Art Sindlinger: First Polish Train Experience: Krakow Głowny to Wrocław Głowny

I considered renting a car to get us around Poland. Overall I had a pretty good experience driving through Bulgaria and Romania last fall. So why not run it back in Poland? But a few factors tilted me toward taking the train between destinations. First, Polish trains are generally pretty reliable. Maybe not quite up to the Swiss standard, but much closer to what you would experience in Spain or Italy than Romania. Second, the distances between cities was pretty solid. 3+ hours from Krakow to Wrocław. 3.5 hours from Poznan to Gdansk. That's a lot of driving on 'vacation'. Third, city parking. As this was mostly vacation, I thought removing parking stress from the equation was a good idea. And finally, they are good value. Two second class tickets from Krakow to Wrocław cost 90zł. That's like $25 USD. And actually one other factor was to have the first-hand experience so I could make suggestions and recommendations for my clients. So the path was clear. We would be taking trains across Poland. (Though I did afford myself one day of driving around, which I'll post about later.)

I like to be prepared when trying new things. Turned to YouTube looking for resources and found this fantastic video below from Zuzanna. She's a Krakow-based guide and I found her info about navigating trains and trams super helfpul.

Per her suggestion, I used the Koleo site to get my tickets and the app to keep them handy while traveling. By the end of our trip in Gdansk I was a Koleo ninja, buying last minute tickets for local rides between Gdynia and Sopot and then Sopot to Oliwa.

But first we had to get ourselves from Krakow to Wrocław. The start was a little shaky. Our Bolt driver dropped us off on what I think was the top floor of a parking structure that very much did not seem like the entrance to Krakow's main train station. We popped into an elevator and a helpful local who spoke english (Bolt driver did not) assured us we were heading in the right direction.

It's been a minute, as they say, since my time occassionally navigating Union Station and the like during my Chicago days. But once we got downstairs into the station the general vibe was familiar with a mix of quick food options and retail, including a pharmacy where we picked up a nifty dispenser of 'lacto control' that came in handy.

We found our way to the right platform and track. Utlimately got to our seats. Comfy, facing the right direction. Had my pistachio donut from the station, later joined by the coffee from the food car. Success.

One observation / heads-up regarding these trains versus what I've experienced in Spain, for example, is that the amount of storage for big bags at the end of each car was limited. Like, could hold literally 2 or 3 bags. Unless you're the first one on the car you may not have access to store your bag there. Which means you need to be prepared to hoist it into the overhead, where it will fit (kinda). But if you're not able to military press your 23kg bag you could be stuck. Unless you can sweet talk -- in Polish -- a strong, healthy local for assistance.

Roughly 3 hours later we arrived on schedule at Wrocław Głowny. Definitely a step down in terms of scale, so easier to navigate. We saw a number of quick and pleasant food options, too. Not sure you're ever looking to spend a lot of extra time at the train station. But of the ones we saw during our trip, Wrocław takes the top spot for 'hangout-ability'.