Zakopane and Thermal Baths from Krakow

For a Zakopane and thermal baths day from Krakow, book ExploreCracow’s Zakopane, Gubałówka and Chochołów Hot Springs Day Trip with Tasting on GetYourGuide. It costs from $96 per person from a central meeting point, or about $102 with hotel pickup, and includes Chochołów village, a cheese and vodka tasting, the Gubałówka funicular, about 2.5 hours in Zakopane and a three-hour ticket to the Chochołów baths. It holds 4.9 from 4,526 GetYourGuide reviews (prices checked October 2026). The same operator sells it on Viator as Zakopane & Hot Springs Tour with Cable Car: $96 on GetYourGuide, about $108 on Viator with hotel pickup included, and 4.9 from 2,083 reviews on Viator, so check both for your date.

Before you pick, know what a baths day trades. The pools take about three hours, so you get about 2 to 3 hours in Zakopane against about 3 to 3.5 hours on a sightseeing-only tour, and the day stretches to 10 to 12 hours. Want more time in town? Our Zakopane day trip page covers the tours without the pools.

The same day, sold twice

The three most-reviewed baths days on this site are each sold on both platforms by the same operator, with the same itinerary and different prices. Check both before you pay.

• Thousand Miles: Zakopane, Gubałówka Funicular and Chochołów Thermal Baths from about $114 on Viator, 4.9 from 13,368 reviews on Viator; Krakow–Zakopane: Cable Car, Chocholow Baths, Cheese & Vodka from $102 on GetYourGuide, 4.8 from 11,112 GetYourGuide reviews.
• ExploreCracow: Zakopane, Gubałówka and Chochołów Hot Springs Day Trip from $96 on GetYourGuide; Zakopane & Hot Springs Tour with Cable Car from about $108 on Viator.
• Cracow Top Tours: Zakopane Day Trip with Thermal Springs, Funicular and Local Tasting from $96 on GetYourGuide, 4.8 from 5,755 GetYourGuide reviews; Zakopane Tour, Thermal Springs, Cable Car & Hotel Pickup from about $108 on Viator, 4.9 from 1,403 reviews on Viator.

The GetYourGuide from-prices of $96 are for a central meeting point; hotel pickup costs about $102 there. The Viator prices include pickup. Thousand Miles collects everyone and is the most-reviewed Zakopane tour on this site, but its shared groups can reach 53 travellers and the day runs 11 to 12 hours. See our breakdown of the Thousand Miles day.

The lead pick in detail

The ExploreCracow day meets at one of five central Krakow points (Starowiślna 65, Garbarska 2, Floriana Straszewskiego 17, plac Jana Matejki 2 or Wielopole 2), or collects you on the pickup option, between 7:30 and 9:00, with the time sent by WhatsApp or SMS by 7 pm the day before. After about 1.5 hours by van you get about 20 minutes in Chochołów, then a half-hour tasting at a shepherd’s hut.

In Zakopane the funicular ticket is included, and the rest of the 2.5 hours is free time on Krupówki, where lunch is not included. The last stop is about three hours at the Chochołów baths, with indoor and outdoor pools and water slides. Guiding is in English and Polish, with guidebooks for other languages. A Private VIP option costs about $231 each for two travellers. Full details are in our breakdown of the ExploreCracow day.

Chochołów or Terma Bania?

Most tours end at Chochołowskie Termy, in the village of Chochołów, about 20 km from Zakopane. Its official figures are about 4,500 m² of water at 32 to 38°C, heated by water from a well 3,572 m deep. Terma Bania, in Białka Tatrzańska about 22 km from Zakopane, draws thermal water from 2,500 m down at 78°C and keeps its pools at 34 to 38°C. Both have a sauna area and a spa.

Best Krakow’s Zakopane, Gubałówka and Terma Bania Thermal Baths is the tour that always uses Bania. It costs from $75 per person from a central meeting point, holds 4.9 from 2,267 GetYourGuide reviews, and includes Chochołów, a tasting with several local vodkas, about 2.25 to 2.5 hours in Zakopane with the funicular, and a skip-the-line Bania ticket. The listing gives 2.5 hours on the ticket and about 3 hours on the itinerary. A spa option with an adults-only sauna zone costs about $160, and a private-car option about $193 each for two. See our breakdown of the Terma Bania day.

The 19 to 30 October 2026 closure

Chochołowskie Termy is closed from 19 to 30 October 2026 for building and modernisation work. Tours handle it differently. Cracow Top Tours sends its baths day to Terma Bania for the same three hours. Best Krakow’s tour uses Bania every day, so nothing changes. Thousand Miles, ExploreCracow and KrakowDirect tell you to check which baths your date uses, and Discover Cracow notes the baths may be swapped for a comparable nearby complex. If you travel in that window, ask the operator before you book.

Budget routes

KrakowDirect’s Zakopane Cable Car, Oscypek Tasting and Thermal Baths on Viator starts from about $55 per person on a promo option from Wielopole 2, which the operator says runs the same itinerary as a limited offer. The standard guided option is about $103 and hotel pickup about $114. Groups are capped at 20, and it holds 5.0 from 572 reviews on Viator. The inclusions list says baths entry is “for selected option”, so confirm the promo option includes the pools. On GetYourGuide the same operator sells Zakopane Cable Car, Spirits Tasting & Thermal Baths from $89.

Discover Cracow’s Zakopane Day Trip with Pay-on-the-Day Funicular and Baths costs from about $46 from Krakow’s central bus station, or about $63 with hotel pickup, and holds 4.9 from 1,976 reviews on Viator. The funicular and baths tickets are not included: a low-season funicular return is 37 PLN online or 42 PLN at the office, and the baths cost about 95 to 115 PLN for 3 hours in the low season, with locker hire on top. That adds roughly $35 to $42, bringing the day near $81 to $88, so it saves money mainly if you skip the pools.

What to bring and what costs extra

• Towel, swimsuit and flip-flops: every baths day here asks you to bring your own.
• Saunas, pool-bar drinks and extra zones are charged to your wristband and paid on exit. Adults’ wristbands carry a 500 PLN credit limit.
• Overstaying a timed ticket costs 0.50 PLN per extra minute.
• Lunch in Zakopane is never included.

If the baths matter more than the sightseeing, an evening trip straight to the pools is shorter and cheaper; our Chochołów thermal baths page compares those. In winter, snowmobile tours end at the same baths; see our snowmobile tours page.

Where to go next

For every type of Zakopane day, see our best Zakopane tours page or the guide to which Zakopane tour from Krakow is right for you. Private cars with a baths stop are on our private Zakopane tours page. When you have picked your date, check availability.