Zakopane Cable Cars: Gubałówka and Kasprowy Wierch

Zakopane has two lifts that people mean by “the cable car”. The Gubałówka funicular climbs 1,301 metres of track to the top station at 1,123 metres in three and a half minutes, right above the town; a return ticket cost 37 złoty online or 42 złoty at the ticket office in November 2026, and it is the one the Kraków day tours ride. The Kasprowy Wierch cable car, 4,261 metres long, lifts cabins from Kuźnice to 1,987 metres in 20 minutes for 129 złoty return; it was closed for its annual autumn inspection from 19 October to 6 November 2026.

The calendar above is the Kraków day tour that rides the Gubałówka funicular, with the ticket included in its full options.

Gubałówka: the funicular on the tour

The funicular starts from its lower station at ul. Na Gubałówkę 4, a short walk from the end of Krupówki, and runs up the wooded ridge north of the town to the top station at 1,123 metres, the viewpoint across Zakopane to the Tatra peaks. PKL, the operator, runs it non-stop through its opening hours once ten people are in the car, and otherwise every 15 minutes; up-only and return tickets are valid all day. It was running from 09:00 to 20:00 on 2 November 2026, with no autumn closure announced for 2026.

From the PKL Gubałówka price list, read November 2026. Reduced fares are for ages 5 to 26 and over 65; children under 4 ride free. High-season fares (June to September 2026) were 44 złoty return online.

On the Kraków day tours the return ticket is part of the full options, and the guide buys it: Thousand Miles Cracow Adventure Company lists half an hour at the top.

Check dates for the day with the funicular

The calendar near the top of this page is *Krakow–Zakopane: Cable Car, Chocholow Baths, Cheese & Vodka* (11,406 reviews, checked November 2026): with the funicular and three hours at Chochołowskie Termy, €90.41 a person from a meeting point for 24 November 2026 (read November 2026).

Kasprowy Wierch: the high cable car

The Kasprowy Wierch cable car leaves from Kuźnice 14, at the southern edge of Zakopane, and climbs 4,261 metres of cable to the summit station at 1,987 metres in about 20 minutes, with cabins every 10 minutes (every 30 in bad weather or when few people ride). In the low season to 18 December 2026 a return cost 129 złoty (109 reduced) and a one-way 119 złoty (95 reduced), online or at the office; sales of return tickets stop two hours before the last ride down. PKL closes it twice a year for inspection: in 2026 from 4 to 22 May, and from 19 October to 6 November, reopening after 6 November.

Kuźnice is 4.0 km on foot from Krupówki, about 50 minutes. The summit is high mountain ground: in November 2026 the Tatra National Park had declared avalanche danger across the Tatras, so read the TOPR bulletin at lawiny.topr.pl before walking anywhere from the top station. None of the Kraków day tours rides Kasprowy; it needs its own half day.

Which one?

On a day trip from Kraków, Gubałówka: it is in town, takes minutes, costs little, and is already in the tour. Kasprowy is worth a separate day if you are staying in Zakopane, with good weather and a fixed plan for the top, and once it has reopened after its autumn inspection. The itinerary shows where the funicular fits into the tour.