krakow

sheilavw

Looking for advice. I would like to go for a mini break to Krakow and visit Auschwitz. Any hints and tips?
Thanks

Voyager2002

I was in Krakow for a couple of days recently and strongly recommend it...

Starting with transfers: the ordinary city bus serves the airport, and the journey between my hostel and the airport cost all of a pound (PLN 4.60): the ticket that I bought from a machine on the bus even included a change of buses on the way!

I did not go to Auschwitz, nor the salt mines. If you want to do either or both of these excursions then book them in advance or as soon as you arrive. It takes a few days to set up the trip, and arranging it at the last minute can be problematic.

There are free walking tours (obviously you tip the guide) and they are generally of a high standard. I joined the tour of Jewish Krakow and it was bot interesting and moving.

Restaurant meals were surprisingly affordable. As a 'splurge' I went to the rather famous Hungarian restaurant and was amazed that such high quality could be had for a reasonable price. On the other hand, alcohol seemed to cost more than I had expected.

NoodleDoodleMan

There is a train station adjacent the airport - regular service into the city and inexpensive using modern comfortable carriages.

There are several tour companies that offer various combinations of Auschwitz, the Salt Mines and Schindler's Factory etc. - Google will give you links.

Make sure you get one with an official English speaking guide for Auschwitz.

There is also a decent tram network for getting around.

maman

We booked an excellent 6 day break with Broadway Holidays days in Krakow and 3 days in Warsaw with a train journey between. I believe they also do Krakow on its own. Our trip to Auswitz was part of the package, collected from the hotel and a guide when we got there. If you do it independently then I think most hotels would arrange a visit from reception.

It's a small city so although we used trams a little most of it is walkable.

Backbiter

We searched Tripadvisor for Auschwitz tours and found a good deal for around £26pp, including all coach travel, entrance fees and a very good English language tour. You can find yours offering both Auschwitz and the salt mines on the same day but I've been told that's a bit much for one day. Both are unmissable, though.
Krakow is a wonderful city, but I'd also recommend Warsaw.

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan wrote: »

There is a train station adjacent the airport - regular service into the city and inexpensive using modern comfortable carriages.

At the moment the trains are running just once an hour! There is a special airport bus that runs in between each train journey (so there is some sort of transport every 30 minutes) but of course even the most special of buses can get caught in the traffic. The ordinary city buses are likely to be just as quick (depending on your destination); may be at more convenient times; and cost about a quarter as much.

wazza99

We went a few years ago now with our children we just caught the local bus to Auschwitz, only cost a few pounds if that, i cant the recall the town name its not Auschwitz but easily found. Unless its changed it was free to enter, only a tour costs.

Ngozi

Not too much of a travel but very often over looked, if you want to get to the nature, probably skiing in winter but beautiful any other time of year, look at going to Zakopane, easy to get to from Krakow.

zagfles

wazza99 wrote: »

We went a few years ago now with our children we just caught the local bus to Auschwitz, only cost a few pounds if that, i cant the recall the town name its not Auschwitz but easily found. Unless its changed it was free to enter, only a tour costs.

Auschwitz is the German name for the town, in Polish it's Oświęcim. Look for buses to Oświęcim Museum. Info on the official site https://visit.auschwitz.org

longforgotten

Several years since we went to Krakow.


Loved the Salt Mines


Also remember going to a small Art gallery that was just off the square where the Cloth Hall is, which was very interesting.


Wasel Castle also really good. Had a great cheese sandwich:)


Try the cherry vodka !!!!

nickcc

Visited the salt mines, Auschwitz and Birkenau a couple of months ago as part of a tour of Eastern Europe. You need to be fairly fit if you visit the salt mines as you walk down hundreds of steps and you also have to wait for well over 1 hour for the return to the surface using the lifts. Personally I found the salt mines quite monotonous as each level you visit is much the same as the previous one so would never go again. The only comments I'll make regarding Auschwitz is that the queues are extremely long unless you've pre booked as we did, unfortunately many of the visitors show a total lack of respect and treat the visit as if it were some sort of theme park.