Krakow to Zakopane by Train or Bus

From Kraków to Zakopane the bus is the everyday choice: Szwagropol lists about fifteen departures from Kraków, takes about two hours ten minutes and charged 37 złoty one way in November 2026. Koleje Małopolskie’s Luxtorpeda train leaves Kraków Główny at 06:16 and arrives at 08:48 for 26.50 złoty, and PKP Intercity’s fastest Pendolino is timetabled at 1 hour 57 minutes. For a day trip that also takes in Chochołów and the thermal baths, a tour is simpler: it picks you up in Kraków and brings you back about 11 hours later.

The calendar above is Thousand Miles Cracow Adventure Company’s *Krakow–Zakopane: Cable Car, Chocholow Baths, Cheese & Vodka*, with 11,406 reviews (checked November 2026). The timetables for doing it yourself follow.

By bus

Szwagropol’s coaches leave Kraków at 06:10, 06:55, 07:40, 08:15, 09:40, 10:50, 12:50, 14:10, 14:55, 16:20, 17:20, 18:20 and 21:20, with a few more on certain days, and are timetabled at two hours five to two hours fifteen minutes; the 06:10 arrives at 08:20. Fourteen coaches return from Zakopane between 06:15 and 20:50. A normal single was 37 złoty, with 25 per cent off for students (the Szwagropol timetable, updated 8 October 2026, and fares). Some runs operate on weekdays or weekends only, and there is no service on Easter Sunday or 25 December, so check the day you travel. Check the Kraków departure stop on the operator’s page when you buy.

By train

Koleje Małopolskie’s K5 Luxtorpeda runs Kraków Główny 06:16 to Zakopane 08:48, two hours 32 minutes, and back from Zakopane at 19:22, reaching Kraków at 21:57, for a single fare of 26.50 złoty (timetable valid 25 October to 12 December 2026). That pair of trains makes a full day in Zakopane possible by rail. PKP Intercity’s Pendolino express is timetabled at 1 hour 57 minutes from Kraków in its 2025/2026 timetable; its fares and number of trains vary, and a new national timetable starts on 13 December 2026, so check the Intercity and Koleje Małopolskie planners for your date.

Arriving in Zakopane

The railway and bus stations stand side by side on the edge of the centre. Krupówki, the main street, is 1.1 km on foot (about 15 minutes), and the Gubałówka funicular’s lower station 1.6 km (about 21 minutes). For the thermal baths at Chochołów you need a local bus or a taxi: Chochołowskie Termy is 17.8 km by road from Krupówki.

What it costs on your own

With the bus both ways (74 złoty), the Gubałówka funicular bought online (37 złoty return) and a weekday 3-hour ticket at Chochołowskie Termy (95 złoty), the day costs about 206 złoty, about €47 at the European Central Bank’s rate of 2 November 2026, before the ride out to Chochołów and back. By the Luxtorpeda the fares come to 53 złoty instead of 74.

When the tour is the better answer

If the day is meant to include Chochołów and three hours in the thermal pools, the timetables work against you: the baths are 18 km from the station, and the last Luxtorpeda leaves at 19:22. A day tour does the joins for you: pickup in Kraków between about 07:30 and 09:00, the village and tasting, two hours in Zakopane with the funicular, three hours in the pools, and back about 11 hours later. With both tickets included, Thousand Miles Cracow Adventure Company’s day was €90.41 a person from a meeting point for 24 November 2026 (read November 2026).

Check dates for the Zakopane day

If you only want Zakopane and the mountains, without the pools, the bus or train is cheaper and gives you more hours in town. What the tour costs compares the options.