Zakopane to Warsaw

It's better to get there from Krakow (train is best from Warsaw) because that's the base for Zakopane. Then take a bus from there. I would definitely set a few days aside to see Krakow.

Thanks for the response, but my plan is just to get back to Warsaw in order to catch my flight home, so I need the most direct route back to Warsaw on the day before my return flight to the U.S. (A few days in Krakow is definitely on the agenda, but that is before I head to Zakopane.)

If you have to catch a plane back home, then I wouldn't necessarily take the most "direct" way which is probably by bus all the way (see if FlixBus - formerly Polski Bus - goes there and how long it takes). The reason is that a train is a lot faster/more dependable from Krakow to Warsaw, and you don't want to get stuck in traffic taking a bus the whole way. I would take a bus back to Krakow and then jump on the train (the fastest one, preferably).

Another alternative is not to save Zakopane to the very end of your trip because you'll be in transit for a long time in one day.

PS. I just checked FlixBus and it's very cheap (< 10 EUR), but the journey takes somewhere between 9 and 11 hours. Not doable, as I thought.

I did this a few years ago and the best iption then was bus to Krakow then train to Warsaw. Yes it made the last day of our vacation kind of crappy, but I generally am pretty sad the last day anyway. It worked out fine.

Thank you both for the responses. I've already booked my hotels, so I'm stuck making the trek from Zakopane to Warsaw work somehow. Fortunately, I have the whole day to do it as my flight out of Warsaw isn't until the next day. Looks like the bus to Krakow and train out of Krakow to Warsaw is the way to go. I really appreciate the input.

The best way to get to Zakopane is to take a bus. http://buszakopane.eu/
In general, it is not an easy task to get out of Zakopane. But if you find a good bus - it might be very easy.
good luck!

There is also train connection from Zakopane to Krakow or better said it used to be and hopefully also it will be. Right now tracks are going through the big reconstruction. That's why Zakopane to Krakow will be by bus. And also train took longer than bus on this particular part of journey.

Thank you again for the input. I guess I will throw myself on the mercy of my hotel staff for advice (bus or train) when the time comes, and give myself plenty of extra time to make the trip!

This bus service appears to go to and from Zakopane - Krakow with regular daily service. Does anyone see any reason why I shouldn't use them? From looking at their website, all seems good to me.

https://www.szwagropol.pl/