My husband and I will be in Krakow for about 5 days this coming June-July. We're planning to spend time in Krakow to see main sites there. We also want to go to Wieliczka Salt Mine and Auschwitz. As we've gotten older (70+) we've gotten slower. Long walks, standing for long periods of time and stairs can be a challenge. Would appreciate any advice and tips specific to these locations that will help accommodate our physical limitations. Thank you.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1710 posts
Krakow Old Town is quite compact, and with all the numerous cafés and restaurants, easy to find a place to sit. To move farther afield, say to Kazimierz, the trams are frequent and easy to navigate. It was a fairly long walk to the Castle complex - it may be possible to take a tram along the Ring Road to get there.
The Auschwitz tour offered by the memorial requires a lot of walking, and they keep the group moving rather quickly. There are stairs up to and inside some of the structures. Birkenau is vast, with a lot of walking between the stops on the tour there. You might consider booking a ticket for Auschwitz for later in the day, when you're allowed to walk through the complex on your own - you can follow the walking tour in the RS guidebook. Then skip Birkenau.
Posted by
Chicago
765 posts
I visited Krakow, Wieliczka and Auschwitz on my own in 2015 and as part of an organized tour in 2022.
The old town of Krakow is eminently walkable because it's compact. You should not have a problem there. If you want to venture into the modern city, it is more spread out.
Wieliczka could prove a challenge because visitors go down winding stairs to enter the salt times; returning to the surface is not a challenge because elevators are provided. Check with the website to see if you could take an elevator down. As far as the tour, it went at a moderate pace.
As the other responder said, the guides at Auschwitz are moderately brisk.
Posted by
OP
Chicago, Illinois
3 posts
Thanks for sharing your experiences, Mark and Craig. This is very helpful and will help assure we have a better visit!
Posted by
206 posts
Trams and buses in the big cities in Poland are free for 65+. Just have your passport in hand to show if asked. No need to buy a ticket.
Posted by
311 posts
Trams and buses in the big cities in Poland are free for 65+. Just have your passport in hand to show if asked. No need to buy a ticket.
That is not true. In most big cities it's free for >70, not 65. In Kraków it's >70. The only big city I'm aware of where it's >65 is Wrocław. Also, since free travel is being paid for by the local taxpayers, every city/town is different, rules are not the same everywhere.
Posted by
OP
Chicago, Illinois
3 posts
Thanks for the suggestion about the buses. We'll check it out !