| My Trip to Krakow Poland - Things to Do | Tours | Shopping | Outfits | Top Tips |

Hey Guys!

Hope you are all well! So I’m back to reality this week after an amazing 4 days in Krakow, Poland. I absolutely loved the place! My boyfriend surprised me with this trip for my birthday back in March and I was so excited to go. He got a really good deal on the trip and booked everything through Wowcher which included our flights, hotel, transfers and ONE tour. For those not familiar with Wowcher it is very similar to the online deal website Groupon except it only operates in the UK unfortunately. I had every intention of vlogging the entire trip with our GoPro but we left the charger for it at home and only managed to capture the first day. Gutted. But hopefully if you were following me on snapchat you got to see it on there.

DAY 1

We set off last Tuesday morning from Stansted Airport on our 9.30am flight with Ryanair. The flight takes approx. 2 hours and 5 mins which isn’t long at all and we arrived in Krakow airport at approx. 12.30pm (they are 1 hour ahead) where our taxi transfer was ready and waiting for us. The drive from the airport to our apartments took around 25 minutes. We stayed in the Siesta Aparthotel which was literally 5-10 minutes’ walk into the Main Square so it was very near! Our room/apartment itself was lovely and I think it had been recently renovated. It was a little on the smallish side but was perfect for what we needed it for as we hardly spent any time there! The bed was so comfortable and the bathroom was fab too with a huge rain shower which I fell in love with! We also had a small kitchenette with all the usual appliances, kettle, toaster, cooker, fridge and washing machine. I’m actually raging I didn’t get any pictures but if you follow me on Snapchat you will have seen it on there. Just a quick note, if you are thinking of booking this place which I would definitely recommend then make sure you ask for a double room as on our booking we had either twin or double and we had to be changed to a different room when we got there. However, the staff were very obliging and changed us straight away, no bother at all.

So after we unpacked our stuff and got freshened up we headed on out for some lunch and a stroll into the main square. The main square itself is massive and was bustling with people when we arrived. The place was so full of energy with all the market and food stalls everywhere and horse drawn carriages circling the square.

We strolled around through all the market stalls and tried out some of the local food available on the stalls. We ate mostly all local Polish food while we were there and it was delicious especially their traditional Polish dumplings called Pierogi – Unreal! Restaurants and bars surround the entire square so there is any amount of places to eat & drink. 

We also strolled around the Cloth Hall which is another big market hall right in the centre of the square filled with merchants selling their wares and lots of different trinkets including jewellery, clothing, flowers and souvenirs. 

We then noticed a free walking tour starting in the square as we were passing so we jumped in and toured the rest of the city. I would highly recommend doing one of these free walking tours on your first day. The tour guides are so informative and know the entire history of the city and they show you around all the main places of interest including Wawel Old Town and the Jewish Quarter so it’s really good to get your bearings on the first day and learn some of the history. I actually bumped into an old friend on the tour that I haven’t seen in years! We used to be in the Reserve Defence Forces together. She is currently travelling Europe on her own! So inspiring! 

After our day of exploring we headed back to the apartment and put the glad rags on to head out for the night. After dinner we went for a few drinks and met a lovely group of Irish girls in one of the  bars who were on a pub crawl. We ended up jumping in on the pub crawl and had an unreal night with the girls!

DAY 2 | Auschwitz & Birkenau Concentration Camps

On Day 2 we had our Tour to Auschwitz & Birkenau Concentration Camps and all I can say is WOW, what a chilling and eye opening experience. What you learn in your history lessons at school is not a patch on what it actually feels like to stand there and see the scale of the entire operation. Remember, the atrocity of what happened in these concentration camps didn’t happen all that long ago! Just over 70 years ago. If you do only one thing while you are in Krakow make sure it is this. You won’t regret it. Granted it is a sad place, but I think every person should experience it. I have goosebumps just writing this! We had the most amazing tour guide as well. She was an elder Polish woman who knew so much of the history, you could tell that she really cared by the way she spoke. She absolutely made the tour for myself and Shane. 

With regards the tour operators and prices, we went with ‘Discover Cracow’ however this was included in our holiday package deal but the website has prices up for €37.50 which is approx. 160zl in polish currency or approx. £32 Sterling. I would actually recommend pricing tours with other tour operators though to see who has better deals. Also, be aware that this Tour will take most of the day. We were picked up from our apartment at 1.15pm and were dropped back that evening at 8.30pm - a good 7 hours and lots of walking so bring comfy shoes! I was told before I went that no photography was allowed at all but this is only true for certain parts so snap away. Also you are not allowed to bring a bag bigger than A4 paper size (odd I know!) so any bigger will have to be either left on the bus or put in a locker.

DAY 3 | Wieliczka Salt Mines Tour | Schindler’s Factory Museum

The following day we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mines. We had originally booked our visit the night before with Discover Cracow and were due to set off at 9.15am from our hotel but on our way out for breakfast that morning we saw another company ‘Krakville Tours’ offering the same tour for nearly 50zl cheaper so we went with them instead! (Always shop around!). The mines were gorgeous. Totally different to what I was expecting, again, lots of walking! The tour starts with a descent down 380 steps to 64m deep. I was dizzy by the time I got to the bottom LOL. We were then guided through various different chambers which included salt lakes and religious shrines. There is a huge chapel that you see halfway through the tour which is absolutely beautiful. Its salt décor is completely hand sculptured and took 3 men over 60 years (if I remember correctly) to complete. It’s amazing.

