Krakow in February

Macca07

Hey,

So thinking about heading to Krakow in February with my GF for a week. Just have a couple of questions for people:

1. Is a week too long in Krakow? Is there enough to do?
2. Is it extremely cold in February? Looking at the end of February at the moment?
3. Where have you stayed, and would you stay there again?

Thanks in advance.

almighty1

Went for 3 nights last March.

1) Personally I think a week might be a bit too long in Krakow, you'll have to travel outside a bit to find some more stuff to do.

2) Weather is a toss of the dice. Two weeks before we left it was -5c (which was unseasonably cold) but was 7c-10c. Could you not leave it a month later?

3) We stayed in the Hotel Unicus,
Pros : Cheap, location, Good reviews on tripadvisor, big rooms, quiet
Cons : Breakfast not fantastic, no swimming pool.

keith16

I wouldn't say it is too long, it's a great city which you can spend one half of the week doing all of the touristy stuff and the other half just relaxing and taking the place in.

If you visit the concentration camps (about an hour or two outside the city), that is one day in itself. I would definitely recommend a trip there.

You should also visit the salt mines, again, a little bit outside the city but definitely well worth it and at least half a day itself.

It can get quiet cold in Feb but I wouldn't let that put you off. Certainly it will be no worse than the last two bad winters in Ireland and there generally isn't as much humidity so it doesn't cut through you as much. Just bring some warm clothes.

There are also plenty of museums and churches as well as the Wawel castle (where Lech Kaczynszki is buried along with all the old kings of Poland). And then you have the Rynek Glowny (the main square) where you can easily spend half a day.

Enjoy!

cabincrewifly

Five days is perfect. I was in Krakow 2 years ago and I really enjoyed it. People were friendly...ish....and loads to do! Great value hotels too....we went in October and it was a nice time to go. Enjoy your trip!

Ardennes1944

going with the gf to Krakow on Jan 11th....looking forward to the cold! heading for 5days and are staying at the queen boutique hotel, got it half price but it looks like a fine hotel either way. ive been told to go to the salt mines for sure so i would say go there, as well as that ill be most certainly going to Auschwitz.

Macca07

Thanks Ardennes, let me know how you get on. Heard the Salt Mines were good, and Auschwitz of course.

Think I'll just book the last week of February.

Penny Dreadful

I was there at the end of March this year and loved it. The weather was actually really warm (for the time of year) and it made being out and about really enjoyable.
We stayed in the Hotel Kazimierz and would have no hesitation in staying there again. The room we had was very big and faced out into a private courtyward so was really quiet but the location was fantastic. It was a 10-15 minute walk to either the old town or new town (left and right from the hotel door) and the staff were really lovely.
We did the free walking tours of the city (one of the old royal city and the other of the Jewish quarter) and they were brilliant. The guides were great and I was happy to tip accordingly at the end.
We also went to Auschwitz and it was a must see. It is difficult and not a "nice" thing to do but important nonetheless. We went to the Salt Mines on the same day and it was nice to finish off with something good like that.
We used a taxi company to pick us up from the airport and they also took us to the camps and Salt Mines. They were brilliant and not at all expensive. We could have done the bus to the camps, etc but both of us were struggling with really heavy colds and felt that this was a nicer way to do the trip. PM me if you'd like their details.
All in all I loved Krakow and would love to go again. We were there for 3 nights 4 days and it was (IMHO) the perfect amount of time.

Macca07

Well I have the week off from work, so will see what way the flights and stuff are, but more than likely will go for the week.

Must take a look a those 2 hotels anyway, thanks a mill.

Penny Dreadful

Macca07 wrote: »

Well I have the week off from work, so will see what way the flights and stuff are, but more than likely will go for the week.

Must take a look a those 2 hotels anyway, thanks a mill.

As you will have a lot of time why not take a trip up to mountains to a place called Zakopane?
Krakow is about 40 mins from the airport and Zakopane is 40 mins in the opposite direction from the same airport. You can ski there and it costs hardly anything compared to other ski resorts in Europe. I think a week long ski pass for Zakopane is the same as a day/two day pass elsewhere.
I haven't been there but my brother has and he (who has travelled to many many places in many many countries) said it is absolutely beautiful.

Macca07

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

As you will have a lot of time why not take a trip up to mountains to a place called Zakopane?
Krakow is about 40 mins from the airport and Zakopane is 40 mins in the opposite direction from the same airport. You can ski there and it costs hardly anything compared to other ski resorts in Europe. I think a week long ski pass for Zakopane is the same as a day/two day pass elsewhere.
I haven't been there but my brother has and he (who has travelled to many many places in many many countries) said it is absolutely beautiful.

Will look into it, thanks very much.

Betta85

Hi,

There's another option I do usually (I only bring hand luggage and usually book a bag for the return leg for all the things I bought and you can pick up a bag for about €10 in any supermarket) . 2 cities in one trip. For example if your booking directly... you could book your flight to Krakow one way, then book another one from Krakow to for example Budapest. Then Budapest home.

So one way flight to Krakow, one way flight from Krakow to Budapest and one way from Budapest home.

Just using Budapest as an example because the flight is short.

So you could do 3 days in Krakow and then 3 days in Budapest. I have been to Krakow about 10 times and its a lovely city Very nice and lots to do (lots of tours etc) Although I think 7 days might be a bit long.

At Krakow Airport there is a train directly to the city's shopping center.

There is also flights from Krakow to Milan, Brussels etc.

Might be an option for you so at least you have 2 citys for 3 days and then if you fall in love with one of them you can always go back for longer. Nothing worse than being somewhere and finding it too long

Macca07

Very good point Betta, something else to look in to.
Lucky I'm not busy in work...

