How to tell a good Jewish guide in Prague from a good actor

Prague has more guides per tourist than almost anywhere in Europe, and the Jewish Quarter is the most lucrative two hours in the city. The result is a lot of people telling the Golem story very well and getting the rest wrong. Here is how to check before you pay.

1. Ask what happened in 1389

Not a trick question — the Easter pogrom is foundational, and the elegy written afterwards is still read in the Old-New Synagogue on Yom Kippur. A guide who blanks on 1389 but has a polished Golem routine is working from a script, not from knowledge. You will notice the difference in the cemetery, where scripts run out.

2. Ask whether they are licensed and what that covers

Prague-licensed guides have passed city examinations. Separately, entry arrangements inside the Jewish Museum sites and the Old-New Synagogue matter — ask directly whether tickets are included, whether they guide inside the buildings or hand you over at the door, and whether they have the museum's own accreditation where it is required.

3. Ask about group size and headsets

• A private group means your group only. Some operators sell 'private' and merge you at the meeting point — confirm in writing.
• Over about eight people you need headsets in the cemetery, or half the group hears nothing.
• Large walking groups get moved along by museum staff. That is not the guide being rude; it is the site's rules.

4. Ask about Shabbat and kashrut, if it matters to you

If you keep Shabbat, you want a guide who understands that Saturday tours do not involve tickets, money, or writing, and who can plan a walk that works within those limits — and who knows the eruv situation rather than guessing. If you keep kosher, you want a guide who will not route your lunch break past a place they like personally. Say this at booking. A good guide will tell you honestly whether it is their area.

Nobody is offended by these questions. The guides who are, are the ones you were trying to avoid.

5. Ask what they would cut

Give them your real constraints — three hours, two teenagers, one grandparent who cannot stand for long — and ask what they would drop. A guide who says 'we can do everything' is either not listening or planning to march you. A guide who says 'we skip Maisel, keep the cemetery long, and I will find you the benches near the Klausen wall' has done this before.

What a fair price looks like

Private guiding in Prague is priced per group, not per head, and entry tickets are usually extra. Terezín costs more because it is a full day plus transport. If a quote is dramatically below everyone else's, the difference is usually group size, ticket exclusions, or a guide who is not going inside with you.

That is the whole of our matching process, really: you tell us the dates, the languages, the observance level and what you care about, and we send it to the Prague guides who genuinely fit rather than the first one who answers. If none of them fit, we say so.