Flights to Krakow – How to Get to Krakow

The popularity of medieval Krakow as a top European destination is on the rise! Over 10 million tourists had a chance to experience the magic enclosed within its borders in 2015. What is more, 2016 has already been confirmed as another record-breaking year for the tourism of this lovable city! Curious of how to get to Krakow to confront the enthusiastic reviews of its visitors with reality? This guide is something you will surely like. This time I will focus on the easiest and way of reaching Krakow there is: taking a flight. You will see that Krakow is related to a number of convenient international connections leading to its dynamically expanding  airport. Moreover, you will realise it is possible to reach the city centre from there before you can say Jack Robinson!

KRAKOW-BALICE AIRPORT

The main airport of Krakow is located 11 kilometres from its historic city centre only. It was named after one of its most renowned citizens. Saint John Paul II Airport Krakow-Balice attracts numerous passengers, making it the second-largest airport in Poland. Due to the fact that its capacity needed urgent development (593 thousand passengers recorded in 2003 and over 4,5 million at the end of 2016), Krakow-Balice airport has recently undergone thorough modernisation. Between  2002 and 2015, there were two brand-new terminals opened within the airport.

Additionally, the latter year was when the railway between the city’s  main station (Krakow Glowny) and its airport was completed. Now, the international terminal has a footbridge leading directly to Krakow-Balice railway station. This solution has proven extremely convenient to its passengers, with ticket booths and offices operating at the platform. Frequently departing “Balice Express“ train makes it possible to reach the Old Town of Krakow within a 20-minute ride only!

For the price of PLN 8 per a single ticket (feel free to check the average prices in Krakow here), getting yourself transferred to the centre of Krakow becomes not only quick, but also really cost-effective. Any alternative means of transfer between Krakow-Balice Airport and the city itself are covered here. Now that you know the essentials on the airport of Krakow, it is time to answer yet  another fundamental question. Namely: can I get to Krakow directly from where I live?

WHERE TO TAKE A FLIGHT TO KRAKOW FROM?

Direct flights to Krakow depart from 18 European countries, with a seasonal connection established with Israel. The 75 cities shown below also enable visitors from across the pond to take indirect flights to Krakow. It is doable via indirect connections, having convenient changes assured at the largest airports of Western Europe.

So far, the most crowded flights to and from Krakow have been associated with such airports as: London-Stansted, Warsaw-Okecie, Frankfurt, Munich, Dublin, Oslo-Rygge, Milan-Bergamo, Berlin-Tegel, Oslo-Gardermoen and Edinburgh. As shown by the stats of 2015, the popularity of Krakow as a tourist destination has been especially rising in such countries as the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway, France, Ireland, Spain, Belgium and Sweden, in this particular order. This indicates that the relative number of flights to Krakow from these locations is supposed to increase in the future.

AIRLINES PRESENT AT KRAKOW AIRPORT

Krakow is a city that welcomes visitors of all walks of life. Its hotel base or restaurants have always been fully prepared to serve both budget travellers and 5-star-oriented visitors. Consequently, the airport of Krakow followed the trend. Thanks to this, Krakow Balice is both where large and established carriers or cost-effective airlines provide their services.

The former category includes British Airways (London-Heathrow), Alitalia (Rome-Fiumicino), Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich), Norwegian (Bergen, Kopehagen-Kastrup, Oslo-Gardermoen, Stavanger, Stockholm-Arlanda, Trondheim), KLM (Amsterdam), SAS Scandinavian Airlines (Kopenhagen-Kastrup, Stockholm-Arlanda) or Swiss International Airlines (Zurich), among others. Additionally, Polish-based LOT carrier makes it possible to take direct flights between Krakow and highly popular Gdansk or Warsaw.

What is yet something budget travelers enjoy the most, is the presence of a few low-cost airlines in Krakow. Ryanair, extensively covering the connections between Krakow and Alicante, Belfast-International, Bergamo, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Charleroi, Dortmund, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gran Canaria, Leeds, Liverpool, London-Stansted, Madrid, Manchester, Rome-Ciampino, Stockholm-Skavsta or Treviso, is a real giant providing Krakow with most of its visitors.

With such nice budget airlines as easyJet (Belfast-International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Liverpool, London-Gatwick, Lyon, Manchester, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Paris Charles de Gaulle or Venice Marco-Polo), easyJet Switzerland (Geneva, Basel/Mulhouse) or Eurowings (Dusseldorf) that have also chosen Krakow as their regular flight destination, the city may be considered a really pocket-friendly location.

HOW TO GET TO KRAKOW FROM KATOWICE AIRPORT

Sometimes it just happens that you may have booked a ticket to Katowice Airport. At the same time, your intention being to visit Krakow instead of the capital of Upper Silesia. Katowice-Pyrzowice Airport is the largest competitor of Krakow-Balice in southern Poland.

If you consider it more convenient to travel to Poland with WizzAir (e.g. from Barcelona-El Prat, Bergen, Bologna, Doncaster, Eindhoven, Frankfurt-Kahn, Glasgow, Catania, Cologne/Bonn, Kiev-Zhulany, Larnaca, Lisbon, London-Luton, Maastricht-Aachen, Malmo-Sturup, Naples, Paris-Beauvais, Reykjavik-Keflavik, Stavanger, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion or Tenerife), landing in Katowice would not be a bad option to choose. The road connection between Krakow and Katowice is 106 kilometres only and leads through a motorway. There are a few coach carriers offering direct transfer to Krakow straight from the terminal of Katowice airport.

If you decide to take a flight to Katowice and get to Krakow by train, your journey will take slightly more than 2 hours. Additionally, before you reach the main railway station of Katowice, you will need to devote 50 minutes to a coach ride from the airport there. Obviously, a bit less so by taxi, with flights between Katowice and Krakow not operating at all.

Anyway, in certain cases, Katowice may be the most convenient option for you, considering the length of a flight itself. It all depends on where you live or where your point of departure is. Unless you are planning a really short stay in Krakow, it is not something to disregard in advance. Katowice is still situated in relative proximity from your final destination.

Krakow charming cobbled streets, castles and historical monuments, are only within an hour or three of a flight for you to see. Adding the modern and efficient transportation systems implemented in the agglomeration of Krakow, we get the full picture of it as a conveniently reachable destination. With this considered, even a short city break in Krakow will not need excessive travel time from you to take. You may be free to enjoy the essence of your trip there! Namely, the sightseeing of attractions this royal city has a great number of to offer.