South Bohemia — Český Krumlov and Lipno
The Český Krumlov area and Lipno combine chateaux, a Gothic monastery and a lake for swimming in one holiday, with drives of well under an hour. Six days here are not a necessity but a luxury: a monument in the morning, water or a cycle trail in the afternoon and an evening at a campsite you no longer have to leave. For families it is the easiest way into a longer motorhome holiday, because everything that matters lies on one compact loop. The route works best from May to September, when the bike and boat rentals are open and the lake is warm enough for swimming.
Set off first thing in the morning — the D3 motorway is an easy drive and by the afternoon you can already be hooked up at a campsite. Spend the rest of the day walking through Český Krumlov, which is at its best in the early evening once the day trippers have headed home. For dinner, go down to the Vltava, where the terraces look out over the weir.
The chateau complex is the second largest in Bohemia after Prague Castle and has been on the UNESCO list, together with the historic centre, since 1992. It pays to combine the climb up the chateau tower for the view over the rooftops with a tour of the Baroque theatre of 1766–1767, which has kept its original stage machinery. The interiors can only be seen with a guide and summer slots fill up, so book your tickets in advance. Leave the afternoon for wandering the lanes and a coffee on Náměstí Svornosti.
The Schwarzenbergs rebuilt Hluboká in the 19th century into a neo-Gothic residence inspired by Windsor, and it is still one of the most photographed buildings in South Bohemia. The former riding hall houses the Aleš South Bohemian Gallery with its collection of Flemish and Dutch painting, so the two go together nicely. In the afternoon head for Holašovice, where twenty-three protected farmsteads in South Bohemian rural Baroque stand around a green with a pond; they have been on the UNESCO list since 1998. Once the main season is over the chateau keeps shorter visiting hours than in summer, which is worth allowing for when you plan the afternoon.
The Cistercian monastery was founded in 1263 by Přemysl Otakar II and takes its name from a relic of a thorn from Christ's crown. Inside, the Gothic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the chapter house with its ribbed vaulting and the Chapel of the Guardian Angels are all worth seeing. It is open Tuesday to Sunday, and in September the tours finish earlier than in summer. In the afternoon drive over to Lipno and keep the rest of the day for a first swim.
The treetop walkway is open practically all year round and the whole site is step-free, so you can do it with a pushchair as well. The Stezkabus shuttle and a chairlift run up from the main car park, and you can also walk or cycle up on a marked route. The afternoon belongs to the lake — an asphalt trail for bikes and inline skates runs along the shore and the rental shops are right in Lipno nad Vltavou. If you want peace and fewer people, move along the shore towards Frymburk.
On the way back, stop in Rožmberk nad Vltavou, where the old seat of the Rožmberk family stands above the river with its round Jakobínka tower. The castle only opens in season and, like Zlatá Koruna, is usually closed on Mondays, so plan the stop for another day of the week. Then you join the D3 near Kaplice and reach Prague comfortably while it is still light.
For vehicles up to 3.5 t (the category most of the motorhomes we sell fall into) an electronic vignette from edalnice.gov.cz is enough. Prices valid from 1 January 2026 for petrol and diesel: CZK 2,570 for a year, CZK 480 for 30 days, CZK 300 for 10 days and CZK 230 for a single day; CNG vehicles and plug-in hybrids have significantly lower rates and electric vehicles with Czech registration pay nothing. On this route the D3 motorway is tolled, while the first-class roads on to Český Krumlov and to Lipno are not. Above 3.5 t the vignette does not apply — the vehicle falls under the electronic toll system, you have to register it, obtain an on-board unit and pay according to the tolled kilometres driven, the emission class and the number of axles. Apart from the vignette there is no other toll or paid road on the route; admission to the monuments and to the treetop walkway stays a separate budget item, and you get up to the walkway itself by the Stezkabus shuttle, by chairlift or on foot.
Camping Chvalšiny, Chvalšiny — the nearest large campsite to Český Krumlov, a good base for the first two days · Camping Lipno Modřín, Lipno nad Vltavou — right by the lake and on the Lipno cycle route, with places for tents, caravans and motorhomes · Camping Resort Frymburk, Frymburk — 140 pitches with electricity, 29 of them comfort pitches with water and waste disposal; in 2026 open from 30 April to 13 September · Camping Olšina, Černá v Pošumaví — a quieter option at the western end of Lipno · Autokemp Křivonoska, Munice near Hluboká nad Vltavou — pitches for caravans and motorhomes by prior phone arrangement, handy for the day with Hluboká and Holašovice
A motorhome will not get through the historic centre of Český Krumlov, and the town describes car parks P1 to P5 as places for passenger cars — the safest option is to leave the vehicle at a campsite on the edge of town and walk or cycle in. The Lipno area lies in a protected landscape area and partly in the Šumava National Park, where camping outside designated sites is banned, so plan your nights at a campsite. At bigger sights such as Hluboká you head straight for the car park on the edge of town and continue into the centre on foot.
The best facilities on the route are at Camping Resort Frymburk — the comfort pitches there have both a water connection and their own waste outlet, so you fill up and empty right at the vehicle. At the northern end of the route Autokemp Křivonoska near Hluboká nad Vltavou will do the job; agree on the services when you book the pitch. By the lake, Camping Lipno Modřín is the safest bet, but outside the main season it is better to call before you arrive with an empty tank. Always plan filling up and emptying at a campsite — do not count on finding a service point between the monuments on the route.
Adria Matrix
The Matrix is a low-profile motorhome that still handles the narrow roads between Zlatá Koruna, Frymburk and Rožmberk with ease, and the version with a garage takes bikes for the whole family — and bikes are exactly what fills the day on the Lipno trails. For six days with children it also helps that there is barely any driving during the trip, so the vehicle serves more as an apartment by the water than as a means of transport.
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