Day Trips from Kraków: Auschwitz, Wieliczka and Zakopane

Quick answer: If you have one free day, go to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, about 70 km west, and book it before you arrive: entry cards are issued only online, and in the morning you can only enter with a guide. With a second day, add the Wieliczka Salt Mine, an easy half day by train. With three or more days, the Tatra mountains around Zakopane are worth a full day or, better, a night. For a short, quiet nature trip, Ojców National Park is about half an hour north.

Which day trip from Kraków fits your trip

Kraków sits in the middle of the most visited day trips in Poland, and almost all of them leave from the same few streets around the Old Town. The question is less where to go than what each day costs you in time, energy and booking effort.

• Best if you only have one day: Auschwitz-Birkenau, with a guided tour that includes your entry.
• Best half day: the Wieliczka Salt Mine, about 20 minutes by train.
• Best for mountains and fresh air: Zakopane and the Tatras, ideally with one night there.
• Best low-effort nature: Ojców National Park and Pieskowa Skała castle.
• Best for a rest day without leaving town: Schindler’s Factory and Kazimierz.

Auschwitz-Birkenau: book it first

The former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp at Oświęcim is the trip most visitors to Kraków plan around, and it is the one with the strictest rules. Since March 2026 the Memorial issues entry cards only through visit.auschwitz.org. Nothing is sold at the entrance. Entry itself is free, and the number of passes is limited.

Timing is the part people miss. In November, visitors without a guide can enter only from 2 pm, and the last entry is at 3 pm. In December, unguided entry starts at 1 pm and the last entry is at 2 pm. Before those hours, you can only go in with a Memorial guide-educator. The standard guided tour takes about three and a half hours and covers both Auschwitz I and Birkenau, with a shuttle between the two sites. The Memorial is closed on January 1, December 25 and Easter Sunday.

Tour or on your own? Going independently is possible, but in winter it squeezes the visit into the shortest light of the day. A guided trip from Kraków solves the two hard parts at once: the entry slot and the transport. They typically run seven to ten hours door to door, with early pickups. If that suits you, compare Auschwitz-Birkenau tours with hotel pickup, and check that the option you choose includes the entry pass and a guide at both camps. Our listing for the guided tour with hotel pickup has more detail.

Before you go: bags larger than 35 × 25 × 15 cm are not allowed inside, so leave anything bigger at the hotel. Plan to arrive 30 minutes before your slot for the security check. The Memorial does not recommend visits for children under 14. Leave the evening free. Most people do not want a big night out afterward.

Best for: anyone who wants to understand what happened here, with time to take it in. Trade-off: it is a full, heavy day, and in winter the schedule is tight.

Wieliczka Salt Mine: the easy half day

The Wieliczka Salt Mine was on UNESCO’s first World Heritage List in 1978, and it is the most relaxed of the big trips. Trains from Kraków Główny take about 20 minutes, then it is a short walk to the Daniłowicz Shaft, where the Tourist Route starts.

The route is always guided. It runs about 3.5 km, goes down to 135 meters and takes two to three hours, including the saltworks museum. You walk down roughly 380 steps at the start and about 800 steps in total, then ride a lift back up from the lowest level. The highlight is St. Kinga’s Chapel, a full-size church carved from salt, with chandeliers made of salt crystals. It stays around 17 to 18°C underground all year, so a light layer is enough even in January.

The Tourist Route runs from 9 am to 5 pm. Tickets are sold on the mine’s own site, at a machine by the entrance and at the ticket office, but the office only sells what is left after online sales, and English-language tours run at set times. Buy online for a specific slot, or book a Wieliczka tour with transport from Kraków if you would rather not deal with trains. See our listing for the guided tour with fast-track ticket. Only small bags (20 × 20 × 35 cm) are allowed on the route.

Best for: families, rainy days and short stays. Trade-off: it is busy, and you move at the group’s pace.

Can you do Auschwitz and Wieliczka in one day?

Yes. Many operators sell combined Auschwitz and Wieliczka tours, and they make sense if you have only one day outside the city. But it is a very long day, and the change of mood between the two places is hard. If you have the time, split them: Wieliczka in an afternoon, Auschwitz on its own day.

