Rachel sent us this reader success story about her trip to Prague and Dublin. This trip would have cost nearly $12,000, and they paid under $700! Here’s how it went:

 

A Voucher Starts it All

This whole trip started because we had a voucher for slightly over $2,000 on Aer Lingus. Back in 2020, P2 and I were going to go to Scotland, but that trip was canceled due to a little thing called COVID. When it was canceled, Aer Lingus offered us a voucher for 110% of the amount we paid, with a five-year expiration.  Since then, we have added a P3 (now age three) who has no actual ability to help earn points, only to use them. We wanted to try to go to Scotland, but the costs would be higher than we wanted because points and miles for hotels there were going to be harder to obtain. We opted to save that trip for another time.

After brainstorming, we decided to visit Prague, Czechia. I hadn’t been there since I was 15, and I had only spent a couple of days with family on that trip.  We decided to go back so I could spend more time there, and so P2 and P3 could visit for the first time.

 

Flights To Prague

We went on this trip in July 2025. To get there, we booked three economy tickets from Los Angeles to Prague with a layover in Paris.  We transferred 45,000 Capital One Venture Miles during a 20% transfer bonus to Flying Blue. My husband had 1,250 Flying Blue points in his account, so we created a family pool and used the points we already had. Plus, we got the 25% discount on a child’s award ticket. The three tickets were 55,000 Flying Blue Points and $348.30 for taxes/fees.

 

Hotels in Prague

We stayed at the Lindner Hotel Prague Castle in the one-bedroom suite. It had a king-sized bed. I don’t know if you can get a rollaway bed; we didn’t ask. All three of us shared and had plenty of room, as long as P3 was not perpendicular to the two adults. It was a Category 1 hotel at the time of booking, but became a Category 2 by the time we stayed there. It was 37,000 points for five nights. When we checked out, we had to pay a 100 CZK tax per night (if I remember correctly). That’s about $5/night.

Our last two nights were at the Andaz Prague (Category 6). We paid 72,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards® transferred from Chase to Hyatt. We booked the Junior Suite because it fits three people. When we checked in, we were informed that we were upgraded to a one-bedroom suite with a garden view. (We saw no garden, but it was a beautiful room with a view.) We have no status and did not request an upgrade in advance. You can read Jess’s review of this hotel here.

 

 

Activities in Prague

The public transportation in Prague is excellent. There is an app called PID Lítačka that will show directions and which lines to take. It coordinates between the metro, bus, and tram systems. The app allows for in-app ticket purchases. Children under 14 are free. Agents are checking various trams, buses, and metros to ensure you have a valid ticket. 

Some of the things we did in Prague:

• Took a tour booked through Viator that took us through Lesser Town, a boat cruise on the Vltava River, and then to the Charles Bridge Museum. I really enjoyed the walking and boat tour. The guide told us to go into any gates that are open because usually something is interesting (and I agree).
• Kampa Park on the riverbank. (P3 loves all parks!)
• We took a walking tour through Old Town Prague (booked through Viator), which also included the Astronomical Clock tower. There was a tour that went underground as part of that, but only P2 made it to that part since I had to take P3 to the bathroom. The tour in the town hall was not age-appropriate for P3, but going to the top of the clock tower was great.
• Astronomical Tower
• Old Town Square
• Children’s Island Playground
• Manifesto Market Anděl – I love food-court-type places to eat, and this had a lot of variety. Easy to get there by tram. It isn’t close to any major sites in particular. We made an effort to go here.
• Choco Art Museum Prague – a tiny museum, but it was fun tasting chocolate at the end.
• Petřin Hill and Petřin Tower
• Prague Castle complex, including the Vltava Cathedral, Golden Lane, and St. George’s Basilica. I would have loved to see the gardens, too, but P3 needed some downtime.
• Havelské tržiště – an old outdoor market in Old Town
• Grébovka (Havlíčkovy sady) – a large park with an Italian Renaissance theme. Peaceful and gorgeous
• Výtopna Railway Restaurant – a big hit for kids. All the food and drinks are brought to the tables via model trains. The food is pretty good.
• Senate Gardens
• I also found a laundromat in the central part of Lesser Town near Charles Bridge to do laundry.

