Getting to Cracow

Cracow can be reached by air, road or rail. The Cracow International Airport in Balice has direct connections to Frankfurt, London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Zurich, New York and Milan, as well as numerous connections via Warsaw to major cities throughout Europe and the rest of the world. The airport is located approximately 15 kilometres from the city centre, with a taxi ride costing about 60 zloty (15 Euro). A more economical option are buses 192 and 208 which go from the airport to the city centre and the Main Railway Station.

Cracow has direct rail connections with Berlin, Bratislava, Bucharest, Dresden, Frankfurt, Kiev, Odessa, Prague and Vienna, as well as convenient connections with major cities throughout Europe. Many inexpensive bus connections between Cracow and main European cities, are run by the international Eurolines network and other bus operators.

Adresses:

Train

PKP Polish Railways
Plac Kolejowy 1
PL-31154 Kraków
tel.: +48(12) 422 31 34, fax: +48(12) 624 57 27
http://www.pkp.pl

Domestic Buses

PKS Bus Station (next to Railway Station)
ul.Cystersów 15
PL-31553 Kraków
tel.: +48(12) 411 70 22, fax: +48(12) 411 91 97
http://www.pks.krakow.pl

International Bus Lines

Biuro Podróży Bermuda
Pl. J. Matejki 2
PL-31157 Kraków
tel.: +48(12) 421 81 67, +48(12) 422 96 30, fax: +48(12) 422 12 98
http://www.bermuda.pl

Biuro Turystyczne Columbus
ul. Basztowa 24
PL- 31156 Kraków
tel./fax: +48(12) 421 77 88
http://www.krakow.columbus.net.pl

Centrum Turystyki
ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego 43
PL-30074 Kraków
tel./fax: +48(12) 633 01 03, 632 20 10, 633 49 69

Rynek Glówny 18
PL-31008 Kraków
tel.: +48(12) 431 05 88, tel./fax: +48(12) 430 26 74
http://www.centrumturystyki.pl

Dana Air Travel
ul. Szpitalna 40
PL-31024 Kraków
tel.: +48(12) 422 75 00, 422 50 97, fax: +48(12) 421 68 44
http://www.danatravel.krakow.pl

Orbis Travel
Rynek Glówny 41
PL-31130 Kraków
tel.: +48(12) 422 18 05, fax: +48(12) 422 28 85
http://www.orbis.krakow.pl/

Airlines

LOT Polish Airlines
ul. Basztowa 15
PL-31143 Kraków
tel.: 0801 703 703
http://www.lot.com/

John Paul II International Airport
Kraków - Balice
tel.: +48(12) 285 51 20
http://www.lotnisko-balice.pl/

Getting Around Cracow

Cracow is an extremely 'user-friendly' city, with everything at hand - from monuments to all sorts of facilities - and practically within walking distance from each other. It makes orientation very easy.

Public Transport
The city transportation system in Cracow consist of trams and buses, which are frequent, convenient and inexpensive. Regular lines run between 5 am - 11 pm, with late night services available.
More about public transport http://www.komunikacja.krakow.pl/

Driving
There are traffic restriction in the city centre, with many pedestrian and semi-pedestrian zones in the Old Town. Only special permits allow you to drive in inner zones. Parking within the zones requires a special ticket (karta postojowa) which can be bought from a Ruch kiosk. You mark the date and time, and display it on your wind-sreen. Otherwise, parking spaces are scarce and are mostly located within paid parking lots. Traffic jams - especially on the inner ring of Aleje - are also a big problem. Driving your own car maybe therefore not be the best option. Taxis are allowed in most areas and they are numerous, easy to get and relatively inexpensive.

Cycling
Cycling is also popular, with an increasing number of cycle paths. Due to the traffic jams restrictions, it can often be faster than driving. There are great cycling routes around the Blonia, the Rudawa river, Kopiec Kościuszki, Lasek Wolski an the Cracow zoo.

Taxis
It is a cheaper and safer to take a taxi associated with radio taxi company; they usually bear a colourful sign with a phone number, often starting with the digits 96 (for instance: 9622, 9623, 9625, 9629, 9633, 9661, 9662, 9688, 919 ...). Private taxis are often much more expensive. A paradox, taxis are cheaper when ordered by phone. Ask a taxi driver for a regular customer's card - a free card which entitles you to the same discount when you take taxi from the queue as when you order it by phone. Cracovians normally have a collection of these for different taxi companies.