Krakow to Zakopane: Tour, Bus or Train

Zakopane is 108 km from Krakow by road. If you are travelling independently, the fastest train is the EIP Pendolino at 1 hour 57 minutes, and FlixBus quotes from about 1 hour 44 minutes with fares from about 7 euros. If you are visiting for one day and want Chochołów, a cheese tasting and the Gubałówka funicular without planning connections, book VISIT POLEN’s Zakopane and Tatra Mountains Door-to-Door Day Tour on Viator. It costs from about $81 per person, collects everyone from their own accommodation, caps groups at 15, includes the funicular ticket and returns you after 8 to 9 hours. It holds 4.8 from 1,194 reviews on Viator (prices checked October 2026).

The rest of this page sets out each option, what it costs, and the point at which an organised tour becomes the simpler choice.

The distance and the drive

By the fastest route a route planner gives, Zakopane is 108 km from Kraków, about 1 hour 49 minutes in free-flowing traffic. The road is known as the Zakopianka: the S7 expressway to Rabka-Zdrój, then national road 47 through Nowy Targ. The S7 section from Myślenice to Rabka-Zdrój, with its tunnel, has been fully open since November 2022. Free-flowing traffic is the best case, and real times on the Zakopianka vary, especially on busy weekends when up to 250,000 tourists arrive in Zakopane.

By train

Rail service between Kraków and Zakopane resumed in December 2023, when the modernised line and the rebuilt Zakopane station reopened. From the December 2025 timetable, PKP Intercity runs 9 daily and 2 seasonal pairs of trains on the route, and the timetable added the first EIP Pendolino service to Zakopane, covering the trip in 1 hour 57 minutes. Other trains take longer, so check the timetable for your departure.

Zakopane station is now an integrated rail and bus hub, with a shared waiting area, luggage storage and a 180-space park-and-ride. The train suits travellers who want comfort and a fixed timetable, and anyone staying in Zakopane for more than a day.

By bus

Two operators carry most independent travellers, both from MDA, the Małopolska bus station at Bosacka 18 next to Kraków Główny.

• Szwagropol: buses leave from the upper-level stands G18 to G19. The operator’s fare table lists a normal fare of 37 PLN. Its timetable for 28 September to 8 October 2026 has about 13 weekday departures each way, Kraków to Zakopane from 06:10 to 21:20 and Zakopane to Kraków from 06:15 to 20:50. Online tickets require boarding at the main station, and bicycles are not carried.
• FlixBus: from about 1 hour 44 minutes, fares from about 7 euros and about 15 rides a day, with prices varying by date. Buses leave from MDA (platforms G14 to G17) or from the Czyżyny station and arrive at Zakopane bus station on Chramcówki 35A.

If you prefer to book a seat through GetYourGuide, the From Krakow: Bus Transfer to/from Zakopane sells a one-way Kraków to Zakopane seat from $10. It is a plain bus ticket with air conditioning and Wi-Fi and no hotel transfer, rated 4.0 from 304 GetYourGuide reviews.

What a do-it-yourself day costs once you arrive

The bus or train gets you to Zakopane. The sights most day tours include cost extra on your own:

• Gubałówka funicular: a return costs 37 PLN online or 42 PLN at the ticket office from 1 October to 18 December 2026.
• Chochołowskie Termy: about 95 to 115 PLN for a 3-hour adult ticket in the low season. The baths are in Chochołów, about 20 km from Zakopane, and are closed from 19 to 30 October 2026.
• Chochołów village and a shepherd’s-hut tasting: tours stop there on the drive in; on your own you need your own transport for the 20 km.

Add a bus fare each way and the cash cost of a self-guided day stays low. What you trade is time: connections, a return timetable to watch, and no stop in Chochołów unless you arrange one.

When an organised tour makes more sense

If you have one day, a tour removes the planning. These are the formats worth comparing:

• Classic sightseeing, door to door: VISIT POLEN, from about $81 on Viator, about two hours on Krupówki plus an hour on Gubałówka. See our breakdown of the door-to-door tour.
• Lower price with hotel pickup: Poland is beautiful’s Zakopane, Gubałówka and Wielka Krokiew Day Trip, from $74 on GetYourGuide, about 9 hours, 4.7 from 1,737 GetYourGuide reviews.
• More free time in town: ExploreCracow’s Zakopane Small-Group Tour with Funicular and Cheese Tasting, from $74, about 3.5 hours in Zakopane, 4.8 from 405 GetYourGuide reviews.
• Zakopane plus thermal baths: the Thousand Miles Zakopane, Gubałówka Funicular and Chochołów Thermal Baths day, from about $114 on Viator with 4.9 from 13,368 reviews on Viator, or from $102 on GetYourGuide as Krakow–Zakopane: Cable Car, Chocholow Baths, Cheese & Vodka, with 4.8 from 11,112 GetYourGuide reviews. Check both for your date. It runs 11 to 12 hours and gives about three hours in the pools, so less time in town.
• Just the baths, in the evening: HelloCracow’s Chochołów Thermal Baths Evening Trip, from $63, about 7 hours, 4.6 from 574 GetYourGuide reviews.

A simple rule: if you want more time in Zakopane, pick a sightseeing-only tour; if you want a broader day, pick Zakopane with the thermal baths. Our Zakopane day trip page covers the first, and the Zakopane thermal baths page the second.

Which should you choose?

• Staying overnight in Zakopane: the train or bus, then explore at your own pace.
• One day, tight budget, happy with timetables: the bus, plus the funicular ticket on the spot.
• One day, Chochołów and Gubałówka included, no planning: a door-to-door tour from $74 to about $81.
• One day with the pools: a baths day from $96 to about $114, or an evening baths trip from $63.

Where to go next

For a ranked view of every format, see our best Zakopane tours from Krakow, the Zakopane cable car tours page for funicular pairings, or the guide to which Zakopane tour from Krakow is right for you. If a tour suits your day, check availability.