Ever since we at Warsaw Life can remember, travelling between Poland's two tourist capitals, Warsaw and Krakow, has always been something of a pain in the rear.
Poland's traditional lack of good roads (banish the thought of a motorway!) makes the 300km car trip take about 5 hours. Those of us without a car are left with two options: plane or train?
Flying is by far the fastest option. By the time you are served your complimentary drink and Prince Polo chocolate bar, your airplane's wheels are already touching ground across the country. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the several hundred of zloty required for the trip taking up extra space in our wallets.
Travelling by rail has been the most popular option, with two choices available for travellers. The regular pospieszny ("fast") train crawls along the countryside at a snail's pace, arriving after a grueling 5 and a half hours. A second class ticket costs 50 zloty. In the last few years, a tempting alternative popped up in the form of Intercity rail. Modern, comfortable trains zip between Krakow and Warsaw at an impressive speed, arriving at their destinations only 3 hours after departure. Unfortunately, saving those two hours and a half hours costs an unbelievable 97 zloty in second class.
However, a new alternative is rumored to start operations on June 1st. A new division of the train service called InterRegio will begin to provide a fast, three and a half hour connection between the cities for a mere 38 zloty. Now, that's what we call value!
Check out the PKP (national train service) website for more details here
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