The tour finishes 134m deep but thank the lord there was a lift that brought us back up to the surface so we didn’t have to climb anymore steps haha. The air/microclimate of the mines is also very healthy because it is so clean and filled with nutrients that it is supposed to be really beneficial for people who suffer from asthma or similar allergies. They even have a rehabilitation centre down there. It is also apparently a very popular place for weddings. We passed through one of the function chambers and it was amazing. I expect you would pay an arm and a leg for its amazingness too! The tour of the mines took about 2 hours and we were dropped back into the city centre by around 2.30ish.

After we arrived back to the city we decided to walk down through the Jewish Quarter and visit Schindler’s Factory Museum. This came highly recommended by my friend who we met on Day 1 on the walking tour. Your all probably familiar with the movie ‘Schindler’s List’ and if you haven’t seen it then it is well worth the watch! I’ve seen it a couple of times before so I was excited to see the museum. It is the factory itself that has been turned into a museum which takes you on a journey through World War II experiences in Krakow under the five-year Nazi occupation and of course a lot of the museum is devoted to Oskar Schindler himself and his efforts during the war to help/save his Jewish workforce. It takes about an hour to walk around and I would highly recommend seeing it. The price for our entry was 19 zlotys (£4/€4.60). Right next door is a modern art museum too if you’re interested in that sort of stuff!

DAY 4 | SHOPPING

Day 4 was our last day and we had full intentions of getting up early to pack and check out early so we could get the most out of our final day… needless to say we woke up late with our heads a little sore from the night before haha. As it was our last night we got dolled up and headed out for a 3 course dinner and some drinks. We ended up meeting these two lovely Swedish guys and started knocking back the drinks (I was on the cocktails lol). I think we fell in the door around 4am...stop it I know very bold haha. But we had great craic with them and it was a great night! Anyways, our flight wasn't until 10.00pm that night so we checked out about 12.30pm and after breakfast we headed straight for the shops! There is a huge shopping mall there called ‘Galeria Krakowska’ located directly across from the main railway station which has over 270 shops and plenty of restaurants to choose from. All the high street shops are there but to be honest, the prices aren’t any different to at home. We only had a little browse and I didn’t end up buying anything as we have the same stuff here at home! (I also didn’t have any room in my suitcase lol). So after a little browse we headed back into the city centre and shopped for some souvenirs and trinkets to bring home. I always buy fridge magnets haha typical tourist! I was gutted that I only copped the Sephora store before I had all my money spent as I would have had a field day! But I’ll make up for it when we go to New York in November! 

When we got back to the main square we also had a look around St Mary’s Basilica - a stunning church with a very Gothic theme and highly detailed décor. There was a small fee of 10zl to look around and an extra 5zl to take photos which is peanuts.

Because it was Friday there was so much more activity in the main square and it was absolutely heaving with people. There were even more market stalls set up and a stage with local theatrics and musicians performing. Such a lovely atmosphere! So for our last few hours we strolled around some more through the markets and ate more traditional polish delicacies from the food stalls before we headed back to our apartments to catch our taxi to the airport.

OUTFITS

I brought way too much! As you do. But I was totally unprepared for the cold. Not that it was freezing but I brought no jumpers, no scarves, not even a substantial jacket only a flimsy yoke which I thought would be sufficient as the previous weeks the temperatures had hit 32 degrees in Krakow! I had also only brought dresses for the evenings but it was too cold at night so all of the outfits I ended up wearing at night were bought over there bar my black jeans which were from Topshop. All items are linked below.

OUTFIT 1

Top: ZARA

Jeans: Topshop

Shoes: PRIMARK - £13

OUTFIT 2

Fur Poncho: Polish Market

Jeans: Topshop

Shoes: River Island

MY TOP TIPS

1. Shop around for the best deals for each of the different tours. It’s not all that much in the difference but every penny counts!

2. Schindler’s Factory Museum is free on Monday's if your there and the Art Museum next door is free on Tuesday's.

3. Do the free walking tour on your first day. They start at different times throughout the day and are really great for getting your bearings and discovering all the main spots in the city.

4.  If you do only 1 tour then do Auschwitz! I cannot recommend it enough.

5. Try all the local food. Its delicious! I always like to eat what the locals eat while I’m away in a different country. Definitely try the Traditional dumplings ‘Pierogi’ – they are unreal.

6.  Bring a warm jacket haha and some comfy walking shoes. You will be on your feet all day every day.

7.  Drink the local beers and vodka. I don’t drink beer but if I’m drinking I stick to vodka. Vodka is the most popular drink in Poland and it is so cheap! But really good quality as well. They also tend to drink it raw too and don’t be surprised if you are offered a shot after your dinner. They have loads of different flavours too so drinking it this way is actually ok – just not too many haha. My favourite was the cherry vodka – I brought a bottle home with me. The local beers are also way cheaper than the main stream beers and also good but to be honest all the beer is cheap.

8.  You don’t need to bring as much money as you think! I literally only changed up £150 going and I got 720zl which was loads! Food & drink is very cheap. I did end up spending more while I was there but honestly there is no need. In total I spent £300. When your trying to work out the price of stuff in relation to your euro or pound I just divided by 5 - the exchange rate for pound to zloty is approx 4.8zl for £1 and for Euro its around 4.30zl for 1 Euro.

9.  Our favourite little breakfast spots over there were ‘Papryczki 5’ for a delicious European breakfast  and ‘Fitagain Café’ for the most scrumptious pancakes and scrambled eggs.

So there you go guys, a complete round up of our trip to Krakow and all my top tips. If you have a planned trip coming up soon I hope you have an amazing time and got some useful tips from this post or if you know anyone else going there be sure to share this post and tag them! I’m happy to answer any more questions that you have as well just shoot me a comment or a message!

Hope you all enjoyed this post guys – next up, New York New York :) 

Big Love

Aileen X
Facebook: The Aileen Crowe Show
Instagram: @theaileencroweshow_blog
Snapchat: missaileencrowe