Public transport: Krakow

As we arrive in the beautiful city of Krakow, one thing we struggle to believe is the amount of different public transport methods available...

Probably, one of the most well known forms of public transport in the city is the tram. The trams, that have been running for more than a 100 years, take you across the city for a very cheap price, tourists and locals alike use them, which is what I use. There are lines that run throughout the day, and the night too, they are less frequent at night. During the day, depending on the line, they come either every 5 minutes or up to every 20 minutes. During the night, they come every 30 minutes and the journeys are usually a lot longer.

As for the residents, or those who are living in the city for longer than a month, it is possible to get a card that allows you to travel on the trams for a whole month as many times as you want, it is unlimited. It costs 40zlt/10€ for students that are under 26 years, and double that for adults over 26 years. If you happen to be a student over the age of 26, then the price is 80zlt/20€.

To get the tram card, you have to have the ISIC card (international student card) that costs 25zlt/6€. You have to show it in the transport office when you are buying the transport card. I hope you don't mess this up, because I got my ISIC card in Krakow, but I think you can get it beforehand in Spain if you show an admission card of your university or your personal university card. But still, if you're as disorganised as me, and you haven't stopped to think about the small details, I will give you the directions and the address so you can go and get it ASAP when you get to Krakow. It is called Rainbow Tours S. A. You can only get it with a student card from your university (mine was Jaguiellonian University), your NIE number and a passport photograph.

Rainbow Tours S. a. Biuro Podróy

ul. Stradomska 19

31-068 Kraków

Neighbourhood: Śródmieście

+48 12 292 24 43 rainbowtours.pl

Also, weather permitting, if you are a tourist and you don't need to use the trams every day, I advise you to take your ISIC card with you anyway so that you can buy a single ticket for just 1, 40 zlt/0, 35€. As for tourists who buy a single ticket without the ISIC card, it will cost 2, 80zlt/0, 70 a journey. And having said that, never, I repeat never get on a carriage without having bought a ticket, because there are workers watching you (I was stopped by a 70 year old woman) that are standing at the machines where you place your ticket to, making it impossible to try and sneak on without buying one. If you get caught you will end up paying 500zlt/125€ instead of a mere 0, 70€. So please, just bite the bullet and buy a bloody ticket. It really is worth it.

As for the bus, honestly, I am not that sure how they work, because I only ever took two during my time there, once when I went to Ikea and once when I went to the airport (Nº192). But from what I know, there are more than 100 lines that connect the city and they are reliable as the trams. And like the tram, you can use your transport card on almost all of the bus lines; one of the exceptions is the bus to the airport, which leaves from Dworzec Główny. You have to buy a single ticket (it takes 40 minutes) because of whereabouts it is situated; 2zlt/0. 50€ for students and 4zlt/1€ for everyone else.

I will also mention that apart from the urban buses, there is a cheap company that offers travel all around of Poland and certain cities near the border such as Berlin and Prague. Also, there are some long journeys that can cost just 1zlt/0, 25€, if you book it in advance at a certain time.

The company is called Polskibus, they don't have any offices so you have to arrange everything online. Here is the link: http://www.polskibus.com/en

I will highlight that this is the website where you can consult the different hours and the different connections for the various locations; http://krakow.jakdojade.pl

With this, it is as simple as naming the street or station you are leaving from, and the street or station you want to be dropped off at. Then, you will see a list of the trams or buses that can take you there, with the times and schedules, maps, and the time it will take you to arrive at your destination. Which is wonderful for people like me since I am rubbish at arranging things! There is also an app for this website for smartphones so that you can access all this information whenever you need to.

Next, like millions of insects crawling around the city, are taxis. One time I asked a taxi driver how many taxis there were in the city it was difficult to pass your license to become one. And to my surprise, he told me that it was quite difficult and apart from the taxis that were active, there were around 4, 000 if I understood correctly. And I suppose a lot of them were working illegally too.

Despite what you might believe, taking a taxi is quite cheap in Krakow compared to other cities. Of course, only when you use certain companies. It is very common in Poland to see dozens of taxis stopped at the bays in busy locations like the bus station, and advertise the fact that their journeys only cost 40zlt/10 €. Of course, we would never get such a cheap taxi ride in cities such as Bilbao, Barcelona and Madrid... but in Krakow, even 10€ is considered very expensive. You can go up to 30km for 10€ with certain companies, whereas others will only take you 3-7km for the same price. That is why I would advise contacting the cheaper companies so you really get your money's worth. For incidents like this, it is easier to have a Polish SIM card that you can use when you want to call local numbers.

I personally recommend the company Play for a sim card, which is the Polish version of moviestar. There are hundreds of these stores around Krakow where you can get a sim card for the simple price of 5zlt/1. 25€ which gives you more than enough minutes for your stay here. It was an easy decision for me, so that I could make these necessary calls every once in a while, instead of having to pay the ridiculous rates if I was to use my Spanish phone for just 4 calls.

Returning to the "taxi" companies, I know of two that I used to use and that I would recommend. There is Icar taxi (tel. +48 12 653 55 55) and Mega taxi (tel. +4819625) which are very cheap compared to the other companies in the city (1 80zlt / 0, 45 €). However, if I had to say which one I prefer, it would have to be Icartaxi, since it always stops the meter when you are waiting at traffic lights and jams so it is always cheapest. And the journeys never take more than 5 minutes, normally the average is 2 minutes.

As for the trains, honestly, they are the worst. I would never ride on one of them again. They were carriages from hell. But still, they are not as uncomfortable as they seem. Well, not unless you're carrying your luggage on top of you, of course. And the space is so limited that you are always squashed like peas in a pod, and it is even worse when you are trying to get it off it.

The nightmare starts when you have to take your bags to the luggage carriage. The compartment is so large that you're afraid that you will lose you bag inside of it and never find it again. There is also the narrow aisles in the train, wonderful, if you want to lose weight from all the effort you need to get past everyone. And I'm telling you about this hell from the perspective of a young, agile and active woman of only twenty years... I do not even want to think about how hard it would be for someone 50-60 years.

As for the price, there are very cheap. You can get to the border of Poland for only 32zlt /8 €, that is if you have the Polish student card. Not the ISIC. With the right card, you get train journeys that are pretty much half price. All other people have to pay double.

Some more advice is that, before you take the train, make sure that your student card has all the correct information about you (current date, correct personal data... ) and that you buy a ticket before you get on the train. Because the Polish ticket inspectors love fining people, even if you don't deserve it... Also, none of them are sympathetic because virtually no one knows how to speak English, and they only know the words 'Pay and money'.

I will finally mention that there are lots of car rental companies which I used when I went to visit Bratislava, Prague and Vienna. They are all quite cheap and allow you to have the freedom to experience different cities and countries on your own time and schedule.

And of course, it is possible to rent bikes in different locations throughout the city and they are all not too expensive.

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