Zakopane Day Trip from Krakow

For a Zakopane day trip that is all about the town, book Cracow Top Tours’ Zakopane and Tatra Mountains Day Tour with Funicular on Viator. It costs from about $81 per person, collects you from your hotel or a central bus bay, and covers Chochołów, a smoked-cheese and vodka tasting, about two hours on Krupówki, the Gubałówka funicular with about an hour at the top, and photo stops at Jaszczurówka Chapel and the Wielka Krokiew ski jumps. It holds 4.8 from 493 reviews on Viator (prices checked October 2026). The same operator sells it on GetYourGuide as Zakopane Tatra Mountains, Cable Car, Local Tasting, from $80 with 4.7 from 355 GetYourGuide reviews, so check both for your date.

Sightseeing day or baths day?

This is the decision that shapes everything else. Want more time in Zakopane? Pick a sightseeing-only tour. Want a broader day out? Pick Zakopane plus thermal baths. The two follow the same route through Chochołów and up Gubałówka, but a baths day then spends about three hours in the pools at Chochołowskie Termy, so it leaves about 2 to 3 hours for the town and runs 10 to 12 hours. The tours on this page leave about 3 to 3.5 hours in Zakopane and take 8 to 10 hours door to door.

Choose sightseeing only if you want to walk Krupówki without watching the clock, eat a proper lunch, or visit in the 19 to 30 October 2026 window, when Chochołowskie Termy is closed for building work. Choose a baths day if you want to rest your legs in warm water before the drive back; our Zakopane and thermal baths page compares those.

The lead pick in detail

The Cracow Top Tours day starts with pickup from your address, or from bus bays at Straszewskiego 17, Plac Matejki 2, Starowiślna 65 or Wielopole 2, and about two hours on the road. In Chochołów the guide explains why the near-identical wooden houses are washed with soapy water before Christmas and Easter. Next comes a shepherd’s hut, where 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 you get about two hours on Krupówki, then the funicular, with around an hour on the ridge. On the way out the driver stops at Jaszczurówka Chapel and at Wielka Krokiew, where entry to the ski-jump complex is not included. The whole day runs 9 to 10 hours and ends where you were collected. Shared groups take up to 30 travellers. The Full package includes the funicular ticket; the transfer-only option does not, so read the option name at checkout. Lunch is at your own cost. More detail is in our breakdown of the Zakopane and Tatra Mountains day.

Five more sightseeing days compared

VISIT POLEN’s Zakopane and Tatra Mountains Door-to-Door Day Tour suits travellers who want a smaller group. Every traveller is picked up at their accommodation, groups are capped at 15, and the day lasts 8 to 9 hours. The plan gives about an hour on Gubałówka, around two hours on Krupówki and a short stop at the ski jump. It costs from about $81 and holds 4.8 from 1,194 reviews on Viator.

Poland is beautiful’s Zakopane, Gubałówka and Wielka Krokiew Day Trip shares the lowest from-price on this page with the funicular included, $74, and holds 4.7 from 1,737 GetYourGuide reviews. You get about half an hour to walk Chochołów, photo stops at Wielka Krokiew and Jaszczurówka Chapel, and about an hour on the ridge, over about 9 hours. The driver doubles as tour leader. On Viator the same day is Zakopane, Tatra Mountains & Gubałówka Day Trip, from about $74.

Krak Tours’ Zakopane and Tatra Mountains Tour with Gubałówka Cable Car is the shortest day on this page, at about 8 hours, from $80 from a meeting point or about $86 with hotel pickup. A driver-guide adds a short stop in another highland village before Chochołów, then Wielka Krokiew, Jaszczurówka, an hour on the ridge and around two hours of free time. It holds 4.8 from 970 GetYourGuide reviews.

ExploreCracow’s Zakopane Small-Group Tour with Funicular and Cheese Tasting gives you the most time in town of any tour on this page, about 3.5 hours including the funicular. It costs from $74, collects you between 8:20 and 9:20, runs about 8 to 9 hours and holds 4.8 from 405 GetYourGuide reviews. Its Viator twin, Zakopane Tour with Cable Car, Cheese & Vodka Tasting, is from about $82. Read our breakdown of the small-group tour.

Krakowdirect’s Zakopane Cable Car, Cheese and Drink Tasting Tour sells two quite different days. The Basic option, from $69, is a return transfer with the tasting and free time but no funicular ticket and no guided sightseeing. The guided option, about $79, adds a host for the market, wooden architecture and Krupówki, plus skip-the-line funicular tickets. It holds 4.7 from 396 GetYourGuide reviews.

What you see in Zakopane

The Gubałówka funicular, run by PKL, is 1,301 m long, climbs about 300 m and takes about 3.5 minutes. From the ridge the view takes in Zakopane and part of the Tatras, including Giewont and Kasprowy Wierch. If your option leaves the ticket out, a low-season return from 1 October to 18 December 2026 costs 37 PLN online or 42 PLN at the ticket office. Gubałówka is a viewpoint reached without any hiking; the Tatra valleys and peaks themselves lie inside the national park and are reached on foot, which is a different kind of tour, compared on our Tatra Mountains tour page.

Krupówki is the main pedestrian street, about 1 km long, and the Tatra Museum’s main building stands at number 10. Jaszczurówka Chapel, built in 1904 to 1907 to a design by Stanisław Witkiewicz, is one of the clearest examples of the Zakopane style, and it is a photo stop on several tours here. Kasprowy Wierch is a separate cable car that none of these tours includes, and it is closed for maintenance from 19 October to 6 November 2026. Our Zakopane cable car tours page explains the difference.

Practical tips

• Lunch is never included. Eat on Krupówki or carry snacks for the ridge.
• Wear warm layers: Zakopane averages 6.5°C in October and below freezing from December to February.
• Pickups in car-free parts of the Old Town move to the nearest spot a vehicle can reach.
• Cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead on the tours compared here.

Where to go next

For the full spread of options, start with our best Zakopane tours page or the guide to which Zakopane tour from Krakow is right for you. If you would rather travel independently, our Krakow to Zakopane page compares the bus and the train. When you have picked a day, check availability.