Folklore Garden Prague: how to book

Three ways to do the evening

All three routes lead to the same evening at Folklore Garden in Hlubočepy, Prague 5: a welcome mead, a family-style Czech dinner, an open bar and a 2.5-hour programme of folk music and dancing. What changes is how you pay, how you get there and what happens if your plans move. You can book through GetYourGuide, book directly on the venue's own website and add its shuttle, or book directly and travel on your own. The table above sets the three side by side, and the sections below explain each row.

What the GetYourGuide booking includes

The booking covers bus transport from a central meeting point, a four-course Czech dinner served family-style in the middle of a big table, a welcome mead, an open bar of Czech beer, wine and soft drinks, and the live music and dancing. It is not a guided tour: the guide is listed as not included. The listed duration is 2.5 hours and the booking is in English. You choose your menu when you book. Wheelchair users are listed as not suitable, and pets are not allowed.

• Included: bus, dinner, welcome mead, open bar, live music and dancing
• Not included: a tour guide
• Menus on the booking: standard, vegetarian and chicken

Where the venue's own site differs

The venue's own site lists more special menus than the booking does, including halal and fish options, and offers a shuttle that can collect guests from anywhere in Prague as an extra. You can pay by card online or at the venue. Its terms allow free cancellation until the afternoon of the evening itself, with the full fee due after that. The booking runs to a different rule: free cancellation up to 24 hours before, and an option to reserve now and pay later. Both routes give you a confirmation, so read the cancellation terms on the one you choose.

Who should book direct

Book direct if a special menu matters. The venue's site lists halal and fish mains beyond the standard, vegetarian and chicken choices, and its staff give allergen information. Book direct too if you are staying outside the centre and would rather be collected from your own address than meet at a central point, or if you value the longer cancellation window. Book through GetYourGuide if you want an English-language booking, would rather reserve without paying today, or prefer a fixed central meeting point for the bus.

The bus, the meeting point and the ride back

On the booking, you meet on Revoluční street in Staré Město, in central Prague, and a bus takes the group to Hlubočepy. The booking calendar shows the starting time for your date and your confirmation repeats it, so rely on those rather than a guess. After the show the bus returns through central Prague, taking in the city's lights on the way. Hlubočepy lies away from the historic centre, which makes the bus the simplest choice if this is your first evening in the city.

Going on your own by tram

Folklore Garden is at Na Zlíchově 18 in Hlubočepy, Prague 5, on the banks of the Vltava, which the operator describes as 10 minutes from the centre. Its events page puts the Hlubočepy tram stop 51 metres away and mentions private parking in front. Check the route and the last trams home in a journey planner before you commit, because the show finishes late. A taxi or ride service is the fallback, and the venue's own shuttle is the easiest way back if you booked direct.

Dinner and drinks

The evening opens with a welcome mead. The venue says a family business makes it from Czech honey, and mead is simply a drink made by fermenting honey. Dinner is four courses, served in roasting dishes in the middle of the table, with unlimited beer, house wines from Moravia, soft drinks and water. The venue's staff can give allergen information. Special requests have to be made in advance, so raise them when you book rather than at the table.

How the evening is organised

The two descriptions differ slightly. The venue says its 2.5-hour show includes dinner, served while the programme runs. The booking describes dinner and then a 2.5-hour performance. Either way, expect food, drink, music and dancing to run together for much of the night, with transfer time at each end. The programme is interactive: you can learn Czech songs and dances, try folk instruments, and in the final part join the cimbalom band to sing songs from your own country. Children receive small gifts.

Read next: Czech folk dances: what to expect

If you want the real thing in Moravia

Folklore Garden is a staged evening for visitors, running every evening since its first show in May 2003. It is not a village festival. If you want folk dance in its home setting, the Slovácko region of South Moravia is where the verbuňk is danced at community celebrations, and UNESCO notes an international folklore festival in Strážnice with an annual contest for the best dancer. That is a trip of its own and a different plan, not a substitute for a Prague dinner.

A short checklist before you pay

Decide three things before you choose a route: how you will get there, which menu you need and how much flexibility you want if plans change. Then look at the starting time and the meeting point shown for your date, because the show runs every evening and the details are confirmed at booking. If anything in your group affects the evening, such as a diet, a wheelchair or a young child, contact the booking provider before you pay.

• Transport: bus from a central point, venue shuttle, or tram
• Menu: standard, vegetarian, chicken, or a special menu booked direct
• Cancellation: 24 hours ahead on GetYourGuide, or the afternoon of the evening direct
• Time: the starting time on your confirmation

Who this isn't for

Wheelchair users: the booking lists the evening as not suitable. Guests who want a quiet dinner: the evening is built around joining in. Anyone who wants a guided sightseeing tour: no guide is included. Travellers who need a menu that is not on the booking's list should book direct instead. And if you want a published running order of dances, you will not find one, because the operator does not give it.