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Krakow public transport

Krakow public transport includes trams, buses. The transport network is ramified, connecting the center and suburbs. A single ticket is valid for all types of transport.

krakow public transport tickets fare

If you have not prepared for a trip to Krakow, then the current fare can always be found at information stands at stops or on the website of the transport company MRK Mpk.krakow.pl/en/prices-of-tickets/

There are several types of tickets for travel: for a certain time (short trips for 20, 50, 90 minutes), passes for 1, 2, 3 days or a week, family tickets for weekends, group tickets (up to 20 people), combined tickets for travel by train and public transport, travel cards for 1 or more months. Tickets are purchased for travel in a specific area. Zone I is only urban transport within Krakow, Zone I + II is urban and suburban transport. In ticket machines, you will see STREFA I and STREFA II on the screen , so when buying tickets, choose a ticket for the correct number of zones.

For example: from May 1, 2019, the following rates apply:

  • 1-Ticket for 20 minutes (zone I + II) – 3.40 zł (€ 0.8)
  • 2-Ticket for 50 minutes (zone I + II) – PLN 4.60 (€ 1.08)
  • 3-Ticket for 90 minutes (zone I + II) – PLN 6.00 (€ 1.41)
  • 4-Travel card for 24 hours (zone I) – PLN 15 (€ 3.52), (zone I + II) – PLN 20 (€ 4.69)
  • 5-Pass for 48 hours (zone I) – PLN 28 (€ 6.5)
  • 6-Pass for 72 hours (zone I) – PLN 42 (€ 10)
  • 7-Pass for 7 days (zone I) – PLN 56 (€ 13), (zone I + II) – PLN 68 (€ 16)
  • 8-Free baggage transportation
  • 9-Travel for children up to 4 years old and pensioners over 70 years old is free. Children aged 4 to 7 receive a 50% discount on travel. To travel on a reduced-price ticket, you must have an original identity document with you.

More information on ticket prices can be found on the public transport website.

Where to buy tickets.

1. kiosks and points of sale of the company MPK;

2.Biletomat  at the bus stop – a special ticket vending machine for public transport. At bus stops in Krakow (not at all!), There are more than 100 such machines. Accepts cash and cards for payment.

3.Biletomat on the bus  – there is a mobile ticket vending machine on buses and trams. There is a sign on the transport that says that a ticket machine is installed on this bus or tram. Payment by card only. It is very convenient because not all stops have stationary ticket machines. And you don’t have to run around looking for tickets. “Jumped” – bought a ticket – you go with a clear conscience)))

How to buy a ticket from the machine. Brief instructions. 

It’s very simple. In the photo of the ticket machine – colored arrows show the main points of purchase.

  1. On the touchscreen monitor  (red arrow in the photo) select the language (gender, English, German), then – the option “buy paper ticket” – “KUP BILET PAPIEROWY”. The screen will display information about the types of available tickets:  “jednorazowy” or  “bilety czasowe”. 
  2. Select the ticket you need by pressing the button on the monitor.
  3. You pay. There are three payment options in a stationary ticket machine, and in a mobile one (in buses and trams – payment only by card).
  • coins
  • payment card . Insert the card into the reader with the magnetic stripe down, then follow the instructions on the monitor.
  • in banknotes  from 10 zloty. Insert the banknote into the special opening of the ticket machine.

4. Pick up tickets and change (if purchased in cash) in the window below (marked with a purple arrow ).

How to save on transport fares (Krakow public transport)

1.Does a tourist always need to buy a ticket for a day or more?

Krakow’s Old Town is compact. It is easy to walk. We traveled by tram only a couple of times from / to the Podgórze district (with the Oskar Schindler Museum) and the Kazimierz district. We drove from the center directly , using only one-time “jednorazowy” tickets.

If you are staying in the center, then there is no need to buy a pass for a day or more. After all, in order for the 24-hour fare, which costs 15.00 zlotys, to pay off, you need to make at least 4 trips per day using a  “jednorazowy” ticket with a price of 3.80 zlotys. Or take 4 trips of 40 minutes, or 3 trips of 60 minutes. Buying a daily pass will be beneficial if you are staying in the suburbs of Krakow or plan to really travel around the city a lot.

2. Which is more profitable to choose a ticket for a trip: one-time or temporary.

How to find out in advance the necessary line of transport, the timetable, the number of changes and travel time.

