Talking about travel in Czech is really talking about going somewhere, and Czech makes you commit to three decisions before you can even say "I'm going to Italy by train": which preposition your destination takes (do or na), which case names your means of transport (the bare instrumental), and whether you mean this one trip or trips you make regularly (the determinate/indeterminate verb split). None of these choices exist in English, and getting them wrong is the surest tell of a learner. This page hangs the holiday vocabulary on that grammar so the phrases keep working when you leave the phrasebook behind.
Where are you going? do + genitive vs na + accusative
When you travel to a place, Czech forces a choice between two prepositions, each governing its own case:
- do + genitive — for countries, towns, and enclosed places you go into: do Prahy, do Itálie, do hotelu.
- na + accusative — for open surfaces, events, and a fixed set of regions: na hory (to the mountains), na výlet (on a trip), na Moravu (to Moravia).
Most countries and all cities take do:
V létě jedeme do Itálie, k moři.
In summer we're going to Italy, to the seaside. (do Itálie — country takes do + genitive)
Přes víkend si vyrazím do Prahy za kamarády.
Over the weekend I'll pop over to Prague to see friends. (do Prahy — city takes do + genitive)
But open landscapes and events take na:
O prázdninách jezdíme na hory, lyžovat.
Over the holidays we go to the mountains, to ski. (na hory — 'the mountains' as an open area takes na + accusative)
Koupili jsme si letenky na dovolenou do Španělska.
We bought plane tickets for a holiday to Spain. (na dovolenou — 'on holiday' as an event takes na; the destination Španělsko takes do)
The stubborn na-countries: na Slovensko, na Ukrajinu
Here is where you cannot reason it out. A handful of countries and regions take na rather than do, purely for historical reasons — most of them territories once seen as part of a larger whole rather than as separate states. You simply memorise them:
| Takes na (historical) | Takes do (default) |
|---|---|
| na Slovensko (to Slovakia) | do Polska (to Poland) |
| na Ukrajinu (to Ukraine) | do Německa (to Germany) |
| na Moravu (to Moravia) | do Rakouska (to Austria) |
| na Slovácko / na Valašsko (Czech regions) | do Maďarska (to Hungary) |
Na Slovensko jezdíme každé léto za babičkou.
We go to Slovakia every summer to see grandma. (na Slovensko — NOT do Slovenska; a lexicalised na-country)
Letos pojedeme na Moravu na vinobraní.
This year we'll go to Moravia for the grape harvest. (na Moravu — the region takes na, as does the event vinobraní)
Note that the na countries flip to na + locative for "being there": Byli jsme na Slovensku ("We were in Slovakia"), just as do-countries flip to v + locative: Byli jsme v Polsku ("We were in Poland").
Celý týden jsme byli na Slovensku ve Vysokých Tatrách.
We spent the whole week in Slovakia, in the High Tatras. (location: na Slovensku, locative)
Getting there: the bare instrumental of transport
How you travel is the instrumental case with no preposition. The bare instrumental already means "by (means of)" — so vlak ("train") becomes vlakem ("by train"), and adding a preposition like s ("with") is wrong.
| Vehicle | "by…" (instrumental) |
|---|---|
| vlak (train) | vlakem |
| auto (car) | autem |
| letadlo (plane) | letadlem |
| autobus (bus) | autobusem |
| loď (boat) | lodí |
Do Vídně pojedeme vlakem, je to pohodlnější.
We'll go to Vienna by train, it's more comfortable. (vlakem = bare instrumental, 'by train')
Na dovolenou letíme letadlem až do Řecka.
For the holiday we're flying all the way to Greece by plane. (letadlem = instrumental; note letíme — 'we fly' with the vehicle verb)
There is one systematic exception: na kole ("by bike") and na koni ("on horseback") use na + locative, because historically you sit on them. And on foot is simply pěšky.
Po ostrově jsme se pohybovali na kole.
We got around the island by bike. (na kole — na + locative, not the bare instrumental)
The full logic of the instrumental of means is on the instrumental of means.
This trip or every trip? jet vs jezdit
Czech splits its motion verbs into a determinate partner (one specific, ongoing journey) and an indeterminate partner (habitual or repeated journeys). For travel by vehicle, that pair is jet (this trip, now) vs jezdit (regularly, as a habit).
- jedu do Brna — I'm going to Brno (this once, on my way now).
- jezdím do Brna — I go to Brno (regularly, e.g. every month for work).
Zítra jedu do Brna na konferenci.
Tomorrow I'm going to Brno for a conference. (jedu = jet, this specific upcoming trip)
Každý rok jezdíme k moři do Chorvatska.
