A driving-experience voucher in Prague: a full day behind the wheel

A driving-experience voucher can buy two different things in Prague: a short session organised by an operator, or a day or more in a rental car on ordinary roads. This guide is about the second kind, a Masons voucher toward a self-drive rental. It explains what the recipient gets, what stays their responsibility and how to plan the hours.

Masons rents cars on a self-drive basis: the recipient is the driver, and a chauffeur is not included with our cars. The voucher is an amount toward a rental rather than a ticket for a set programme.

Two formats under one name

Track driving experiences are generally sold as short sessions: a set number of minutes or laps, in a place and on a schedule the operator sets. That suits someone who wants a few minutes in one particular car with a professional close by.

A rental day works the other way round. The recipient decides the route, the stops and the pace, and in return handles the practicalities themselves. The rest of this guide is about that trade.

What a rental day changes

In a rental the recipient is the driver in the full sense. They sign the rental agreement, secure the refundable deposit at handover with a card hold, a bank transfer or cash, and return the car with the same fuel level it had at pickup. The price includes third-party liability and comprehensive cover with an excess, and the insurance package can change both the excess and the deposit. Our terms set all of this out.

Tolls, vignettes, parking charges and traffic fines are the customer's responsibility, and official notices go to the driver named in the contract. Each car has its own daily mileage allowance, extra kilometres are billed at that car's rate, so do not assume unlimited mileage.

Track use is a separate question. The sports-car rental page says: "These are self-drive road rentals; track use needs separate confirmation." If a circuit is part of the plan, raise it with our team when you book instead of assuming it is allowed. Everything else here assumes public roads.

What the recipient needs to bring

The conditions are listed for each car: a driver aged at least 21, a valid licence held for at least two years, plus an ID document and a card in the driver's name. Czech law allows a category B licence from the age of 18 under section 83 of the Road Traffic Act, so the minimum of 21 and two years is our own condition, not a statutory one.

When the recipient contacts our team with the voucher, we confirm driver eligibility. If a driver is under 21, ask our team about the conditions. Anyone else who might drive must be named before reserving, and nobody takes the wheel until the team has confirmed their permission under the rental agreement. For a recipient who has never driven anything this powerful, our first powerful car guide is a useful read before the day.

Plan the day around the handover time

The meter runs in 24-hour blocks from the handover time: collect at 10:00, return at 10:00 the next morning and that is one day, while coming back after the grace period, 30 minutes by default, adds another charged day. If the recipient wants a slot shorter than a day, ask our team about the minimum rental length when you book.

Handover is at the Masons garage in Prague 10, at a hotel or office in Prague by arrangement, or at Václav Havel Airport for arrivals. Order early so the team can confirm the car and dates. For the route, start from the magazine instead of improvising. Five weekend drives from Prague has ideas for a full day, and the day-trip guides for Karlovy Vary, Kutná Hora, Český Krumlov and Bohemian Switzerland deal with timing and parking at each place. Our parking guide covers the city centre.

Two Czech rules are worth knowing before the first lunch stop. Under section 5 of the same Act, a driver may not drink alcohol while driving, may not drive right after alcohol and may not hand the wheel to a person under its influence. And if the route uses tolled motorway sections, vignettes are at the customer's expense at Masons; the state's eDalnice portal covers the electronic vignette, which is mandatory for four-wheeled vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes.

Giving the day as a voucher

What you buy is a voucher for the amount you choose, which the recipient spends on a rental; no car or dates are reserved. The recipient chooses, and our team then confirms what is free, what the rental costs and how the voucher is applied. The voucher is for an amount, not a number of hours or days, so ask our team which amount fits the car and the length of day you have in mind. Our vouchers page shows the order steps.

Ask our team about validity, transfer and refunds of the voucher before you pay. Make that your first question.

Frequently asked questions