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Budapest and Krakow: Seven nights and how to divide them

Budapest and Krakow: Seven nights and how to divide them

Old Dec 28th, 2009, 07:26 PM
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Budapest and Krakow: Seven nights and how to divide them

I have seven nights to spend between Budapest and Krakow. I know that really isn't a lot of time split between these two cities but that is all I have.
Please tell me suggestions on how many to spend in each.
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Old Dec 28th, 2009, 09:02 PM
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Sorry, I can't be of help, but I'll be following this thread I too am planning a trip to some Eastern European countries.
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 04:06 AM
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Hi Sher; You are rght, not much time in each city. I saw the other post on flying to Budapest. This only works if you fly into one city and out of the other. Consider, a nine or ten hour flight and at least three hours of airport time. Very tired the first day. We took a direct train from Krakow to Vienna and it took seven hours. Krakow to Budapest probably would take at least seven hours. I see no non-stop flights between cities. So for me, I would do these two cities only if I didn't expect to return to this area of Europe. I would fly into Krakow and spend four nights. Much to see outside of Krakow. Then take the train to Budapest for three nights. Perhaps someone knows of a non-stop flight. Fly home from Budapest. Here is some information on eash city. Richard www.inyourpocket.com for Krakow and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/krakow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/budapest P.S. Loved Pittsburgh.
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 06:10 AM
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Richard. I really do not expect to return to this area of Europe any time soon. The main reason to go to Krakow is to see the salt mines and the concentration camps.

I have looked and the flights are just too difficult and expensive and we can drive there as easily as trying to twist outselves into knots doing that. I know we could get to Krakow with more ease from other cities but I will be hoping to return to those areas and that is why I have not included them. I am traveling with a friend and she especially wants to see Krakow and why not?

Since we decided to do this itinerary we are taking the opportunity to spend one night each way to and from Budapest to see some of Slovakia which has some charming towns.

We haven't anything written in stone yet but only allowed three days for Krakow and did allow the four nights in Budapest even though I know that is skimping.

Thank you.
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 07:04 AM
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hi sher,

as an altervative to driving, there is a direct overnight train with no connections between the two cities, which might help. [see www.bahn.de]

as your interests are the salt mines [terrific] and the concentration camp [we didn't go so can't comment] i would suggest 4 nights in Krakow and 3 in Budapest. there is plenty to do there too, but mainly museums.
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 08:13 AM
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Hi Sher; Great, decision made and you can do it. Check to see if you need a 'visa' in Slovakia. The 'salt mines' are incredible. And Auschwitz is a 'must see' to honor and pay respect. Richard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/auschwitz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 08:35 AM
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I did something similar, as part of a much longer visit to eastern and central Europe in September and October this year, and both Budapest and Krakow were highlights. I would happily return to both again anytime.

Just to give you an idea of the timings, the visit to the salt mine will take about 3 hours from leaving Krakow. It's quite astonishing and well worth the time. Here's a photo of the 'cathedral' carved from salt, if you're interested: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923495.html

A visit to Auschwitz, both camps 1 & 2, will take 4-5 hours from leaving Krakow to returning. Add another hour to visit the museum and view the film, which we didn't have time for. If you want to see some images, you can page through the book I made from our visit: http://www.blurb.com/books/934013

Krakow is a picturesque, charming, well-preserved medieval city with a vibrant cafe, bar and coffee shop culture, an impressive central market square, and thousands of Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic buildings, with a 10th-century Royal Castle and a Renaissance Cathedral on a fortified hill. It's relatively easy to see most of it on foot, and I would encourage you to allow 2 days in Krakow itself to get a good taste, in addition to the days needed for Auschwitz and the salt mine. Here are some images: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923522.html and http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923490.html

And don't miss the absolutely stunning Da Vinci portrait of the lady with an ermine in the Czartoryski museum. It is luminous, sublime, and little-visited - if you're lucky, you may have her and her dark little room all to yourself, as I did: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923491.html

Budapest is a much larger, more bustling city, but still charming and very beautiful. You will need at least 2 full days to skim the highlights get a sense of it.

