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ALTIUS Travel Agency 34-500 Zakopane 22 Pilsudskiego st. tel/fax: +48 18 201 53 99 mob: +48 600 460 400 e-mail

Private minibus transfers from Krakow airport to Zakopane: 75 Euro for up to 7 people!

How to spend a few nice days in Zakopane, winter or summer, sun or rain:

Weather permits, we shall visit the Tatra National Park.
Strazyska ValleyI strongly recommend Strazyska Valley, which can easily be reached from the centre of Zakopane. Those who are not that fond of hiking, or with kids, will make it to the end of the valley after some 40 minute's walk to see the Siklawa waterfalls and taste tea in the local shelter, to rest at the foot of the imposing Mount Giewont. I recommend this trip also in winter time, it is then worth renting sleighs for the kids, as on the way back to the town they will have a great fun slipping down the valley.
Giewont Experienced hikers, used to 5-6 hour's walking, can climb Mount Giewont from Strazyska Valley (2,5 hour's climb on the way up), and then descent via Kondratowa and Kalatowki to Kuznice, where mini buses are available on the way back to the town.
Other places worth recommending and easily available to less experienced and keen hikers are Morskie Oko lake (as beautiful as popular, it is recommended to start your hike quite early in the morning to avoid enormous crowds later on in the day), Koscieliska and Chocholowska Valleys.
Koscieliska ValleyThere are horse carts, carriages and sleighs available for transportation in all of the above making it even more accessible for almost everyone. Kasprowy Wierch While in Zakopane, it is a must to take the cable car to Mount Kasprowy (1987 m asl), both in summer and winter this is one of the most popular local attractions for both the adults and especially the kids. In winter time, there are two chair lifts operating in Mt. Kasprowy and two skiing pists for advanced skiers and snowboarders. The other very popular lift in the area is funicular to Gubalowka hill, which starts in the very centre of the town.
view from Gubalowka Gubalowka (1100 m asl) offers spectacular views over the town and the surrounding Tatra mountains. On the way back to the centre of the town we come across the local market nestled in between the very foot of the hill and Krupowki street. We shall find local souvenirs (wood ware, leather ware, wool ware) here together with leather jackets and fur coats, clothes, shoes, fruit, vegetables, and a whole alley of local OSCYPEK sheep cheese sellers - all in different shapes and sizes. We then reach Krupowki street - the main pedestrian zone of Zakopane, full of shops and restaurants.
Krupowki This is where the post office, banks as well as exchange offices are situated. In the season the place gets extremely crowded, and we find it hard to believe that as late as at the very beginnings of the 19th century
Krupowki this street was nothing more than just a narrow bitten path joining central parts of the village with the iron works in Kuznice (this is where the cable car is today). Krupowki street gets particularly crowded in bad and rainy weather, when people search for alternatives to outdoor activities.
What else could we recommend to do in Zakopane in rainy weather apart from walking up and down the main street and visiting local restaurants in search for local specialities? Most of all, we shall recommend visiting some of the numerous local museums. We shall however remember that most of those will remain closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Tatra Museum I particularly recommend Tatra Museum in 10 Krupowki street, Zakopane Style Museum in Villa Koliba in 18 Koscieliska street (on the way to Koliba we shall not miss out on the Old Church and Old Cemetery) and Tatra National Park Museum in 42 Chalubinskiego street (open between Monday and Saturday from 8.00 till 15.00). Classical music lovers shall visit Villa Atma, great Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's Museum in 19 Kasprusie street (closed on Mondays).
chapel in JaszczurowkaZakopane's churches are also worth mentioning. Personally, I recommend visiting three of those, two are small wooden ones - Jaszczurowka Chapel and the Old Church in Koscieliska street, the other one is the imposing Fatima Sanctuary in Krzeptowki.
In bad weather, thou not only then, I recommend a visit to local Aquapark, as well as the bowling alley.
thermal spa in BukowinaIf you have a car, I would suggest visiting thermal spas in Szaflary as well as Bukowina Tatrzańska (some 20 km outside Zakopane). There are excellent spa centres at the Belvedere and Grand Stamary hotels in the town as well.
On rainy days, there is a wide range of day trips on offer, most of those being independent of the weather (visiting Slovakian caves of Bielska or Demianowska, Aquacity of Poprad, or Wieliczka Salt Mines stone's throw from Kraków). Travel Agencies all over Zakopane sell those regularly.
Nosal Once you have taken all of the above mentioned suggestions and the weather does not improve at all, I suggest visiting Sokol cinema - this is not a modern venue, but shows most of the world wide known films and with Polish subtitles only, so apart from children's films foreigners can easily watch those as well.
If the rain is not too heavy thou, I strongly recommend a short walk into one of the Regle valleys equipped with a raincoat and an umbrella. The Tatras can be as beautiful in the rain as in the sun, and will guarantee no crowds on the trails.
I would like to wish all of you a nice stay in Zakopane, despite all, only sunny days.
Barbara Gasienica-Jozkowy
an owner of Altius Travel Agency Zakopane ul. Pilsudskiego 22 tel/fax: +48 18201 53 99
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