Will I be disappointed if we go to Zakopane instead of St Gilgen for hiking and scenery?
May 12th, 2008, 05:49 AM
#1
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Will I be disappointed if we go to Zakopane instead of St Gilgen for hiking and scenery?
Recap:
We are flying into Vienna, then train to Krakow for a meeting for 3 days, finishing on a Saturday afternoon in June and flying home from Vienna on Thursday.
Based on earlier advice, I had decided on the Salzkammergut region for the walking/hiking vacation part of our trip. Train schedules, cost of flying between cites, and the football matches in Vienna have me rethinking our plan.
Right now our plan is to leave Krakow by train early on Sunday morning to Vienna South station, bus or tram to Vienna West station, then train on to Melk or Salzburg for the night. Monday on to St Gilgen or one of the other towns on the lake via train and/or bus. This would give us late Monday, all day Tuesday, and Wednesday morning for walking, riding up the mountains for views, etc. before bus/train back to Vienna for Wednesday night.
I don't like the Sunday travel day with transfer between train stations with our rollaboards and daypacks, but I don't like to leave too much traveling on Monday cutting into our outdoors time. A stopover in Vienna is not very attractive with the cost of hotels and the matches on.
I looked into traveling south of Vienna to be able to just transfer trains at the South station, but did not find an easy to reach mountain destination with lots of information in English. Husband speaks/reads some German, but he is not the travel planner. But seems it would take as much time and transfers as St Gilgen area.
So I am back to considering Zakopane. It would be easy to access from Krakow on Sunday for walks on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, then return to Krakow on Tuesday evening for an overnight before on to Vienna on Wednesday morning.
I wondering if the scenery and walking near Zakopane will disappoint us and we should just endure the trip to St Gilgen as the destination is worth the effort?
Other places we have enjoyed walking on trips like this include Mittenwald, Berner Oberland, Gap of Dunloe, and Cinque Terre.
We haven't been to Austria or Poland before.
We are flying into Vienna, then train to Krakow for a meeting for 3 days, finishing on a Saturday afternoon in June and flying home from Vienna on Thursday.
Based on earlier advice, I had decided on the Salzkammergut region for the walking/hiking vacation part of our trip. Train schedules, cost of flying between cites, and the football matches in Vienna have me rethinking our plan.
Right now our plan is to leave Krakow by train early on Sunday morning to Vienna South station, bus or tram to Vienna West station, then train on to Melk or Salzburg for the night. Monday on to St Gilgen or one of the other towns on the lake via train and/or bus. This would give us late Monday, all day Tuesday, and Wednesday morning for walking, riding up the mountains for views, etc. before bus/train back to Vienna for Wednesday night.
I don't like the Sunday travel day with transfer between train stations with our rollaboards and daypacks, but I don't like to leave too much traveling on Monday cutting into our outdoors time. A stopover in Vienna is not very attractive with the cost of hotels and the matches on.
I looked into traveling south of Vienna to be able to just transfer trains at the South station, but did not find an easy to reach mountain destination with lots of information in English. Husband speaks/reads some German, but he is not the travel planner. But seems it would take as much time and transfers as St Gilgen area.
So I am back to considering Zakopane. It would be easy to access from Krakow on Sunday for walks on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, then return to Krakow on Tuesday evening for an overnight before on to Vienna on Wednesday morning.
I wondering if the scenery and walking near Zakopane will disappoint us and we should just endure the trip to St Gilgen as the destination is worth the effort?
Other places we have enjoyed walking on trips like this include Mittenwald, Berner Oberland, Gap of Dunloe, and Cinque Terre.
We haven't been to Austria or Poland before.
May 12th, 2008, 08:45 AM
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I don't think you would be disappointed with the High Tatras scenery wise. On the other hand, I personally think the quality of infrastructure (public transportation in particular, lifts/gondolas) and overall quality of hotels/restaurants is not as good in Zakopane as in St. Gilgen area. It would be okay for just a few days, though, IMO. And, btw, too much hassle to travel to St. Gilgen for just two nighs or so.
I.
I.
May 12th, 2008, 04:27 PM
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Thanks.
I have some walk descriptions near Zakopane that I copied from somewhere--travel website or hiking group trip itinerary--months ago. I'll review that.
I also read some reviews of hotels, so I will pull my files. We like simple places, nothing luxurious. I see I marked one place, Gospoda Pod Niebem, that seems to be on top of the mountain. May not be the most convenient, but interesting place to consider for the nights.
We usually only stay 2-3 nights anywhere we go on vacations, so even when we get to the St Gilgen area we are only likely to spend 2-3 nights and corresponding days.
I have some walk descriptions near Zakopane that I copied from somewhere--travel website or hiking group trip itinerary--months ago. I'll review that.
I also read some reviews of hotels, so I will pull my files. We like simple places, nothing luxurious. I see I marked one place, Gospoda Pod Niebem, that seems to be on top of the mountain. May not be the most convenient, but interesting place to consider for the nights.
We usually only stay 2-3 nights anywhere we go on vacations, so even when we get to the St Gilgen area we are only likely to spend 2-3 nights and corresponding days.
Jun 27th, 2008, 10:33 AM
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As I told people in Poland that we were going to Zakopane, I received several interesting responses--"It's lovely." "The Slovenia Tatras are nicer." "Zakopane has lots of tourist facilities." "I rode 2 hours on a bus only to see clouds."
