How to plan a programme for a delegation or business visit to Prague

A visit by business partners or an official delegation reflects on the company, university or public body behind it. Guests take home more than the outcome of the meetings: they also remember how they were welcomed at the airport, where they stayed and how the dinner together went. The good news is that all of this can be planned. Here is the approach we use when we prepare programmes for visiting guests.

1. Start with the fixed points

Before you start choosing restaurants, write down everything that will not change:

• The dates and venues of the meetings.
• Your guests' flights or other connections, including arrival and departure times.
• The number of guests and their roles: who leads the delegation and who is accompanying it.
• Who the host is on your side, and who will be in day-to-day contact with the guests.

These points form the backbone of the programme. Everything else, meaning transport, tours and dinners, is built around it. Ask your guests or their office to confirm this backbone before you start booking. For official visits, also ask about protocol requirements, such as the order of precedence at the welcome, the seating plan or a security escort.

2. Arrival: the first impression starts at the airport

Václav Havel Airport is about 17 km from the city centre, and the drive usually takes 25 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic. Flights from outside the Schengen area arrive at Terminal 1, and flights from Schengen countries at Terminal 2. Check this for every flight, because members of a larger delegation may arrive at both terminals.

For a delegation, we recommend a welcome right in the arrivals hall. The driver or our representative waits with a name sign, we track the flight and wait 60 minutes free of charge after landing. We send the driver's name and the exact meeting point 24 hours in advance, so you can pass them on to your guests. If guests arrive on different flights, plan the vehicles around the flights, not just around the number of people. We cover the details in our guide to Prague airport transfers for groups.

3. Hotel and transport between meetings

Choose the hotel by the location of the meetings, not just by the number of stars. If the meetings are in a business district outside the centre, a hotel nearby is often more convenient, with trips into the centre only in the evening. If possible, keep the whole delegation in one hotel, so nobody has to be tracked down in the morning, and consider a higher room category for the head of the delegation.

On meeting days, a car with a driver at your disposal pays off. Guests do not have to worry about taxis, the driver waits at an agreed spot and can handle last-minute changes. With larger delegations, bear in mind that group coaches may not enter the historic centre. They may drop off and pick up passengers only at designated coach stops, for up to 15 minutes, and wait in a coach car park in between. Short walks are therefore part of the programme too.

4. The social programme: less is more

The most common mistake is an overloaded programme. After a full day of meetings, guests are not looking for another demanding marathon. What has worked well for us:

• One cultural slot a day. Our private walking tour of Prague Castle and the Old Town, for example, takes three hours and is mostly downhill.
• A car when time is short. A tour of Prague with a car and a guide shows the main sights with a minimum of walking.
• An evening by the water. A walk at dusk and a cruise on the Vltava round off the day nicely.
• A day trip on a free day. If the delegation stays over the weekend, offer a trip out of Prague. You will find ideas in our guide to day trips from Prague for business guests.

Think about what really interests your guests. A technical delegation will appreciate a different programme from city council representatives or academics. If you are not sure, ask their office in advance. Watch the opening days too: the sites of the Jewish Museum, for example, are closed on Saturdays and on Jewish holidays.

5. Dinner together

Dinner is usually the most important social part of the visit. When choosing the restaurant, consider:

• Privacy: a private dining room or a separate room where people can talk in peace and raise a toast.
• Food: a set menu agreed in advance is quicker and more reliable than ordering à la carte.
• Diets and customs: vegetarian food, religious restrictions, allergies and whether your guests drink alcohol.
• Seating plan: for official visits, prepare it in advance.
• Transport back: a car or coach back to the hotel as soon as dinner is over.

Collect dietary requirements together with the flight details, so you have them in good time and the restaurant can prepare. Plan the dinner so that guests do not have to rush after a demanding day, and remember that a formal dinner of several courses takes longer than an ordinary meal out.

6. Language and guides

A guide for a delegation should hold the Czech National Guide Card (průkaz průvodce), which has been required for paid guiding in the Czech Republic since 2021, and have experience with official visits. Our licensed guides speak English, Spanish and Turkish, and other languages depending on availability, so settle the language at the very start and confirm it for your specific dates. Keep in mind the difference between a guide and an interpreter: a guide tells the story of the city, but specialist meetings usually need an interpreter.

7. Time buffers and a plan B

Build time buffers into the programme. Meetings overrun, flights are delayed and rain turns a walk into a drive. Prepare a shorter version of each day and have someone on hand who can arrange the changes. With us, that is one coordinator for the whole visit.

8. Small touches that make an impression

• The programme on one page. Times, places, the names of contact people and the hotel address, in a language your guests understand. Send it in advance and have it ready at the hotel reception as well.
• A contact for the unexpected. Guests should know who to message if a flight is delayed or a bag goes missing.
• Time to rest. After an overnight flight or a long journey, keep the first day lighter.
• A small gift with a Czech connection. The story matters more than the value: a book about Prague, for example, or Czech glass.
• Photos. If you want photos of the visit, decide who will take them and ask your guests beforehand whether they are happy with that.

Sample programme: three days with a delegation

• Day 1: a welcome at the airport and a transfer to the hotel, free time or a first meeting in the afternoon, and dinner together in a restaurant with a private room in the evening.
• Day 2: meetings in the morning, a working lunch, a three-hour tour of Prague Castle and the Old Town in the afternoon, and a dinner cruise on the Vltava in the evening.
• Day 3: a final meeting and a transfer to the airport timed to the departure.

How we can help

We are a travel agency in Prague, a cestovní agentura under Czech law. For companies, institutions and organisers who bring guests to Prague, we arrange individual services: transfers, hotels, cars with drivers, licensed guides, restaurants and tickets. You see every item separately in one itemised quote, and you have one contact throughout the visit. We explain how we work with delegations on our page about programmes for delegations in Prague.