Zakopane, Poland Guide 🇵🇱 | Katia Rapota | Budget Backpacking (2024)

How to Get There

📍Zakopane, Poland

💸 The bus from Krakow costs 28zł (approx. €6)

🗒️ Zakopane is a direct 2-2.5 hour bus ride from Krakow, with lots of bus operators to choose from running a few times an hour. You catch the bus from Krakow’s central bus station and can either buy the ticket with cash or card on the bus, or preorder your ticket online. The cheapest busses are run by Szwagropol, but Flixbus, Majer Bus and Max Bus also run hourly busses.

🔗 Book your bus ticket via Szwagropol via the link below (not an ad)

Where to Stay

📍Good Bye Lenin Hostel

💸 €10-15 for a dorm, €50 - 60 for a private double or triple room

🗒️ You won’t find a cosier place to stay than this mountain lodge just 10 minutes outside the centre of town. There’s a trailhead practically on your doorstep, free breakfast and great connections to town and the famous Morskie Oko hike.

🔗 Link to book a stay at the hostel below (not affiliate)

🌍 If you’re interested in volunteering there, their profile on Worldpackers is linked below and you can use the code ‘KATIATRAVEL’ to get $10USD off your annual membership.

Where to Eat

📍Regionalny Bar Mleczny

💸 $

🗒️ ‘Bar Mleczny’ literally translates into ‘Milk Bar’ and Poland is known for these casual eateries. They serve delicious, filling and cheap meals, and this one in Zakopane is no exception. I love their range of vegetarian pierogi’s (Polish dumplings) and you have to try Oscypek; a smoked sheep’s cheese native to the Tatra mountains.

📍Sushi Omakase Zakopane

💸 $$

🗒️ I know an Asian restaurant suggestion is Poland is a bit of a rogue choice, but hear me out. I had one of the best ramens of my life here and their sushi is delicious too!

📍Placki Ziemniaczane

💸 $

🗒️ This is the best place to try Zakopane’s oscypek cheese in its best form: fried and served with a warm cranberry sauce. You can identify this stall but it’s big neon sign and I also recommend trying ‘placek ziemniaczany’ (delish potato fritters) with a healthy dose of ‘sos czosnkowym’ (garlic sour cream).

What to Do

📍Kasprowy Wierch Cable Car

💸 100zł (€20 average for a round trip ticket, discounts available)

🗒️ The 15 min cable ride is well worth taking to see incredible views of both Poland and Slovakia (the cover photo for this post was taken there). You can pre-book a time slot or just rock up on the day and wait about 5-15 minutes depending on how big your group is.

You can also hike from Kuznice to Kasprowy Wierch in 2.5 - 3 hours, but it’s definitely a challenge so make sure you have plenty of snacks and ample water.

📍Hike to your heart’s content

💸 Entry to the Tatras National park is 9zł (approx €2 paid in cash or card)

🗒️ There are literally hundreds of different hikes you can do that range from a few hours to a few days. The most popular day hike is to the stunning Morskie Oko lake, which takes 6 hours return. Don’t be fooled by the timing though, it’s super easy as you’re essentially walking on a concrete road for most of it.

This website lists some popular trails with more info on the range of stunning hikes you can undertake.

📍Visit Thermal Spas

💸 Various prices depending on the location

🗒️ Zakopane is actually renowned for its numerous thermal/mineral spas which offer a range of treatments and experiences.

My favourite, Aqua Park Zakopane, is located smack-bang in the middle of town and has a great sauna/steam complex, lots of spas and even slides to race down (which you can time your self on)

I’ve also visited the Chocholowskie Thermal Baths which are in the nearby town of Chocholow and definitely recommend these for a more boujee experience.

Karoline’s written a great blog linked below which outlines the main baths in Zakopane!

I hope this guide has put Zakopane on your radar and inspires you to pay it a visit! I have endless recommendations to share, so feel free to shoot me a message on IG @kat.tea.ah if you want more info! 💌

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