Cracow is located in the south of Poland, central Europe. It could be reached rather easily by plane, train, bus or a car.
The plane is the fastest and the most convenient way. There are direct flights to Cracow from several European cities, so you can come here from all over the world directly or with one change. The airport is located about 16 km from the centre of town, which could be reached by taxi (approx. 40 polish zloty i.e. about 10 Euro) or public bus. The other option is to flight to Warsaw and continue to Cracow via train; they run almost every hour at the mornings and late afternoons; the trip takes about 3 hours and the railway station is in the center of town. One could also fly to Katowice-Pyrzowice airport and take Lufthansa (or other) bus to Cracow, which operates regularly, and the trip takes about an hour (at the cost of 50 zlotys). These days, apart from regular fare flights, several major low-cost carriers provide their services. Coming to Cracow via train or bus is more tedious, as the travel from most of the European cities takes easily the whole day. Travel by car takes also some time, however it allows for sightseeing; trip from Vienna or Berlin takes about 8 hours. However one has to be aware that the majority of the local roads are not very fast and the traffic is rather dense; the Cracow old city is practically closed for cars.

Visas:

Poland is a member state of the European Union. Citizens of some non-EU countries may need a visa. Relevant information could be found at Polish Ministry site.
A letter of invitation can be provided upon request. Please take visa processing times into account.

Travel information:

Coming by plane to Cracow

The Airport
The John Paul II International Airport Cracow-Balice
Balice, ul. kpt. Medweckiego 1
phone: ++48 12 285 5120, ++48 12 639 31 27

Direct flights to: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bonn/Cologne, Budapest, Copenhagen, Chicago, Dortmund, Dublin, Frankfurt, Glasgow, London, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Warsaw, Vienna, Zurich, in season: Chania, Heraklion, Rhodes.
For updated information on flights and connections, see the website: www.lotnisko-balice.pl/eng
On the spot: foreign currency exchange bureaus, ATMs, BPH-PBK S.A. bank branches, restaurant and coffee shop at the passengers terminal, view terrace coffee shop, duty free shop in the main flight departure hall, 24/7 parking lot, car rentals agency.

The International Airport Cracow - Balice serves connections by low - cost carriers:
Germanwings to: Stuttgart, Cologne/Bonn
www.germanwings.com
easyJet to: Berlin, Dortmund, London
www.easyjet.com
SkyEurope to: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, London, Milan, Paris, Rome, Manchester www.skyeurope.com
Centralwings to: London, Rome, Bologna,
www.centralwings.com
Norwegian to: Oslo
www.norwegian.no
Ryanair to: Glasgow and London
www.ryanair.com

How to get from the airport to the city center:

The best way to reach the city centre and the conference location is to take the newly opened city-airport train connection. The Krakow-Balice Station is located approximately 200 m from the passenger terminal. You can get there by foot (around 5 min. walk) or take a free shuttle bus which operates back and forth between the station and the airport terminal building. The train departs app. every 30 minutes and the travel time to the centre is 15 minutes (the timetable is here). The tickets may be purchased on board for 3.80 pln one way. The train will take you directly to the railway station (Dworzec PKP) in the center of town - within walking distance (15 min.) of the conference venue. Another possibility of reaching the city centre from the Airport is to take the bus (either 192 or 208) from the airport to Plac Inwalidow and there change to any tram map. With the tram you will reach the centre with only 2-3 stops. The bus or tram fare is 2.50 pln when the ticket is purchased in advance or 3 pln when purchased from the driver. Tickets in advance can be purchased at newspaper stands. It takes about 45 min-1 hour to get to the centre this way.
You can of course take the taxi from the airport directly to your hotel. A ride to the city centre should oscillate around 50 pln.
If you arrive to Cracow by car you should head for the city centre. The detailed itinerary, depending on where you arrive from, can be given to you upon request. Please keep in mind that the old city centre in Cracow where the conference site is located is practically closed for cars.
As for public transport in Cracow single-journey tickets for the bus or tramway cost 2.50 pln when purchased in advance or 3 pln from the driver (during the night twice this amount). There are also 1-hour tickets which are a good choice, if you must change the bus while knowing that your ride will take no longer than an hour. Also available are 24-hour, 48-hour or 72-hour tickets for 10.40 pln, 18.80 pln and 25 pln respectively. While the 1-hour ticket is valid only during the day, the others are also valid at night. All the mentioned tickets can be purchased in advance at newspaper stands. All tickets have to be validated when entering the bus or tramway. If you have a many-hour ticket you validate it only once at the beginning of your first ride and then just keep track of time.

There is an international airport Okecie in Warszawa, located about 10 km from the center of the city. Okecie has a direct connections to Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Beirut, Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Chicago, Cologne/Bonn, Copenhagen, Dublin, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, Helsinki, Istambul, Kaliningrad, Kiev, London, Lvov, Lyon, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Munich, New York, Nicea, Odessa, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Riga, Rome, Sofia, St.Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Tunis, Vienna, Vilnius, Zagreb, Zurich, as well to some others airports. (Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport timetable).
To reach Cracow from the ariport OKECIE you can:

• take domestic flights
• take a train.
  There are many trains (Inter City and Express) from Warszawa to Cracow and from Cracow to Warszawa daily in the train summer timetable.
  

The Central Railway Station in Warszawa is located about 10 km from the airport Okecie. We recommend that you take Airport City bus (avoid taxis in Warszawa - they are very expensive for foreigners!)

The city is easily and comfortably accessible by train from all larger cities in Poland, e.g. the journey by InterCity train from Warsaw takes only 2.5 hours.
Apart from local transport systems, Cracow also has direct railway links with Berlin, Budapest, Bucarest, Hamburg, Kiev, Lviv, Prague, Vienna, Zilin. All trains stop at the Main Railway Station in Krakow.

Detailed information: 94 36, 393 15 80, 393 56 76 (intervention telephone till 3.00 pm) or Railway site (try to use spelling "Krakow" and "Waszawa" in the seach query).