DAY 1 - Explore the Old Town
I flew into Krakow from London Stansted and landed at 10:20am. I was rather nervous as it was my first time in another country alone, and in one that doesn’t speak English as its main language. I navigated my way to the airport train station easily enough to catch the 30 min train ride into the city center where I was staying. This was where I made my first mistake - I purchased the wrong train ticket because I couldn't read the Polish, I think I purchased a child ticket instead of adult. However, the ticket inspectors on the train were lovely and understanding and just requested that I just paid the difference so that I was paying the adult fare. Easy fix, phew.
The view from the plane as I was flying into John Paul II International Airport (Krakow's main airport)
I took roughly a 30 min train ride to my hotel, followed by a short walk. I got to the hotel around midday and my room was ready on arrival so I checked straight in to put my suitcases down before I took a stroll around the old town. I stayed at Cracow Central Aparthotel and I couldn’t recommend it more! It was only 490 zloty (160AUD) for 3 nights in January for a twin room (even though it was just me staying there). The facilities were basic but perfectly clean and in a prime location. One perk of not staying in the old town is cheaper hotels and also it is easier for tour companies to pick you up outside of your hotel as there are strict parking/stopping restrictions and hefty fines in the old town, one of my tour guides told me. The hotel was only 5 min walk from the main station, and right next to a massive shopping center. The walls were paper thin so I could hear other guests coming back late at night, often loud and drunk. However, nothing that a good pair of earbuds couldn't fix. I felt safe, the room was clean and the staff were lovely so for the price and location I couldn’t complain.
After putting my bags down and settling in, it was 1pm so I was eager to go out to explore the city, but I was guided by my rumbling stomach and craving for polish dumplings to grab lunch first. I ate Pierogarnia Krakowiacy, where I ordered a beetroot soup and traditional dumplings (pork, cabbage and onion) as pictured below. The total bill came to 62 zloty. This was the point where I was starting to hate solo traveling because there were so many other delicious meals on the menu but I was limited to only ordering what I could finish myself.
Now that my stomach wasn’t rumbling at me I was ready to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the Old Town of Krakow.
Here’s some of the sites I saw including Rynek Glowny, Wieza Ratuszowa, Bugle Tower ect.
I grabbed a sweet snack along the way...
For dinner I grabbed this hotdog from a little takeaway restaurant I saw in the Old Town...
Then headed to bed for an early night because I had a long day planned for tomorrow....
DAY 2 - Day trip to Zakopane
This was my FAVOURITE DAY of the trip.
I started by getting breakfast and picking up some snacks to take with me for the long day trip I had planned.
I took a tour for a day trip to Zakopane which was 11 hours. The tour guide picked me up from outside my hotel in a minivan and then we went to we pick up 3 other couples. As I was the only solo traveller, I sat in the front with the lovely tour guide, Dawid. It meant more leg room, larger seat and better views for me! This was the tour I did and I couldn't recommend it highly enough (unsponsored).
Our first stop was for a bathroom break after about 1 hour of leaving Krakow. Being from Australia, I was in awe at the scenery and seeing snow, having just come from a 40 degree climate the week before.
Our next stop was a short 30min stop at a little town where we explored individually at the wooden homes. Dawid was fantastic at explaining the culture and history of the town as we were driving there as well as on the surrounding sites.
We then headed another 15mins down the road where we had a quick ~15 min stop to sample Oscypek and cherry Vodka. It was delicious!! I wanted more (which I got in Zakopane).
Then after another 30 mins driving we arrived in Zakopane where we had 2 hours free time. Our tour guide Dawid advised us to take the funicular up to the village Gubalowka first as the funicular can have a long line to come down. On the way up, the funicular suddenly stopped aggressively and didn't move for a few minutes and we thought it had broken down but apparently that is normal and it does that to make way for the other funicular coming down the mountain as there is only one track, so just the heads up.
At the top we had the most beautiful views of the mountains and the sky was clear and blue.
I explored Gubalowka where I got some more Oscypek and other snacks before heading back down the mountain to explore the village of Zakopane.
