Zakopane, Gubałówka Funicular and Chochołów Thermal Baths from Krakow

About This Experience

This is the Thousand Miles baths day, rated 4.9 from 13,368 reviews on Viator. The driver collects you from your Krakow address between about 07:30 and 09:00 (the exact time comes by phone around 8 pm the evening before) and the drive south to the mountains takes about two hours.

The opening stop is Chochołów, a Podhale village of old log houses where people still live, for about 15 minutes. Next comes a half-hour tasting of highlander smoked sheep's-milk cheese (sold as oscypek) with regional spirits.

In Zakopane your guide hands out the return ticket for the Gubałówka funicular, which climbs about 300 m in roughly three and a half minutes to a ridge with views back over the town and the Tatras. Allow about an hour for the ride and the ridge, then around two hours of free time on and around Krupówki, the main pedestrian street, where lunch is at your own cost.

The day ends with a three-hour ticket to Chochołowskie Termy, the thermal baths in Chochołów, with indoor and outdoor pools kept at 32 to 38°C. The ticket covers most zones but not the sauna area or the extra-charge zones. Bring your own towel, swimsuit and flip-flops; the operator lists them as mandatory.

The baths are closed from 19 to 30 October 2026 for building work, so on those dates check which baths your departure uses before you book. The tour has one option, from about $114 (€99) per person, and shared groups can reach 53 travellers. Expect to be back in Krakow after 11 to 12 hours.

Highlights

• Walk among the old log houses of Chochołów, a highlander village where families still live today.
• Taste smoked sheep's-milk cheese sold as oscypek alongside regional spirits during a half-hour stop on the way.
• Ride the Gubałówka funicular up the ridge above Zakopane with the return ticket already in your guide's hands.
• Spend around two hours on Krupówki, Zakopane's pedestrian street, for lunch, shopping and a look around town.
• Finish with three hours in the indoor and outdoor thermal pools at Chochołowskie Termy before the drive home.
• Get picked up from your own Krakow address, with the exact time confirmed by phone the evening before.

What's Included

• ✓ Hotel pickup and drop-off in Krakow (the driver may set a nearby spot if your street is car-free)
• ✓ Return transport Krakow to Zakopane and back
• ✓ English-speaking guide, with printed booklets in other languages
• ✓ Highlander cheese and regional spirits tasting
• ✓ Gubałówka funicular return ticket
• ✓ Three-hour ticket to Chochołowskie Termy (most pool zones, sauna not included)

Not Included

• Lunch and dinner
• Sauna area and extra-charge zones at the baths, added to your wristband and paid on exit
• Overstaying the timed baths ticket, charged at 0.50 PLN per extra minute by the baths
• Towel, swimsuit and flip-flops (bring your own)

What to Bring

• Towel
• Swimsuit
• Flip-flops
• Comfortable shoes
• A warm layer, since it is colder in the mountains than in Krakow

Good to Know & Caveats

• Pickup runs between about 07:30 and 09:00; the driver calls or messages around 8 pm the evening before with your exact time.
• In the car-free Old Town the pickup may be moved to the nearest spot a vehicle can reach.
• The guided commentary is in English; choose another language at booking and you get a printed booklet instead.
• Chochołowskie Termy is closed 19 to 30 October 2026 for works, so check which baths your date uses.
• Shared groups can reach 53 travellers.
• Infants sit on an adult's lap.

Meeting Point

Pickup from your accommodation in Krakow between about 07:30 and 09:00; the driver confirms the time around 8 pm the evening before and may move the pickup to the nearest reachable spot in pedestrian zones.