six days in poland
Poland was yet another country that wasn’t on our original itinerary when planning this trip and we’re glad that flying into Copenhagen led us to include this country on our trip!
The two cities we stayed in were Warsaw and Krakow. Sadly we lost a day in Warsaw due to train delays, so we didn’t get to as many activities and sight-seeing as we had hoped. However, what we did see, we loved!
Krakow is such a lively city, especially coming alive on the weekends! We had hoped to do a day-trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, but sadly we missed the deadline for tickets, not realizing that they have to be purchased at least 48 hours in advance. Even with this missed opportunity, we loved Krakow.
Here’s a roundup of what we did during our 6-day stay in Poland. I hope you enjoy!
Activities
Old Town Warsaw
Our accommodation, Oki Doki Hostel, was less than a ten-minute walk from Warsaw’s old town.
Due to its proximity to our hostel, we spent most of our time in this area of Warsaw. We first wandered into the old town with our dorm mate Casey for food on our first night in Warsaw. Seeing it all lit up with people dining in the square was beautiful.
We also enjoyed sitting in the square in the morning before the city had woken up. People-watching and walking around were our go-to activities.
Stare Miasto,
Krakow
Chris was getting a lot of work in Poland so we did our best to split our days into half-exploring, half-working. Our hostel being only a 15-minute walk from many of Krakow’s famous landmarks, such as Stare Miasto, made this easy.
This was another area where we enjoyed wandering around, people-watching, and discussing the architecture. The main square in the old town is called Rynek Główny, and it is known as the largest medieval-era square still in existence in Europe.
florianska Street
This street is worth a visit to check out many of Krakow’s famous buildings along with the amazing art vendors that set up near Florian’s Gate. This street is a designated pedestrian walk, so it is truly set up to be explored on foot while in the old town of Krakow.
Wieliczka
Salt Mine
We were recommended to visit this Salt Mine by our friend Carolina and a dorm mate from Turkey whom we met in Copenhagen, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
The town of Wieliczka is about 30 minutes outside of Krakow by train, making this an easy day trip (or just an afternoon adventure) from the city. The cost is 116,00 zł per adult, which is around $37.00 CAD.
We ventured 135 metres underground into the labyrinth that is the salt mine. We did a tour that lasted just over 2 hours and took us down over 800 steps into the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Between the history of this more than 700-year-old mine and the insanely beautiful chapels that had been built and carved into the salt, we were thoroughly impressed.
We would definitely recommend everyone check out the Wieliczka Salt Mine as a day trip from Krakow if you have the time!
transportation
Warsaw
We didn’t avail of Warsaw’s transit system much, other than to get to and from the train station from our hostel. That said, what we did navigate was easy to figure out, with the train station we arrived at being near a metro station.
We were able to buy a metro ticket for the M1 train from an automated booth with our credit card using tap. We took the M1 train 3 stops to Ratusz Arsenał, followed by a ten-minute walk to our hostel.
The city of Warsaw has a website for its public transit system that is full of helpful information regarding the types of transport you can find in the city and how to pay/access each type. You can find the website’s step-by-step guide here.
Krakow
Krakow has been my favourite city for public transportation thus far. Not only were we located a 3-minute walk from the Kraków Grzegórzki train station, but you could buy the tickets for the trains ON THE TRAINS! With either cash or credit card! This made the entire transportation experience so much easier as we didn’t need to worry about where to find a ticket machine.
Another bonus was that if the machine was busy or broken down, the employee who would be on board checking tickets also had a device that you could buy a ticket directly from them, just tell them your final destination.
Honestly, I think all cities should have this option for train/metro travel. It was so hassle-free and made our travel days exponentially easier.
We didn’t take advantage of the tram system whilst there, but it too seemed easy to navigate, with ticket machines at every stop we came across and the ability to purchase onboard (according to the receptionist at our hostel).
There is also a public transit app for Krakow called Jakdojade that you can download from the App Store or Google Play to help you navigate the city.
Restaurants
Tip: Make a reservation at this restaurant, especially if you want to eat their on a weekend! This restaurant is delicious and at capacity every evening.
Big shoutout to our friend Carolina for recommending it to us!
Accomodations
Oki Doki Hostel
We stayed in an eight-bed dorm room with an ensuite during our stay. The hostel had daily events, a kitchen for self-catering, a bar with daily happy hour pricing, a foosball table, and a beautiful outdoor courtyard area.
MeininGer Hotel Krakow
We stayed in a private room at this hostel. They had just opened so we were some of their first guests which was nice! The design and aesthetics of this hostel were super fun and modern. The lounge/game room in the basement was filled with a pool table, two foosball tables, a big-screen TV, and oh so many comfy bean bag chairs.
Because we were some of the first guests to stay at this hostel we didn’t get to enjoy as much of a social vibe as we would have otherwise, as there weren’t many other guests taking advantage of the common spaces while we were there.
I think this accommodation option will be incredible once they get going and establish more events and get more guests. It was in an amazing location only a 15-minute walk from both Stare Miasto and the Jewish Quarter, and near both rail and tram stops. I would definitely stay there again!
Looking back…
Would We Revisit: YES!
Would We Recommend: YES!
Our Top 3:
Exploring by Foot
2. Wieliczka Salt Mine
3. Dinner at Restauracja U Babci Maliny
Pros: Poland is a very affordable country. We were able to get a lot of value for what we were spending.
The onboard ticket machines on the trains in Krakow, such an amazing system!
The beauty of the cities and their walkability. Both Warsaw and Krakow were so enjoyable to explore on foot and marvel at the beauty and history of its buildings and landmarks.
Cons: The 48-hour lead time for concentration camp tours. This is our mistake and not a diss at Poland by any means. But it is something we wish we had been able to experience on this trip. As much as I pride myself on being an organized person, the ability to be flexible on trips is needed, but had I known this in advance we would have booked our tickets before even arriving in Poland.
Overall: I personally loved Poland! The vibes, especially in Krakow were incredible. We’re hoping we can visit again in the future to check off more on our growing to-do list for Poland from visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, touring Wawel Castle, and exploring more than just the old town of Warsaw.
We also kept hearing amazing things about the cities of Gdansk in Northern Poland and Wroclaw in the Southwest so those are now added to the “future travel list”. As well we’d love to come back and explore the Tatra Mountains region, a suggestion for all our hiking enthusiast pals!
We’d highly recommend Poland to everyone. We’d especially recommend that you try the traditional food! Such a great country that we hope to revisit sooner rather than later!