Penny Dreadful

Macca07 wrote: »

Will look into it, thanks very much.

No worries you're welcome.

You'll have a lovely time. Krakow is lovely. I have to admit that I was surprised at how much I liked it. I had stupid preconceived notions as to what it would be like and was going mainly for the trip to Auschwitz. I'd heard about the Salt Mines, etc and thought "yeah yeah I'm sure they're fine".
Big lesson to me: actually listen to people. It was a great city, lovely buildings, great history, good food, lovely people, things are well priced compared to Ireland.

Macca07

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

No worries you're welcome.

You'll have a lovely time. Krakow is lovely. I have to admit that I was surprised at how much I liked it. I had stupid preconceived notions as to what it would be like and was going mainly for the trip to Auschwitz. I'd heard about the Salt Mines, etc and thought "yeah yeah I'm sure they're fine".
Big lesson to me: actually listen to people. It was a great city, lovely buildings, great history, good food, lovely people, things are well priced compared to Ireland.

What's it like for shopping? We're wondering as it could be cold and would buy clothes there as I expect it to be much cheaper than here...

Penny Dreadful

Macca07 wrote: »

What's it like for shopping? We're wondering as it could be cold and would buy clothes there as I expect it to be much cheaper than here...

It is cheaper because of the currency change over. The cold weather gear isn't as cheap as you'd think unless you get lucky with a sale. Then its a steal.
There were end of season sales on when I was there in March and I got a particular back pack that I'd had my eye on here where it cost €130, I got it there for €45.00. My husband got a jacket / coat thingy he'd been after too and it was about half the price it was here.

Betta85

Be careful with the clothes. They usually are not cheaper unlike as said above on a sale. They have shops like we have over here (River Island, Zara, Bershka, H&M etc) and generally you will save about €1-5 euro for full priced items. You can check this if you go to any of their online stores and put your country as Poland

There is a shop called New Yorker (newyorker.de) which has very good sales and many winter jackets that are €60 will be €10 but this is on a sale.

Food (restaurants), Transport, Cigarettes, Alcohol, Chemists are all notably cheaper.

Clothes, Drinks on the main square, Food (as in Tescos) are all the same as here.

Don't change your money before you go. Change it in shops called "Kantor" and keep an eye on the exchange as it varies from place to place. DONT CHANGE AT the airport! they give the worst exchange. So when you get off the plane take out maybe 100zl from the ATM and then have the rest with you in cash to change as you need in a Kantor.

Be careful of the taxi's at the airport also. I landed 4 months ago and tried to get one as it was very late and I just missed the train. The taxi man told me it s €60 to the city. I said what's it in zloty... they told me they don't take zloty only Euro. Then they all had a great conversation and they all told me they take Euro only and it was €60. So I had to wait an hour for the train (This was near 11pm so daytime prob different) ... I got a taxi back to the airport from my friends house and it was €12 ... just chancing their arm.

Betta85

Macca07 wrote: »

What's it like for shopping? We're wondering as it could be cold and would buy clothes there as I expect it to be much cheaper than here...

Here's a link to the main shopping center. the train from the airport stops here its the last stop. http://www.galeria-krakowska.pl/en/

It tells you all the shops it has and if you go to any of their online stores and select country as poland you will see the prices in Zloty. Just remember that the online conversation rates are NOT what you will get your Zloty for. i.e when I was last there the conversion online said €1 = 4.33 ... best I could get was 4.09 so keep that in mind

Macca07

Have decided to go for 10 days now, 5 in Krakow and 5 in Zakopane, should be fun!

Penny Dreadful

Macca07 wrote: »

Have decided to go for 10 days now, 5 in Krakow and 5 in Zakopane, should be fun!

Fantastic! You'll have a brilliant brilliant time. Have to admit am slightly envious. Luckily I'm off to Madrid tomorrow that should ease the envy;):D

Macca07

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

Fantastic! You'll have a brilliant brilliant time. Have to admit am slightly envious. Luckily I'm off to Madrid tomorrow that should ease the envy;):D

very nice...
must look at hotels now for 2 places...

Aglomerado

Hey,
Has anyone got any recommendations for friendly hostels in Krakow? I'm thinking of going next month by myself (Female btw) for 4 or 5 days so I'd like to stay somewhere friendly where I can chat to people. I'd prefer a room to myself, but a welcoming communal area would be great! Thanks.

gaillimh

Macca07 wrote: »

Hey,

So thinking about heading to Krakow in February with my GF for a week. Just have a couple of questions for people:

1. Is a week too long in Krakow? Is there enough to do?
2. Is it extremely cold in February? Looking at the end of February at the moment?
3. Where have you stayed, and would you stay there again?

Thanks in advance.

Hi. I went last February with my gf for three nights.
We stayed in Andels hotel.this is a modern hotel and is relatively new.it was really lovely and is right beside the train station and the big Galeria Krakowska shopping centre.
Would deffo recommend it.
I have to say though that it got up to minus fifteen Celsius while we were there.I have never been as cold in all my life.
It got to the point where we couldn't stay outdoors for too long as it was bone chillingly cold.and that was fully wrapped up.
We didn't go to Auschwitz for this reason.It was just too cold to be outside for so long.
We might just have been unlucky that it was this cold though.
Food is good and cheap over there.
Clothes I found to be much the same price.

spurious

Generally speaking, anything made in Poland (wooden toys, some leather goods etc.) will be good value, anything imported may not be.

yogalady

secret garden hostel. single female traveller myself and stayed there in october. great hostel, own rooms, great staff and location. enjoy!

Aglomerado

yogalady wrote: »

secret garden hostel. single female traveller myself and stayed there in october. great hostel, own rooms, great staff and location. enjoy!

That was one of the ones I was considering! Thanks!