Day trips from Zakopane - itinerary by train | PolishTrains

At a glance

• Zakopane has no rail connection to Slovakia due to the Tatra mountain range and national park
• The EIP Pendolino reaches Kraków from Zakopane in under 2 hours
• IC and TLK trains take around 3 hours to Kraków, Polregio trains over 4 hours
• Prague and Budapest are not feasible for day trips — one-way journeys exceed 8 hours
• Polregio tickets to Kraków start from 29 PLN; IC and TLK from around the same price range
• Earliest train from Zakopane towards Kraków departs at 07:04

Although Zakopane is very close to the border with Slovakia, rail connections with our southern neighbours here are non-existent, due to the Tatra mountain range and the protected area - the Tatra National Park. Hence, rail day trips from Zakopane to Slovakia can be difficult. The closest way to cross the border in this way is in Zwardoń and Muszyna, but such connections from Zakopane require a lot of transfers, making the travel time longer.

In this case, if you want to take a day trip from Zakopane to Slovakia, you can choose a bus connection between the Tatra capital and the Slovak town of Poprad. Another option is to hike to the Slovak side of the Tatra Mountains - remember to insure yourself in case of an accident, as HZS rescuers operate differently from TOPR and rescue operations are paid for.

There is no direct train connection between Zakopane and Prague in the Czech Republic. However, it is possible to take the EIP Pendolino 3552 between Zakopane and Cracow and then change to a direct train to Prague, the IC Cracovia. However, this journey is 8 hours 55 minutes. For this reason, the day trip does not make sense, as IC Cracovia arrives in Prague at 17:52.

The same is true for day trips from Zakopane to Budapest. The fastest route can be covered in 10 hours 52 minutes, but this requires two changes - in Cracow and then in Bohumin in the Czech Republic. For this reason, both Budapest and Prague are not suitable for day trips from Zakopane. The one-way journey time is too long.

Day trips from Zakopane that make sense are, for example, those to the capital of Malopolska. Getting to Cracow is possible practically all day long. The earliest train from Zakopane departs at 7:04.

• IC and TLK trains cover the route in around 3 hours.

• Polregio trains take over 4 hours.

• The fastest trains - EIC and EIP, i.e. Pendolino - go in less than 2 hours.

You can buy a ticket for Polregio trains from 29 PLN, while TLK and IC trains in 2nd class cost from 49 PLN, EIC from 64 PLN and Pendolino from 104 PLN. You can buy train tickets conveniently on the PolishTrains website, without having to open an account.

The attractions and sights of Cracow are something that attracts millions of tourists to this city every year. The most popular attractions that everyone must see are:

• The Barbican - part of Cracow's medieval fortifications, which was once part of the city walls.

• Market Square - the largest medieval square in Europe. It is worth walking through the Cloth Hall, visiting the Gallery of 19th Century Polish Art and the Market Square underground route, visiting the Romanesque Church of St. Adalbert and, of course, St. Mary's Basilica with a medieval altar by Wit Stwosz.

• Wawel Castle - the seat of Polish kings with its representative chambers, the Wawel Cathedral and the treasury. In the cathedral, it is also worth climbing the tower where the bell founded by Sigismund I the Old and named after him hangs. The Sigismund Bell tolls on the most important holidays, celebrations and events of Poland and the world.

• Schindler's Factory - located in Zabłocie, the famous enamelware factory portrayed in Steven Spielberg's war drama "Schindler's List". The museum's permanent exhibition presents the history of Cracow during the Nazi occupation in 1939-1945.

Cracow is not only the Old Town. Other districts, equally interesting, are worth seeing, such as Kazimierz, Podgórze, Zwierzyniec and Nowa Huta. Animal lovers can visit the Zoological Garden located in Wolski Forest, and conquerors of peaks can follow in the footsteps of Cracow's mounds. There are as many as five of them!

To get to Wieliczka from Zakopane, you will need to change trains in Cracow. Cracow Główny station is well connected to Wieliczka, so this is not a problem and does not significantly lengthen the journey.

• You can take the train from Cracow directly to the Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, from where it is very close to the Daniłowicz Shaft, where the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tourist Route tour begins.

• The tour of the Tourist Route lasts about 2-3 hours.

• A variant of the Mining Route is also available, which also takes 2-3 hours. It starts at the Regis Shaft.

If you want to see more than the mine, you can also go to the nearby Cracow Saltworks Museum with its priceless collection of salt shakers from all over the world. The return to Zakopane is analogous to the arrival - with a change in Cracow.

Auschwitz is home to one of the most important memorials to the victims of World War II, the former site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi concentration camps. More than 1.5 million people visit the site every year. If you want to take a day trip from Zakopane to Auschwitz by train, you will need to change trains in Cracow.

• Connections are frequent - you will reach your destination in the quickest time of 2 hours 50 minutes.

• Normal fare train tickets cost between 35 PLN and 131 PLN for 2nd class. If you buy them on PolishTrains, you will receive them by SMS - thanks to the digital form, there is no need to print out the ticket.

• Visits to the museum are free of charge, but advance booking at**https://visit.auschwitz.org/** is necessary. Visits to the museum with a museum educator are charged. Entrance tickets are booked for a specific time, so it is advisable to arrive at the museum at an agreed time to ensure that you are not late or arrive too early.

• In the museum, please behave with solemnity and respect and adjust your dress - this is a memorial to the victims of war crimes.

• Handbags and rucksacks of limited size, maximum 35x25x15 cm, may be brought into the Museum.

• The basic tour of the former camps Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau lasts about 3.5 hours.

Southern Małopolska is well connected, so planning day trips by rail in Poland is not complicated. It is more difficult in the case of trips abroad. Buying tickets online and downloading the PolishTrains mobile app makes organisation significantly easier, especially when going to the mountains, where you have to take a lot of luggage anyway - so it is worth using mobile solutions.