In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Wieliczka Salt Mine is the easy trip: a 23-minute train, PLN 20 (£4) return, and PLN 143 (£28) for the English Tourist Route. Zakopane is a 1 hour 44 minute FlixBus from the MDA station. Auschwitz-Birkenau needs a named pass booked at visit.auschwitz.org before you go, and an individual enters before a set hour only with a Memorial educator, on a guided pass of PLN 150 (£29). Or book a tour: a coach tour buys the transport, the pass and the guide in one booking and fixes the timetable. GetYourGuide’s Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour with hotel pick-upad is rated 4.5 from 41,471 reviews, the Wieliczka tour with fast-track ticketad 4.6 from 14,146, and the Zakopane tour with cable car, baths and tastingad 4.8 from 11,123. Prices vary by option and date; the checkout shows the total (GetYourGuide).
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Lajkonik bus from MDA, 1 hour 25 minutes, PLN 27 each way · guided pass PLN 150 · named pass online only
The Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau is a memorial, and a visit takes most of a day. Every visitor needs a personal pass for a date and an ID document that matches it, and the Memorial sells no passes at the gate. The Auschwitz-Birkenau tickets page has the booking rules, the hours by month and the bus times; Auschwitz tours from Kraków compares the coach tours that include the pass. It is closed on 25 December 2026, 1 January 2027 and Easter Sunday.
The other day trips compared
Rail fares are from Koleje Małopolskie and the ZTP ticket guide, bus fares from FlixBus and Lajkonik, and entry prices from each operator. Pounds are rounded. Current timetables run to 24 October 2026.
| Trip | Getting there | Entry on top | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wieliczka Salt Mine | Koleje Małopolskie SKA1 from Kraków Główny, 23 minutes, every 30 minutes; PLN 20 (£4) return | Tourist Route PLN 143 (£28) in English | Closed 1 November, 24 and 25 December 2026 |
| Zakopane | FlixBus from MDA, 1 hour 44 minutes, at least 15 a day; from £5.99 each way | Gubałówka funicular PLN 37 (£7) return; Tatra National Park PLN 11 (£2) | Kasprowy Wierch cable car closed 19 October to 6 November 2026 |
| Bochnia Salt Mine | Direct train from Kraków Główny, 40 to 50 minutes | Prices on the mine’s own site | All tours are in Polish, with audio guides in seven languages |
| Ojców National Park | Car parks at Ojców and Pieskowa Skała | Park free; Łokietek Cave PLN 30 (£6) | Carry cash |
| Energylandia | Koleje Małopolskie SKA2 to Zator Park Rozrywki | PLN 229 (£44.50); under 140 cm PLN 189 | Halloween Time runs to 31 October |
| Częstochowa | FlixBus, 2 hours 20 minutes, 4 a day; from £7.99 each way | Monastery and basilica free | Treasury and museums priced separately |
| Wadowice | Tour from Kraków | Museum PLN 34 (£6.50); free on Tuesdays by booking | Booking opens two weeks before |
When a tour is worth it
A tour earns its price where the connections are poor or the day has several stops. Where it is on its own timetable it can cost more than the trip is worth.
- Auschwitz-Birkenau. On your own the bus and a guided pass in English come to PLN 204 (£39.50). A tour such as the guided tour with hotel pick-upad includes the coach, the Memorial’s guided pass and a tour leader, and its pick-up window runs from 05:00 to 14:00, with the exact time sent the day before. The tours page compares them.
- Zakopane. The Zakopane tour with cable car, baths and tastingad (4.8 stars from 11,123 reviews, 11 hours) bundles the Gubałówka funicular, three hours at the Chochołów thermal baths and a cheese and vodka tasting in Chochołów village. The bus on your own gets you to Zakopane only. See the Zakopane guide.
- Auschwitz and Wieliczka in one day. Two separate trips on your own do not fit comfortably into one day; the combined tourad (4.7 stars from 10,236 reviews, 11 hours) does it with one coach. The combined day trip guide has the timings.
- Wadowice and Częstochowa. The tour of bothad (4.9 stars from 129 reviews, 10 hours, audio guide included) is the only way to combine them in a day.
Not worth a tour: Wieliczka on its own, where the train takes 23 minutes and the mine sells its own English slots online.
