Anyone travelled from Krakow to Lviv (Ukraine) by train or other? Help required

panama

Hi

I am travelling with a group in July from Krakow, Poland to Lviv in the Ukraine.


We made this same trip last year but we hired cars, unbeknownst to us at the time we were not allowed to take the cars through the border due to insurance issues and we were forced to get taxis from the Ukranian border.

This time around we are looking at the train option.

I am finding it difficult to get the information I need as the Polish rail
websites are hard to understand and their english versions leave a lot to be desired.

I need to find out:

* the exact time and station the train leaves from Krakow?

* do they run every day?

* Can we book the tickets in advance (online etc) ?

* What the total cost will be?

* As there is going to be at least twelve of us is it possible to get a group discount?

* Will we be able to board as a group in the same carriage?

* the timetable for the return trip from Lviv


If anyone could offer some help or if there are any Polish natives who might be able to advise or help translate I would be most grateful.

Thanks

John C

The German railway Deutsche Bahn site provides info.

www.bahn.de
At the top of the page in the middle one sees the German flag and Deutschland, navigate to IK/Ireland
For Lviv one types Lvov.

There are train from Krakow Glowny.

This is only a partial info, the rest you can read yourself.

One cannot reserve any tickets on this train with Deutsche Bahn.

panama

Thanks for that.

spurious

There can be delays at the border by train.

undo

I just checked on the Polish PKP page for you. There are two daily direct connections each way:

A) Kraków Główny 10:34pm (local time) -> Lvov 6:03am (local time); journey time 6:29 hours
Kraków Płaszów 1:10pm (local time) -> Lvov 11:44pm (local time); journey time 9:34 hours

C) Lvov 11:59pm (local time) -> Kraków Główny 5:14am (local time); journey time 6:15 hours
D) Lvov 7:19am (local time) -> Kraków Płaszów 3:19pm (local time); journey time 9:00 hours

Trains A, C and D are labeled as express trains. B is labeled as "tanie line kolejowe" or "cheap train". This does not mean it is any worse or slower but it should be cheaper. All four trains have sleeper cars only. Unfortunately, the PKP page is unable to show prices for any of these.

schemingbohemia

According to www.seat61.com your best bet is to contact
Polrail by email see here
http://www.seat61.com/Poland.htm

It's not difficult to buy train tickets for domestic journeys within Poland at the station ticket office. It can help to write down what you want, in case staff don't speak English very well. UK agencies such as DB's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri) or www.europeanrail.com can usually get you reservations on international trains starting in Poland. However, if they have problems, or if you want to see if buying locally would be cheaper, try contacting the following agency in Poland:
Polish train ticketing agency www.polrail.com...

Polish train ticketing agency www.polrail.com comes highly recommended if you want to arrange train tickets within Poland in advance, or book international train tickets starting in Poland, for example, from Warsaw to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Moscow, Kiev, Lviv or Vilnius, or from Krakow to Prague, Budapest or Vienna, etc.. You should arrange tickets between 10 & 60 days before travel (because Polish train reservations open 60 days before departure, but 10 days is necessary for the agency to buy and send tickets). Tickets can be couriered to your home address in any country, or they can arrange ticket collection within Poland, for example, at your hotel. If you use their services, feedback is always welcome!

katchmoore

hi there - i'm trying book tickets from warsaw to kiev on an overnight train. have just emailed that polish ticketing agency - will see if & what they come back with and report back!