Getting Around Poland

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Most of the famous tourist attractions in Krakow are located in the Old Town of Krakow and they are all within walking distance of each other. So the best way to visit and explore these attractions is by walking. You do not have to purchase any transportation pass to visit these attractions. Another option to visit these attractions is probably by horse-carriages. There are so many of these horse-caariages on the roads of Krakow even during the winter months. Please note that you need to take day trips to Krakow's other popular tourist attractions such as the Wieliczka Salt Mine and the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

Alternatively you may join group walking tours, some of them are free. You may start your own walking tour from the north of Krakow at the Barbican (as depicted on our first photograph) which is just a stone's throw from Krakow Glowny, Krakow's main railway station. You will then pass the famous St. Florian's Gate and walk further south into the Main Square (our second photograph).

Wawel Hill with the elegant Wawel Cathedral (photo 3) and Wawel Castle is located just several hundred meters south of the Main Square. If you walk further south you will be able to visit Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter. Several lovely synagogues and Jewish cemeteries are recommended to be visited and explored! Approximately 200 meters south of the Jewish Quarter, you will be able to see River Vistula with the famous Father Bernard's Footbridge (our fourth photograph). After crossing the footbridge, you are in the district of Podgorze where several popular tourist attractions are located especially the Church of St. Joseph (our last photograph) and the popular Schindlers Factory. A stroll along the bank of River Vistula is also recommended. So good luck and enjoy your walking tour!

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Wieliczka Salt Mine, a must-see tourist attraction, is located just 10 kilometers southeast of central Krakow. In our opinion the best and safest alternative to travel to Wieliczka Salt Mine in Wieliczka from the central of Krakow is by commuter trains from Krakow Glowny to Wieliczka Rynek. You will not miss Wieliczka Salt Mine when you travel by commuter trains since Wieliczka Rynek is the last stop on this route.

However if you travel by a mini bus or a municipal bus, you may miss the Salt Mine if and when the bus driver forgets to let you know which bus stop to alight when the bus arrives at the Salt Mine. Many of the local bus drivers do not understand English. You may have to remind the bus driver all the time which can be very irritating to the bus driver and to other passengers! Another thing that we were worried about when travelling by mini buses in Krakow. Drving on the roads in Krakow leaves a lot to be desired. Many mini bus drivers drive like lunatics so as to maximise their profit and we were afraid that we might not reach Wieliczka Salt Mine in one piece!

There are trains leaving Krakow Glowny every hour from platform 1, the same platform where you travel from the city to Balice International Airport. The Salt Mine is just a five to ten minute walk from Wieliczka Rynek. We timed our arrival at the Salt Mine perfectly for the English guided tour which began at 10.00 a.m. sharp. The train left Krakow Glowny at 9.10 a.m. sharp and arrived at Wieliczka Rynek at 9.35 a.m. We took a leaisurely walk to the Salt Mine and arrived at the ticketing office and main entrance at almost 9.45 a.m. After purchasing the admission tickets, we still had some time to look at items selling at the souvenir shop.

Train ticket costs just 4.00 zl each way. If you miss your scheduled train departure, you can still travel on the next train to Wieliczka as your train ticket is valid for two hours.

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Take a day trip to the lovely ski resort of Zakopane if you visit Krakow during the winter months. Zakopane is situated just 100 kilometers south of Krakow. Zakopane is certainly beautiful in winter.

The regional bus station Regionalny Dworzec Autobusowy or RDA as it is called, is located beside the main railway station Krakow Glowny. You may book your bus tickets in advance from the ticket counters at the bus station or you may also buy your bus tickets from the bus driver if want to leave Krakow for Zakopane immediately. We suggest you take an early morning bus after your breakfast in your hotel so that you can have an almost entire day in Zakopane.

Buses leave quite regularly from Krakow, approximately every 20 minutes during the peak hours. We travelled by 8.55 a.m. bus and arrived at Zakopane at 11.00 a.m. The regional bus departs Regionalny Dworzec Autobusowy and passes through several towns and villages such as Lubien and Nowy Targ Dworzec Autobusowy (stop for one minute to pick up passengers) and arrives at Zakopane Dworzec Autobusowy after two hours. Bus fare is 20.00 zl per adult each way. You may do a search at their below website for suitable time to travel from Krakow to Zakopane.

I've never had any problems with hitch-hiking in Poland. No matter if I traveled in 2 or 3. Of course it is much easier to travel when you are two girls than two guys, however mixed team is a bit safer (for girls).

You stop a car simply shaking hand with the index finger pointed at the road or stick your thumb upward (picture above). Good idea is to write your destination on a sheet of paper, but it's not necessary.

The most importatant thing is to choose a good spot for hitchhiking. If you feel that something is going wrong, ask locals whether you are standing in a proper place - maybe 500 m farther is a popular places for catching cars?

Find out more on my blog.

"In Poland passenger services are operated by several railway undertakings:

- PKP Przewozy Regionalne sp�lka z o.o. - http://www.pr.pkp.pl - regional and commuter transport in the area of whole Poland ( except Warsaw and Tri-City Gdansk-Sopot-Gdynia situated along the Bay of Gdansk ), international boarder traffic and long - distance domestic and international transport,

- PKP Intercity sp. z o.o. http://www.intercity.pl - Fast long-distance transport between big cities,, domestic and international, all trains with obligatory seat place reservation.

- Koleje Mazowieckie - KM sp. z o.o. http://www.koleje.mazowieckie.com.pl - commuter and regional transport in the area of Warsaw and Mazovian Voivodship,

- PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska w Tr�jmiescie sp. z o.o., http://www.skm.pkp.pl - commuter and regional transport in the area of Trie-City and Pomeranian Voivodship,

- PKP Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa sp. z o.o. http://www.wkd.com.pl - local transport on indicated lines: Warsaw - Grodzisk Mazowiecki and Warsaw - Milan�wek. ( located south-west of Warsaw )

Travel tickets, separate for each railway undertaking are distributed via their own station ticket-offices channels and travel agencies.

Timetable available on : http://www.rozklad.pkp.pl and respective carriers' websites.

Bike and train formula:
Cycles can be conveyed on all commuter, regional and long-distance trains at the ownwer's risk.
Cycles hire and other bike-related services ( eg. cycle storage facilities ) are not available .

Call Center :
For international phone connections : Polish language (24 h) and English language (8-22) (+48 22 ) 511 60 03
For internal phone connections : Polish language (24 h) and English language (8-22) 22 94-36 or 42 94 36 "
http://www.railpassenger.info/bike_pkp.php?lang=english&nompage=bike_pkp.php&onglet_selected=1&fontsize=1

On most urban buses, there are no seats opposite the middle and rear doors. Stand against the window in this area. This protects both your pockets and your luggage. Also easier to get off in a crowded bus. Also applicable to some subway/metro cars.

This is just to give you a link to a most useful site that will help you get around the major Polish cities. I learnt about it from an American lady we met on a train to Gdansk only yesterday and owe her thanks for giving it to me. The site tells you in great detail how to get to any place within the city you might wish to visit by public transport or just walking. Our travel companion had found it very helpful, especially that there was also an English version of this marvellous guide. I hope you find it useful too. Here is the link:
jakdojade.pl

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Polish Railways (PKP) is the main train carrier in the coutry. It is devided into some firms that carry different kind of trains in Poland. The most popular and the fastest is Intercity (website down). Intercity trains link the biggest cities in the country and are not only the fastes but olso the most expensive.:-) When travelling between Warsaw and Krakow, Katowice, or Gdansk you will probably go by this kind of train.