The trips
Wieliczka Salt Mine
Train 23 minutes · PLN 20 (£4) return · Tourist Route PLN 143 (£28) in English
A salt mine descended by about 800 steps to 135 metres, with underground lakes, salt sculptures and the Chapel of St Kinga. Tours run in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian; the Polish tour is PLN 103. The Wieliczka guide has the train times, the three routes and the tours that include entry.
Zakopane and the Tatras
FlixBus 1 hour 44 minutes · funicular PLN 37 (£7) · Kasprowy Wierch closed 19 October to 6 November 2026
The mountain town at the foot of the Tatras, with the Gubałówka funicular above it, and the road to the Morskie Oko lake starting more than 20 km away at Palenica Białczańska. Since 1 September 2026 the horse carts to Morskie Oko run only as far as Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza. The Zakopane guide has the bus, the cable cars and the lake.
The Tatras seen from Gubałówka above Zakopane. Photo: Yair Haklai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Bochnia Salt Mine
Direct train from Kraków Główny, 40 to 50 minutes · tours in Polish with audio guides · 15 to 17 °C
Poland’s oldest salt mine, 40 km east of Kraków, run by Kopalnia Soli Bochnia at ul. Campi 15. The main route is the Tourist Route with Multimedia Exhibition, with an underground train ride, and the mine lists nine tours including a boat crossing. A visit means 3 to 4 hours of walking at 15 to 17 °C. Every tour is guided in Polish, and free audio guides in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Czech and Slovak are asked for at the ticket office, in limited numbers. It is closed on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, Easter Sunday and Monday, and 1 November. The mine’s online store sells until 08:00 on the day, and Kraków Card holders get 15% off (kopalnia-bochnia.pl). The Bochnia tour with underground raftingad (4.5 stars from 96 reviews, 6 hours, hotel pick-up) adds the transport, and the Bochnia tour with boat ridead (4.7 stars from 538 reviews, 6 to 6.5 hours) includes the boat.
The Ważyn Chamber at the Bochnia Salt Mine. Photo: Adrian Tync, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ojców National Park and Pieskowa Skała
Park free · Łokietek Cave PLN 30 (£6) · Kazimierz Castle PLN 22 (£4.50)
A limestone valley north of Kraków. Entry to the park is free, and tickets are sold only for its facilities: Łokietek Cave PLN 30, the Dark Cave PLN 20, Kazimierz Castle at Ojców PLN 22, the Natural History Exhibition PLN 20 and the Prądnik Valley Heritage Centre PLN 15 (reduced prices run about a third lower). Pieskowa Skała castle is a branch of the Royal Castle on Wawel. The Park’s tourist notice of 2 October 2026 asks visitors to carry cash, because card payments at its ticket offices and pay machines may fail (opn.gov.pl). GetYourGuide’s Ojców and Ogrodzieniec Castle tourad (4.8 stars from 109 reviews, 8 hours, hotel pick-up) is the one tour with reviews.
Pieskowa Skała castle. Photo: BogTar200917, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Energylandia
Ticket PLN 229 (£44.50), under 140 cm PLN 189 · SKA2 to Zator Park Rozrywki
A theme park at al. 3 Maja 2 in Zator, about 50 km from Kraków. The standard ticket is for visitors from 140 cm, and PLN 189 covers under 140 cm and over 65; a two-day ticket is PLN 419 (PLN 349 reduced). Halloween Time runs from 5 to 31 October, with a Halloween Weekend from 23 to 31 October, and Winter Kingdom from 28 November to 31 January (energylandia.pl). The Koleje Małopolskie SKA2 line serves a station named Zator Park Rozrywki. GetYourGuide sells two packages with transport: the ticket and transport packagead (4.7 stars from 166 reviews) and the open ticket with pick-up optionsad (4.8 stars from 48 reviews).
Częstochowa (Jasna Góra)
FlixBus 2 hours 20 minutes, 4 a day, from £7.99 each way · monastery and basilica free
The monastery and basilica are free and open 05:30 to 21:30, and the walls are open 06:00 to 18:30. The Treasury, the 600th Anniversary Museum and the St Roch Bastion are open 09:00 to 17:00 in summer and 09:00 to 16:00 from 1 November to the end of February, and closed on 1 and 2 November and on 24 and 25 December. A guided tour is PLN 150 (£29) for a group of up to five, and PLN 30 (£6) a person above that, and lasts 1 to 1.5 hours. Dress respectfully; photography is banned in the Treasury and the museums (jci.jasnagora.pl).
