Treatment abroad: Czech Republic 

The Czech Republic, renowned for its advanced medical facilities and highly skilled healthcare professionals, offers exceptional expertise in fields such as cosmetic surgery, fertility treatments, and orthopaedic procedures, making it a sought-after destination for medical tourists seeking quality care in a picturesque European setting.

The Czech Republic, and in particular its beautiful and historic capital, Prague, is one of the newly emerging medical tourism destinations. High standards of treatment combine with low prices, and Prague provides the perfect short city break. Prague is a remarkably well preserved old town with lots to see and do, compact size, and many inexpensive cafs, restaurants and places to stay.

The Czech Republic offers affordable plastic & cosmetic surgery in Prague, with highly qualified and experienced surgeons.

Why consider the Czech Republic for medical tourism?

Situated in central Europe Czechoslovakia was divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993 and has been an EU member since May 2004. Private cosmetic surgery is extremely competitive within the Czech Republic, and it is fast emerging as a popular health tourism and dentistry destination.

Most of the clinics are located in the county’s culturally rich capital, Prague, known as the City of Bridges. A modern city with a magical charm and atmosphere there is much to see and do. Before or after surgery must-sees are the beautiful Castle and St Vitus Cathedral, Belvedere, Lorreto and Charles Bridges and the Old Town Square and Old Town Hall with Astronomical Clock. Take a wander around the cobbled streets in the old Jewish Quarter before winding up in a caf in Wenceslas Square for a pork or beef dish served with dumplings and washed down with some famous Pilsner or Budweiser beer.

Cosmetic surgery clinics in Prague have the latest technology. Czech cosmetic surgeons undertake several years of specialist training before they are allowed to operate and many of the surgeons working in Prague are British General Medical Council registered with internationally recognised qualifications and training.

Significant savings can be made on the cost cosmetic surgery, compared with other European clinics. Consider, for example, a breast enlargement with silicon implants costs €2500.00 including one to two nights in a clinic in Prague, and nose reshaping costs €1900.00 including one night in the clinic.

As well as the culturally rich city of Prague the country also boasts medicinal spa towns, quaint villages, lakes, forests and chateaux. Other major cities in the Czech Republic are Brno and Ostrava and there are good intercity train connections, making it all the easier to explore this fascinating country.

The climate in the Czech Republic is variable; summers can be lovely and warm and winters pretty chilly, with an average of -5 degrees Celsius in January, rising to 23 degrees Celsius in July.

Reasons to choose Czech Republic

Prague is a newly emerging medical tourism destination

Private cosmetic surgery and dentistry is extremely competitive

Highly qualified and experienced surgeons.

Prague is a modern city with a magical charm

Czech republic has a host of medicinal spa towns

Easy access from across Europe

Healthcare in the Czech Republic

As is the case in many post-communist countries, the Czech Republic healthcare system is struggling to undo the damage of decades of under funding. The magnitude of the task is underlined by the fact that they have had almost 20 different health ministers since the Velvet Revolution in the late 1980s.

The public health system has improved hugely in this time, with general standards now approaching those of Western Europe. For example, specialist cardiac care, once only available in Prague, is now widely available at 13 different centres across the country.

Healthcare is free to Czech citizens, although a two-tier system does exist, just like the UK, where those who can afford private health care or health insurance can enjoy higher quality facilities and shorter waiting times. Nonetheless, this is still a huge improvement on the communist times, where only a small number of people with particular political affiliations enjoyed a far superior level of care to the general population.

Medical tourism and the Czech Republic

Although the system is struggling to reform and modernise for the ordinary Czech people, it is a somewhat different story for the healthcare tourist. Many doctors, dentists and surgeons who had long struggled under low communist wages took the opportunity to go private with the arrival of the free market economy. This has led to a rapid growth of high quality facilities, equipped to the highest standards, offering world class care at a fraction of the price paid in Western Europe.

As a result of this boom in private healthcare facilities, the Czech Republic has become a hotspot for medical tourism, with low cost, high quality dental work and plastic surgery attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year. What’s more, since the system has been created to meet the demands of the overseas visitor, rather than catering primarily for the more affluent residents, you can expect a far superior service designed around your needs.

Most of Prague’s premier clinics offer multi-lingual staff and will often generate your entire package for you, including flights and accommodation.

