We will be traveling in Poland in July and want to take to legs by rail - Berlin to Krakow and Krakow to Turin. Should we try to make reservations weeks ahead, before we leave the US, or is it better to just buy the ticket a little ahead of time at the station? Other Polish rail tips?
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
Polish rail is not set up for pre-purchase from the US. Trains run frequently, inexpensively, and hardly ever full. So just buy the tickets as you need them unless it's a particularly time-sensitive leg of the trip like an overnight couchette or something like that. In that case, try to buy your outbound ticket as soon as you arrive in the city.
Posted by
winston salem, nc, usa
1078 posts
You can probably fly as cheap or cheaper from Berlin to Krakow than the train and in a lot less time. I took the night train from AMS to Poznan during the volcano last year and it was fine; it continued on to Warsaw and then to Moscow, however, coming from Berlin to Warsaw,it had no food service. You will change to a regional train to get to Krakow and it will make for a very long day or night and day.
Krakow also has very good regional air connections to the rest of the EU however, I'm sure someone else will chime in for that leg for you. Krakow should not be missed!
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
<<Polish rail is not set up for pre-purchase from the US. >> We visited Poland last year and bought all our train tickets in advance, online. Just go to: http://www.booking.polrail.com/
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
1525 posts
I think (but don't know for sure) that that web site might be the Polish equivalent to Eurail - a clearinghouse for rail reservations sold at premium prices. I did a quick crosscheck with; http://rozklad-pkp.pl/?q=en/node/143 and got fares cheaper, but could not purchase on line. Still, it's good to know there is a place you CAN buy tickets via the internet. I stand corrected. But you really don't need to bother. You can buy ahead for piece of mind if you are 100% certain of your schedule. But waiting gives you some flexibility.
Posted by
Hamilton
84 posts
You can buy Polish train tickets online directly here: https://bilet.intercity.pl/irez/ I set up an account, bought and printed my tickets with no issues. For the Berlin to Krakow portion you can likely buy tickets through www.bahn.de. I would not be concerned about getting tickets from Krakow to Turin ahead of time unless the train goes through Warsaw. If so, they you may want to as Krakow-Warsaw trains can be busy.