Here are a few images: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923399.html
http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923447.html
http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923452.html

It's a full day's drive from one city to the other, as you probably know. Between Budapest and Krakow we stopped for a picnic lunch in Dedinky, a small village on a reservoir in the mountains of Slovakia: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923426.html

And we stopped in Recsk, where there is a Stalinist-era death/labor camp, a sobering reminder of Hungary's recent history: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p61923501.html

We also stopped at a small winery in the Hungarian countryside about 2 hours outside of Budapest.
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 08:36 AM
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P.S. Sher, based on your thought of two nights in Slovakia, consider this. If I were doing this trip with seven nights, here would be my plan. I can drive up to three hours after getting off a long flight. I would fly into Budapest, rent a car [with GPS] and head to the town you choise in Slovakia [one night]. Next day head to Krakow [three nights]. On the return thru Slovakia, a different town [one night]. Drive to Budapest and rturn the car [two nights].
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 10:58 AM
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Richard. That is exactly what we are planning. We will fly into Budapest. We are renting a car and immediately driving toward Krakow. But we only plan on up to three hours because of the flight there. We are thinking of Banska Stiavnica, which is a UNESCO designated town.
We will then get up early the next morning and finish the trip to Krakow.
On the return to Budapest, we will pick another town and do the same thing.
I aleady own a Garmin with Europe maps which I have used in Portugal and France.

The car for a week, even an automatic, is very reasonable. I did find a round trip flight from Budapest to Krakow but it takes up so much time and is about $200 per person on LOT. And it would be nice to have a car to do the things outside of Krakow we want to do with no restrictions of transportation. And we thought it would be so much better not to be concerned about one way drop off fees with the car, etc and the three day rental bit.

annhig. I am thinking that Krakow will warrant more of our time than Budapest. So if I must short change one it will probably be Budapest. I might return there some day but Krakow, I don't think so. We were thinking we could do the camps and mines in one day since we have our own transport but if we stay a little longer we will not need to. And we will not need to rush.

justshootme. This is the first time my friend and I will be traveling together.
So wish us luck. I usually do not write trip reports anymore, but I look for posts with which I have some experience to contribute and I will answer them. So maybe I can be of some little help at a later date.

I have found several places in Krakow. One is the Wielepole Guesthouse which is on the main square and has parking in a secure lot available for a small fee. Parking the car is something we need to be concerned about.

But I am open to any suggestions.
Now to find airfare I can live with.

Thanks to all, again
Sherry
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Old Dec 29th, 2009, 11:12 AM
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Sher, many thanks for your offer of help after you return from your trip. Have a great trip and I'm sure that travelling with a friend will add lots of excitment to your adventure. I have travelled with a friend to a city I have travelled to frequently; the trip when my friend accompanied me was much more enjoyable than my solo trips to the same destination. Unfortunately, it's difficult to organize schedules to travel with my friends most of the time.

Try a search on www.kayak.com to check airfare prices.
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Old Dec 30th, 2009, 09:01 AM
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How much time to spend in each city really depends on your interests. For Krakow, you'll probably need 3 days if your intention is to see the the salt mines and the concentration camps - and a bit of the charming town itself. Budapest could easily take much longer than that, particularly if you want to visit any of its museums.

Personally, I would not want to plan on doing anything on the same day as a visit to Auschwitz/Birkenau except a stroll around Krakow and nice dinner. I spent nearly a full day at the camps and found them much to moving to be able to really take anything else in afterwards. Perhaps others have had different experiences.

Hope that helps!
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Old Dec 30th, 2009, 10:59 AM
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hi sher,

I agree with kja about not planning to do anything else on the day you go to auschwitz - people we spoke to were very moved by it and didn't really want to have any fun for the rest of the day.

nor would i want to try to fit the salt mine and auschwitz into the same day - I'm not sure what time of year you're going but I wouldn't fancy doing to mcuh driving outside Krakow at night. there is a train that gets you there very easily or alternatively a bus which isn't quite so convenient. we got the bus there and the train back which worked out very well.
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Old Dec 30th, 2009, 11:45 AM
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julia. I am so glad you sent me visiting times. That is very helpful. And thank you for the pictures.


Someone here suggested that both the camps and the salt mines could be done in one day. But my reading tells me that in October, one closes at 4pm. Right now I cannot remember which. So that cuts down the visiting time. The other is open until 7:30.

We would have a car and I also felt that it might be done not having to depend on bus or train schedules. But I may have to rethink that.

