Self-Launched Highlights of Eastern Europe: Krakow to Prague

Fly into Krakow John Paul II Airport (KRK) and take the public train or bus 208/252 into the city centre (£1.20). Check into a hostel or budget guesthouse in or near the Old Town (e.g. Greg & Tom, Let's Rock, or a private room in a Kazimierz guesthouse). Wander the Rynek Główny — Europe's largest medieval square — see St Mary's Basilica from outside (free, small fee for the interior) and walk the Royal Route up to Wawel Hill for sunset views over the Vistula. Dinner at a milk bar (bar mleczny) like Bar Mleczny Pod Temidą for pierogi and żurek for under £6.

🚌Airport train/bus ~£1.20; everything else on foot

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Old Town/Kazimierz (~£18/night dorm, ~£32 twin)

• →Rynek Główny Old Town wander
• →Royal Route & Wawel Hill viewpoint
• →Milk-bar dinner (pierogi, żurek)

Book an official Auschwitz-Birkenau guided visit directly through the museum website (entry is free but timed; guided tours ~£12–18) or a GetYourGuide transfer+entry tour from ~£30 including hotel pickup. The museum is 1h15 from Krakow — public buses from Krakow MDA bus station to Oświęcim cost ~£2.50 each way. Afternoon back in Krakow: self-walk the Kazimierz Jewish quarter (Old Synagogue, Remuh Cemetery, Galicia Jewish Museum ~£4) and grab zapiekanka from the Plac Nowy roundhouse.

🚌Return bus Krakow–Oświęcim ~£5

🛏Hostel or budget guesthouse, Old Town/Kazimierz (~£18–32)

• →Auschwitz-Birkenau museum guided visit (~£15)
• →Kazimierz self-guided walk
• →Galicia Jewish Museum (~£4)

Morning: Wieliczka Salt Mine English tour (~£25 booked direct or via GetYourGuide; public train from Krakow Główny 20 mins, ~£1). Afternoon: bus from Krakow MDA to Zakopane (~2h, £4–5), then local bus or minibus over the border via Łysa Polana to Tatranská Lomnica (~1h, £3). Alternatively book a shared shuttle Krakow–Tatranská Lomnica (~£25) if you'd rather not change twice. Check into a pension in Tatranská Lomnica or nearby Starý Smokovec.

🚌Krakow–Wieliczka train £1; Krakow–Zakopane bus £4.50; Zakopane–Tatranská Lomnica minibus £3

🛏Mountain pension/guesthouse in Tatranská Lomnica (~£25/night double)

• →Wieliczka Salt Mine UNESCO tour (~£25)
• →Border crossing by local minibus

Take the local train to Červený Kláštor (~1h, change at Poprad or Stará Ľubovňa, ~£3) and book a Dunajec Gorge raft trip at the pier (inflatable or traditional wooden raft, ~£15–20 for 2–2.5h through the gorge). Continue to Spiš Castle by bus/taxi (~£5) — one of Europe's largest castle ruins, entry ~£6. Return to Tatranská Lomnica by train in the evening. Note: many operators run the rafting May–October only; out of season, swap for a cable car to Lomnický štít (~£30).

🚌Local trains and buses ~£10 total

🛏Mountain pension/guesthouse in Tatranská Lomnica (~£25/night double)

• →Dunajec Gorge river rafting (~£18)
• →Spiš Castle entry (~£6)

Morning hike from Štrbské Pleso or Starý Smokovec — the classic is the Štrbské Pleso → Popradské Pleso lakeside trail (easy, 1.5–2h), or push up to Veľké Hincovo pleso for a harder half-day. Marked trails are free and safe; download the Mapy.cz offline map. In the afternoon take the train Poprad → Banská Bystrica (~2h, £7). Check into a guesthouse and have an evening stroll around the SNP Square and the old town castle.

🚌Local train to Poprad ~£1; Poprad–Banská Bystrica train ~£7

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Banská Bystrica (~£25/night double)

• →Self-guided High Tatras lake hike (free)
• →Evening old-town walk, SNP Square

Hire a local guide-driver for the day via a Banská Bystrica agency or take buses (Banská Bystrica → Ružomberok for Vlkolínec; Banská Bystrica → Banská Štiavnica, ~1h, £3). See the UNESCO wooden village of Vlkolínec (free), the Hronsek wooden articled church, then descend the 17th-century open-air mining museum in Banská Štiavnica — entry ~£9, includes the 60m descent into the tunnel. Optional evening: local wine cellar in Stará Hora (~£15 with dinner) if you can arrange a taxi back.

🚌Buses between villages ~£8

🛏Guesthouse/budget hotel in Banská Bystrica (~£25/night double)

• →Vlkolínec UNESCO village (free)
• →Hronsek wooden church (small donation)
• →Banská Štiavnica open-air mining museum (~£9)

Take the train Banská Bystrica → Budapest Nyugati via Zvolen or Miskolc (~4–4.5h, ~£12–16 on the Hungarian MÁV site or RegioJet). Check into a hostel near Blaha Lujza tér or a budget hotel in District VII (Jewish Quarter). Afternoon: book a self-guided entry to Széchenyi or Rudas thermal baths (~£10–18) — Rudas is the cheaper, more local option. Evening ruin-bar crawl (Szimpla Kert, Instant) with street food at Karaván.

🚌Cross-border train ~£14

🛏Hostel/budget hotel in central Budapest (~£20/night dorm, ~£35 twin)

• →Széchenyi or Rudas thermal baths (~£14)
• →Ruin bar evening

Join a free tip-based walking tour (Good Budapest / Free Budapest Walking Tours, tip ~£8) covering St Stephen's Basilica, Parliament, Chain Bridge, Castle Hill and Fisherman's Bastion. Alternatively buy the Castle Hill Funicular ticket (~£4) and explore Buda Castle courtyards yourself. Afternoon: walk up Gellért Hill for the best skyline view, then take a public BKK river ferry (D11/D12, ~£1.50) up the Danube instead of a tourist cruise. Optional day trip to Szentendre by HÉV suburban train (~£2 each way).