 

 

 

Prague to Dublin

My husband got the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card when the welcome offer was elevated, which earned us a $250 travel credit and 75,000 bonus miles. I set a Google Alert for flight prices and bought three tickets on Aer Lingus for a direct flight from Prague to Dublin for $325.71. After applying the $250 travel credit, our net cost was $75.71. 

 

Hotel in Dublin

In Dublin, we had more trouble finding hotel award availability. We booked the Hilton Garden Inn Dublin City Centre. We chose the “Twin Room” because it accommodated three people, and we stayed five nights. I did not have Gold status or higher when I booked, so I had to pay for all 5 nights. It was 50,000 points per night for 250,000 Hilton points. I transferred Membership Rewards® points from Amex (1:2 transfer ratio) during a 30% transfer bonus, so it cost us 97,000 American Express Membership Rewards®. Thanks to some special maneuvering and a Bilt Rent Day bonus, I managed to get 50,000 points refunded to my account!

 

Activities in Dublin

Some of the things we did in Dublin:

• Merrion Square Park – All the playgrounds in Dublin were great, and P3 enjoyed them all. There were a lot of kids at all of them, too.
• Flower and Bean coffee shop
• Dublinia – I went in 2008, and the exhibit changed a lot since then. It is kid-friendly, very interactive, and has things to touch, hold, and try on. The entrance fee included going to the top of St. Michael Tower.
• Christ Church Cathedral
• EPIC Irish Emigration Museum (I was the only one who went). I loved this museum, but it is probably only age-appropriate for kids interested in history. 
• The Famine Memorial
• Dublin Discovered boat tour (booked through Viator). The 45-minute tour provided an unvarnished history of Dublin. We went in the afternoon, and P3 got squirmy because it was a seated boat tour.
• The Brazen Head Inn – Ireland’s Oldest Pub, established in 1198!
• Tour outside of Dublin (booked via Viator) to Powerscourt Manor (beautiful gardens), the Irish countryside (we saw the bridge from P.S. I Love You, which is a movie I never saw—but the area around the bridge was beautiful), and Glendalough in County Wicklow. Now I want to go back and see more of Ireland outside of Dublin.
• P2 went on a walking tour (booked via Viator) that went through Trinity College, Book of Kells Experience, Trinity Library, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar area, and the Old Parliament Chamber. P3 would not have lasted, so he and I bowed out. I had also been to the Book of Kells, Trinity Library, Dublin Castle, and Temple Bar in 2008.
• St. Stephen’s Green
• Spencer Dock Lunchtime Market (food trucks and stands in the Docklands near our hotel and around all the tech companies). I thought the food was excellent.
• Ha’Penny Bridge
• Phoenix Park – the largest gated park in Europe, I think. The zoo is there (though we did not go). We rented bikes and biked around the park. They have kid bikes, trailers, and a tag-along trailer bike.
• Fairview Park
• National Gallery (P2 only)

 

 

 

 

Flights Home

Our flights back were on Aer Lingus from Dublin to Los Angeles. The voucher was only enough for two tickets. We took advantage of a 30% transfer bonus from Chase to Aer Lingus Avios to book my husband’s flight. He transferred 19,000 Chase points to pay for a 25,000 Avios flight plus $169.51.

Then I tried to book flights with the vouchers, but I was denied because the flights were priced in Euros and the vouchers were in U.S. Dollars. The origin airport determines the currency used for booking the flight. After planning and scheming about what we were going to do (possibly selling the voucher, taking a different trip to Dublin, canceling the award flight, etc.), my husband called Aer Lingus since the voucher was in his name. They agreed to change the voucher currency from U.S. Dollars to Euros so that we could use it. It did take a few weeks for the currency conversion to be completed. The voucher covered our entire cost. I count this as $0 since we already paid for it about 5 years ago.

 

Bottom Line

Overall, we enjoyed Prague a bit more than Dublin. Dublin felt more crowded, and I think P3 was ready to go home by that point in our trip. Overall, this trip cost us $618.52 for hotels and flights for two weeks in Prague and Dublin, excluding the voucher we paid for 5 years ago.

Thanks, Rachel, for your reader success story: Prague and Dublin. We love both of those cities, too!

 

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