Weekend in Zakopane, Poland

A snowHead

This will be our first trip to Poland skiing. Just booked super cheap flights for a weekend in March. Anyone out there know of a nice hotel near the main lifts/slopes and walking distance of pubs and restaurants? Any tips? Looking at snowmobiling (?spelling) whilst there,
anyone tried that? Any info greatly appreciated.

A snowHead

Hi, Simon. I've not been there, but I was wondering if you've looked at GoSki.com, which is always a great source of info. and comment on lesser-known ski areas.

Here's their page on Zakopane.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Simon
I'm heading out there on 26th Feb - will post a report on our return.
Haven't yet sorted out accomodation - haven't decided if we want to spend all 4 days in Zakopane or some of them in Krakow - but can let you know what we end up doing and if it was any good...

(p.s. know what you mean about the flights - paid £44 for 2 of us, return! - but not sure how much we will end up spending on a car and hotels!)

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Hi Mr Mad, not sure if this helps, but you can get collected from the airport and dropped off in Zakopane for
about £65 for a car with driver each way on www.tatratravel.pl or there is a bus timetable on www.discoverzakopane.com showing the times leaving Krakow to "Z". Seems they go every half hour or so at a cost of 2.5 euros each way!
I hope you have a great time and look forward to hearing from you.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

thanks Simon - we like the idea of having a car so we've got a bit more freedom rather than relying on buses - means we can explore a bit more. The links between Krakow to Zakopane link are supposed to be very good - remember driving it a few years ago in the summer and there were lots of buses on the road - and there's also a train.
Really looking forward to it - its been a while since I was back there! And its the first time I'm going in the winter - so it should be fun to see how the skiing compares with what I've experienced in the Alps!

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I've never skied Zakopane but hear that the pistes are decent, albeit crowded on the weekends. The pope used made tracks in this area when he was archbishop of Krakow. I've taken the train from Zakopane to Krakow and its an easy evolution.

An alternative to skiing Zakopane would be to take a shuttle to Lysa, Poland and then another quick shuttle to the Slovak side of the Tatras. An electric tram links all the areas in the Slovak High Tatras together, so its easy to get around by public transport. The Slovak slopes are south facing but their reasonably high altitude means that there should be ample snow in March. For more on the Slovak areas, go to my post on this strand and then follow the links:

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=56061&highlight=slovakia#56061

Also, the slopes on the Slovak side of the Tatras are intermediate in quality. For steeper terrain, you'll want to go across the valley to Jasna in the Nizke Tatry (lower Tatra) range. That's where Slovakia's main World Cup slope is and where you'll find some of the best open space skiing in SK: the Chopok Juh bowls. I'll be headed to Jasna in mid-February and will be sure to update Snowheads on the experience.

PS Mountainmad: the car rental idea is a good one. A car is a real time machine in these parts. As for Krakova, it's an interesting walled city with an old town square similar in some respects to Prague but without the tasty beer--Polish beer is weak. A lot of people visit nearby Auschwitz, but that may not be your cup of tea. Since you have a car, an alternative would be to explore both the Polish and Slovak sides of the Tatra mountains. Go on a big ski safari and try a different resort every day.

PPS One thing about hotels is that they hate to book single night visits, but will do so last minute if they have openings. I'm staying in Tri Studnicke in Jasna--it's a brand new 4+ Star property and its costing me just $135 for two people. The same room would cost $400 in Switzerland or France. I tried to go cheaper and book in the Junior Hotel (a student hotel converted into a commercial property) but none of the 2 or 3 star places wanted to give me a room for a single night, so I'm ending up at the fanciest place. Fortunately, it's not going to break the bank.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Since it is my favourite mountain (The High Tatras), I have been there many times, but it is strange to admit even to myself that I usually ski somewhere else.
Zakopane is a nice small town, but reaching the Slovak slopes by public transportation is rather time-consuming.
Buses and trains run more frequently to Cracow, which is almost like Prague in a smaller edition.
I think it is a good idea to rent a car.

The best slopes around Zakopane are on the peak called Kasprowy Wierch. This is the Pope's favourite peak, hiked there many times in his younger years.
Updated snow report on the slopes around Zakopane can be found here:
http://www.pkl.pl/?web=pogoda_kasprowy

As it was stated before, you can expect crowd on the slopes, cheaper prices, and usually good snow.
I suggest that you should return to this mountains in summer for hiking.

After all it is free

I have to agree with Kerekip about public transport between Zakopane and the Slovakian resort. The only link I know of is a van shuttle service between Zakopane and Lysa. From Lysa, a very crowded bus runs to Stary Smokevic. I don't think I'd bother with trying to get from Zakopane to SK without a car. With a car, I'd head to Jasna in the Low Tatras because that's where the steeper terrain can be found. Most of the slopes on the High Tatras Slovakian mountains are rather tame. In general, comparing these regions to the Alps is like comparing Mid-Atlantic US skiing to Vermont--you can't compare. The main reason to ski Poland and SK is for the local culture and the experience of skiing in the Carpathians, which are beautiful mountains. With that being said, both Poland and SK are trying hard to upgrade their ski centers, and great strides have been made in the last few years with respect to infrastructure upgrades.

Thanks guys for the excellent info - look forward to the trip report on Jasna.
My trip is only a long weekend this time around - so may stick to Polish side, but we've hired a car so we've got some flexibility.

Can't wait! Look forward to going more often - am half polish and have been before in the summer and it is truly stunning! Maybe see what a little weekend retreat would cost now that theres 2 low cost carriers flying to Krakow... snowHead

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Out of interest Mountain Mad who are you renting your car from and what are the approximate costs please?

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Simon - tried a few - holiday autos, avis (with work discount) but the best was europcar through this easyjet link http://www.europcar4easyjet.com/ and it works out at £128 for an astra/focus size car from saturday afternoon to tuesday afternoon.
Haven't often hired a car - so not sure if £40 a day is reasonable or extortionate.
If i remember correctly the cheapest economy car was about £100.
(Seemed to indicate also that they come with winter tyres on - I'm sure my cousin told me that its compulsory in certain regions to have winter tyres on your car)

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For a weekend visit also recommend Krakow. Compulsory encourage you to visit the website of hotel in krakow

My easyjet/europe car advice is..

if there is two of you send one for the car and leave one to get the bags...as Europcar is easyjets preferred partner chances are most of the people on the plane if they are hiring will be with europcar...took me 2 hours to get the car once...lesson learned (not in Poland mind).

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Weekend in Zakopane, Poland

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