What Kraków costs

A day in Kraków costs €18.34–31 per person with a hostel bed, two milk-bar meals and one floor of Wawel, and €89–117 with a three-star hotel for two, dinner in a restaurant, a day ticket and two museums. The bed moves most: an average double room costs nearly twice as much in June as in January.

Prices line by line

Accommodation is the yearly average, per person with two sharing a room.

FoodWhat that price actually buys at a milk bar and at a restaurant, dish by dish:What to eat in Kraków →

Two profiles, per person per day

Not included: breakfast, coffee and drinks. Auschwitz is a separate day.

3 daysThe same days by the hour, in the order you go in:Kraków in 3 days →

On Kayak's figures an average double room in Kraków costs 86 per cent more in June than in January, the cheapest month, and on Trip.com's a three-star hotel costs about a quarter more at the weekend than midweek. Food and tickets hold steady through the year, so a cheap Kraków is made mostly by the calendar: arriving on a Sunday rather than a Friday, and in a month outside summer, takes more off the bill than a milk bar instead of a restaurant.

Where to stayThe same gap, by area instead of by month:Where to stay in Kraków →

NeighbourhoodsThe same area by day, as a place to explore, not to sleep:The neighbourhoods of Kraków →

The SKA1 train to the main station is €4.61 per person. The official airport taxi runs on a fixed fare per ride, €20.50–25.10 to the centre depending on the zone. Alone or as a pair — the train; as four, a taxi split four ways comes out only slightly dearer than the train and goes to the door. An unmarked driver who approaches you in arrivals is not the official taxi and has no fixed fare.

Getting aroundThe same choice, plus the tram and ticket validation once you're in the city:Getting around Kraków →

Day tripsWhat the trips add — and how to get to Auschwitz:Day trips from Kraków →

At Wawel each display is paid for separately. Both floors of the castle are €21.88, one floor €13.13, and the underground, the treasury and the armoury each have their own ticket — all of it together comes to more than twice the castle alone. For a first visit one floor is enough; add the rest only if a particular display genuinely interests you.

When to goWhen that daily ticket cap fills fastest, month by month:The best time to visit Kraków →

Hidden gemsThe Rynek Underground has its own ticket, outside Wawel — and two more places like it:Kraków beyond Wawel: a mound, a city under the square and a former power station →

Where not to economise

At Auschwitz. A tour with an educator is €34.55, lasts about three and a half hours and starts at Auschwitz I. Entry without an educator is free, but only in afternoon slots and with your name on the booking, and those places go first. Tickets are issued only online, at visit.auschwitz.org — there are none at the gate.

MistakesA late Auschwitz booking is one of the costliest mistakes made here — the other four:Mistakes everyone makes in Kraków →