Krakow, Wroclaw, Riga or ??? for November Weekend Break

Vikki_74

It's my husband's birthday on 24th November and as we have the following Friday and Monday off work we were thinking of going away for a long weekend somewhere.

We could easily get to either Manchester or Liverpool airports so I've been looking at all the cheap flight options available for our dates. Discounting places which would stretch our budget too much once we're there (Oslo, Geneva, Stockholm etc) or which we just don't fancy, I think I've narrowed our options down to either Krakow, Wroclaw or Riga. All of these could be done within our budget of £100-£150 for flights & decent enough, centrally located accommodation, and having never been anywhere in Eastern Europe before I'm struggling to decide which would be best.

I think Krakow would be my first choice, but we were hoping to visit the Christmas markets whilst away and theirs doesn't start until the following week - Riga and Wroclaw would as far as I can tell be starting the weekend we arrive.

I was hoping the MSE travel experts might be able to make some suggestions/recommendations to help us make up our minds between the three. Which place has more to do, better/cheaper food, easier to get from the airport etc etc?

Alternatively, if there are other destinations which could be done within the same budget I would be totally open to ideas.

If it helps, we are in our late 20s (me) / early 30s (him) and like good food (not fancy, just yummy!), a few drinks but not too much of a crazy party scene, interesting architecture/scenery and just walking round enjoying a city and soaking up the atmosphere. Oh, and we know that any of these places in November is going to be cold but are fine with that!

We only have a couple of weeks or so to go, so any tips in the next day or two would be massively appreciated :beer:

hxm

Of the three, I've only visited Krakow (in January this year) but I would definitely highly recommend it! I also like tramping around interesting cities, and you can't get much cheaper than a free guided walk which starts from the market square - you'll learn all sorts of things from the unemployed student/graduate guides who speak excellent English and make it really interesting,. At the end of the 2 hours you give whatever you like as a tip. They will also tell you the best value places to eat.

If you're only going for a long weekend you may not have time to include a trip to the nearby Salt Mines, but if you check out their websites you may be persuaded to make time - it's well worth a visit.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

spheric

I'll second the idea of Krakow, it has plenty more to see and do even if the Christmas market wont be running yet. When I saw the Christmas market there a couple of years ago, it was no bigger than the one in Manchester! Krakow also has a "regular" market in the main square, selling some of the products that turn up in Christmas markets elsewhere, as well as various touristy souveniers.

I'll also second hxm's recommendation of going to the salt mines: most hotels will sell spots on organised coach tours which seem pretty good value. If you're historically minded, there are similar coach trips to go and see the concentration camps at auschwitz/birkenau -- that's not for the faint-hearted, though. There's also the castle/palace/cathedral to look at, which is reasonably priced too. I was also rather partial to the polish aviation museum, but I appreciate I may be in the minority on that one, and it wasn't exactly easy to find.

I'll mention the restaurant Pod Aniolami, which is near the castle. My friend and I were most impressed, going back there for a second meal rather than the usual "different place each night".

apt

Wroclaw also has interesting architecture, canals and good countryside nearby (Riesengebirge). The highlights are perhaps less stunning than Krakow, but it is a good place to visit.

mcfarlaneuk

HI Vikki

I would go back to Krakow at the drop of a hat. Very good value for money, my missus & went to the Salt mines & the Auschwitz tour. They were both very interesting and well worth going to the camp to pay respects. From memory i think it was around £18-20 each for the tour of the camp, your hotel will prob be able to organise it or any of the tour shops in the town will do it & the staff are very friendly & you can get picked up at your hotel or meet in town like we did. Google the castle, i think its called Wavel? You can tour the castle and see the Royal apartments, the armoury & a couple of other tour options, or you can walk around the grounds for free ( when we were there, mondays were free entry for all the tours at the castle but it was first come first serve so you had to be there reasonably early to get a free ticket. Lots of artists painting the castle and river etc you can haggle with them for a painting if you want. Food was good and reasonable, beer was excellent and public transport was very cheap. I think it was £25 for a taxi from the airport to our hotel, or the train was around £2, think the bus was even cheaper! Train is about a 2 min walk from the airport. Read somewhere that Krakow is in the Guinness book of records for the city with the highest concentration of pubs!, something like that anyway & we loved touring the alley ways and entries at night finding some cracking little cellar bars to chill out in. As well as that you've got the obligatory Irish pub, food was good there, and a couple of 'English' bars showing the footy We stayed out of town a little and the tram into town was a 10-15 min journey and cost about 20p, be sure to buy a ticket though, they don't like fare dodgers, again ask hotel staff who will be more than happy to help.

Hobsons_Choice

Krakow for me, every time, we stayed at the Europeski Hotel, right opposite the train station. Easy to get to from the airport, just a five minute walk from the terminal to the express train that takes you to the centre of the city. However....Tallin is lovely and very interesting too - although more expensive there than Krakow (or Poland in general because it's not in the Eurozone).

mamashaz

I have never been to Krakow or Wroclaw but have been to Riga. I absolutely loved it when we went there. The people were helpful and friendly and there was lots to see and do.

deva

I know you wanted a recommendation from the three you mentioned but... we have recently returned from Poznan (Poland) and loved it.


Cheap flights from Liverpool, excellent old town. Fantastic food- not just pork! and excellent drink all for very little. We are of similar age and stayed approx 1km out from old town in Artroom apartments, which I would recommend.

Flights & accom was about £125 each and we spent similar on food and drink there (three meals a day and many drinks!)

Being a university town seems to have kept proces down and it is very much under the radar of the British; out of approx 50 restuarants/bar that line the main square only have a handful have English signs. This will probably change after the football championships next summer.

One road behind the main square 1/2 litre of local beer was 4 zl-90p

Plenty of history and interest of politics including communist bars etc. Any question please ask.

Vikki_74

Thanks everyone for the input. Ryanair might just have ruled out Krakow for us as the flight prices have gone up another £30 since I looked yesterday...not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things I know but it is pushing the price up a bit higher than we wanted to pay for a quick cheap weekend away.

Wroclaw is looking like it might be the winner, although I'm now having a quick look at Poznan also. Flights would be Sat-Tues rather than Fri-Mon which is why I think I hadn't spotted it before, but that might still work for us and would make the flight costs £70+ cheaper than the other options...definitely tempting!

tingtong

Would also recommend Krakow, have been twice now. Not been to Wroclaw or Riga so can't really compare them.

If you do decide on Krakow, take a look at this hotel:

http://www.hotelsenacki.pl/en/

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g274772-d503497-Reviews-Hotel_Senacki-Krakow_Southern_Poland.html

We managed to get flights & 2 nights for about £80 each. The hotel is in a great location not far from the main square and close to many bars, restaurants etc.

Edinburghlass_2

Vikki_74 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for the input. Ryanair might just have ruled out Krakow for us as the flight prices have gone up another £30 since I looked yesterday...not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things I know but it is pushing the price up a bit higher than we wanted to pay for a quick cheap weekend away.

Wroclaw is looking like it might be the winner, although I'm now having a quick look at Poznan also. Flights would be Sat-Tues rather than Fri-Mon which is why I think I hadn't spotted it before, but that might still work for us and would make the flight costs £70+ cheaper than the other options...definitely tempting!

Have you looked at Easy Jet for flights for Krakow?

Can't help with the other destinations but like the others I'd highly recommend Krakow.