How much needed for Krakow

MarkY91

Will be arriving Friday morning and leaving Monday night.
Activities include visiting Auschwitz and exploring during the day. Main purpose of the trip is we plan on going bar hopping then hit a club each night.
Age 23 and 24 so you ca imagine us mostly having greasy "hangover food" during our stay.
Staying at the Mosquito hostel. They supply the trip to Auschwitz for like 20 euro.

Our current opinion is about €350 each is needed. All I see about drink prices is cheap cheap cheap like €1.50 per pint. Can't imagine them being that price in a club though.

grimm2005

First off, you've made a brilliant choice with the hostel. I stayed there last year and had the time of my life, thanks in great part to the hostel and the folks staying there. The city is pretty cheap alright, you're looking at an average of about €2 for a pint. The hostel also has a free pub crawl every night (few pubs and a club) and they have pre-drinking activities in the evening with a little shop across the street where you can pick up a lot of really cheap drinks. Free breakfasts and dinners in the hostel too so you can avail of that if you want. The breakfasts are really good but I didn't make it to any of the free dinners myself. The hostel also has pre-arranged tours to the salt mines, also about €20-ish which is well worth it, same job as the Auschwitz tour, pick up at the door and drop you back.

There's also several free walking tours (pay what you think it's worth) that start in the main square which will give you a good overview of the city, I'd recommend doing at least one of these.

MarkY91

grimm2005 wrote: »

First off, you've made a brilliant choice with the hostel. I stayed there last year and had the time of my life, thanks in great part to the hostel and the folks staying there. The city is pretty cheap alright, you're looking at an average of about €2 for a pint. The hostel also has a free pub crawl every night (few pubs and a club) and they have pre-drinking activities in the evening with a little shop across the street where you can pick up a lot of really cheap drinks. Free breakfasts and dinners in the hostel too so you can avail of that if you want. The breakfasts are really good but I didn't make it to any of the free dinners myself. The hostel also has pre-arranged tours to the salt mines, also about €20-ish which is well worth it, same job as the Auschwitz tour, pick up at the door and drop you back.

There's also several free walking tours (pay what you think it's worth) that start in the main square which will give you a good overview of the city, I'd recommend doing at least one of these.

Your username seems familiar. It might havebeen you and another guy who recomended rhe hostel which for the reasons you said today amis why I chose it. We chose a private twin room with bathroom. Should we go for the hostels airport transfer option? Would s beer in a nightclub really be €2 euro? I'd have figured it'd go up in price just like in dublin when comparing prices from s pub to a club..

Regarding tours. Unfortunately the person I'm going with says he doesn't care about auschwitz or other historical sites. So ill have to do them alone. History fascinates me so hopefully my nights aunt TOO wild the night before and I make the tours. I'll to definetely miss breakfast just like you did haha.

How much did you spend? Where did uou get your PLN? Do I need to order it in s bank?

grimm2005

Yeah, I mentioned the hostel in another post a while back so it probably was myself! I got the airport transfer myself because at the time the trains were off for construction work and I arrived late enough and it was my first solo trip so I decided to take the easy option. I think the fixed cost was about €40 so it would be €20 each for you guys. I personally would take the train if I was going again because I think it's open now and according to the website it's only 8PLN which is under €2 and the hostel is only a hop away from the main train station.

Well the average in pubs that we went to was about 6 - 9PLN (6 for local beers). I can't remember exactly what it cost in clubs but I don't think it ever went over 15PLN and that would have been at the pricier level, if you stick to the local beer I can't imagine it'll go much over 10 - 12PLN which is still under €3. Good thing about the hostel pub crawl is that you get free entry and skip the queue for the clubs.

Definitely do the tours even if your friend isn't interested. I did them alone but there's probably going to be others in the hostel doing them as well. Auschwitz is an absolute must do in my opinion and you'd be crazy to miss it when on a trip to Krakow. I recommend the salt mines as well. I didn't get to it while I was there but Schindlers factory is also meant to be well worth doing and it's walking distance from the hostel.

I spent about €350 for a week between Krakow and Warsaw (not including flights and accommodation) and I wasn't budgeting so you should be completely fine with €350 each, I'd say it's more then enough. I got my cash from an ATM in the airport when I landed, that's the handiest way to get local currency.

uck51js9zml2yt

Try do the salt mines. It's better in the evening so as not to waste your day

MarkY91

grimm2005 wrote: »

Yeah, I mentioned the hostel in another post a while back so it probably was myself! I got the airport transfer myself because at the time the trains were off for construction work and I arrived late enough and it was my first solo trip so I decided to take the easy option. I think the fixed cost was about €40 so it would be €20 each for you guys. I personally would take the train if I was going again because I think it's open now and according to the website it's only 8PLN which is under €2 and the hostel is only a hop away from the main train station.

