11 Mistakes Tourists Make in the Moravian Karst (and How to Avoid Them)

The most common mistakes revolve around three things: poor timing (bookings, winter closures, arriving in the afternoon), underestimating what to pack (warm clothing, a torch), and not knowing the rules (driving into the gorges, picking plants). Most of these are easily avoided with just a few minutes of planning beforehand.

1. Not booking the Punkva Caves (Punkevní jeskyně) in advance. During the season (April–October), tickets are often sold out by midday. Book online or by phone ahead of time, especially for weekends.

2. Wearing just a t-shirt into the caves. All the caves sit at a constant 7–9°C year-round, regardless of the temperature outside. Even in August, bring a jumper or jacket — otherwise an hour-long tour won’t be much fun.

3. Planning a winter visit around Kateřinská Cave. Kateřinská Cave is closed entirely in January, February and December — the only one of the four major caves to shut completely. In winter, build your itinerary around Punkva Caves, the Macocha Abyss and Výpustek Cave, all of which stay open (albeit on a limited basis) throughout the year.

4. Trying to drive into Pustý žleb or Suchý žleb. Both of these valleys have a year-round ban on motor vehicles. You can reach the caves by tourist train or on foot — leave your car at the car park by Skalní Mlýn.

5. Throwing away your ticket after the first cave. If you keep a ticket from another Moravian Karst cave (no more than a month old), you’ll get a 20% discount at the ticket office for your next visit — the one exception is Punkva Caves, which this discount doesn’t apply to. It’s worth visiting the caves one after another during a single trip and holding on to all your tickets.

6. Underestimating the stairs at Balcarka Cave or the steeper stretches of the Sloup-Šošůvka Caves (Sloupsko-šošůvské jeskyně). Balcarka Cave has 330 steps, and not every route suits less able walkers or older visitors. Check the difficulty of the specific route in advance if you’re travelling with seniors or small children.

7. Assuming you need a ticket for the Macocha Abyss. You don’t — both viewing platforms, Upper and Lower, are free year-round and require no booking. It’s the only major attraction in the region where you don’t need to buy anything in advance.

8. Heading into the freely accessible caves without a torch. Jáchymka and Kostelík in Josefov Valley (Josefovské údolí) are free to enter year-round, but there’s no artificial lighting inside — without a torch (or at least your phone’s flashlight), you’ll barely see a thing.

9. Turning up at the main attractions in the late afternoon. Tours usually admit their last visitors 30–60 minutes before closing time, and in season, afternoon slots often sell out before the morning ones. Schedule the main points of your visit for the morning.

10. Picking plants or gathering rare species in the protected landscape area. The whole of the Moravian Karst is a protected landscape area (CHKO) — picking plants and disturbing wildlife is prohibited, and protected species (such as the pasque flower) can even carry a fine. Photos, yes; picking, no.

11. Cramming too many caves into a single day. The distances between sites (Skalní Mlýn, Sloup, Ostrov u Macochy, Křtiny) are 15–30 minutes by car, but with queues at ticket offices and time for the tours themselves, a day fills up fast. For more than two caves, plan for a whole weekend instead — see our two-day itinerary.

Part of the series A Week in the Moravian Karst: The Complete 7-Day Itinerary. See also Rules for the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area and Complete Cave Price List. Sources: Caves Administration of the Czech Republic, official leaflet from the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (AOPK ČR), prices and opening hours from this blog. Prices, opening hours and rules are subject to change — we recommend checking caves.cz before you travel.