siastra travel

I was very sceptical when planning my trip to Poland as I’d heard stories and wasn’t sure how I’d be treated. Despite this me and my friend still booked our trip to Kraków and boy was I pleasantly surprised. Enriched with beautiful landscape, cheap food and drinks, museums and a wild nightlife. Poland has something for everyone.

Is three days enough to visit Kraków?

Simple answer, Yes. I believe three days is enough to explore Kraków. I went towards the end of March last year and this is how we planned our time to ensure we saw as much as we could. I hope this helps you with a guide you can save for later.

Day 1

This will most likely be your travel day and I’d recommend getting the earliest flight you can to ensure you can make the most out of your first day in Kraków. We didn’t have anything booked for this day however we stumbled across some beautiful things.

• Kraków Barbican; Is a historical landmark in Kraków. Once connected to the city walls, this gateway leads to the beautiful old town.
• St Mary’s Basilica Kraków; A brick gothic church across from the main market square.
• Market square; The primary historical landmark in Kraków is the Main Market Square. It is worthwhile to explore both during the day and at night, when you can take in the vibrant ambiance and quaint outdoor dining options.

Day 2

As this is going to be your full day I’d highly recommend visiting Auschwitz and the salt mines. This will be the most emotional, yet inspirational day and you can’t visit Poland without seeing both of these.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and museum
I would personally visit the Auschwitz – Birkenau first as it’s not only educational but it will be a very emotional day. Approximately 1.3 million people were transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a former concentration camp operated by the Nazis during World War II, of which 1.1 million perished there. There were only 7,000 people in the camp when it was freed in 1945, and many of them were very sick or ill. Though sombre, a visit here is not to be missed. There is a lot of walking, so wear comfortable shoes. You are also welcome to take pictures, but keep in mind where you are . There are certain sections in the museum where you are not allowed to take photos, so please be respectful.

While you can visit here on your own, this is one place I’d pay for a guided tour because it is much more meaningful with a guide who can provide a in-depth account for what happened here.

Underground Salt mines – Wieliczka

I don’t know about you but when I visit a new place, I like to try new activities. The people I knew who had visited Poland had not been here so I wanted to check this out.

135 metres underground it’s like another world. If you’re not good with small spaces, then this place isn’t for you because once you go down, the only way back up is through the mines.

Fun fact : The mine is made from salt and there are certain places down there where you can lick the walls

For a similar tour we booked, you can visit the below link. They do singular tours as well so if you did not want to do both, then you don’t have to.

https://www.viator.com/tours/Krakow/Day-Trip-to-Auschwitz-Birkenau-and-Wieliczka-Salt-Mine-from-Krakow-including-Lunch/d529-20231P1

Day 3

If you’re doing a three day trip like me then this will be your last day. Like any trip I always try and book the latest flight possible. Again this day we didn’t have anything booked which allowed us to be flexible.

A list of things we did:

• Be happy museum: The perfect spot for you content creators, full of fun, bright and interactive rooms. This is a good way to spend a few hours.
• Ghetto Heroes Square; A pivotal point in the history of Kraków and the Jewish community is the Ghetto Heroes Square. Once known as Zgody Square, the Podgorze neighbourhood of Kraków was converted into the Kraków Ghetto during World War II by the Nazis.
• Corpus Christi Basilica: A gothic church founded by King Casimir III.
• Museum of Illusions; Another cool spot to spend a few hours. Inside you will find quirky photos and unusual interactive activities.

Why Poland? Not only is there so much history here you will have loads of things to do which will keep the trip interesting. Poland is also cheap for food and drink

Places we went for food and drinks

• The Spaghetti
• Bubble Toast
• Budda drink and garden
• Mr Pancake

Things you don’t want to miss

The famous polish dumplings also known as Pierogi. These dumplings are filled with savoury and sweet fillings. While I believe they have restaurants all over Poland which sells them we stumbled across this hidden gem called Pierogarnia Krakowiacy. Nearly a year down the line and I still think about these. I would happily jump on a plane just for them alone.

As well as the dumplings you can also try the Zapiekanka, which is a popular polish street food. zapiekanka is a toasted open-topped or open-faced sandwich that was invented in the 1970s.

Another famous spot is the Wodka Bar, this gets busy quick and because it’s small you may have to wait a while to get seated so keep this in mind. A selection of over 100 flavours and can sample your favourites.

Poland is a country I could see myself returning to. For more travel content please make sure you check out my Instagram.