Czechia by campervan: food and supermarkets
Where to buy food in Czechia, which supermarkets to use, opening hours and practical tips for eating on the road. What to know before you go.
Published 18 September 2026Last checked 19 September 2026
Currency
Czech koruna
CZK, not the euro. 24.34 Kč to €1 on 18 September 2026
Language
Czech
English in the cities, German near the borders
Driving
Right
Motorway 130 km/h, 80 km/h over 3.5 tonnes
Power
230V, type E
Takes the same round two-pin plug as most of Europe
Tap water
Safe to drink
Ask for kohoutkovou
Emergency
112
Ambulance 155, police 158, fire 150
Food and shops
Food and shops
Czech shops keep long hours and open on Sundays, with seven days a year written into law when the big ones must shut. The retail opening hours act closes retail entirely on seven public holidays, listed below, and from midday on 24 December. The exemptions are what matter to a van: shops under 200 square metres, petrol stations and pharmacies stay open. So on those days the hypermarket is dark and the village potraviny and every filling station are not.
Where to shop
- Best value: Lidl or Penny.
- Full range: Kaufland or an Albert hypermarket.
- Camper access: Edge-of-town Kaufland and Tesco hypermarkets usually have roomy parking.
What eating out costs, reported
- Cheap restaurant meal
- 200 Kč
- Draught beer, 0.5 l
- 50 Kč
About 8.20 euros. Reported range 150 to 325, Numbeo September 2026
About 2.05 euros. Cheaper than the same beer almost anywhere else in this series
The seven days large shops must close, and what stays open
| Date | Holiday | Still open |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January | Nový rok | Petrol stations, pharmacies, shops under 200 m² |
| Easter Monday, 6 April 2026 | Velikonoční pondělí | The same three |
| 8 May | Den vítězství | The same three |
| 28 September | Den české státnosti | The same three |
| 28 October | Founding of Czechoslovakia | The same three |
| 25 December | Christmas Day | The same three |
| 26 December | Second Christmas Day | The same three |
Eating and drinking in a hospoda
- Beer is ordered by size, not by brand. Velké is 0.5 litres, malé is 0.3. In most pubs there is one beer on tap and asking which is the point of ordering.
- You do not pay as you go. The waiter marks a slip on your table and you settle at the end with zaplatím, prosím.
Stocking the campervan
- The big chains all have car parks that take a van. Village shops do not, so park on the edge and walk in.
- Farmářské trhy, the farmers markets, run on Saturday mornings on the town square in most places. Cash.
