Kraków

Kraków Travel Tips: Getting Around, Money and Tourist Traps

Last checked October 8, 2026

Kraków's centre is compact enough to see almost entirely on foot, which makes the practical side of a visit — getting in from the airport, buying the right ticket, keeping your money safe — more about knowing a few local habits than navigating anything complicated.

Arriving

Kraków Airport (KRK, John Paul II Kraków–Balice) sits about 12 km west of the centre. The fastest way in is the SKA1 train, run by Koleje Małopolskie, which stops right beside the terminal — a covered footbridge connects the platform to arrivals — and reaches Kraków Główny, the city's main station, in around 17 minutes. You can buy a ticket from the machine on the train itself, from the conductor, through the Koleje Małopolskie website, or in apps such as KOLEO and Jakdojade.

Buses 209 and 300, plus night line 902, also serve the airport — these run as agglomeration lines, so make sure your ticket covers the outer zones, and validate it the moment you board at the arrivals-hall or stop machine.

For a taxi, look for Kraków Airport Taxi, the only operator officially licensed to pick up at the terminal; Uber also covers the airport. Once you're off the train, Kraków Główny sits just north of the Old Town, next to the main bus station, mostly built underground behind the Galeria Krakowska mall.

Getting around

The Old Town rewards walking more than any other way of getting around it. A classic first loop runs the Royal Way — in through St Florian's Gate, down Floriańska street, into the Main Market Square, and on up toward Wawel — with the Planty park ring circling the whole Old Town just outside the old city walls if you want a quieter, greener route back.

For anything farther out, Kraków's trams and buses (the KMK ticketing brand) use time-based tickets — 15, 30, 60 and 90 minutes, plus 24-, 48-, 72-hour and 7-day options, across three fare zones — bought from the on-board machine, a street kiosk, or apps such as jakdojade, moBILET and SkyCash. Validate it the moment you step on: inspectors check round the clock, and a broken on-board machine doesn't excuse an unvalidated ticket. Buying through a mobile app is stricter still — enter the vehicle number or scan the on-board QR code immediately after boarding, and it validates the instant you complete the purchase. One habit worth knowing: a time ticket is validated once only, on the first vehicle, so don't re-validate it after changing.

Uber and Bolt both operate across the city if you'd rather skip tickets. A legitimate taxi off the street shows its company name, phone number and rate card on the door, roof and window. One local quirk: police do enforce jaywalking rules here.

Money and tipping

Everything is priced in złoty — Poland is not in the euro area, so don't expect euro pricing anywhere. Cards are accepted almost everywhere in the centre, but when a terminal or ATM offers to convert the charge into your home currency, decline it and choose złoty — the rate it offers is usually worse than your own bank's.

If you exchange cash, travellers commonly steer away from the kantors right at the railway station and the airport, where rates tend to be worse, toward the cluster on Sławkowska Street, just off the north-west corner of the Main Market Square. Whichever kantor you use, ask for the buy rate in writing first.

On tipping, travellers commonly leave about 10%, treated as optional rather than expected. One habit worth knowing: saying "dziękuję" ("thank you") as you hand over cash — in a restaurant or a taxi — is often taken to mean "keep the change," so say it only when you mean it.

Tourist traps

Eating right on the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) tends to be pricey without matching the price in quality — travellers looking for better value commonly head a short walk over to Kazimierz, Kraków's former Jewish quarter, instead.

For two well-known day trips, book directly with the official source, not a third party. Wieliczka Salt Mine sells tickets only through its own site, bilety.kopalnia.pl, and its own offices and machines — it explicitly doesn't work through any external site or intermediary, and you can reach it independently in about 25 minutes on the SKA1 train from Kraków Główny. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial is free to enter, but entry cards are issued only through visit.auschwitz.org — none are sold at the gate, and the museum says the same: it doesn't cooperate with outside booking sites.

The horse-drawn carriages (dorożki) on the Main Market Square are a licensed, city-regulated service — the city leases the stand spots by public tender, the main stand running midday to midnight and moving to shaded spots on the Planty in hot weather. We found no official fare table for a ride, so agree the fare before you climb in.

Finally, be wary of anyone approaching you inside the airport or around Kraków Główny offering a ride — these informal drivers and "transportation service" cars are known to charge well above normal taxi rates. Stick to the official taxi stand or a ride-hailing app.

Staying safe

The UK Foreign Office's assessment is reassuring: most visitors experience no difficulties, and serious crime against foreigners is rare — the main thing to watch is ordinary street crime and petty theft. Pickpockets are the most common issue in practice, working crowds, stations and busy buses, especially the routes to and from the airport.

Around bars and clubs, check your bill carefully, particularly late at night and by card — travellers have reported being overcharged, and in some cases having drinks spiked before being robbed. Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has also reported arrests of organised groups operating in go-go and strip clubs across several cities, including Kraków, who made customers unconscious and then charged their cards for services never agreed to. Adult-entertainment venues are worth treating with real caution for exactly this reason.

If you need help, 112 is free and answered in Polish and English. On a day-to-day note, Kraków's water utility actively encourages drinking tap water straight from the tap, under its "good water straight from the tap" campaign.