Šumava — Castles, Lakes and Mountain Plains
Three castles around Sušice, glacial lakes beneath Špičák and peat bogs high on the mountain plains — six days in the Šumava mountains with three bases. Šumava cannot be covered from a single meadow: the castles near Sušice, the lakes above Železná Ruda and Boubín with Prachatice each lie somewhere else, and that is exactly what a motorhome is built for. Expect mountain roads and colder nights even in the middle of summer.
From Prague you head south on the motorway towards Písek and reach the countryside below Sušice comfortably around lunchtime. Rabí is the largest castle ruin in Bohemia and it shows — walking around it takes a good while, and its fortifications with cannon bastions were among the most advanced in Europe of their day. You spend the rest of the day in the Otava valley, where a belt of campsites begins between Sušice and Kašperské Hory.
Velhartice stands on a rocky spur above the Ostružná and its unique feature is the stone bridge linking the palace known as the Rajský dům with the Putna tower — you will see nothing like it anywhere else in the country. In the afternoon you move on to Kašperk, where the last stretch up to the castle is on foot along a forest track from the car park below it. Keep an eye on the opening hours: Kašperk is closed on Mondays and in October it opens mainly at weekends, while at Velhartice the weekday tours in April and October run only for groups booked in advance.
The road from the Sušice area to Železná Ruda runs via Hartmanice and Špičák and it is a classic mountain route full of climbs and bends — feel free to give it the whole morning. The afternoon leaves time for Železná Ruda with its baroque Church of Our Lady of Help from the Star (kostel Panny Marie Pomocné z Hvězdy) on Klostermannovo náměstí, and for settling in at leisure. In the evening it pays to get your rucksacks and boots ready, because the next day starts early.
Set off for Špičácké sedlo first thing in the morning — the car park has few spaces for longer vehicles and in season it fills up before noon. Both lakes can only be reached on foot: Černé jezero lies beneath the cliff of Jezerní stěna and is the largest natural lake in the Czech Republic, while Čertovo is smaller and more enclosed. If you feel up to it, link the two into a single circuit and set the whole day aside for it.
The crossing to the other side of the national park runs via Modrava and Kvilda, that is, through the most open part of the Šumava plains. Near Kvilda stop at Jezerní slať, where a boardwalk leads across a peat bog that ranks among the coldest places in the country. In the afternoon you continue to the foot of Boubín: the nature trail to the Boubínské jezírko lake with its boardwalks is open, while the core of the reserve and the Knížecí cesta trail tend to be closed because of dead standing trees — check the current situation on the Šumava National Park website.
In the morning you drop down to Prachatice. The historic centre has been an urban conservation area since 1981 and Velké náměstí with its Renaissance sgraffito houses and the old town hall is its finest part — you can walk it in an hour, but the cafés tempt you to stay longer. In the afternoon you head back through South Bohemia to Prague, so you are home by the evening.
Up to 3.5 t: in the Czech Republic a motorhome pays the electronic motorway vignette (edalnice.gov.cz) — for 2026 the ten-day one costs CZK 300, the monthly one CZK 480 and the annual one CZK 2,570. You need it the moment you leave Prague on the D4 towards Písek; the Šumava roads on the route themselves are not tolled. Over 3.5 t: the vignette does not apply and the vehicle falls under the electronic toll charged per kilometre driven (myto.gov.cz) — registration and an on-board unit are required, and the rate varies according to the number of axles, the emission class and the type of road. One further paid item on this route is the car park at Špičácké sedlo, the starting point for both lakes.
Autocamping Annín, Dlouhá Ves–Annín near Sušice — a grassy site with electric hook-up available, open roughly from the end of April to the end of September; the best base for the Rabí–Velhartice–Kašperk castle trio. · Camping Železná Ruda, Železná Ruda — open all year and recently refurbished, with hook-up pitches for motorhomes; the closest base to Špičácké sedlo. · Autocamp Žíchovec, Žíchovec near Strunkovice nad Blanicí — a site for motorhomes and caravans plus a restaurant; practical facilities for Boubín and Prachatice.
In the Šumava National Park and Protected Landscape Area you sleep in campsites only; overnighting out in the countryside is prohibited. Large trailhead car parks such as Špičácké sedlo or Kaplice below Boubín are meant for daytime parking, not for spending the night. In the foothills around Sušice and Prachatice the situation is friendlier, because some of the campsites are open outside the main summer rush as well — off season, though, it pays to call ahead.
The most dependable service point on the route is Camping Železná Ruda: it has a dedicated spot for caravans with drinking-water filling and waste-water disposal, and it runs all year, so it works for a May or October trip as well. In Annín you can top up water only while the campsite is open. Set off on the stretch across Modrava, Kvilda and Boubín with a full tank — do not automatically count on service being available between Železná Ruda and Prachatice.
Adria Compact
The Adria Compact is the shortest semi-integrated in the range — on the narrow roads between Velhartice, Kašperské Hory and Kvilda, and in the cramped trailhead car parks, it manoeuvres noticeably more easily than a large motorhome. At the same time it has a full bathroom and heating, which comes in handy for nights in the mountains, where it turns cold after dark even in summer. The layout is designed above all for two.
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