Public Transportation

As far as public transport in Krakow goes, there are tickets for two zones called Strefa I (City Krakow) and Strefa I +II Aglomeracja (Agglomeration). Strefa I includes the whole city of Krakow, whereas Strefa II is the area outside of the city boundaries (numbers of the buses that go there start with 2, 3 and 9 – when you’re travelling in one of these buses and have ticket only for Strefa I, you have to make sure to get out of the bus before it will cross the border of Strefa II). A vast majority of tourist attractions and hotels are located within Strefa I. The most popular destinations in Strefa II among tourists are the Salt Mine in Wieliczka and the Balice Airport and if you’re planning a visit there, you will need the Agglomeration ticket.

Use this mobile app and website called Jakdojade for public transportation

What kinds of tickets are available?

You can buy either single-fare/double-fare tickets or tickets for a specific time period
(varying from 20, 40 or 60 minutes up to 24, 48, 72 hours or even 7 days!). If you’re
accommodated in the city center, a single-fare ticket for the occasional trip would be just
fine.
If your accommodation is not a walking distance from most of the attractions you’re
planning on visiting, you may want to consider a ticket valid for a time period suitable for
your needs. These tickets must be validated only once – when you use them for the first
time; after that you can just put them in your wallet and not sweat about buying a ticket every time you want to use a tram or a bus.
Don’t forget that validating your ticket is mandatory!
If you’re using the time-limited ticket, you have to be aware that once the time passes –the ticket becomes invalid. Bear that in mind once you get stuck in traffic! If that happens, you have to purchase and validate a new ticket.

Where to buy the tickets?

On most of the bigger bus and tram stops
Inside of the buses and trams you can find a ticket machine (it lets you select a language, which is convenient!).

Most of them accept both cash and card payments.

Prices

The most convenient is to buy a monthly card but you will have to calculate the frequency you will be using the public transport.

You can check the prices of all the options on this website

Alternative options

You can use mobile apps, such as Jakdojade, SkyCash or MoBILET in order to purchase and validate your tickets. They are both apps that you can use for much more than transportation tickets.

How to get from point A to point B in Krakow?

Everyone carries a smartphone in their pocket nowadays. Let’s use the convenience of technology! There so many apps that can help while traveling. Here are a few that are exceptionally useful if you decide to use public transportation in Krakow.

JakDojade
You can use a mobile app and website called Jakdojade, which is very popular in the majority of big Polish cities. You can either type in the name of bus/tram stops or direct addresses – it will show you which bus/tram you have to take, where to get out, how long will the journey take etc. Once you get the hang of it, it’s really easy to use and very convenient!

Google Maps
Then of course you have Google Maps.

Public transport in Krakow at night
After a great night out, all you want to do is get to your destination quickly and without any hassle, right? In order to do so, check your buses/trams in advance, as at night and on weekends they don’t follow the same timetable as during the day!

Jakdojade app and website will be a great help for you in that case.