Job Discussion Forums

[Phil_K]

Not ESL, but we're desperate!

We (my wife & I) will be visiting Poland at the end of Aug - Start of Sept. We will have 3 days in Krakow, but want to do Auschwitz and Wadowice in one day.

Krakow > Auschwitz doesn't seem to be a problem, the buses and trains are very regular and cheap, and getting back from Wadowice the same. The problem seems to be Auschwitz > Wadowice. What would be the best method? How far/how long is it? How regular is local transport?

I know we could get a private tour or rent a car, but as we're visting other countries as well, we want to keep the budget down.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[hrvatski]

Trains will get you from Oświęcim to Wadowice in 2.5 hours, assuming you manage to catch all three trains in a row successfully. The route is horribly round about though, forcing you through Bielsko Biała. Search it for when you want to travel here http://www.pkp.pl

In a perfect world you could catch a bus to Kęty then another to Wadowice. Timetables of such little buses are notoriously difficult to track down, often they are small operators with no internet presence so you can't really plan on them but in my experience they reasonably often.

I'd try for buses and use trains as a backup plan.

[Phil_K]

Thanks. Just checked Kęty on Google Maps, and it seems pretty logical. The only problem I see is communication with the drivers regarding price, obviously not speaking Polish. It really doesn't look far, is it doable in a taxi (Oświęcim to Wadowice), or is that too risky?

[hrvatski]

You could get a taxi, though it's tough to say how much it would cost... 100-200zł maybe? I'd lock down the price in advance on that one. Just bring a notepad and write down place names and prices.

The buses would be fairly cheap, around 20zł total per person, again you'd just have to get them to write it down on some paper, though some bus drivers relish the chance to show off their English numeracy skills! Most not though.

Say the magic words 'Można mi napisać ile?' moe-żna me na-pea-satch ee-leh meaning 'Could you write down how much?' (literally: It is possible / for me / to write / how much?)

*ż like the s in pleasure

[Phil_K]

Thanks for your help. We went to Auschwitz by bus (ridiculously cheap!) but decided not to go to Wadowice as the museum to JPII was closed the day we had available. It appears not that difficult to find English speakers in the tourist areas, including bus and taxi drivers. Only the train station staff need the help of you teachers...