How to reach Zakopane:
- First, you have to reach Krakow.
- You have to take a bus/ train from Krakow to Zakopane
- The easiest way to get there is by bus. You can catch it from the MDA Kraków (main bus station) every half an hour (or less), starting from around 5 AM!! Check the bus station website to schedule your trip and book tickets.
- Length of journey: around 2-2.5 hours (depending on the traffic)
- Ticket price: approximately 25 PLN
- You can also book the tickets from flixbus.
Things to remember before starting your day:
- Change your currency to Poland currency (Polish złoty – PLN) before starting your trip.
- Use local public transport that is very cheap, it would cost 3 PLN per ticket.
- Be sure to pack some comfy shoes, a bottle of water, some cash, and get ready for hiking!
NOTE: Prefer to stay in the mountain area near the Tatra National Park, where you can see the scenic beauty from your balcony 🙂
Day 1:
Arrived in Zakopane, Start your day in Zakopane with a below-mentioned picture (Zakopane park in the centre):
Take the bus towards your hotel, keep your luggage there.
9:00 AM –
If you arrived in Zakopane last night then take breakfast and Ride towards Tatrzański Park Narodowy (entry point).
If it’s near to your hotel/ hostel/ apartment then go via walk, otherwise, take the bus to reach the entry point.
9:30 AM –
Ride to Tatrzański Park Narodowy (entry point) and climb the mountain through the Szlak pieszy zielony route. The hike doesn’t end at the hill – it continues, but continuing the hike at the point till you reach some point where you can see the view and make sure you will be back on time so that you can visit the other places (don’t hike too much today, anyways you are going tomorrow to Morskie Oko, main hiking place in Zakopane so save some of your energy for tomorrow 🙂
Ticket Price: Entry price to the park is 6 PLN per person.
Once you are back to the entry point then take the bus towards Zakopane Rondo Jana Pawla II and head towards Wielka Krokiew. Or you can walk 30 minutes to Wielka Krokiew.
1:00 PM –
Walk towards Wielka Krokiew (The Great Krokiew, in Polish krokiew means rafter), is the biggest ski jumping hill built on the slope of Krokiew mountain (1378 m) in Zakopane, Poland. It was opened in 1925.
Here you can find some of the options to eat and enjoy your lunch here.
You can opt for Cableway on Wielka Krokiew, you can stop on the top and spend some time there otherwise you can come back without stopping on the top, it’s around 10-15 minutes cableway.
Ticket Price: It costs 15 PLN
3:30 PM –
If you would like to take a break from hiking and try other things to do in the Tatra mountains, you might be interested in Thermal baths. There are many options available in Zakopane for Thermal baths but due to time constraints, I went to Aqua Park Zakopane because it is available in the city centre.
You can walk upto 20 minutes from Wielka Krokiew to Aqua Park.
Aqua Park Zakopane is located in the center of Zakopane, a few minutes of walk from the station, on the slope of the Antalowka hill. The property has a unique outdoor pool on the terrace, from which there is a view of the mountains. There are also indoor swimming pools – sports with swimming tracks and recreational with water jets and cascades, geysers, counter-currents, wall-bottom massages and underwater beds. There is also a shallow and warm pool for the little ones. The main attraction of the complex is 5 slides, wild river with rushing current and 6 hot tubs.
Ticket Price: It usually cost approx 20 PLN for 1:30 hours.
Now, walk 15 minutes towards Krupowki Street.
6:00 PM –
Head towards the Krupowki Street. At Krupowki, there are most of Zakopane’s restaurants, pubs, clubs, discos, and shops. It’s a place that is teeming with life almost all year round.
Browse through shops on the street level for crafts, gifts, and essentials, or sample food at a local eatery. It is the prime place to go for a hot beverage/ dinner after a day on the slopes.
Must Try: At Krupówki, you can taste Oscypki (sheep’s cheese which is a traditional Podhale delicacy).
If your hotel is away from Krupowki Street then leave by 10:00 pm or before that, the public transport does not work all night in Zakopane and the last bus in between 10:00 pm – 10:20 pm after that you will not be able to find the public transport.
Day 2:
7:00 AM –
Take your healthy breakfast in your hostel/ hotel/ apartment.
Morskie Oko Hike Packing List
Water: There will be water for sale once you reach Morskie Oko (2 hours of walking), so pack at least enough to get you there.