The walls of the Jasna Góra monastery, with the basilica tower behind. Photo: Fotoomnia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wadowice
Museum PLN 34 (£6.50) · free Tuesdays by booking · ul. Kościelna 7
The Family Home of John Paul II is a museum in the house where the future pope grew up. A ticket is PLN 34 (PLN 27 reduced), PLN 44 with an audio guide and PLN 49 with a museum guide. Every Tuesday except the last of the month is free for individuals, with reservations opening online at bilety.domjp2.pl at 00:00 on the Tuesday two weeks earlier (domjp2.pl). GetYourGuide’s John Paul II tour with the Home and Sanctuaryad (4.9 stars from 144 reviews, 6 hours) costs £64.74, and the Częstochowa and Wadowice tourad costs from £73.66.
Other trips
Dunajec River Gorge rafting
Season 1 April to 31 October · boat PLN 111 to 117 (£21.50 to £22.50) to Szczawnica
Boats through the Pieniny gorge, run by the Polish Pieniny Rafters Association. There is no booking, and boats leave when 11 people are aboard. The 2026 adult fare to Szczawnica, including the park card, is PLN 111 in September and October and PLN 117 on 10 and 11 October, during the Szczawnica sheep drive (flisacy.pl). GetYourGuide’s rafting and chairlift tourad (4.9 stars from 100 reviews, 11 hours) costs £105 to £141.
Before you choose a day
| Where | Closed or limited |
|---|---|
| Auschwitz-Birkenau | Closed 25 December 2026, 1 January 2027 and Easter Sunday; entry ends at 14:00 in December |
| Wieliczka Salt Mine | Closed 1 November, 24 and 25 December 2026 |
| Kasprowy Wierch, Zakopane | Cable car closed 19 October to 6 November 2026; the Gubałówka funicular stays open |
| Morskie Oko | Horse carts run only to Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza from 1 September 2026; the Park’s e-bus timetable is valid to 14 October 2026 |
| Bochnia Salt Mine | Closed 1 November, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday and Monday |
| Energylandia | Halloween Time to 31 October; Winter Kingdom from 28 November to 31 January |
| Jasna Góra museums | Closed 1 and 2 November and 24 and 25 December |
| Dunajec rafting | Season ends 31 October |
| Koleje Małopolskie trains | Current timetables run to 24 October 2026; check kolejemalopolskie.com.pl for your date |
Sunday 1 November closes Wieliczka, Bochnia and the Jasna Góra museums. For the first and last day, Kraków airport to the city centre and Kraków public transport have the train and the tickets for the stations. What to book before you go to Kraków has the city tickets, 3 days in Kraków shows where a day trip fits, Kraków in one day is the plan if you have no day to spare, and where to stay in Kraków has the areas for the nights between trips. Auschwitz and Wieliczka in one day covers the combined coach tour. For the month, see the best time to visit Kraków.
Common questions
What is the easiest day trip from Kraków?
The Wieliczka Salt Mine. Koleje Małopolskie trains from Kraków Główny take 23 minutes and leave every 30 minutes, the return costs PLN 20 (£4) on two 70-minute tickets, and the Tourist Route in English is PLN 143 (£28). Book the mine's time slot online.
Do I need to book Auschwitz-Birkenau in advance?
Yes. Entry is free but every visitor needs a named pass for a date, booked online at visit.auschwitz.org up to 90 days ahead, and ID that matches it. No passes are sold at the gate. Before an hour that depends on the month, an individual can enter only with a Memorial educator, on a guided pass of PLN 150 (£29) in English.
Can I get to Zakopane without a tour?
Yes. FlixBus runs from Kraków's MDA bus station in 1 hour 44 minutes, at least 15 times a day, from £5.99 each way. A Koleje Małopolskie train runs on weekends and public holidays only, leaving Kraków Główny at 06:20 and arriving at 08:59.
Which day trips from Kraków are worth a tour?
Zakopane, when you want the Gubałówka funicular, a baths session and a tasting in one booking, and Wadowice with Częstochowa, which a day cannot cover by public transport. Wieliczka is cheaper on your own. Auschwitz-Birkenau is a choice between a tour's timetable and a bus you book round yourself.
