Kraków, a former royal capital, is crammed with history and splendour. Kraków is one of the most beautiful – and interesting – cities in Eastern Europe. It’s also a fantastic destination for food, drink, and many, many other activities.
Reaching Kraków is relatively straightforward and the city is well served by air, rail, and road, both domestically and from other international destinations.
There are 2 airports: John Paul II International Airport and Katowice.
Most air passengers will arrive at John Paul II International Airport. This is an easy to navigate, modern airport, located 15km outside the city, with excellent transport links. If you can fly to that airport, do. That said, a number of budget airlines fly into the airport at Katowice, which is further away will add an additional hour to your travel.
To get to the city centre - KRAKÓW GŁÓWNY - from John Paul II International Airport, you can choose:
TRAIN- BEST OPTION!
A train connects Kraków Airport and Kraków Głowny railway station between 5am and 10:30pm. The trains run every 30 to 60 minutes (in winter, trains run less frequently).
The route takes around 20 minutes and the ticket costs zł 9 (US$ 2.20) per journey or zł 16 (US$ 3.90) a return ticket. LOCAL TIP: the ticket machines can be slightly finicky, so give yourself a bit of time to buy your ticket.
The Kraków Głowny station is very central, a 5-minute walk from the Old Town, making it a fantastic point of arrival. The station is fairly new and, as it is built into a large shopping mall.
BUS
During the day, ****bus lines 208 and 252 connect the airport with the city center. At nighttime, the bus 902 runs all night long to and from the airport to the center. The buses depart every 20 to 60 minutes (depending on the time of day).
Buses to Kraków Głowny railway station take between 30 and 40 minutes and cost zł 9 (US$ 2.20) per journey.
TAXI
If you don’t have time to book a transfer service, you can also take a taxi from the airport. The journey to the city center takes approximately 25-40 minutes and costs zł 100 (€ 21 (US$ 22.30)).
UBER
Uber is legal in Poland and can be a cheaper option to the standard taxi. To order and Uber, walk out of the airport and look for the Kiss and Ride (short stay) line, where regular passengers get drop off.
Kraków is a relatively small city and tourists can get to every landmark easily by foot. Nevertheless, the public transport system is easy-to-use, extensive and inexpensive.
LOCAL TIP: Pay attention to the exact name of the stop you need to be at, and specifically the numbers after the stop’s name, as it happens that a few of the stops look almost the same but are in different locations.
Kraków’s public transport system offers visitors several types of travel tickets and cards, depending on the use you’re going to make of the city’s transportation system.
You can buy tickets on most of the tram/bus stations via a vending machine or inside the vehicle.