Zakopane as a day trip from Krakow?

Written by the family that runs Willa Storczyk in Zakopane. Yes, we rent rooms, so we have an interest. We have tried to be fair anyway: for some people a day trip really is enough.

The maths of a day trip

Krakow to Zakopane is about 100 km, but it takes around 2 hours each way by bus or train, and 3 hours when the road is jammed on a Friday or a winter Saturday. (Our Krakow to Zakopane guide covers the options in detail.) A typical day looks like this:

Six hours sounds like a lot, but in Zakopane everything worth seeing in the mountains involves a bus ride, a cable car queue or a walk to a trailhead first. In practice you get one main thing done well, and two if you are lucky with queues.

What fits into one day

• Krupówki, the pedestrian main street, with its wooden houses, stalls and smoked oscypek cheese.
• Gubałówka by funicular (44–49 PLN return in summer, 37–42 PLN from October): the classic view of the Tatras from across the valley, and an easy one.
• Or Kasprowy Wierch by cable car, if you have booked a morning slot online. Doing both Kasprowy and Gubałówka in one day is possible, but tight. See our Kasprowy Wierch guide for prices and times.
• The old wooden church and cemetery on ul. Kościeliska, a short walk from Krupówki.
• A meal in a highland restaurant: grilled cheese with cranberry, kwaśnica sauerkraut soup, and a lot of wood and sheepskin.

What does not fit

• Morskie Oko. From Zakopane alone it is a 7 to 8 hour outing: 30 km to the car park, then 18 km on foot there and back. From Krakow it becomes a 12 to 13 hour day, most of it in a vehicle. Our Morskie Oko guide explains why.
• A real hike, such as Giewont, Hala Gąsienicowa or the Five Polish Ponds valley. These need an early start, and a day-tripper arrives just as the hikers are reaching the top.
• The valleys, like Kościeliska or Chochołowska: beautiful and easy, but each is half a day in itself.
• The thermal pools. The ones around Zakopane are open until 22:00, and an evening in hot water after a day in the mountains is one of the best things you can do here. On a day trip, you are on the bus by then.
• The evening. Krupówki at night, dinner without watching the clock, and in winter the lights on the snow.

What about organised tours from Krakow?

Many hotels and agencies in Krakow sell Zakopane day tours. They take care of the transport, which is convenient, and usually cover Krupówki, Gubałówka, a cheese tasting and sometimes thermal pools on the way back. What they cannot do is give you more hours in the mountains: the bus still spends 4 to 5 hours on the road, and you follow the group's schedule.

If you like the idea of a tour but want the mountains, a good compromise is to go on your own, by bus or train, and stay one night. The ticket costs about 37 PLN each way.

What one night changes

It is not only about extra hours. It is about which hours:

• Early morning. The first cable cars of the day are the cheapest in summer (from 99 PLN instead of 165 PLN for Kasprowy), the queues are short and the weather is usually clearest before the afternoon clouds build.
• Morskie Oko becomes easy. Leave at 7:00, back by 15:00, without a 5 am start in Krakow.
• The evening is yours. Thermal pools, dinner, a walk down Krupówki after the tour buses have gone.
• No rush on the way back. You travel on the second day at a time that avoids the Friday afternoon or Saturday morning traffic.

Simple plans for one to three nights

One night

Day 1: arrive by midday, Gubałówka in the afternoon, Krupówki and dinner in the evening. Day 2: Kasprowy Wierch on an early slot, a walk down to Hala Gąsienicowa or back by cable car, and travel back to Krakow in the afternoon.

Two nights

As above, plus a full day for Morskie Oko, with thermal pools in the evening.

Three nights

Add a valley day: Kościeliska with its caves, or Chochołowska, famous for crocuses in spring. Or a proper hike, such as Giewont, if the weather is good. With three nights you also have a spare day in case of rain, which in the Tatras is worth a lot.

When a day trip is the right choice

To be fair, a day trip makes sense if:

• you have only a couple of days in Krakow and Zakopane is a side visit,
• you want to see the town and one viewpoint, not to hike,
• you travel with an organised group and prefer not to plan anything yourself.

If that is you, pick a weekday, leave Krakow early, book Kasprowy online for the late morning or choose Gubałówka, and head back before 17:00 to miss the worst of the traffic.