Insider’s guide: Travel to Krakow, Poland

Krakow (or Cracow if you’re a tourist), is fantastic place to visit or even live in, if you don’t mind earning around $2 an hour. Unfortunately it’s one of those places where you really have to know your way around. You can read all the brochures and hear every backpacker’s story but it won’t even touch on what’s on offer there. This article is written from firsthand experience of living in Krakow and delves into every secret bar, fun fact, hidden attraction and gives you insider knowledge of where to exercise extreme caution. This article is in two parts. Follow the link at the bottom of the page for part two!

First things first, you’ll need to know the basics.

Accommodation – Book this in advance! Although there’s a ridiculously large number of hostels and hotels in Krakow you don’t want to run the risk of having to visit several due to overbooking. Why? Nearly every single one has enough stairs to put an Olympic runner out of action. After a couple of these you’re not going to be in a good mood. As to where to stay, the hostels are of hotel standard (at a fraction of the price) most will accommodate for any guest and offer single rooms and dorms. The best by far is Mama’s hostel and doubles, which caters for the quite traveler and likewise the party goers.

Drinking water – It’s generally advised not to drink too much of the tap water. Although you won’t get seriously ill you might find yourself with a bad stomach. Some people drink it their entire stay and feel fine, while others have one glass and end up living in the toilet for a week. The town center is filled with little shops selling big bottles of water. Tip: Squeeze the bottle first to see if it’s gassy or plain. The containers are almost identical and it’s a common site to see people leaving a shop, opening the bottle, looking confused then heading straight back in again.

The weather – In the summer the weather is unbelievably (almost uncomfortably) hot. This is the complete opposite for winter where everything freezes over. Both extremes are brutal and it’s essential to pack appropriately.

The money – Poland uses the Zloty (pronounced zwoty) to give you an idea $1 is roughly 3zl. Your money will go along way here, even when you’re overcharged in the main tourist spots.

The food – Polish food is mostly meat and potatoes. The favorite dish is something called perogies, which is meat or potatoes wrapped in special dough. There is of course a KFC and McDonalds in Krakow for the less adventurous.

Alcohol/cigarette prices – For the tourist areas a half-liter of beer is about 6-7zl. In the shops a bottle of vodka is around 20zl and a half-liter can of beer is 2-5zl. Cigarettes will set you back 10zl and there are no discounts for bulk buying. Further down the page there are more details on where to find the cheaper (more authentic) bars along with the nicer alcohol choices.