Well the average in pubs that we went to was about 6 - 9PLN (6 for local beers). I can't remember exactly what it cost in clubs but I don't think it ever went over 15PLN and that would have been at the pricier level, if you stick to the local beer I can't imagine it'll go much over 10 - 12PLN which is still under €3. Good thing about the hostel pub crawl is that you get free entry and skip the queue for the clubs.

Definitely do the tours even if your friend isn't interested. I did them alone but there's probably going to be others in the hostel doing them as well. Auschwitz is an absolute must do in my opinion and you'd be crazy to miss it when on a trip to Krakow. I recommend the salt mines as well. I didn't get to it while I was there but Schindlers factory is also meant to be well worth doing and it's walking distance from the hostel.

I spent about €350 for a week between Krakow and Warsaw (not including flights and accommodation) and I wasn't budgeting so you should be completely fine with €350 each, I'd say it's more then enough. I got my cash from an ATM in the airport when I landed, that's the handiest way to get local currency.

I'll look into the train option and look directions up etc. Why not save the extra cash if you said ithehostel is close to the station.

Jesus the clubs sound so cheap. I'll be loving the prices over there. We will definitely do the hostel pub crawls for the craic.

Auschwitz to me is a 100% must do regardless of my hangover state. I want to do the salt mines and schinders factory aswell as explore the old Jewish quarters(I forget the name of the area) but they'll could be missed due to sleeping lol.

Thanks to the other user who recomended the saltmines in the evening. I may very well take that advice.

uck51js9zml2yt

MarkY91 wrote: »

I'll look into the train option and look directions up etc. Why not save the extra cash if you said ithehostel is close to the station.

Jesus the clubs sound so cheap. I'll be loving the prices over there. We will definitely do the hostel pub crawls for the craic.

Auschwitz to me is a 100% must do regardless of my hangover state. I want to do the salt mines and schinders factory aswell as explore the old Jewish quarters(I forget the name of the area) but they'll could be missed due to sleeping lol.

Thanks to the other user who recomended the saltmines in the evening. I may very well take that advice.

The Jewish quarter is kazimeirez. Its a morning and lunch in the square.
When doing the camp bring something to eat and a drink.
There's a shirt break between Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen but not long enough to queue in the cafe. Have some loose change for the toilets. And wash your hands before you eat !

The castle is worth doing but expensive.
Schindlers museum is worth doing. If u can get on a tour it's better as there is a lot of reading on the way around and the guide gives you the important bits.
You can also get a bike to bring you around for a tour. It gives you your bearings on the city.

Eat away from the main square in Krakow and the others tourist spots as its cheaper. Go were the locals go!

Edit; we got a driver to pick us up at the airport and drop us to our apartment. You'll find places online and it wasn't dear.

MarkY91

Joshua Salmon Albino wrote: »

The Jewish quarter is kazimeirez. Its a morning and lunch in the square.
When doing the camp bring something to eat and a drink.
There's a shirt break between Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen but not long enough to queue in the cafe. Have some loose change for the toilets. And wash your hands before you eat !

The castle is worth doing but expensive.
Schindlers museum is worth doing. If u can get on a tour it's better as there is a lot of reading on the way around and the guide gives you the important bits.
You can also get a bike to bring you around for a tour. It gives you your bearings on the city.

Eat away from the main square in Krakow and the others tourist spots as its cheaper. Go were the locals go!

Edit; we got a driver to pick us up at the airport and drop us to our apartment. You'll find places online and it wasn't dear.

Thanks for the tips. I appreciate it

spurious

Agree with 'go where the locals go'. Polish food is made for hangovers. Large portions - presentation is sometimes 2/10 but the taste is fantastic. Bigos, pierogi or golabki all fabulous and super cheap.

You'll have a great time and should come home with change out of 350.

Great city and great country in general.

fabvinny

we used kantor exchange to change our money,they are all over the place and will give you a good rate. we also did one of the golf buggy tours to the jewish ghetto and schindlers factory which was very interesting.
eating out and drinking is very cheap,€350 is loads!
would also recommend the salt mines,good tour.

