Both in the west and east of the Czech Republic, cards are now accepted almost everywhere. There are exceptions, but they are becoming fewer and fewer. In general, card payments are now commonplace for more expensive items. This means, for example, accommodation, car rentals, decent restaurants or popular tourist attractions.

It's also quite common to find payment terminals in street stalls, for example, where cash has reigned supreme for centuries. But even small retailers have calculated that taking cards means making more money. The less cash you have, the less extra risk there is of notes getting lost or simply being miscounted when you pay.

Even if you have a card loaded on your mobile or watch (Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.), take a plastic Mastercard or VISA with you abroad. Just in case. This is because places that normally take cards may only have a contact terminal. Typically, when paying tolls on the highway.

The other important reason to have a physical card is purely practical. Your mobile phone can run out, break or get lost, and then what? But if you have a spare card (ideally in another piece of luggage), you'll be without your mobile, but not without money.

Without travel insurance, you can't go abroad. Especially if you need a doctor urgently. But quality travel insurance from us does more than that. For example, it can reimburse you for lost luggage or missed trips. Ours also has some nifty assistance services, like a Czech-speaking doctor on the phone. You can also just call, and we'll advise you of the nearest hospital where you can be treated.

Sometimes there is no choice but to withdraw cash. But that doesn't mean you have to go to an exchange office before you leave. Either skip it altogether or just exchange a little just in case. Rely on ATMs, which are on every corner and allow you to withdraw at your own bank's exchange rate.

Of course, foreign ATMs have their pitfalls. But if you know how to do it, withdrawal fees and tricky DCCs won't catch you by surprise.

‘What's so hard about buying a vignette,’ we wonder to foreigners. But then we arrive at the border with Austria, need a vignette, and are confused as bees. Fortunately, there is a place where you can buy European vignettes online. No queues and no need to argue in a foreign language.

The DoKapsy mobile app from ČSOB provides links to official e-shops selling Czech, Slovak, Austrian, Hungarian or even Bulgarian vignettes. And not only that. It also includes tips for trips and lots of other goodies.