old town.
Regular farmers markets are e.g.
- Lingnerallee (near Hygiene Museum and Grosser Garten) every Friday, very big market, very good and varied stuff
- Schillerplatz (next to Blue Wonder Bridge) on Tue, Thur 9-17 h, Sat 8-12 h; smaller, but very good

Each city district has its own farmers market, but they are not necessarily worth a longer trip by public transportation.

Pastries - I'd try them at bakeries. Wippler is excellent (Körnerplatz in Dresden-Loschwitz, also close to Pillnitz Palace and gardens).

For getting to the attractions in the National Park (Bastei e.g.) you take suburban railway S1 from one of the train stations in direction Bad Schandau/Schöna. In Pirna you can change to a bus to Bastei. Or get off in Kurort Rathen and hike up to Bastei.

Pravcicka Brana is a real hike from Hrensko. Uphill, a bit strenuous. The boat tour in the canyons are easily to reach from Hrensko, though - just a nice walk, flat. To get to Hrensko take the S1 train to Schöna, then ferry across the river to Hrensko.

Purchase a family day ticket for your excursions from a ticket machine or at the Deutsche Bahn counter. Fare depends on the number of zones/the exact destination.

WOW! Ingo you are a tresure trove of information. Thanks a ton. Looks like we will keep Dresden for 4 days and do the city as well as some of the day trips.

Much appreciate your guidance and help.

For Pravcicka Brana since we are not into hiking please confirm my understanding - we need to take S1 to Schona and then take the ferry to Hrensko. Is this ferry the same as the boat tour in the canyons? Or do we need to take the boat tour in the canyons after reaching Hrensko by ferry? Also, where can I find the rate & timings for the boat tour in the canyons and also the ferry timings/fare?

Thanks once again and please suggest an itinerary bearing in mind that we will be with kids who are not into paintings and who enjoy picnic food like the stuff available at Munich Hauptbahnhof and Viktulienmarkt.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11

Just bookmarking to read later tonight

If you are not into hiking then forget about Pravcicka Brana. The (shortest) hike uphill is from Hrensko about 1:30 h, an elevation difference of about 1,000 ft/300 m. Stick to the canyons, better the lower canyon only, which is an easy, flat hike of about 30 minutes from Hrensko. You can do the boat trip in the canyon as a round trip, same route back. Please see my Hrensko page on Virtualtourist.com for details:
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/634fb/
See the "Sports Tips" and "Things To Do" for info.

The ferry from the S1 train stop Schöna is just across the Elbe river to get to Hrensko. The canyons are in a side valley (Kamenice creek).

Suggest an itinerary? Sorry, but I do not know enough about your interests and how much time you'll have (arrival/departure).

Thanks Ingo for the info. Our dates are not yet finalized but we are looking at May 2nd week or 3rd week for 4 days i.e. 5 nights in Dresden.

We have not been able to get any hotel within our price of Euro 80-100 for a family room. Would definitely like to see the main attractions. We are not into too much paintings etc. but would like to see the historic green vault and new vault and tour the semperopera and zwinger palace. Can you forward the link to these sites and on which days they are closed and tour timings etc. Please advise attractions I have missed.

Much appreciate your help.

Kind regards,
SKPKCP11