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Trip report time woooo!
Thought this would be an interesting one to document. Recent visits to Poland that have been reported upon seem to all have involved the use of hire cars, or maybe taxis to get between Kraków and Energylandia. And when initially planning a trip to this roller coaster Mecca (lol), you can see exactly why that seems to be the favoured option. It can be a bit of a minefield!
This was my first solo holiday. I had one planned to France and Germany in January but some non-coaster friends decided they wanted in on a taste of a theme park holiday, so I saw Poland as a good opportunity to finally try out travelling alone: flights are accessible and accommodation appears to be dirt cheap. Originally I intended to just do a couple of days in Poland to tick off Energylandia, but thought while in the area I may as well try and experience the esteemedDream Hunters Society Lech Coaster as well! I'll try and keep this trip report to having more of a focus on the travel aspects - the parks have been commented on quite a lot anyway - although I will talk about some of my experiences on the trip too. At least that's actually useful!
Day 1 - London to Kraków
I live in London which I've found to be extremely handy for flights to, well, just about anywhere! Be it from Luton, Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick or London City, there are usually multiple options. On this occasion, I would actually be using 4 airports in total. Flying out from Luton to Kraków, then back from Katowice to Stansted. A nice round trip! From my flat it was a ride on the Tube to Kings Cross St. Pancras, then an East Midlands Rail service to Luton Airport Parkway. With a rail card, the train journey came in at a very reasonable £4.75 and took just under 25 minutes. At Parkway, I needed to take the Luton Airport DART (a Doppelmayr Cable Car for you GEEKS), which is ostensibly the most expensive railway journey in the UK per mile. It costs £4.90 each way (yes that is more than the EMR journey), but it just so happened that my train ticket included the DART. When booking your ticket, make sure that it is for Luton Airport, not Parkway, and I believe that then the ticket should include the DART. I was confused as the E-Ticket only said it was to Parkway, but fancying my chances it let me in and out of the DART ticket barriers without issue. A win.
From Luton, it was a Buzz Air flight *insert Family Guy gif here* to Kraków. Buzz Air operates a lot of Ryanair flights so you know what you're gonna get. I suppose it's a bit like Lauda who seem to operate a lot of their flights too, and are exactly as you'd expect. The flight out was on a Tuesday and as I was travelling light (one small rucksack), it only cost £23 for that leg! On arrival in Kraków, the airport seems a little confusing. Lots of signs for buses and only a couple for the train station. Having researched the journey, I knew that there was a train station at the airport with semi-regular services but it wasn't obvious at all. Eventually I found my way, before the signs disappeared again and I had to ask a staff member. It's actually right outside the terminal and I'm sure that if you looked on your favourite Maps app, you'd have had a bit more luck than I in finding it!
At this point it was around 6.45pm, and there was a train every hour at this time of day. I expected it to be really busy but it wasn't - something I noticed overall about public transport in Poland is that it is reliable, albeit irregular. The train goes directly to Kraków Głowny (central station) and eventually terminates at Wieliczka, where incidentally I would be visiting the following day. The journey cost just under £4 and there are ticket machines on the station platform, which take cash, card and contactless. From Głowny, which doubles as a sizeable mall with shops and restaurants, it was a short walk to my accommodation for the next 2 nights: ibis budget Kraków Stare Miasto.
The hotel, for what it was, was actually pretty decent! I know some ibis budgets abroad can really be the bottom of the pile when it comes to hotels, but this one was clean, fresh and felt safe. It shared a building with a standard "red" ibis and you have to take the walk of "povo" shame past it to get to this one! Of course ibis budgets aren't for everyone. Having 0 privacy is perhaps not the best for a group of friends (unless you're into that sort of thing...) but as a solo traveller, or even as a couple, it makes economic sense!
By this point it was getting late and as a weary traveller, I headed back towards the station for some easy food (yes it was McDonalds), before turning in for the night.
Hope this is helpful! Part 2 coming soon.
Thought this would be an interesting one to document. Recent visits to Poland that have been reported upon seem to all have involved the use of hire cars, or maybe taxis to get between Kraków and Energylandia. And when initially planning a trip to this roller coaster Mecca (lol), you can see exactly why that seems to be the favoured option. It can be a bit of a minefield!
This was my first solo holiday. I had one planned to France and Germany in January but some non-coaster friends decided they wanted in on a taste of a theme park holiday, so I saw Poland as a good opportunity to finally try out travelling alone: flights are accessible and accommodation appears to be dirt cheap. Originally I intended to just do a couple of days in Poland to tick off Energylandia, but thought while in the area I may as well try and experience the esteemed
Day 1 - London to Kraków
I live in London which I've found to be extremely handy for flights to, well, just about anywhere! Be it from Luton, Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick or London City, there are usually multiple options. On this occasion, I would actually be using 4 airports in total. Flying out from Luton to Kraków, then back from Katowice to Stansted. A nice round trip! From my flat it was a ride on the Tube to Kings Cross St. Pancras, then an East Midlands Rail service to Luton Airport Parkway. With a rail card, the train journey came in at a very reasonable £4.75 and took just under 25 minutes. At Parkway, I needed to take the Luton Airport DART (a Doppelmayr Cable Car for you GEEKS), which is ostensibly the most expensive railway journey in the UK per mile. It costs £4.90 each way (yes that is more than the EMR journey), but it just so happened that my train ticket included the DART. When booking your ticket, make sure that it is for Luton Airport, not Parkway, and I believe that then the ticket should include the DART. I was confused as the E-Ticket only said it was to Parkway, but fancying my chances it let me in and out of the DART ticket barriers without issue. A win.
From Luton, it was a Buzz Air flight *insert Family Guy gif here* to Kraków. Buzz Air operates a lot of Ryanair flights so you know what you're gonna get. I suppose it's a bit like Lauda who seem to operate a lot of their flights too, and are exactly as you'd expect. The flight out was on a Tuesday and as I was travelling light (one small rucksack), it only cost £23 for that leg! On arrival in Kraków, the airport seems a little confusing. Lots of signs for buses and only a couple for the train station. Having researched the journey, I knew that there was a train station at the airport with semi-regular services but it wasn't obvious at all. Eventually I found my way, before the signs disappeared again and I had to ask a staff member. It's actually right outside the terminal and I'm sure that if you looked on your favourite Maps app, you'd have had a bit more luck than I in finding it!
At this point it was around 6.45pm, and there was a train every hour at this time of day. I expected it to be really busy but it wasn't - something I noticed overall about public transport in Poland is that it is reliable, albeit irregular. The train goes directly to Kraków Głowny (central station) and eventually terminates at Wieliczka, where incidentally I would be visiting the following day. The journey cost just under £4 and there are ticket machines on the station platform, which take cash, card and contactless. From Głowny, which doubles as a sizeable mall with shops and restaurants, it was a short walk to my accommodation for the next 2 nights: ibis budget Kraków Stare Miasto.
The hotel, for what it was, was actually pretty decent! I know some ibis budgets abroad can really be the bottom of the pile when it comes to hotels, but this one was clean, fresh and felt safe. It shared a building with a standard "red" ibis and you have to take the walk of "povo" shame past it to get to this one! Of course ibis budgets aren't for everyone. Having 0 privacy is perhaps not the best for a group of friends (unless you're into that sort of thing...) but as a solo traveller, or even as a couple, it makes economic sense!
By this point it was getting late and as a weary traveller, I headed back towards the station for some easy food (yes it was McDonalds), before turning in for the night.
Hope this is helpful! Part 2 coming soon.
