Krakow, Poland is a mixture of interesting history and tasty Vodkas.  Whether it's an educational or fun or a good mixture of both this is the place for you. 

Getting to Krakow

London Gatwick to Krakow, on EasyJet, was scheduled to take 2 hours 25 mins but we were lucky to arrive about 25 minutes early.

Getting through passport control was seamless but with no queue, it’s hard to say what it would be like if it were busier.  Once through passport control, you collect your bags and straight into the arrivals lounge to meet your transport.

On the return journey, the airport was quite empty, so we were straight through to drop our bags, a small wait at security then through passport control.  Once we were through passport control there were a few shops and restaurants/cafes, although we have lounge passes so we took the opportunity to use those.  The lounge is pretty small but decent enough with quite a good selection of food and drink. 

Overall, I found Krakow airport to be fine.

Where we stayed

Our choice of hotel was the 5* boutique Balthazar Design Hotel about 20/25mins from the airport, less than a 5-minute walk to the main square and at the base of Wawel Castle.

We were greeted by a friendly receptionist who promptly checked us in and guided us to one of their 63 rooms.  Spacious and beautifully decorated, the room had the fluffiest carpet (which felt like bliss after a long day walking), plenty of Molten Brown toiletries, slippers and robes, bedside USB ports to charge and even a charging pad.  Of course, it was equipped with the usual hairdryer, iron etc.

The bed and pillows were comfortable, perhaps a little on the hard side for us but each to their own. Heating could easily be operated by yourself in the room, the lighting could have been better but that’s standard really in all hotels and the TV only had 2 English speaking channels so it’s handy if you have your laptop/iPad to watch Netflix or catch up TV.

Every evening they used to come to the room with a couple of glasses of Amaretto, a couple of biscuits and a story of Krakow (a different one each night) and a card with the weather forecast – it was such a lovely touch.

The hotel also has a restaurant which looked lovely, but we didn’t have time to eat there as we had already made other plans.  If we were staying any longer, we definitely would have.

I would highly recommend this hotel.

Out and about in Krakow

Our first full day saw us at Auschwitz-Birkenau, which really is a must-do if you are visiting Krakow.  We arranged for a private car to take us and join an English-speaking tour of approx. 30 people, the car then waiting for us took us onto the 2nd part of the tour at the Birkenau camp and then back to our hotel.  This trip can also be done as part of a coach tour too. 

The tour is full of interesting facts, but it is actually seeing the volume of shoes and other possessions that shock you as well as the terrible conditions they lived in if they weren’t sent to the gas chambers upon arrival.  Some didn’t even make the train journey from their hometown to Auschwitz.

There are toilets, shops and cafes in both parts of the tour.  The tour takes about 2 and a half to 3 hours and the journey from Krakow is about an hour in a private car but a little longer on a coach trip due to the other pick-ups.

After so much walking on our first full day we decided to spend day 2 just chilling out and wandering around Krakow centre, the Christmas market and stopping for some food and the odd cocktail.  The Christmas Market takes up half of the square and is mainly street food and drink and stalls with Christmas decorations and Christmassy gifts, it’s very pretty and festive. Ooh, we also had a horse and carriage ride.  There are about 5 or 6 different tours you can take on the horse and carriage each different in time, sights and (of course) price.

On our 3rd and last day, we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mines.  There is a total of 800 steps down throughout this tour but the main part of them are 380 in one go to begin the tour.  After that, you get the odd flight here and there.  Don’t worry you don’t have to climb them again to get out, you get to go in a miners lift, which is very small and holds about 8/9 tightly packed people.

Krakow has many churches and castles and areas you can visit while you are here such as Wawel Castle, Jewish Quarter, St Florian’s gate and Schindlers factory to name a few and many ways to explore, such as walking tours, horse and carriage rides or even segways – we didn’t visit all these because we needed a bit of chill-out time too rather than having a jam-packed trip.

Where we ate

There are many places with cosy heated outside eating areas  around the main square as well as indoor restaurants all over the place, so it makes it really hard to choose.

Night 1 - We ate at No 7 in the main square.  I am wheat and dairy intolerant and they couldn’t have been more helpful.  The food, service and drinks were all lovely here and I would definitely recommend it.  We sat in the covered outside area, around the square, which is full of patio heaters and blankets to keep you warm. In all honesty, I got too hot.

Day 2 – We were at Auschwitz a majority of the day so we got back about 3.30 pm and just stopped for a small bite to eat, again in one of the covered outdoor areas overlooking the square but to be honest I cannot remember the name of the restaurant.  Sorry!

Night 2 – We ate in Pod Aniolami, just up the road from our hotel and just before you reach the square.  This restaurant is amazing.  The food is lovely and, again, the staff were so helpful to cater to my dietary needs.  It’s romantic and cosy and I would definitely ask to have a table in the basement for a more romantic feel.

Day 3 – We ate and drank cocktails in The Hard Rock in the square but to be honest it wasn’t the best one we have eaten in.  Service wasn’t that great and although they could cater for me, my food was very dry and even though I asked for mayonnaise it took a long time to come and I had finished my food.  The cocktails were nice though so maybe pop in for one of those.

Night 3 – We took a walk down to the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz) for pre-drinks in Le Scandale, it looked like it probably turned into a bit of a club later and there was also a restaurant attached to it. The drinks and service were both very good.

Onto Starka restaurant, around the corner, for our meal.  Starka is a cosy, traditional restaurant with homemade food and live music.  It has a great atmosphere, great food and vodka and excellent service who, again, were very happy to help with my intolerances.

I personally think that the Jewish (Kazimierz) area probably has better nightlife than the main square.

Day 4 – After our visit to the Salt Mines we went and had a lovely lunch in Marmolada, just before you get to the square. The food was perfect, again catering for my intolerances, the mulled wine was lovely and the prices (yet again) very low. The beef tartare was so tasty (my starter) and it even came with a shot of vodka. My husband started with soup in a bread bowl which he thoroughly enjoyed.

We then moved on for a couple of farewell cocktails at Buddha Cocktail Bar just off the square.  It’s a really funky little bar with a great selection of cocktails. I would suggest giving this a go.

There is an abundance of restaurants and bars in Krakow to choose from so the only thing you will find hard is choosing.  Prices are really good in all of them and I would recommend all of the ones we ate in, except perhaps the Hard Rock, especially Pod Aniolami.

Sadly, this is where our trip came to an end but I would definitely recommend a visit here.  So many sights to see, wonderful food and service and great prices. 

As well as the flights, transfers and hotels I can also book excursions, airport hotels, parking and lounges, travel insurance and am happy to make *reservations at restaurants for you.

*If you make a restaurant reservation with me, I cannot be held responsible for anything not to your satisfaction.