I checked out the bus terminal and saw the board listing Zakopane, but the information line was long. I asked at the hotel when checking out and was assured we could pay the bus driver and the cost was less than 20 PLN. When we got to the station, there was no line so I bought my tickets at the window and the clerk told me which time and bus bay (could pay by credit card) 18PLN pp. 2 hour air conditioned bus ride was interesting to see the countryside, small towns, etc. despite the road construction. Few people on the bus had luggage. Most were using as a means of local/intercity transport, not for tourism.
I had booked a guesthouse in advance, but 3 people greated the bus wanting to rent rooms, so the place was not booked solid on the first weekend after school let out.
The mountains are beautiful and the walking trails and valleys scenic. The town has a carnival atmosphere with all the live music coming from the open restaurants; people strolling with ice cream cones, balloons, and stuffed toys; the cheese vendors; and the market. The first evening was fun. By the next hot afternoon we thought it too crowded and noisy. How many cheese stands, souvenier shops, and restaurants can one town support? We rode the funnicular up for a grand view, but tired of the music being pumped out onto the terraces, the dogs used in souvenier photos panting under their umbrella, tired children wailing, and smokers everywhere. I think the heat was wearing us down. The weather was iffy and we didn't get an early start the next day (husband had developed a cold) so when we rode the minibus to the cable car and saw the line, we only gave it 15 minutes to see if there was any progress, then decided we would rather walk back to the lower trails. We lucked into seeing ski jump practice.
So, were we disappointed going to Zakopane instead of St Gilgen?
With my husband's cold, he wasn't going to enjoy hiking anywhere. He was only good for a couple of hours, then went back to the guesthouse and I walked alone in the afternoons while he napped. In that way it was convenient to be in Zakopane after a 2 hour bus ride rather than trying to navigate a long train ride that would have just made him feel worse.
The trails were OK, but very crowded with walkers, bikers, even baby buggies. So, not much of the pristine nature experience we enjoy.
The scenery was gorgeous and the architure interesting. I enjoyed watching the sheep and the sheep dogs. Also interesting to see the young ski jumpers practicing. It was nice to be one of very few foreigners in an area, seeing what the "locals" do for fun.
Now that I am familiar with the bus to/from Krakow, how the local minibuses run set routes for fixed price paid at destination, layout of the town etc. I could navigate a little more efficiently and avoid the crowds a little more, but I think there are just a lot of Polish people enjoying their holidays in a lovely setting--I can't blame them.
I can also see why people recommend going to Slovakia and getting away from the Zakopane crowds. However, it is difficult if one wants to rely on public transportation and doesn't speak the language.
I checked out the bus terminal and saw the board listing Zakopane, but the information line was long. I asked at the hotel when checking out and was assured we could pay the bus driver and the cost was less than 20 PLN. When we got to the station, there was no line so I bought my tickets at the window and the clerk told me which time and bus bay (could pay by credit card) 18PLN pp. 2 hour air conditioned bus ride was interesting to see the countryside, small towns, etc. despite the road construction. Few people on the bus had luggage. Most were using as a means of local/intercity transport, not for tourism.
I had booked a guesthouse in advance, but 3 people greated the bus wanting to rent rooms, so the place was not booked solid on the first weekend after school let out.
The mountains are beautiful and the walking trails and valleys scenic. The town has a carnival atmosphere with all the live music coming from the open restaurants; people strolling with ice cream cones, balloons, and stuffed toys; the cheese vendors; and the market. The first evening was fun. By the next hot afternoon we thought it too crowded and noisy. How many cheese stands, souvenier shops, and restaurants can one town support? We rode the funnicular up for a grand view, but tired of the music being pumped out onto the terraces, the dogs used in souvenier photos panting under their umbrella, tired children wailing, and smokers everywhere. I think the heat was wearing us down. The weather was iffy and we didn't get an early start the next day (husband had developed a cold) so when we rode the minibus to the cable car and saw the line, we only gave it 15 minutes to see if there was any progress, then decided we would rather walk back to the lower trails. We lucked into seeing ski jump practice.
So, were we disappointed going to Zakopane instead of St Gilgen?
With my husband's cold, he wasn't going to enjoy hiking anywhere. He was only good for a couple of hours, then went back to the guesthouse and I walked alone in the afternoons while he napped. In that way it was convenient to be in Zakopane after a 2 hour bus ride rather than trying to navigate a long train ride that would have just made him feel worse.
The trails were OK, but very crowded with walkers, bikers, even baby buggies. So, not much of the pristine nature experience we enjoy.
The scenery was gorgeous and the architure interesting. I enjoyed watching the sheep and the sheep dogs. Also interesting to see the young ski jumpers practicing. It was nice to be one of very few foreigners in an area, seeing what the "locals" do for fun.
Now that I am familiar with the bus to/from Krakow, how the local minibuses run set routes for fixed price paid at destination, layout of the town etc. I could navigate a little more efficiently and avoid the crowds a little more, but I think there are just a lot of Polish people enjoying their holidays in a lovely setting--I can't blame them.
I can also see why people recommend going to Slovakia and getting away from the Zakopane crowds. However, it is difficult if one wants to rely on public transportation and doesn't speak the language.
Jun 27th, 2008, 11:26 AM
#6
"going to Slovakia and getting away from the Zakopane crowds. However, it is difficult if one wants to rely on public transportation and doesn't speak the language." I didn't find it that difficult, and I certainly don't speak the language. Depending on the day of the week, you can either get a bus from Zakopane straight through to Slovakia, or get one to the border, walk across, and wait for a Slovakian bus. Slovakia was MUCH, MUCH quieter than Zakopane (lol), and the hiking was great.
