How to Get to Kraków

Short answer: from Kraków Airport, take the train from the terminal to Kraków Główny, about 20 minutes. From there, the Old Town is a five-minute walk.

By air

Kraków John Paul II International Airport (KRK), at Balice, is 11 km west of the centre. A covered walkway links the terminal to the airport train station, and trains run regularly to Kraków Główny. Buy tickets from the machine on the platform or on the train. City buses also run into the centre, and ride apps such as Uber and Bolt work well. Use the official taxi rank rather than drivers who approach you in the hall. Some low-cost flights use Katowice Airport, around 90 minutes or more away by shuttle bus.

By train

Kraków Główny is the main station, under the Galeria Krakowska shopping mall. Express trains from Warsaw take about two and a half hours. There are direct trains from Wrocław, Gdańsk, Vienna, Prague and Budapest, some overnight. Book on the PKP Intercity website or app; long-distance trains need seat reservations.

Getting around

Walking covers the Old Town, Wawel and Kazimierz. Trams go almost everywhere else, including Podgórze and Nowa Huta. Buy tickets from machines at stops and on board, which take contactless cards, or through the Jakdojade app, and validate paper tickets as you board. Time-based tickets are simplest for visitors. Inspectors check often, and fines are steep.

To Auschwitz

Buses from the bus station behind Kraków Główny reach the museum in Oświęcim in about 90 minutes. Trains go to Oświęcim station, 2 km from the museum. Organised tours from Kraków include transport and a guide, and are the easiest option if you couldn't book an individual entry card. Our Auschwitz guide has the booking rules.

To Wieliczka

A regional train from Kraków Główny reaches Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia, a short walk from the Salt Mine, in around 20 minutes. More in our day trips guide.

By car

You don't need one in the city, and parking in the centre is limited and restricted. If you rent a car for the mountains, check the current rules of Kraków's clean transport zone, introduced in 2026, for older vehicles, and leave it at the hotel while in town.