Leely2

I discovered this weekend that a friend and I have separately been envisioning trips to Prague. She has another trip planned for Croatia this August and wanted to visit Prague right before the Croatia trip, in late July. I had been thinking about touring Prague and Krakow solo in early September. Now we're thinking about going together the last two weeks of July. Our only must-sees are Prague and Krakow. After our trip she will head on to Split to meet her other friends.

We are flying out of SFO. Does it make more sense to fly into Krakow or Prague? I prefer to avoid connections in the U.S. if possible. And I'll be heading straight back to work when I return, so I want to avoid really arduous, multi-connection journeys for the flights home; obviously one stop will be necessary. My favorite airport to connect through is Schiphol, but it looks like I would have more--and more inexpensive--options connecting through Frankfurt. Is this correct?

In terms of the vacation itself, we are thinking we have time to see more than just Prague and Krakow in two weeks. Any suggestions that would make sense either in terms of flights to/from the West Coast or easy train travel to/from or between Prague and Krakow.

I know this is vague, and I am sorry for that. It's just rather a sudden plan and I, as a Fodorite, want to avoid unnecessary backtracking. I've not done much research.

P.S. We're not averse to renting a car if it makes sense for some of our trip.

maitaitom

In 2008, we spent five nights in Prague (cool day trip included), rented a car and drove to Český Krumlov, Olomouc and then Kraków. Maybe this will give you some ideas. Check out Chapters One through Ten of my trip report with photos.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/Tom_...nice_2008.html

Leely2

Sorry, I meant to say we are both big museum people. We like outdoorsy activities but they are not the reason we're going. We both like to visit historical sites. And we tend to sightsee aggressively.

Thank you for any advice you can offer.

fourfortravel

The train time between Prague and Krakow is about six hours, basically a days' worth of your holiday. Can you fly into one city and out of the other?

We spent six days in Krakow in 2012, including two days trips, and we thought that was a reasonable amount of time. Our report is http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-krakow.cfm We had a car for the drive to Auschwitz and the salt mines, but there are organized tours from Krakow if you don't have a vehicle.

We have spent both six days in Prague (2001), including a day trip to Cesky Krumlov (not long enough) and Theresienstadt; and four days in Prague (January) on two separate trips. With 4-5 days in each city, a day trip or overnight somewhere, and transit between the two, you will have enough to fill your two weeks.

Have fun! Both Krakow and Prague are beautiful cities!

kja

Prague and Krakow are both wonderful and charming and both provide lots of opportunities for walking, museums, churches, and history.

I suspect that Krakow is likely to be further from most other destinations on the usual itineraries, and in that sense, might make a good entry point, but it really depends on what else you want to see and do.

I visited Budapest in between Krakow and Prague (overnight train from Krakow to Budapest, day train on to Prague) and that worked well for me. I thought Budapest not only well worth seeing for its museums, churches, history, charm, etc., but also sufficiently different from both Krakow and Budapest to accentuate the unique features of each. And IMO, those 3 cities, with a side trip here and there, should fill a 2-week interval quite nicely, even for aggressive sightseers.

A good guidebook to the area should give you ideas about your other options.

Enjoy!

Michael

You may want to take a look at my trip report on Krakow; click on my name to find it.

adrienne

You could easily spend 5 to 6 days in Krakow with trips to Auschwitz and the Salt Mine. There's lots to do there. Zakopane is a popular spot about 2 hours outside Krakow but I was underwhelmed by the town. I'm sure the area is lovely but you would need a car to see more than Zakopane; there isn't much to see from the bus.

Devote 4 days to Prague and perhaps an overnight in Cesky Krumlov. With the first day being taken up by jet lag and the travel day between Prague and Krakow that's your two weeks.

BTW - the train between Prague and Krakow is 7.5 to 8.5 hours.

Man_in_seat_61

It's easy to book the direct sleeper train from Prague to Krakow (this direction only) online at www.cd.cz/eshop from €49 per person with a bed in a snug and cosy 2-bed sleeper with washbasin.

In the other direction it cannot be booked online, and is more expensive too. But it can be arranged via reliable polish booking agency www.polrail.com

BigRuss

The only six-hour train from Prague to Krakow is a runaway - the trip is more than 8 hours. As the crow flies, the trip should be shorter, but the trains wend their way through various mountains. If you can obtain a short flight, all the better.

Adrienne loves her some Krakow. I vastly preferred Prague. The trip we took to Terezin actually affected us more than our visit to Oswiecim. You're well set for museums and tourist attractions in both cities. If you "sightsee aggressively" and have a week in each, you can go a bit off the usual path.

Check out inyourpocket.com for both cities.

Cesky isn't really a day trip from Prague.

Prague has few flights to the US (maybe JFK) so your transfer to it or from it to the US will be easiest in Europe. Krakow has direct flights to the second-largest Polish city in the world - known locally as Chicago. There are fewer flights from Krakow to major European markets than from Prague (the latter is larger and a national capital). To me, that favors flying into Krakow and out of Prague.

All told, transiting through Paris is actually not horrific, but you need a couple of hours to be safe. Transiting through Heathrow may be inexpensive (no, really - it was when we did so coming to the US from Spain) but is not convenient nor swift.

Leely2

Thank you all! This is extremely helpful information.