🚌Public transport day pass ~£5

🛏Hostel/budget hotel in central Budapest (~£20–35)

• →Free walking tour (tip ~£8)
• →Castle Hill Funicular (~£4)
• →Public Danube ferry (~£1.50)

Take the hourly train from Budapest Nyugati to Bratislava hlavná stanica (~2h30, £10–14, book on MÁV or RegioJet). Check into a hostel or pension near the Old Town. Do a self-guided walk through Michael's Gate, the Main Square, the Primate's Palace and St Martin's Cathedral, then climb to Bratislava Castle for views over the Danube and into Austria (castle grounds free, museum ~£6). Optional: UFO Bridge observation deck (~£8) or a beer at one of the old-town courtyards.

🚌Budapest–Bratislava train ~£12

🛏Hostel/budget pension, Bratislava Old Town (~£22/night dorm, ~£38 twin)

• →Old Town self-guided walk
• →Bratislava Castle grounds (free)
• →UFO Bridge deck (~£8, optional)

Hop on the Bratislava–Vienna regional train (~1h, £8–10 with a Sparschiene or ÖBB ticket) or the slower local bus (£5) to Vienna Hauptbahnhof. Join a free tip-based Vienna walking tour (tip ~£9) covering Karlsplatz, Heldenplatz, the Hofburg, the National Library exterior, the Spanish Riding School and St Stephen's Cathedral. Add a paid interior: Hofburg Imperial Apartments ~£16 or climb St Stephen's South Tower ~£6. Return to Bratislava by train — or take the Twin City Liner catamaran back down the Danube (~£30) if you want the river version. Staying based in Bratislava and day-tripping keeps costs roughly half of an overnight in Vienna.

🚌Return train Bratislava–Vienna ~£18

🛏Hostel/budget pension, Bratislava Old Town (~£22–38)

• →Free Vienna walking tour (tip ~£9)
• →St Stephen's Tower climb (~£6)

Train Bratislava → Břeclav (~1h, £5), then local train to Lednice (~20 min, £2). Walk the Chateau Lednice park and the Lednice-Valtice UNESCO landscape (grounds free; chateau interior ~£8, worth it per reviews). Continue by bus/train to Mikulov (~40 min, £3). Evening: book a wine tasting in a family cellar (Mikulov wine info centre or a small winery such as Vinařství Mikulov — ~£12–18 for 5–6 pours with nibbles). Sleep in a guesthouse or small hotel on the square.

🚌Regional trains/buses ~£10

🛏Guesthouse/small hotel in Mikulov (~£25/night double)

• →Lednice park walk (free)
• →Chateau Lednice interior (~£8)
• →Mikulov wine tasting (~£15)

Morning walk up Svatý kopeček (Holy Hill) — 30 minutes up a pilgrim path, superb views over the vineyards and Pálava hills, free. Visit the Jewish cemetery and the Rabbi Löw memorial, then Mikulov Castle (~£5) with its giant wine barrel. Afternoon: rent a bike locally (~£10/day) and ride a section of the Mikulov wine trails, or sample more cellar tastings. This is a slower day — the point is the small-town Moravian pace.

🚌On foot / local bike hire ~£10

🛏Guesthouse/small hotel in Mikulov (~£25/night double)

• →Holy Hill viewpoint walk (free)
• →Mikulov Castle (~£5)
• →Jewish cemetery (free)
• →Bike hire (~£10)

Train Mikulov → Břeclav → Prague (~4h with change, ~£12–16 with a ČD or RegioJet ticket). Check into a hostel in Vinohrady or Žižkov (~£20 dorm) or a budget hotel in Prague 1. Late-afternoon self-guided walk: Old Town Square and Astronomical Clock (free), Powder Tower, through Josefov (Prague's Jewish quarter — cemetery and synagogues ~£14 combined ticket if you want interiors), across Charles Bridge and up into the Lesser Town. Cheap dinner at a Czech pub (hospoda) — svíčková or goulash with beer for ~£10.

🚌Mikulov–Prague trains ~£14

🛏Hostel/budget hotel in Prague (~£20/night dorm, ~£35 twin)

• →Old Town Square & Astronomical Clock (free)
• →Charles Bridge walk (free)

Morning: walk or tram to Prague Castle — the grounds and St Vitus Cathedral exterior are free; a full circuit ticket (Old Royal Palace, cathedral interior, Golden Lane) is ~£10. Wander the Hradčany lanes and the Strahov monastery library. Afternoon options: a 45-minute Vltava river cruise from ~£10, a classical concert in a church (~£12–20), or a train day trip to Konopiště Castle (~£5 train + £8 entry). Evening: beer garden at Letná or the Žižkov TV tower for sunset.

🚌Tram day pass ~£4

🛏Hostel/budget hotel in Prague (~£20–35)

• →Prague Castle circuit (~£10)
• →Vltava boat cruise (~£10, optional)
• →Letná beer garden

Last morning for the Old Town and a trdelník or Czech breakfast before heading out. Airport Express bus (AE) to Václav Havel Airport (~£4, 30 min) or tram 26 + bus 119 for ~£1.50. If your flight is late, drop bags at the hostel and do the Bunker/Cold War museum (~£6) or the Museum of Communism as a send-off.

🚌Airport Express bus ~£4

🛏—

• →Airport transfer
• →Optional Cold War/Bunker museum (~£6)