Every year we go to the seaside in Croatia. (jezdíme = jezdit, a habitual, repeated trip)
The same split runs through the on-foot pair jít / chodit and the flying pair letět / létat. Because English has one verb ("go") for both, learners default to jet even for habits — but Každý rok jedu do Chorvatska sounds like you go there once and it happens to recur; the habitual reading wants jezdím. The distinction is drawn out on jet vs jezdit and the choosing guide jít/chodit, jet/jezdit.
Normálně jezdím vlakem, ale dneska jedu autem.
I normally travel by train, but today I'm going by car. (jezdím = habit; jedu = this specific trip — the two side by side)
Holiday vocabulary in its grammar
The core holiday words carry grammatical baggage worth flagging. Dovolená ("holiday / leave from work", literally an adjective, "the permitted [time]") declines like an adjective: na dovolené ("on holiday", locative). Prázdniny ("school holidays / vacation") is plural only — there is no singular — so it takes plural agreement: letní prázdniny ("summer holidays"), o prázdninách ("during the holidays", locative plural). A výlet is a "day trip / excursion"; you go na výlet. Ubytování ("accommodation") is a neuter verbal noun. Zavazadlo ("piece of luggage") is neuter; the plural zavazadla is "luggage".
Jsem na dovolené, tak neberu telefon.
I'm on holiday, so I'm not answering the phone. (na dovolené = adjectival noun in the locative)
O letních prázdninách jedeme na výlet do Alp.
Over the summer holidays we're going on a trip to the Alps. (prázdniny is plural-only: o prázdninách; na výlet takes na)
Booking and arranging phrases
The practical phrases for organising a trip lean on the dative (to whom) and the accusative (what you book):
Chtěl bych si zarezervovat pokoj na tři noci.
I'd like to book a room for three nights. (zarezervovat si = book for oneself; na tři noci = 'for three nights')
Máte volný pokoj s výhledem na moře?
Do you have a free room with a sea view? (s výhledem = 's' + instrumental; na moře = 'onto the sea')
V kolik hodin nám jede autobus na letiště?
What time does our bus to the airport leave? (na letiště — the airport takes na; jede = jet, this specific departure)
Kolik stojí zpáteční jízdenka do Vídně?
How much is a return ticket to Vienna? (zpáteční = return; do Vídně — city takes do)
Common Mistakes
❌ V létě jedeme do Slovenska.
Incorrect — Slovakia is a lexicalised na-country: na Slovensko, not do Slovenska.
✅ V létě jedeme na Slovensko.
In summer we're going to Slovakia.
❌ Každý rok jedu k moři do Chorvatska.
Aspect slip — a yearly, repeated trip is habitual, so use the indeterminate jezdit: jezdím, not jedu.
✅ Každý rok jezdím k moři do Chorvatska.
Every year I go to the seaside in Croatia.
❌ Pojedeme tam s vlakem.
Incorrect — means of transport is the BARE instrumental; s (with) means accompaniment, not 'by'.
✅ Pojedeme tam vlakem.
We'll go there by train.
❌ Jedeme do hory na dovolenou.
Two errors — the mountains take na + accusative (na hory), and hora must be plural here.
✅ Jedeme na hory na dovolenou.
We're going to the mountains on holiday.
❌ O letní prázdniny jsme byli u moře.
Case error — 'during the holidays' is o + locative plural: o letních prázdninách.
✅ O letních prázdninách jsme byli u moře.
Over the summer holidays we were at the seaside.
Key Takeaways
- Pick the destination preposition first: do + genitive for countries/towns/enclosed places (do Prahy, do Itálie), na + accusative for open areas, events, and the historical exceptions.
- Memorise the na-countries: na Slovensko, na Ukrajinu, na Moravu (and locative na Slovensku) — there is no rule, only a list.
- Transport is the bare instrumental: vlakem, autem, letadlem — never s vlakem; the exceptions are na kole and pěšky.
- Choose the motion verb by scope: jedu/letím (this one trip) vs jezdím/létám (regular, habitual). English "every year" is habitual → jezdím.
- Holiday words carry grammar: dovolená declines as an adjective (na dovolené), prázdniny is plural-only (o prázdninách).
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Choosing v versus na for PlacesB1 — Deciding between v and na for locations and destinations.
- Choosing Between jít/chodit and jet/jezditB1 — The determinate vs indeterminate motion-verb decision.
- The Instrumental of MeansA2 — Using the instrumental to express the tool or means by which something is done.
- jet vs jezdit (Going by Vehicle)B1 — The determinate jet and indeterminate jezdit for travel by vehicle.
- Directions and TransportA2 — Asking the way and talking about getting around, anchored in the do/na destination split, the kam/kde contrast, and the instrumental of means.