Zakopane and Tatra Mountains Day Tour with Funicular from Krakow

About This Experience

Cracow Top Tours collects you from your hotel in Krakow, or from one of four central bus bays, and drives about two hours to the Tatras. The opening stop is Chochołów, a village of near-identical wooden houses that locals traditionally wash with soapy water before Christmas and Easter.

Nearby, at a shepherd's hut (bacówka), you hear how the smoked sheep's-milk cheese sold as oscypek is made and try it with a shot of Polish vodka. In Zakopane the itinerary gives about two hours on Krupówki Street, then the Gubałówka funicular, which climbs about 300 m in roughly 3.5 minutes, with around an hour at the top.

On the way out the driver stops at Jaszczurówka Chapel, a wooden church over a century old, and at the Wielka Krokiew ski jumps, where admission is not included. The operator puts the whole day at 9 to 10 hours, back to the same place you were collected.

Shared groups take up to 30 travellers. The Full package costs from about $81 (£59.99) per person and includes the funicular ticket; a VIP private option runs about £159 per person for two. The tour holds 4.8 from 493 reviews on Viator.

Highlights

• Walk among the matching wooden houses of Chochołów, washed by hand twice a year.
• Hear how smoked sheep's-milk cheese is made and taste it with a shot of vodka.
• Ride the Gubałówka funicular with your ticket included on the Full package.
• Spend about two hours on Krupówki Street for lunch, souvenirs and a stroll.
• Stop at the wooden Jaszczurówka Chapel and see the Wielka Krokiew ski jumps.
• Choose hotel pickup or one of four central Krakow bus bays.

What's Included

• ✓ Round-trip transfer from Krakow with hotel or meeting-point pickup
• ✓ English-speaking guide, with written guidebooks in other languages
• ✓ Stop in Chochołów
• ✓ Tasting of smoked sheep's-milk cheese and local alcohol
• ✓ Gubałówka funicular ride (Full package; the transfer-only option has no entry ticket)
• ✓ About 3 hours of free time in Zakopane

Not Included

• Lunch in Zakopane (paid on the day)
• Admission to the Wielka Krokiew ski-jump complex (viewing stop only)
• Gubałówka ticket if you book the transfer-only option
• Souvenirs and drinks at the top of Gubałówka

What to Bring

• Comfortable shoes
• Warm layer for the top of Gubałówka
• Money for lunch

Good to Know & Caveats

• The exact pickup time is sent the day before, once all addresses are collected.
• If vehicles cannot reach your address, pickup is within about a 5-minute walk.
• Shared groups take up to 30 travellers; a VIP private option uses a vehicle just for your party.
• Infant seats are available, and the operator rates the day suitable for all fitness levels.
• The cheese is smoked sheep's-milk cheese sold as oscypek; genuine PDO oscypek is made just from May to September.

Meeting Point

Pickup from your hotel or apartment in Krakow, or from a bus bay at Straszewskiego 17 (by the Radisson Blu), Plac Matejki 2, Starowiślna 65 or Wielopole 2. You are dropped back where you were collected.