Travel from Prague to Krakow

In March 2005 I took the overnight train from Prague to Krakow, and it was super easy. We bought our train tickets once we got to Prague (for travel a few days later) and also booked an overnight sleeping car (which we shared with 2 Asian tourists). It was a fairly safe option because only the 4 of us were in the sleeping room, the door remains closed, and you can keep your luggage close by while you sleep.

After that, we went from Krakow to Dresden, so I don't know about direct trains to Berlin. A word of caution, though, on our way to Dresden we had to change trains in Wroclaw and ended up on a very dingy, filthy milk run train (complete with locals chain smoking right underneath the No Smoking signs) that went to the German border. As far as we could tell, we were the only tourists on the train.

Without boring you with all the details of the story (which is actually kind of funny - now, but not then), I was fleeced for most all of my (Polish) money on the train by a man in a police officer's uniform. Actually, I had been given two options by him: give him all my money or go to Polish prison (for what, I'm not really sure, but I opted for the former. It really didn't seem like the right time to argue).

The moral of the story is Poland is a beautiful country filled with amazing people, but it is not without corruption among some law enforcement officials. Be careful who you hand your passport over to and if a police officer demands money, you demand a reciept (which they are required to give, and dirty cops don't want anything on paper). It's only after I started to demand a reciept the officer actually gave me some of my money back and backed off, and thankfully I was able to go to Dresden instead of Polish prison. I'm pretty sure that would have put a damper on the trip - I've seen "Brokedown Palace."

Sorry for the long post - hope this info helps and have a great trip!

LOT, Polish national airlines, connects both cities
but most flights stop in Warsaw on route.

If you decide to take the rail option during the day, the route is quite scenic. For some reason, the countryside of the Czech Republic escaped the industrial and apartment block forests that blight other former Warsaw Pact countries (Poland included). If the weather is clear, in Poland you can see the peaks of the Carpathian mountains soaring in the distance.

If you have an extra night spare, I would recommend splitting up the journey - Prague to Olomouc (about 2-3 hours by train) and Olomouc to Krakow (4 and a half hours). This is what I just recently did. Olomouc is worth a night, its a nice city. Though I would recommend getting a first class train ticket. Its a little more but train tickets in the Czech Republic are MUCH cheaper than in Western Europe.

Otherwise, direct its a 8-9 hour train ride.

Hope this helps. Happy Travels! :)