Haná: Olomouc, Kroměříž and Bouzov Castle
Five days across Haná: baroque Olomouc with its UNESCO column, the archbishop's gardens in Kroměříž, fairytale Bouzov and the caves at Javoříčko. The hops between stops are short and run along flat roads, so you will not spend half of your holiday behind the wheel. You set up base at the motorhome stop below Svatý Kopeček or at the campsites around Litovel and Přerov, and from there you head in a different direction each day. The season runs roughly from April to October, when the castles, the caves and the gardens are all open.
The drive from Prague follows the D1 motorway past Brno and Vyškov and then the D46 into Olomouc; you can manage it before lunch, so the afternoon is free for Horní náměstí, the city's upper square. The Holy Trinity Column stands here, the largest baroque sculptural group in the Czech Republic, completed in 1754 and on the UNESCO list since 2000; a small chapel is hidden inside its base. At noon the Olomouc astronomical clock on the town hall tower comes to life. It is one of the few heliocentric clocks in the world and it was given its present form, with mosaics of Haná folk motifs, by Karel Svolinský in 1955. Plan the days so that Helfštýn does not fall on a Monday: from April to October it is closed that day, and for Bouzov and the palace in Kroměříž it is safer to check the opening days in advance.
The morning belongs to Václavské náměstí. St Wenceslas Cathedral has the second tallest church tower in the Czech Republic and right beside it stands the Archdiocesan Museum, in the grounds of the former Přemyslid castle. In the afternoon you drive up above the city to Svatý Kopeček for the pilgrimage basilica and the zoo, which is a safe bet with children. Towards the evening it is worth sitting down in the centre and trying olomoucké tvarůžky, a cheese with a protected geographical indication that Olomouc restaurants also serve hot.
It pays to set off north-west early and stop on the way in Loštice at the Museum of Olomouc Tvarůžky on Palackého street, which is open daily. Bouzov Castle then looks exactly like something out of a fairy tale, because it essentially is one: its present appearance comes from the romantic rebuilding carried out for the Teutonic Order between 1895 and 1910, and both Arabela and Fantaghirò were filmed here. In the afternoon head for the Javoříčko Caves. The temperature stays around seven degrees, the tour takes about an hour and there are some 250 steps, so bring a jacket and sturdy shoes even in August. Below the caves a memorial recalls the burning of Javoříčko by an SS unit on 5 May 1945.
The move east to Týn nad Bečvou runs across the flat Moravian Gate, so it is a quick drive with no climbing. Helfštýn is one of the largest castle complexes in the country: you walk through four courtyards and five gates, plus extensive fortifications. Between 2017 and 2020 the Renaissance palace was given a glazed roof that keeps collecting architecture awards and turned a ruin into a space where you can stay even in the rain. At the end of August the castle hosts Hefaiston, an international gathering of artistic blacksmiths; if you want peace and quiet, plan your visit outside that date.
Start the morning in the Flower Garden, founded between 1665 and 1675 by Bishop Karl von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn; its colonnade lined with statues and the octagonal rotunda with a Foucault pendulum are among the finest early baroque work left in the country. Then walk over to the Archbishop's Palace, which together with its gardens has been on the UNESCO list since 1998. The picture gallery holds Titian's Apollo and Marsyas, and the eighty-metre tower gives you a view over the whole of Haná. The Podzámecká Garden is a freely accessible landscape park, so it is a good way to spend the last hour before you leave. In the afternoon you join the D1 and are home while it is still light.
Up to 3.5 t: you need an electronic motorway vignette for the Czech motorways (D1, D35 and D46). It is bought online at edalnice.gov.cz, through the app or at filling stations, and you can choose a one-day, ten-day, monthly or annual one; the short-term versions cost a few hundred crowns, the annual one more than two thousand. Over 3.5 t: the vignette does not apply to you and you pay electronic tolls instead, through an on-board unit from mytocz.eu, which you should arrange together with the vehicle registration before you set off. The route itself has no paid attraction, no tunnel or mountain road to pay for; just count on parking fees at the castles, the caves and the palace.
STPL Olomouc motorhome stop, U Prachárny, Olomouc — below Svatý Kopeček, sixteen pitches with electricity, open all year · IN LIFE kemp, Koupaliště 288, Litovel — sector pitches for caravans and motorhomes with electricity and a chemical toilet dump, open from 1 May to 30 September; a good base for both Bouzov and Javoříčko · Autokemp Šternberk, Dolní Žleb 26, Šternberk — in the Sitka valley below the Nízký Jeseník hills, reception open roughly from May to September · Resort Radslavice, Sportovní 360, Radslavice u Přerova — seventeen serviced pitches, open all year, the starting point for Helfštýn · Autokemp Koryčany, Masarykova 20, Koryčany — caravan bays separated by hedges, each with electricity and water; a base for Kroměříž and the Chřiby hills
Leave the motorhome on the edge of Olomouc and take public transport or a bike into the centre. The historic core is full of one-way streets, restricted zones and narrow passages where a tall vehicle manoeuvres badly. Camping outside designated places is not allowed by law, and around Litovel you are driving through the Litovelské Pomoraví protected landscape area, where stopping outside car parks is particularly sensitive. At Bouzov and at the Javoříčko Caves you park on the lots below the site and walk the last stretch uphill, so with a pushchair allow extra time.
The most reliable service point on the route is Resort Radslavice near Přerov: seventeen pitches with electricity, drinking water and a waste dump, open all year, with the site accessible by chip card around the clock. Bear in mind that the stop below Svatý Kopeček in Olomouc has electricity at the pitches but no drinking water or waste dump as yet, so fill and empty your tanks at a campsite. At Autokemp Koryčany every pitch has its own water tap, so you can also top up in the south of the route before the drive home.
Adria Compact
The Adria Compact is short enough to get through Loštice, the approach to Javoříčko and the narrow roads below Bouzov, where a long integrated motorhome is more of a nuisance, and it still gives you a full bathroom and a fixed bed for the whole week. On the short hops between the stops you will also appreciate that it parks almost like a large van.
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