I spent some time at the bookstore today trying to decide on guide books. Our local Barnes and Nobel does not have much on Poland. I really want something specific for Krakow. So it is shopping on line for me. Since I am only spending time in one city of Poland on this trip I like to have really specific guide books if they are available.
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 01:05 PM
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Sher, 2 summers ago we pretty much did just that, 7 nights spent between Krakow & Budapest. I think it may have helped that we had been to Krakow before, but we still were busy every moment. Heres what I did. 1st of all, DRIVE! It is the fastest way to go from Krakow to Budapest. The planes go North to go South, and the overnight train will just leave you feeling like crap the next day. Not exactly a luxurious way to travel. The day train will take up an entire day. We left Krakow at 7:00 and were in Budapest at our hotel by 2:00, even stopping at some lovely ski resort town in the Czech Republic for a leisurely lunch. Bring or rent a GPS.
For Krakow, spend 2 full days and nights. Split it up with day tours on day 1 to Auschwitz and the Saltmines. That will take up the entire morning & afternoon. Spend the evening having dinner in the main square, called Stare Glowny. You can visit the famous Church and the Cloth Market whenever you are there. The sq. has a great vibe. The second day, visit the Palace and Art Musuem. Spend the rest of the afternoon on a tour of the Jewish Quarter (if you have any interest) and have dinner there at Klezmer Hois or an equivalent place that mimics what Krakow was like before WWII. If you have no interest in the Jewish Quarter, just see the town. It's lovely, but you can see the main sites in 2 days.
You'll make it to Budapest by late lunch and with 3 and a half days, you can see a lot. Not everything, but the main sites on both sides. You will love it!
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 03:10 PM
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zwho. Thank you so much.
First of all we pretty much decided to drive. I already have a GPS. The cars are reasonable and both my friend and I have driven several times in Europe and understand that distances are relative.

We are going from Budapest to Krakow. But this is after our international flight and we are concerned about the drive after that long flight. So we thought we would find a place to stop along the way. I now find out that my friend wants to visit family in Kosice. It is a little out of the way but about three hours from Budapest. So we will probably stop there the first night.

Since we are planning to leave Kosice the next day early and we are coming from the South I thought it might be a good idea to stop at the Salt Mines before we go into Krakow. I have to update my information but I think they do not close until 7:30. Then we will go to our hotel. We will have that evening in Krakow. We will then have the next two evenings there too. Part of one day will be to visit Auschwitz. At that time of the year it closes at 4:00.

We will make our way back to Budapest drop off the car and spend the next four nights there.

Actually, we could probably use at least a week in each but we don't have the time so this will have to do. I will just pick out a short list of things to see and get as far down the list as I feel like doing and save the rest for another trip.

I always appreciate any feedback anyone can give me.

Sherry
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 04:13 PM
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Sher - sounds like a good plan! You will have enough time to get a good taste of both.
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 05:20 PM
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It seemed like there was plenty to do in Krakow in the evenings. I think half a day in Auschwitz is enough time for even the most ardent historian. At the Saltmines they just schedule tours on an ongoing basis and I don't think you have to get a tour until you get there, but I don't really remember. I do remember I bought salt scrub for my girlfriends and it's the best foot scrub I have ever used! I can't say enough for Krakow & Budapest. Both are really wonderful places to visit.
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 06:11 PM
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zwho. My friend and I were just tonight bemoaning the state of our feet, so I know what I will be bringing back!

My new travel books are starting to arrive and I am reading like crazy.

Julia. I am certainly trying my hardest.
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 06:34 PM
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Hi, Sher. We were in Krakow and Budapest in June, 2009, and loved them both. In Budapest we particularly enjoyed the Hammer and Sickle Tour put on by Absolute Tours (www.absolutetours.com). Our guide, Bae, told us what it was like growing up under Communism and took us out to the Statue Park where the Hungarians put the Communist statues after the fall of Communism. She also told us about her grandfather's travails living under the Nazis and then the Communists. We felt we learned so much from her. For more information on what to see in Krakow and Budapest click on my name for my Central Europe trip report.

Janet
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Old Jan 4th, 2010, 06:58 PM
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Thanks Janet. Checking it out. I am trying to do searches but sometimes you need just the right key word.
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