*** Let’s share our advice – when planning a route in Krakow (and any other city). Use the Google Maps service   type in the city and route on the map  where and where you want to get from, click the “bus” sign and then look at the “public transport schedule”. The service will show the timetable, whether changes are needed on the way, how much time is spent on the road.

After you have laid the route from one attraction in Krakow to another, see which type of ticket is best for you. If you do not need transfers and the travel time is more than 20 minutes – buy “jednorazowy” , and for such a trip there and back “two-time”. For a short trip, an inexpensive 20 minute ticket is sufficient. If you cannot do without transfers, buy tickets for 40, 60, 90 minutes – depending on the time required for the trip. and If you plan to travel a lot – it is more economical to buy a travel card for 24 hours, etc. If you stay in Krakow for a month or more, then a seasonal personalized ticket for a month or longer will be an excellent solution.

In modern Krakow trams and buses, there is an electronic display – this is practically a large screen from a GPS navigator. The board shows the route number, date and time, where we are now, next stops, city map, streets. Very comfortable, especially for tourists who are visiting the city for the first time.

Tram in Krakow public transport

Traveling around Krakow by tram is comfortable and fast. The tram lines have 27 routes (No. 1 – No. 24, No. 44), two high-speed routes No. 50 and No. 52, two night routes No. 62, No. 64 and No. 69. In Krakow there are two underground stops of the Dworzec Główny Tunel and Politechnika. They are located in a tunnel that is built under the center of Krakow.

It is interesting that the first trams in Krakow appeared in 1882 and were pulled by their horses. The length of the route was about 3 km. Electric trams appeared 12 years later. Today in Krakow there are modern and “old”, but quite tidy trams. Not all doors open at tram stops. When entering / exiting, you need to press the button on the side of the doors so that they open at your stop.

Bus in Krakow public transport

There are over 100 bus routes in Krakow. Urban “miejskie” lines – start at 100 (no. 100 – no. 194), urban high-speed lines “miejskie przyspieszone” – start at 500 , suburban “aglomeracyjne” with a more expensive tariff – at 200 , high-speed suburban “aglomeracyjne przyspieszone” – at 300 The first digit of the night city lines “nocne” is 600, the night suburban lines – 900 . Additional city buses start at 400 .

How to get from Krakow airport to the center.

Krakow is one of the most popular tourist cities in Poland. Now it is easy and affordable to buy air tickets to Krakow. Getting from Krakow airport to the city center is also easy:

  • By buses of the suburban “aglomeracyjne” lines. During the day, these are routes no. 208 and no. 252, at night route no. 902. The price of a one-time ticket with no changes is PLN 4, for 60 minutes with transfers – 5 PLN, for 90 minutes with transfers – 6 PLN. Tickets can be purchased at Ticket Machines – ticket vending machines in the airport terminal, at the bus stop, at the ticket machine on the bus, as well as from the driver.
  • By train, the main railway station Kraków Główny can be reached in 15 minutes and PLN 9, to the town of Wieliczka in 35-40 minutes and PLN 12.50. Tickets can be purchased from vending machines in the airport terminal, from vending machines on the platform, on the train from the conductor.

Taxi.

There are many taxi ranks in Krakow. all have “checkers” with the name of the company and a phone number installed. The prices are quite affordable. There is no boarding fee. There is a minimum fare – from 6 zł, but the meter still starts from zero. The average price for 1 km of the track – PLN 2. It is more profitable to order a taxi by phone. On the checkers and on the inscriptions on the car there is a phone number.

Krakow public transport opening hours.

Daily routes start at 5-00 and end at 22-00. The interval of movement is 10-15 minutes. Working hours of night trams and buses from 23-00 to 4-30. The interval of movement is 20-30 minutes. Transport runs exactly on schedule. It is convenient that at the stops there is a table with a timetable and such an electronic scoreboard. It shows how long to wait for your route.

Tourist transport (Krakow public transport).

Or How NOT to save on travel in Krakow))) For a tourist in Krakow, there are many suggestions to quickly see the sights of the city. These are City tours. Hop On Hop Off buses run around the Old Town. And colorful electric cars for 4-10 people can be found on almost every corner.

An original way to experience the atmosphere of Royal Krakow is to ride along the streets of the Old Town in a real horse-drawn carriage. This is a traditional Krakow tourist attraction.

We hope our information and advice will help you on your trip to Krakow, one of the most beautiful cities in Poland.

Krakow public transport
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