The Most Cheap, Beautiful, & Underrated Village in Europe

Estimated Reading Time: 15 minutes

I’m going to be completely honest, as opposed to my usual lying and deceitful ways?, and let you know that when I learned Český Krumlov (pronounced: chesky) was a stop on my current Busabout tour, I wondered if it was a typo, or maybe a shortcut to get into Vienna.

I have to admit, I fell victim to the wrong type of travel — only anticipating the visits to the well-known cities. And while capital cities are indeed extravagant, they are/can be overrated at times looking at you Prague and it’s so important and almost necessary to fit in villages and smaller towns throughout your itinerary where you can.

And before the well-traveled folk chime in with their “but what about X” suggestions of more beautiful, more cheap, or more underrated villages in Europe to steal the shine from poor, little Český Krumlov, I want to remind you guys that cheap and beautiful things are subjective unless you’re a Kardashian and the views and opinions I write are solely based on my experiences, where I’ve traveled, and what Sallie Mae allows me to spend at the end of the month.

That said, there’s not much my words can do to truly personify the beauty that is the village of Český Krumlov. So I shall leave you with a few of my favorite shots, especially for you future hubby, in case you needed ideas for where our proposal, wedding, and honeymoon shall take place. Heck, let’s just start our family here. This is not up for discussion. Now please, don’t all run away line up at once!

ACCOMMODATION:

Because Český Krumlov is so small, finding accommodation is the least of your worries. Even the hostels here feel like hotels because they’re so new and well kept. I especially loved the Hostel Postel and for just under 20 euros per night, you can enjoy a cozy spot 3 minutes away from the canal. Jirina is the main receptionist, and she’s an absolute gem.

FREE WALKING TOUR:

Ondřej Gyürke is the fun and passionate man behind the daily free walking tours at 10:30AM and 2PM. Depending on the amount of time I have in a city, I’m usually one to explore on my own, but seeing as though I was bound to get lost and I desperately needed to find my way up to the castle tower, I caved — oh did I cave!

You can find Ondřej standing with his big, red umbrella in the town square using his wit and sarcasm to charm the group. He’ll explain a little history about himself, what brought him to Český Krumlov, and why he now calls it home with his wife and young child.

He shares so many interesting facts and legends about the town and as if he were reading a bedtime story to his child, he’s so animated and does a great job with building anticipation for the punchline. Quite the jokester, that man!

If you only have one or two days in this village, then you MUST do this tour! He takes you to the most gorgeous viewpoints of the town where I took 90% of the pictures I shared above. The Wiseman Free Tour is known and respected all over town, so I promise you it’ll be worth while!

FYI, these tours are 100% free, but if you enjoyed and appreciated it, you should tip what you think they’re worth (I always like to base it on their enthusiasm and knowledge, and then multiply it by the times they made me laugh, hehe). This is a general rule with all free walking tours.

FOOD:

If you’re expecting me to give a recommendation for Czech food, #sorrynotsorry but I only ate Chinese. There’s a place called Peking China Restaurant that was two hops and an answered prayer away from my hostel and I succumbed to the pressure. Every. Single. Time.

After the Czech money conversions, my meals came out to just over 3 euros. Let me specify that my meal was a large plate of shrimp fried rice, chicken, and a beer. And you know what’s funny? I’m usually one to take a picture of EVERY meal in a new city, but I was so anxious to have my rice see the bottomless pits of my belly that I couldn’t be bothered to snap anything. What a shame. Guess you’ll have to go and find out for yourself 😉

On top of the endless photo ops, waltzing through gorgeous alleys, and marking the area where you want your future hubby to propose, there’s also a multitude of activities offered by the canal including canoeing, kayaking, and swimming. I would’ve participated, but because of black people hair reasons, I stuck to my selfies and Chinese food.

This town truly felt like a vacation. Although I travel a lot, I don’t necessarily call them vacations, because I also spend a lot of time networking, promoting, and writing while I’m there, but for once, I was really able to unwind and get in touch with my inner princess, roaming the grounds of my kingdom.

Thank you, Český Krumlov for reminding me that the world’s greatest beauties are just a hidden village away.