Travel and accommodation in the Czech Republic

Travel to Czech Republic

Prague’s airport is called ‘Ruzyne’ and it is located at 160 08 Praha 6-Ruzyne. The cheapest way to get from the airport is via bus and there are two services covering the airport route. Bus number 119 is the best option to get to the historical centre of Prague (the Old Town, Lesser Town, New Town, Prague Castle area) as it connects with line A of the metro, running between the Ruzyn Airport and Dejvick metro station (line A) every 7 to 20 minutes with journey time of approximately 20 minutes.

Alternatively bus number 100 runs between the Ruzyn airport and the Zlin metro station (line B). The service runs every 15 minutes during the day and every 30 minutes after 7pm with journey time of around 15 minutes. Tickets need to be purchased before boarding and can be obtained at newsagents and nearby vending machines. There is also a shuttle service which stops downtown at Namisti Republiky.

Taking a taxi from the airport might be the most convenient choice of transport, but to avoid being ripped off (which is common in major tourist areas of Prague) the best option is to pre-book a taxi via your hotel or a taxi phone. Otherwise ensure you confirm the price beforehand; from the airport to a central destination should cost around 600 K.

Flying to Prague is extremely easy with regular flights from major European cities such as Paris, London, Dusseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt, New York, Seoul, Taipei, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, Hamburg, Moscow, Helsinki, Rostov, Istanbul, Lisbon, Madrid, Malta, Rome, Dublin and Edinburgh with connecting flights available to anywhere in the world.

If you are coming from the UK, either because you are resident there or you have flown into Heathrow or Gatwick, there is always the train. Seat 61 has details about trains to the Czech Republic from London via Brussels and either Cologne, Berlin or Frankfurt, or call Rail Europe on 08708 371371 for advice about prices and routes. One train option it to take an afternoon Eurostar to Brussels followed by a connecting train to Cologne then the Kopernikus sleeper train overnight to Prague. Alternatively, an early-evening Eurostar from London to Brussels, followed by an overnight sleeper to Berlin then a EuroCity journey from Berlin to Prague or depart London in the morning, change at Brussels and Frankfurt for the Frankfurt-Prague sleeper and arriving in Prague early the next morning.

Train stations in Prague are Main Station (Hlavn ndra), Holeovice Station (Ndra Holeovice), and Smchov Station (Ndra Smchov) which are accessible by the metro and tramlines. There are good intercity train connections, for example the train journey from Prague to Brno is just two hours. See Bus and railway timetables for more information.

The Czech Republic still maintains its original currency; the Czech Crown, known as the ‘Koruna’ and £1 is approximately 30.5K while €1 is 26K. The price of a three star double ensuite room in a hotel in Prague will cost around 3,000 K and a four star around 4,500 K. Prices vary according to season; high season is April to June and September to December while the low season is July and August. Outside of the capital, in Brno for example, rooms are considerably cheaper.

About the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is one of Europe’s youngest nations, having only come into existence in 1993. It did, of course, exist as Czechoslovakia for centuries before that and is still rich in history and culture, with romantic, fairytale castles in abundance.

The Czech Republic is part of the former Czechoslovakia, which was part of the Soviet Bloc until the so called Velvet Revolution in 1989, when communism was overthrown in a peaceful uprising. The country split in two in 1993 in the Velvet Divorce, when the two sides were unable to agree on the new constitution.

The capital of the Czech Republic is Prague, a vibrant modern city that is incredibly popular with tourists and which sets the benchmark for the capitals of emerging nations. Prague is called the ‘city of a thousand spires’ due to its stunning medieval architecture and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nonetheless, this is no sleepy old city, as the vibrant nightlife of culture, casinos and jazz bars soon proves.

Prague may have a reputation as a stag party destination, but the crowds tend to concentrate around the sports bars and strip clubs of Wenceslas Square and these areas can easily be avoided. By contrast, the Old Town Square, with its famous Christmas markets, offers an altogether more traditional Prague experience.

Beyond the capital, there is a seemingly endless procession of picturesque towns and villages, each with its own charm and many with castles straight out of a classic Disney cartoon. Karlstjen Castle and the spectacular Vranov Castle, perched impossibly on a rocky hilltop are not to be missed.

As the birthplace of Pilsner lager and the world famous Budweiser, the Czech republic is famed for its beer, and the brewery towns of Plzen and Ceske Budejovice are both well worth a visit to taste continental beer at its best.

Although many of the leading medical tourism destinations are centred around the main cities, especially Prague itself, the laid back spa towns of Cesky Krumlov and Telc have much to offer for rest and recuperation following your procedure.