Lunch/ Snacks: There is food available, however, I recommend packing your own lunch and having it by the water. Just remember to only take what you can carry in and carry out! There’s next to no trash cans within the park.
Hand Sanitizer/ Tissue: There are bathrooms all along the trail. Keep watch of the signs that tell you how far away the next bathrooms are in minutes of walking.
Comfortable Shoes & lightweight attire: This is a long walk (5+ hours round trip) that at times has a slight incline. You should definitely wear athletic shoes and proper attire.
7:30 AM –
Start your day with the Morskie Oko (Polish: “Sea Eye” or “Eye of the Sea”) is the largest lake in the Tatra Mountains, located in the Tatra National Park in the south of Poland. Morskie Oko is one of the few lakes in the Tatra Mountains naturally stocked with fish. In the past this earned the lake the name of “Fish Lake”. According to legend, the lake was connected to the sea via an underground passage, hence the name “Sea Eye” or “Eye of the Sea”. The peaks of the Tatra Mountains that surround the lake rise over 1000 metres.
From your hotel/ apartment in Zakopane, you need to take bus to the Morskie Oko trailhead at Palenica Białczańska.
How to reach Morskie Oko:
- Look for the nearest bus stop and take a bus from there (every 20-30 minutes you will find a bus).
- Buses are marked “Morskie Oko” and take around half an hour, costing 10 PLN per person.
- On arriving at Palenica Białczańska, pay the Tatra National Park entry fee of 6 PLN (per person per day) at the kiosk.
- If you have driven to Palenica Białczańska, parking is 25 PLN per day.
- From Palenica Białczańska, it’s an approximately 2-2.5 hour gradual uphill walk along a sealed road to Morskie Oko (1395m).
- For those wanting to cut out some walking, you can ride in one of the horse carriages for 40 PLN per person going up and 30 PLN down. The carriages take visitors to Włosienica, 1.5 kilometres from Morskie Oko.
- There are 7 stops on the way to the lake:
- Palenica Bialczanska
- Dolina Bialki
- Wodogrzmoty Mickiewicza
- Wanta
- Wlosienica
- Zleb Zandarmerii
- Morskie Oko
10:30 AM –
You will reach Morskie Oko near by 10:30 am to 11:00 am. Walk down towards the lake and find someplace near to the lake, sit and relax. Take your time enjoying Morskie Oko since you hiked so far to get there.
11:30 AM –
Now you are refreshed and charged up, Continue on to the lake of Czarny Staw. Czarny Staw pod Rysami is a mountain lake on the Polish side of Mount Rysy in the Tatra mountains. At 1,583 m above sea level, it overlooks the nearby lake of Morskie Oko. Its maximum depth is 76 m. A walking path circumnavigates the lake, and leads up to Mount Rysy, or down to Morskie Oko.
The hike is 40-50 minutes but is a grueling path up boulders and crumbling rock steps.
On the way up, make sure to turn around for better views of Morskie Oko as you climb, which will also give you an excuse to stop and catch your breath.
Once you make it to the top, the lake of Czarny Staw seems like it appears out of nowhere. The water was like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the mountain landscape.
Enjoy your lunch.
NOTE: If you want even more of a mountaineering challenge, another 3.5-hour hike will lead you to the summit of Mount Rysy.
1:30 PM –
Now it’s time to get down, once you reach that place where you started climbing the stairs then take another side of the Morkie Oko lake (in this way you will cover the circuit of the lake).
2:30 PM –
Walk down towards the Palenica Białczańska, the starting point of the hiking.
You will reach Palenica Białczańska near 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm.
Take bus towards Zakopane city centre that is marked “Morskie Oko” and take around half an hour, costing 10 PLN per person.
You will reach your hotel near 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm. Collect your bags from your hotel and head towards the bus/ train station.
6:00 PM –
If you have time then sit and relax in the Zakopane park (that is nearly 10 minutes from Bus/ Train station) and then catch your bus/ train.
NOTE: If you want even more of a mountaineering challenge, another 3.5-hour hike from Morsie Oko will lead you to the summit of Mount Rysy. Then, you have to leave early from your hotel/ apartment so that you will be back on time.
If you want to use the photo it would also be good to check with the artist beforehand in case it is subject to copyright. Best wishes. Aaren Reggis Sela
Thanks for the comment but I’ve added all pictures of mine so there should be no issue.
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