Place
Kraków (sometimes written Cracow), Poland
Kraków Location
Southern Poland
Geography of Kraków
Kraków is located on the Vistula River in Poland’s Malopolskie province about 75 km north of Slovakia and 120 km east of the Czech Republic. The most popular beach is the 10,000 m Kraków Beach on the shore of the Vistulala. There are several notable geographic landmarks near Kraków, including the Polish Jurassic Highland, an area that comprised of Jurassic limestone hills, cliffs, and valleys (also called the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland) to the north and the Tatra Mountains 100 km to the south. The city sits at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. The city is also home to five nature reserves that collectively protect 48.6 hectares of land.
Climate in Kraków
Kraków has an Oceanic climate. This means that it rains consistently throughout the year in the city. From June to August it rains significantly more than at other times of year. The average high temperature during the summer is usually around 24°C, and temperatures can climb above 30°C, while the average low is around 14°C. The average highs during the winter months are just above freezing, and the average lows are around -5°C at night.
Kraków Description
Kraków is a city steeped in history and cultural significance. The former national capital, and current capital of Malopolskie, a province in southern Poland, is the second largest city in the country with around 754,000 inhabitants. It’s also, the most popular tourist destination in Poland, and for good reason. The city is home to 28 Museums and art galleries that display many famous works of art, including some by Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt. There are also dozens of parks and numerous historic temples, churches, and monasteries. One of the oldest cities in Polandm Kraków was known to be an important city by 1000 AD. The historic central district, Kraków Old Town, is a Unesco World Heritage Site. For these reasons, and the city’s proximity to the mountains, more than 7 million tourists visit the city each year.
Kraków Highlights
• Kraków Hiking and Trekking: The nearby Jurassic Highland and Tatra and Carpathian Mountains make Kraków a great jumping of point for hiking and trekking.
• Kraków Rock Climbing: Rock climbing is very popular here. Numerous climbing gyms and the city’s proximity to two mountain ranges make Kraków a great city for rock climbers.
• Kraków Scuba Diving: Is obviously not very diverse, but it is done at the old Zakrówek limestone quarry-come-reservoir
• Kraków Kayaking: The Crakow Kayak Club has a surprisingly good artificial whitewater course (320 m long, 12-14 m wide, and 1.45 m deep) set up on the Vistula River.
• Kraków Skiing: A twenty minute train ride away the Kraków Valley Gold and Country Club has three ski lifts from 100 to 350 m, with two-hour passes for $9 USD and day passes for $12.50 USD.
Kraków Outdoor Adventure Activities
- Scuba diving (just a little bit)
- Snorkeling
- Paragliding
- Hang gliding
- Sky diving
- Bungee jumping
- Hot air ballooning
- Whitewater rafting
- Kayaking (river)
- Hydrospeed/riverboarding
- Caving and spelunking
- Hiking/trekking (all levels)
- Via Ferrata
- Rock climbing (all levels)
- Ice climbing
- Abseiling/rappelling
- Mountain Biking (novice to expert)
- Horseback Riding
- Skiing and snowboarding
- Cross-country skiing
Budget Travel in Krakow
• Prices for hostel dorms start at about $9 USD per night at the Hostel Benedykta. If you’re looking for a bit more privacy, a private double at the Aston Hostel can be shared for just over $17 USD per person.
Go here for a complete list of hostels in Krakow.
Hotels in Krakow are more expensive than the above options, but also fairly reasonable.
• Eating out in Krakow is not overly expensive. Breakfast and lunch in low-end local places can be found for $4-6 USD, and dinner for a couple bucks more.
Travel Insurance
I use World Nomads. It’s not too expensive and signing up online is simple and straightforward. They also cover a lot of sports equipment and high-risk adventure activities that other insurers won’t touch—and that’s really important to me. You can get a free quote on their website.
Krakow Photos
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Images (in order) courtesy of jesuscm, eugene, bildungsr0man, darek.zon, sz.u., Ðariusz, AlphaTangoBravo / Adam Baker, Arcadiuš, Arcadiuš, bildungsr0man, smif, and bolandrotor on Flickr.
Suggested Reading
Click on the images for more information
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Map
The information on this page was provided by My Kraków Info. If you want to know more about Kraków they are the people to ask.
Disclosure: If you purchase insurance, book a hostel, or purchase one of the recommended books on this page using the links provided, I will receive a small commission. I do not, however, recommend these products simply to make money. I recommend World Nomads travel insurance because I use it myself and feel that they offer a good product that suits my needs at a fair price. I recommend Hostelbookers.com because they have the cheapest booking prices that I have seen online and a large selection, and I recommend the selected books from Amazon.com because they have reputations for quality information and were up to date at the time of writing.If you have found my blog useful I hope that you will consider purchasing some of these products using the links on this page to help me to continue providing free information about adventure travel around the world. |
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Loved Krakow! To me, it was a beautiful city with lots of trees. Loved just walking around the park. Seemed like a really conservative city (guess it is the Catholic side of the Polish people coming out) but I would love to visit again!