Here are some photos I took from strolling the streets of Zakopane
From here we headed to my favourite part of the trip which was the thermal baths (Chocholowskie Termy). We spent two hours here which was perfect amount of time. There was a mix of indoor and outdoor baths as well as a few different saunas. The outdoor baths had a beautiful view of the Tatra mountains and an outdoor bar you can swim up to.
View of the mountains from the outdoor pool
Inside one of the saunas
I ended up meeting up again with a chick who I had met in Zakopane when she asked me to take a picture of her. She was also solo travelling for the first time in Krakow. It was lovely to have some company and to hang out together at the thermal baths because most people were there with their partners or friends or family. She was on the same tour as I was but in a different minivan to me. This was a moment when I really fell in love with solo travelling as it put me outside my comfort zone but also gave me the opportunity to make new friends and connect with like minded individuals with similar interests to me. Unfortunately she was leaving Krakow the next day so we didn't meet up again but we are still friends on Instagram and check in on one another every now and then!
DAY 3 - Wieliczka Salt Mines, Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory, MOCAK
I started the morning with this beautiful sunrise as I walked to a local cafe for breakfast. I was in awe at how cheap Poland is compared to Australia, I thought the lady working in the cafe had under charged me when my total bill came to $13AUD for this breakfast (pictured below)
This morning I had a tour booked for the salt mines which I highly recommend. I met the tour at 10am at a local pickup spot near to my hotel and they took us on a coach to the salt mines. When we arrived we had around 45 mins to explore the outside grounds of the salt mines before our tour in English started at 11:30am.
We then went into the salt mines as a largeish group where we were guided by an English speaking guide for the duration of the 2 hour journey. The tour starts by walking down from memory ~50 something flights of stairs into the salt mine.
Looking down the stairs to go down into the salt mine....
Below are some pictures inside the salt mines....
At the end to get out of the salt mine, you take this elevator back up to ground level.
From hear we met our tour bus who took us back to the city.
Some tours offered a day trip to Salt Mines and then to Auschwitz. Personally, I was exhausted after the Salt Mines alone and fell asleep on the bus ride back. But I guess if you are short on time then it is a good way to kill two birds with one stone.
I think headed to get a late Lunch at Restauracja Miod i Wino where I sampled delicious traditional Polish cuisine.
After my late lunch, I took the tram to Oscar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. However I was so exhausted from traveling I didn't end up going inside so I went back to my hotel to rest. I know this is a must do for Krakow so I am definitely adding it to my list of things to see on my next trip here. However I would highly recommend that you go. I heard good reviews about it and I am bummed I didnt get the chance to check it out on this trip.
After a rest, I headed out to visit the Museum Of Contemporary Art Krakow (MOCAK). It had some unique pieces and gave my brain a bit of a break from reading/listening to alot of factual information from the tours and instead challenged the creative side of my brain with artwork interpretation. It was smaller than I expected to be, and with sore legs from walking around the salt mines I didn’t have the energy to read every paragraph about every artwork so I probably only spent one hour in total there.
DAY 4 - Auschwitz + Jewish Quarter
I had left the last day to go to Auschwitz in the morning and so I could be back in time for my evening flight. However I made the mistake of not reading the fine print on GetYourGuide Auschwitz tours and while when you are booking the tour it says pick up time 6am, the fine print says pick up time anywhere between 6am and 1pm and that the guide will contact you the day before to inform you of your pick up time. As I needed to be back by 3pm for my 6pm flight, and my pick up time was 11am, I couldn't risk not being back in time to get my flight so I ended up passing on this activity. Had I researched this better, I would have done Auschwitz on day 3 and salt mines on day 4 as it is a shorter bus ride and shorter tour time. So even though I didnt go, I would still recommend it as day 4 in your itinerary.
Instead I ended up exploring the Jewish Quarter. You could probably fit this into your itinerary on the first day with exploring the Old Town but I didn't get round to it on the first day.
I then got lunch at the same restaurant I had eaten at the day before because the food was soooo good.
The rain was putting me off doing any more sight seeing so I spent about an hour shopping in Galaria Krakowska before picking up my bags and heading to the airport.
Until next time Krakow.....
Comments