I have been checking skyscanner for flights Prague-Krakow (and vice versa), but the overnight train sounds like a good option too. I've never taken an overnight train.

I guess driving would be too time-consuming and costly?

adrienne

If you drive you're subject to a huge drop off charge for renting in one country and dropping in another. Lots of money.

Before you start booking night trains you need to know that not everyone can sleep on one. I get to sleep but wake at each stop because of the lack of rocking motion. There are 14 stops between Prague and Krakow. I do enjoy night trains but if you arrive tired then you haven't saved a day.

And yes...I do love Krakow!

Here's a link to my trip report. Scroll down for Krakow.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-report.cfm?58

Michael

<i>I guess driving would be too time-consuming and costly?</i>

It would be wroth while if you intended to visit areas in between the two cities, but the cross-border drop-off fee is probably prohibitive.

Michael

wroth while = worthwhile

live42day

Leely we are doing the same trip in September. We fly from Vancouver on BA to London with a direct connection to Prague. After a few days I hope to book the overnight train to Krakow. I dont think we can book it until two months before departure however. I think BA flys from SFO too. We are on points though, I know BA is quite costly.

Leely2

Thanks, live42day. I'll check BA. I may end up flying into Warsaw if I want to stick with SkyTeam.

And to those who have done trip reports--believe me, I've been reading them avidly for years. This trip has been percolating in my mind for quite awhile. I have a Fodor's guide book for the Czech Republic that I bought in 2008.

Adrienne, you visited Sicily just a month or so after I did in 2011. Your photos shame mine!

adrienne

Leely2 - thank you so much. I always compare my photos with others and find mine lacking.

Leely2

Booked flights this week. We are flying into Warsaw (long story), so will spend our first night there and then on to Krakow. This part seems relatively straightforward.

The Czech Republic is giving me more trouble. I've read differing opinions about driving to Cesky Krumlov. Maitai's report called it an "easy 2.5 hours," but elsewhere I've read that it is grueling and more like 3++ hours if that. The reason we are considering driving is because we'd like to see Telc too if we can squeeze it in. Any opinions?

Olomouc also appeals but I can't seem to crack the train code. If we visited Moravia instead of Southern Bohemia for a couple days, I would like to do it en route from Krakow to Prague because we are flying out of Prague. But it appears that the sluggish part of train travel from Poland to CR is Poland.

Thanks to all for your advice. It is extremely helpful.

Anyway, very excited!

adrienne

<< we'd like to see Telc too if we can squeeze it in. Any opinions? >>

Definitely see Telc if you can. It has probably the most beautiful square I've ever seen; very symmetrical and all the buildings have been restored.

I went to Cesky Krumlov from Kutna Hora and it took me much longer than 2.5 hours but it was a very pleasant drive.

<< But it appears that the sluggish part of train travel from Poland to CR is Poland. >>

From Poland to anywhere is sluggish, including within Poland. The only exception is the high speed train from Warsaw to Krakow. It's because there are so many stops on each train. If you do take Polish trains be sure to use the rest room before you get on the train as you won't want to use the train toilets.

Will you be doing any sightseeing in Warsaw? If not then why not head straight to Krakow. There's a train that connects the airport with the central train station in Krakow - this is new. You can probably be in Krakow within 4 hours of landing.

If you will be sightseeing I recommend the Uprising Museum as a major sight and then spending a bit of time in Old Town.

I'm not sure what you mean by "cracking the train code" but I would take the 8:00 train from Krakow to Olomouc which takes 6.25 hours with one change in Katowice (where all Polish trains seem to stop). The train with 2 connections takes less time but the transfer for the second connection is 9 minutes and if the train is late then you'll miss the connection and have to wait for the next connection, not saving you much time.

Olomouc to Telc is another 6 hours so that's 2 days of travel and 2 days of sightseeing for these towns. It's going to use up quite a bit of your 2 weeks.

Polish and Czech trains are inexpensive so you can buy your ticket when you get to Warsaw or Krakow. The train station in Krakow is a 10 minute walk from the main square.

Leely2

Ha, by cracking the train code I was just expressing some unrealistic hope that somehow, some way there's a faster way to get from Point A to Point B in Poland.

Our flight doesn't get into Warsaw until around 16:30. We could go directly to Krakow but I was worried that we would be exhausted by that point. We are flying in from California. How long does an average visit to the Uprising Museum take? If we do overnight in Warsaw I was thinking of booking the Castle Inn in Old Town to see that area on arrival night and then going to the Uprising Museum in the morning. Then train to Krakow in the afternoon. But if the Uprising Museum is a whole-day affair my plan doesn't really make sense.

Of course the more I read about both countries, the more I want to see and do.

adrienne

You can see the Uprising Museum in 2 hours. Don't miss the charming WWII style cafe on the mezzanine level.

I think staying in Warsaw overnight is sensible. I hope you can get into the Castle Inn. I wish we had stayed there. There are plenty of restaurants in Old Town. Be careful about wine prices in Poland. The food is generally inexpensive but the wine prices are similar to US metro area wine pricing in restaurants. We didn't really look at the prices the first night and were slightly aghast when we got the bill.

<< Of course the more I read about both countries, the more I want to see and do. >>

I know exactly what you mean!