Rdwrer

Could anyone recommend a good bar or club to go to? I have heard good things about Cien. Any others like that with preferably dance music?

Thanks

MarkY91

fabvinny wrote: »

we used kantor exchange to change our money,they are all over the place and will give you a good rate. we also did one of the golf buggy tours to the jewish ghetto and schindlers factory which was very interesting.
eating out and drinking is very cheap,€350 is loads!
would also recommend the salt mines,good tour.

How would I go about paying for my taxi if I won't be getting PLN until I visit a kantor?

MarkY91

HungryHenno wrote: »

Could anyone recommend a good bar or club to go to? I have heard good things about Cien. Any others like that with preferably dance music?

Thanks

I found sites tha list the clubs and tell you about them. I'll find it after college.

uck51js9zml2yt

MarkY91 wrote: »

How would I go about paying for my taxi if I won't be getting PLN until I visit a kantor?

Change your money at airport. I found no difference in the rate.
Its to the left of the concourse as you come out of airside.

MarkY91

Joshua Salmon Albino wrote: »

Change your money at airport. I found no difference in the rate.
Its to the left of the concourse as you come out of airside.

Would it be cheaper to change cash or using my bank card?

I dislike extra charges lol

fabvinny

MarkY91 wrote: »

How would I go about paying for my taxi if I won't be getting PLN until I visit a kantor?

we brought a small amount of zloty with us.but one of the lads changed euros in the airport when we arrived.

Utdfan20titles

Poland is dirt cheap. You can eat & drink like a king and you'll come home with plenty of change from €350.

Enjoy!

spurious

Any way you could get fifty euro worth from a machine in the airport? Or ask the driver to drive to a bankomat.

uck51js9zml2yt

spurious wrote: »

Any way you could get fifty euro worth from a machine in the airport? Or ask the driver to drive to a bankomat.

Why go to that hassle? Go into arrivals, walk across the concourse to the exchange...simples!!

MarkY91

spurious wrote: »

Any way you could get fifty euro worth from a machine in the airport? Or ask the driver to drive to a bankomat.

yeah i can get 50 from a bank machine. so basically the kantors are everywhere? ill look up one before i go beside my hostel.

at the bank machine can i instruct it to take 50 worth of pln out? or will it be in pln and ill have to know what 50 in pln is before i go?

my brother that im going with, his friend was there recently and he aswell as many here say how cheap it is

spurious

Just multiply euro by four.

MarkY91

Not long until I go now. Anyone got and nightclub recommendations for two mid 20s lads

spurious

I'd say ask the guys in the hostel for the latest 'happening' spots.
There are some with '10 shots for a tenner' style offers, but really, there be dragons and they're best avoided.

In terms of the Kantors, I've always found the best value on Slawkowska street, just off the Rynek. The further up the street you go, the better the exchange rate.

MarkY91

in Krakow now. beautiful city with even better women!

OUTDOORLASS

Hey Mark,
Whats the weather like at the moment there....I.m going out on Sunday for 5 nights....and I want to
have the right gear with me....seemingly pretty cold at the moment. Tks/

OUTDOORLASS

Hey Mark,
Whats the weather like at the moment there....I.m going out on Sunday for 5 nights....and I want to
have the right gear with me....seemingly pretty cold at the moment. Tks/

MarkY91

OUTDOORLASS wrote: »

Hey Mark,
Whats the weather like at the moment there....I.m going out on Sunday for 5 nights....and I want to
have the right gear with me....seemingly pretty cold at the moment. Tks/

to be honest it's like 17c today. my brother was grand ut and abut in jeans and a t-shirt. I was a light tracksuit top and was rather warm.

so much from the snow accuweather predicted. even now in the dark it's not as cold as it was in dublin last few nights but hay can change at any day so don't take my word

JohnCleary

Hi guys.

Old thread I know, sorry.

Few of us heading to Krakow in Late April 2016. We're going to go on the rec. here and stay at Mosquito (and just book out a dorm room)

I emailed them so waiting on a response, but any idea on prices in the hostel? (Tripadvisor / Their own site not showing prices)

Makood

HungryHenno wrote: »

Could anyone recommend a good bar or club to go to? I have heard good things about Cien. Any others like that with preferably dance music?

Thanks

Try Stalowie Magnolie-I think Jana Street. If I remember rightly it's the street parallel to Slawkowska street.

As for changing cash stay away from the brightly coloured places-The guys with small street signs (Kantors)are the place to go.