Day trip to Zakopane?

Zakopane is quite a distance from Krakow, and once you get there you would want some time for hiking and enjoyment of nature. I don't think it makes much sense as a day trip. There are other day trips out of Krakow--nearby are Auschwitz and the salt mines.

There's enough to do in Krakow itself to easily occupy your time, though.

JER is right. For Zakopane you would need more than one day to enjoy it. But if you decide to do it and have more than one day and it's July through October, weather cooperates and you are good hikers then I am suggesting superscenic hike to you: From Zakopane go to Morskie Oko (beautiful lake in Tatra Mountains) right under the highest mountain of Poland Rysy. From there there is a marked trail to the summit. Hike is strenuous but even Vladimir Iljic Lenin did it.

My wife and I took a day trip from to Zakopane from Krakow and we enjoyed it. My grandparents are from Poland and I wanted to make the most of a quick trip, so we hired a guide who drove us in her car. We enjoyed the village graveyard/church, marketplace, and a tram ride up the hill where there is great street food. You can see our pictures at:
http://gadtravel.blogspot.com/

Hi Jo,

Zakopane and the nearby Tatry are definitely worth a trip. What the other responses said about needing more than one day are true - if you want to get a complete interacton with and appreciation for the Podhale region. If you want to wander Zakopane, take the funicular to the top of one of the mountains, ride the little sled down part way on the mountain, go for a hike in the Tatry, ride the river raft with the local guides on the river that borders Poland and Slovakia, see an old castle and a UNESCO site wooden church... then you would need 2 days and a car. If, however, you just want to get a glimpse of Poland's Gorale (mountain) culture, knowing that it's just a glimpse... then it's worth it. You'd probably want to take a bus with an early departure and late return to make the most of your time there. I'd recommend just staying put in Zakopane and riding the funicular, buy some goffry (waffles) and window shop. Try to sample some of the local salty sheep's cheese. You'll still miss something.. but it is really a spetacular view and a whole different side of the country. If you wanted to still give time to the Jewish history of Krakow, you could walk aroudn the Kazimerz district - you can even visit the factory where Oskar Schindler rescued some of his workers. Many synagogues are still standing, too. I did not have a chance to visit the salt mines, but I heard only good things about the experience. This would give you a shorter, more manageable day trip but not the experience with a regional Polish culture... still, either way you can't go wrong. Good luck!

Your description of your time in Zakopane was very helpful. My husband and I have two days. We plan to catch the train or bus from Krakow into Zakopane and try to see as much as possible and hike as much as possible during the two days. did you book your bus trip ahead of time? Did you consider the train verses the bus? WHere did you stay and would you recommend it? Can you tell us more about the sled ride and the hike half way down the mountain? Any info would be appreciated. We had heard that we could just follow Rick's guide book however we got the book and it had very little about Zakopane.

Thank you in advance your help
Jenny & Gary

Joy
My wife and I did a day trip in 2007. We like to hike so we went to Morskie Oko. It was awesome. We took the morning bus there but once you get there you have to transfer to another bus to get to the hike. The hike is a road for a few miles then you get to a lake and tons of people. From there you can continue up the Mt. We made it to the second lake. Had time for a bit of a rest and then walked back. We were running late for the last bus so we took the horse ride down (you can also take up if you want) this saved alot of time as we pretty much ad to run to the bus to get back to Krakow.
It was all day but worth it we did not have time for anything else.
You may want to check out the Lonely Planent book on Poland it held alot for this area.