Travel tips

The map of Krakow

You can download and print the map (available in PDF format or in Postscript format) of Krakow center with hotels and the SCES’02 conference venues marked. If you are looking for more information about Krakow, look at the official website of the Krakow city.

Travel to Krakow

by plane to Krakow
There are quite a few regular flights to Krakow from several European and US cities. The Krakow airport (Balice) is located 15 km from the city center. Public transport buses (line number 192) circulate between the airport and town center. Tickets (2.20zl) may be purchased at kiosks (newspaper stands) or, for a surcharge 0.50zl, from the bus driver. Alternatively, you may take a taxi. The price for a ride to the center should not exceed 50zl.

by plane to Warszawa (320 km from Krakow)
The most convenient connection between the Warszawa-Okecie airport and the railway station is provided by the City-Airport yellow bus service. The bus stop is right at the exit from the arrival hall. Get off at the Warszawa Centralna railway station. Alternatively, you can take the regular city bus number 175 or a taxi. There is a number of Express and Intercity trains from Warszawa to Krakow, the journey takes about 2.5 hours. The train schedule is available on the DieBahn page or on the railway company's (PKP) web page http://www.pkp.com.pl/. A train ticket (from Warszawa Centralna to Krakow Glowny) will cost about 70zl in the second class and may be purchased at the ORBIS (Polish Travel Agency) office at the airport or at the railway station itself.

by plane to Katowice
Eventually, you can also fly to Katowice (80 km from Krakow). From Katowice airport you may take for 30zl the yellow Lufthansa (German airline) minivan to Krakow's city center, but please make a reservation for it when you buy your plane ticket, since the bus leaves only twice a day.

by train
There are direct international railway connections to Krakow from Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest, Bratislava, and Kiev. The railway station is in the center of the town, not too far from the area, in which most of the hotels and the conference buildings are situated. If you arrive by train and want to take a taxi we would advise you call for a radio-taxi or take one from the stand on the rooftop parking above the railway station (reachable by stairs or elevator from any of the platforms). Rates for the taxi in front of the station's main building are higher. Some of the hotels are in a walking distance from the railway station. See the map above.

by coach
Many travel agencies offer regular coach connections between Krakow and numerous cities in Europe. When traveling by a coach bus, one may arrive from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. International coaches usually stop in Krakow in the vicinity of the railway station.

by car
hmmm..., take a good map. Have in mind that the Krakow center is an restricted parking area (the part on the right of Mickiewicza and Krasinskiego streets on our map). In this area one is oblidged to pay for every hour of parking time. The Old Town is completely closed to the traffic.

Practical information

Currency
The unit of currency in Poland is the Zloty (abbreviated as PLN or zl). The Zloty consists of 100 Groszy. Currency rates are approximately as follows (28.06.2002)

1 Euro = 4.00 PLN, 1 USD = 4.05 PLN, 100 JPY= 3.39 PLN

Some typical prices:

  • express/intercity train Warsaw-Krakow, II class: 56.30zl + place card (12 / 17zl)
  • typical price for a two-course dinner 20-50zl. Beer 4-6zl
  • public transport bus ticket in Krakow 2.20zl (single ride)
  • bus ticket in Warsaw 2.40zl

    Weather
    In July the weather is unpredictable. Although the climate is normally very mild, temperatures can vary between 15 and 30 deg.C, occasional showers and short thunderstorms are possible. Just before the conference you can check the weather forecast for the Krakow area at the CNN meteo server.