Zakopane and the Tatras: better with a night

Zakopane is Poland’s mountain town, at the foot of the Tatras on the Slovak border. Buses from the MDA bus station, next to Kraków Główny, take about two hours, and trains are slower. That makes a day trip possible, but you spend four hours of it on the road.

In town, Krupówki is the main pedestrian street, with restaurants, shops and stalls selling oscypek, the smoked sheep’s cheese of the region. The bigger reason to come is the mountains. The cable car from Kuźnice up to Kasprowy Wierch is the fastest way into high country, and in winter it also serves the ski area at the top. Buy cable car tickets online from the operator, PKL, in peak periods, and expect closures in high wind.

Day trip or overnight? A guided Zakopane day trip with time in the thermal pools is the easy option in winter, when short days leave little time for hiking. If you want the mountains themselves, stay a night and go up early. Hotels near Krupówki keep you within walking distance of the bus station and restaurants.

Best for: hikers, skiers and anyone who has had enough of museums. Trade-off: long travel for one day, and weather decides what you can do up top.

Ojców National Park: the short nature trip

Ojców is Poland’s smallest national park, created in 1956, and it is about half an hour’s drive north of Kraków. The trail along the Prądnik valley runs roughly 7 to 8 km from Ojców village to Pieskowa Skała, a Renaissance castle on a limestone crag that is now a branch of the Wawel Royal Castle collections. It is an easy, mostly flat walk past rock formations and caves.

Ojców is the one trip here that works well without a tour. Go by car or taxi, or check current local bus times from Kraków, and come back for dinner in the city.

Best for: repeat visitors and walkers. Trade-off: less to see on a gray winter day, and public transport is slower than a car.

Staying in the city instead

If you only have two or three days, one of them is often better spent in Kraków itself. A Schindler’s Factory and Jewish ghetto tour covers the wartime history of the city without a long drive, and pairs well with an afternoon in Kazimierz. Schindler’s Factory uses timed tickets, so book a slot.

Where to base yourself for day trips

Pickups for most Auschwitz and Wieliczka tours cover the whole center, so your neighborhood matters less than you might think. If you plan to use trains and buses, stay in or near the Old Town, a short walk from Kraków Główny and the MDA bus station. Hotel Stary is one well-placed option there. For more character in the evenings, Kazimierz works too: PURO Kraków Kazimierz is a short tram ride from the station. Our guide to where to stay in Kraków compares the areas in detail.

A local tip: Put Wieliczka on your arrival afternoon or a gray day, give Auschwitz a day of its own, and plan something quiet that evening. A simple dinner in Kazimierz, from our list of where to eat in Kraków like a local, is about right.

FAQ

Do I need to book Auschwitz in advance?

Yes. Entry cards are available only online at visit.auschwitz.org, and none are sold at the entrance. Free passes for visiting without a guide are limited and valid only in the afternoon, so book early or join a guided tour that includes entry.

Can you do Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day?

Yes, and combined tours from Kraków are common. It makes for a very long and emotionally uneven day, so split the two if you have time.

Is Zakopane worth it as a day trip from Kraków?

It is possible, with about two hours by bus each way, but you get more out of it with one night. In winter, a guided day trip with thermal pools is the easiest way to do it in a day.

How do I get to the Wieliczka Salt Mine from Kraków?

Take the train from Kraków Główny. It takes about 20 minutes, then it is a short walk to the Daniłowicz Shaft. Buy a ticket for a specific tour time online first.

More Kraków: Where to stay in Kraków · Things to do in Kraków · Kraków nightlife · What to buy in Poland. Or browse the full Kraków guide.

Sources checked November 2026: Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, basic information · Auschwitz-Birkenau, individual visitors · Auschwitz-Birkenau opening hours · Wieliczka Salt Mine, Tourist Route · Visit Zakopane, getting there · Visit Zakopane, Kasprowy Wierch cable car.

Featured image: St. Kinga’s Chapel in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, by Arian Zwegers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.