More about: Transfer from/to Krakow
The International Airport is located approximately 11 km from the centre of Krakow and is connected to the city by public and private transport. To avoid headaches on arrival, I advise you to decide in advance which option is the most convenient for you.
1. The best transfers between Krakow airport and Krakow city centre
The first thing you have to decide is whether you are more interested in comfort and speed or in saving money on arrival in Krakow. Depending on this, public transport (bus or train to the centre) or private transport will suit you better. Within the comfort of private door-to-door transport I recommend:
2. Private transfer from Krakow airport to your hotel
When you arrive at Krakow airport you will probably be tired from your journey or eager to start touring the city; in either case you will want to get to your hotel as soon as possible without having to walk around to get out of the airport and look for a means of transport. For this reason, the most convenient way to get to the city centre is a private transfer from Krakow airport to the hotel.
You can book this private transfer service from Krakow airport to your hotel in advance (in case of any unforeseen circumstances, cancellation is possible with a minimum of 24 hours notice). All you have to do is provide your arrival date in Krakow, your flight details so that the driver can wait for you and check for possible delays, and the address of your hotel so that the transfer can drop you off at the door.
How the service works
Once you arrive at the arrivals terminal, the driver will be waiting for you with an identification sign and will take you to your hotel in an air-conditioned minivan shared with six other travellers. On average, you will be at your hotel in the centre of Krakow in 20-40 minutes. You don't have to worry about flight delays; the driver will be waiting for you and you can always contact the agency by email.
Private transfer back to the airport
This service is also available from your hotel to Krakow airport. The way it works is the same: you book online and on the day your flight departs, a minivan shared with other travellers will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the airport. Your driver will take care of calculating the right time so that you are not late for your flight and have to board the plane in a hurry, and to avoid long waits and wasting precious travel time.
3. Shared transfer between the airport and the city and back
You can also save money by booking a shared transfer from Krakow airport to your hotel in Krakow city centre and back. The booking method and travel conditions are the same and this option will allow you to forget about the more tedious details of your trip and focus on enjoying Krakow and its surroundings.
How it works
As with the private transfer, with the shared transfer the driver will meet you at the airport and take you to the door of your hotel, but you may have to share the journey with another traveller who also needs to get from the airport to the city (or vice versa) at the same time.
Therefore, the driver may make a stop along the way to drop off or pick up another traveller. This, which can lengthen the journey by ten or fifteen minutes, also makes the fare a little cheaper.
Advantages
Other advantages of any of these services are the space for luggage or the availability of the timetable, as they are available 7 days a week regardless of the time you arrive at Krakow airport.
4. Other options to get from Krakow airport to the city centre
Train
The train departs from the airport every half hour and runs from 4am to 11pm Monday to Sunday. The ticket costs one or two euros and takes about 45 minutes for the full journey and about 20 minutes to the stop at Kraków Central Railway Station, which is where I recommend you get off if your hotel is in the city centre (the last stop is outside Kraków city centre).
The name of the train is SKA1 and it has WIFI on board and electric charging points. On arrival at the airport you will see the train station signposted.
Bus
There are two daytime lines to the centre of Kraków (208 and 252, which can be found on signs at the airport exits) and one night-time line (902). Tickets cost one euro; you can buy them at vending machines near the bus stop or on the bus itself.
The journey to the city centre takes about 45 minutes. Among the most important bus stops at the airport are the Kraków Central Railway Station (line 208) and the Kraków Congress Centre (line 252).
The night bus runs from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. and one of its main stops is Glówny station.
Taxi
Taxis are more expensive than hiring a private transfer in advance and drivers are not obliged to accept euros instead of the Polish currency (zloty). Still, it is an available option if you have not booked transport when you arrive at the airport and want to avoid public transport. The stop is easily located from the arrivals terminal and the fare is approximately 25 euros to the centre.
Ana's Traveller Tip
Avoid changing money at the airport; you'll get a worse deal than at the city's bureaux de change.
5. You may also be interested in
Once you have organised your arrival in Krakow it is important that you organise in advance the activities you want to do in the city, as it is quite touristic and some of them should be booked well in advance. So I recommend you take a look at these guides: