New Air Service to Krakow

I wold say based on what I have seen on the news in the last couple of months since Norwegian won its trade ruling all major airlines are now looking to enter the low cost international Atlantic market.

Article is one example of what I am seeing.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/iags-budget-long-haul-carrier-will-fly-to-americas-from-june-1489756714

Good time to travel and look at options.

James,
Does that mean you'll finally visit either Krakow or one of the other cities?

Agnes, to date it has been the expenditure of 2 days of my vacation time to visit a place that may only warrant a 2 day stay. Given that, neither was going to happen anytime soon. But the new flights do change that issue.

When I first looked at Krakow about 10 years ago the news article that stuck in my mind before all others was one about Christians giving the Jewish heritage tours because all the Jews were.... well you get it. They even, in this article, showed an all Christian Klezmer band. Not terrible by every standard but a little off-putting for me personally. In general I am not of a mindset that visiting a concentration camp would be a good thing for me personally. I harbor enough hatred and emotion on the subject as it is. The Schindler factory might be uplifting enough to be something I could do and the architecture and feeling of the city as a whole is encouraging of a visit. So, yes, maybe.

Lviv was one that I had been avoiding because I was afraid it would be too "Western" given its history and lately I have been enjoying Eastern Europe. But I have had a wonderful opportunity to spend some time elsewhere in Ukraine and I fell in love with the people. Traveling for me is more about the people than anything else, so I have a renewed interest in Lviv. Again, yes.

I am thinking about flying into Krakow from the states. That takes care of the first connection issue, then on to Lviv, then on to Kiev; that would be maybe 10 days, then on to Budapest for a week. Kiev stretches it a bit but even two nights in Kiev is worth the effort.

Funny thing is that I was in the middle of planning a fishing trip in the Ukrainian Carpathians when I saw the new flights. That trip will be easier now as I wont have to fly back through Kyiv. So maybe this is what I end up doing and I save Krakow for another trip.

Fly USA to Kiev; for at least 3 nights
Fly Kiev to Chernivtsi & Kamianets-Podilskyi; at least 2 nights
Lodge in the Carpathian;s for at least 3 nights
Drive to Lviv; for at least 2 nights
Fly Lviv to Budapest; for at least 7 nights

James E
Pardon for me jumping into you travel conversation. I have been to all the places you listed minus Kiev.

I just got a ticket from LAX to Krakow on Norwegian. c500$. 1 way. If I had planned sooner even cheaper. Was an excellent price for buying ti 17 days in advance. Krakow was actually cheaper than where I wanted to go in Prague. I have been to Krakow a few times. You can find something to do in Krakow easily for a day or two. The Schindler museum is excellent - thought I would say is more a Krakow WW2 story. There is also a new app called Show Around that you can find a local person to guide/s.

Might I suggest an option is you fly into Krakow. You can cheaply take an overnight train to Lviv from Krakow. Fun way to arrive and gets you right into the city. Same option to Kiev. But are long rides. No comment on Kiev. Though one Ukraine friend has told me city is depressing these days due to the war. 7 days in Budapest ? You must love it there. I lived there for 4 months in 2011. Did not find it that interesting after awhile.

As to concentration camp. I saw this movie on a recent domestic AA flight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH7ktvUWaYo&t=91s

Good luck!

It’s an open forum, the more who jump in the better.

I’ve avoided Krakow in part because I am not a big fan of long train rides, or any point to point travel that much more than 4 hours unless there are a lot of stops along the way. That’s why I was happy with the new flights.

If I go ahead with the fishing trip, flying into Krakow doesn’t really work and would require I back track. Flying into Kyiv makes for simple short legs (Fly Kyiv to Chernivtsi, Drive to near Yaremche, then drive on to Lviv and fly to Budapest)

I was last in Kyiv in August and didn’t find anything depressing about it at all. The war is hundreds and hundreds of miles away. We are returning for a night or two in May.

As for Budapest, we are in Budapest 3 times a year, totaling about 5 weeks; and have been doing this for about a dozen years. We have a home there so all trips must end in Budapest. Still haven’t run out of things to do.

All depends on why you are traveling and what you are looking for. How did you like Chernivtsi & Kamianets-Podilskyi? They look interesting and more importantly it’s a cheap flight out of Kyiv and they get me close to where the fishing is located.

All depends on why you are traveling and what you are looking for. How did you like Chernivtsi & Kamianets-Podilskyi? They look interesting and more importantly it’s a cheap flight out of Kyiv and they get me close to where the fishing is located.