Kraków

By car

The Polish government has completed the A4 motorway (http://www.autostrada-a4....) from the German border where it meets the Autobahn A4 to Kraków. This makes travel from the west fairly easy. The speed limit is generally 140km/h, and there is a 18 PLN toll each way between Kraków and Katowice. Beginning on the 1st June 2012 a 16 PLN toll is also levied on the A4 between Wroclaw and Katowice. Driving to or from Warsaw 300 km is more difficult as the A1 has not yet been completed. The easiest route is the Route 7/E77 road, which should take less than five hours.

By plane

Kraków Airport (http://www.krakowairport....) also known as John Paul II International Airport Kraków - Balice IATA: KRK, ICAO: EPKK is the main airport, located in Balice, about 12 km to the west of the centre. It is the second biggest airport in Poland.

The following airlines operate service to/from Krakow:

Domestic:

Eurolot Gdańsk, Poznań, Szczecin

LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw

International:

Aer Lingus Dublin

Aeroflot Moscow

Air Berlin Berlin

Austrian Airlines Vienna

Brussels Airlines Brussels

EasyJet Belfast-International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Liverpool, London-Gatwick, Paris-Charles de Gaulle

Eurolot Amsterdam, Dubrovnik (seasonal, Florence, Hamburg, Lviv, Vilnius, Zurich)

Germanwings Stuttgart

Jet2.com Newcastle upon Tyne

LOT Polish Airlines Athens, Frankfurt, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Vienna

Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf

Norwegian Bergen, Copenhagen, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda

Ryanair Alicante, Billund, Bologna, Budapest, Brussels-Charleroi, Dublin, Edinburgh, Eindhoven, Girona, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Madrid, Milan-Orio al Serio, Palma de Mallorca, Oslo-Rygge, Paris-Beauvais, Rome-Ciampino, Stockholm-Skavsta. Seasonal: Malaga, Malta, Pisa, Trapani, Cagliari

To travel between the airport and the city:

Przewozy Regionalne Sp. z o.o.

operates trains from the airport to Dworzec Główny PKP Central Train Station approximately every 30 minutes from around 5 AM to 11 PM. For a timetable, click here (http://www.krakowairport....). Tickets can be bought from the machines before boarding or from the train attendant for 19 zł students with ISIC - 9 zł. The journey takes 19 minutes. You can walk to the station, 200m from terminal 1, or take a free shuttle-bus service.

Warning!!! Trains that go from the Central Train Station to the airport are sometimes canceled without any reason and without prior announcement. So, never calculate your trip to the airport with the last possible train as you may end up missing your flight!

Bus #292

(http://rozklady.mpk.krako...) and Bus #208 (http://rozklady.mpk.krako...) run from the airport to the city centre about once per hour. If you need to get to the Central Train Station, get off at the stop Dworzec Główny Wschód. This bus stop is located next to shopping centre Galeria Krakowska, approximately 100 meters from the entrance of the central train station Dworzec Główny PKP. The ride takes around 40 minutes.

Single-ride tickets from Balice Airport to the city center cost 3.40 zł or 1.70 zł for ISIC/EURO 26 holders. Make sure you buy the "agglomeration ticket", this type of ticket is valid in two zones, so also in the area where the airport is located. Tickets can be bought from one of the newsagents or from a ticket machine at the bus stop or at the bus. Make sure you validate your ticket immediately after boarding the vehicle.

At night, you can catch Night Bus #902 (http://www.mpk.krakow.pl/...) which leaves from the airport to the city centre late in the evening. For a journey from the city to the airport, the bus departs from the Central Train Station. There is no difference between night and day tickets.

Radio Taxi 19191

is the official partner of Kraków Airport. Taxis accept payments by credit card. Taxi ranks are located in front of the T1 and T2 terminal exits. The journey to the centre should cost under 70 zł during the day. Check that the meter is on with the appropriate tariff. Note that the airport is outside the city, so you will be subject to the 'outside' tariff until you pass a certain point, at which it changes.

Transportation companies

There are many transportation companies in Kraków which offer private, door-to-door airport transfers. Big advantage of this service is that the price of transfer is settled on the booking. Also its quality is very often better than the average taxi service.

Hitchhiking

is difficult from the airport. If you want to give it a go, walk to the main road, and remember to hold out your whole hand.

Alternatively, you can fly to Warsaw or Katowice - Pyrzowice for a connecting flight.

Connection with Pyrzowice/Katowice Airport: CarPolonia (http://www.wizz-bus.com/en/), cost from 40 zł cheaper than Wizzair transfer.