Bohemian Switzerland and the Elbe Sandstones
In three days you can take in Pravčická brána, a boat ride through the Kamenice gorges, Mariina skála above Jetřichovice and the rock town at Tisá. The motorway takes you almost to the gates of the national park, and from there the hops between Hřensko, Jetřichovice and Tisá are short — your vehicle stays parked at the campsite most of the time and you walk the marked trails. Forest, water and rock alternate with a tour of a château, so the children do not get bored either.
From Prague the D8 motorway runs almost all the way to the border, so you reach Hřensko with a whole afternoon ahead of you. The Divoká soutěska (Wild Gorge) is usually open from the beginning of April to the beginning of November, daily from nine to half past five, and the last stretch of the Kamenice canyon is covered by boat with a ferryman. The Edmundova soutěska (Edmund's Gorge) has a markedly shorter season and normally opens only in the course of the summer — in April, May and in the autumn the Divoká soutěska is usually the only one running. You enter and leave it only from Hřensko and walk it strictly with a guide, in groups that set off every hour. Tickets cannot be reserved, they are sold at the gate and sell out when demand is high — before you set out, check on the website of the municipality of Hřensko whether both gorges are running, as they close after heavy rain or a windstorm.
In the morning you set off on foot along the red trail to Pravčická brána, the largest sandstone rock arch in continental Europe. The Sokolí hnízdo excursion chalet, opened in 1882, stands directly beneath the arch; you reach the arch through a turnstile and in the main season it is accessible daily from ten to six. In the afternoon you move on to Jetřichovice and climb Mariina skála (signposted as Mariina vyhlídka as well) — the original wooden chalet from the middle of the nineteenth century burned down here in 2005, and a helicopter set the new pavilion on the summit in February 2021. The view stretches across the Jetřichovické stěny rock walls, and this is one of the places where it pays to wait for the late-afternoon light.
On the way back you stop in Děčín. The château above the Elbe offers three classic guided tours and a restored Rose Garden with a sala terrena and a viewing gloriette, and the car park is right by the entrance. The afternoon belongs to Tiské stěny, a rock town with a circuit that even younger children can manage; in April, May and October it is open from Friday to Sunday and on public holidays, from June to September daily, and you can buy your ticket online in advance. From there you rejoin the D8 and you are home in the evening.
Up to 3.5 t: for the D8, the motorway you take into Bohemian Switzerland, you need an electronic motorway vignette. For 2026 the one-day vignette costs CZK 230, the ten-day CZK 300, the thirty-day CZK 480 and the annual one CZK 2,570; you buy it at edalnice.gov.cz and it is tied to the registration plate, while CNG vehicles, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles pay a reduced rate or nothing at all. Above 3.5 t the vignette does not apply — vehicles over that weight fall under the MYTO CZ performance-based toll system, must carry an on-board unit and must be registered before they enter a tolled road. There is no toll tunnel or ferry on the route; the main item in the budget is admission: Pravčická brána CZK 125 per adult, the Divoká soutěska CZK 200 and the Edmundova soutěska CZK 400 per person.
Kemp Mezní Louka, Mezní Louka (municipality of Hřensko) — electric hook-ups, a waste water disposal point and a fresh water tap, new sanitary facilities and a bus stop right by the entrance; the site belongs to the Bohemian Switzerland National Park Administration · Kemp Děčín a cyklostop, Polabí, Děčín — electricity, water and a disposal point, a sauna and bike hire, open from 1 April to 31 October · Karavanový plac Děčín, Folknářská, Děčín — a fenced, level hard-standing site aimed mainly at motorhomes and caravans, with electricity, water and a disposal point, bookings by telephone only · Kemp Formule Děčín, Pěší 113, Děčín — a campsite in the grounds of Hotel Formule with dedicated pitches for caravans and motorhomes, electric hook-up for a flat fee
Wild camping and open fires are prohibited in the national park, so you spend the nights at campsites only. The municipality of Hřensko runs four paid car parks — Pod skalou, U Vodopádu, Mezní Louka and U čerpací stanice Benzina — where you pay in cash or by card; the other areas in the village are private with their own tariffs. Hřensko itself lies in a narrow gorge and the spaces down in the village are packed in season, so with a longer vehicle it pays to stay at Mezní Louka and travel down by bus or on the Hřenský expres road train, which takes about three quarters of an hour between Mezní Louka and Hřensko. At Tiské stěny you park in Tisá by the Church of St Anne and by the Turistická chata, and also in Ostrov and Rájec; the rate for a motorhome or a coach is CZK 300 a day, payable in cash, by card or through the PARKUM app.
You can top up your water and empty the waste tanks at Kemp Mezní Louka — drinking water is piped throughout the site, so you can fill canisters too, and from the campsite both the gorges and Pravčická brána are within walking distance. The second dependable stop is Kemp Děčín a cyklostop in Polabí; it lies directly on the route between Hřensko and Tisá, so you can fit it in on the way home as well. Fuel and a bigger shop are best dealt with in Děčín — Hřensko only has the filling station by the upper car park.
Adria Twin
On this route you are constantly parking on small paid areas — down in Hřensko, in Jetřichovice and at Tiské stěny — and the roads to Tisá and Jetřichovice are narrow third-class ones. The compact Adria Twin van conversion fits where a coachbuilt motorhome is still looking for somewhere to go, and you will still sleep comfortably in it for three nights.
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