The Ultimate Guide on Getting from Amsterdam to Krakow

What is the best way to get from Amsterdam to Krakow? If you’re asking this question, then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will take a look at all available transport options on this route. That means will help you get from the vibrant Dutch capital all the way to southern Poland’s largest city, whether you prefer to travel by air or overland.

This guide on getting from Amsterdam to Krakow compares the cost, time, and comfort of different travel options. We’ll help you find suitable trains if you’re environmentally conscious or flights if time is your main priority. So, let’s delve deeper…

Time: 1h50m

Cost: €169+

Comfort: 5/5

Airlines: KLM Cityhopper

Your quickest, but unfortunately not too cheap option to travel from Amsterdam to Krakow is flying directly from Schiphol Airport. The flights take less than two hours, so there is no other transport that could come even close when it comes to getting you from the Netherlands capital to the city, which was once a residence of the Polish monarchy. However, the tickets on this route usually start at around €169 one way unless you find a good promotion, so it’s not a trip for every wallet.

The only airline that flies directly from Amsterdam to Krakow is KLM’s Cityhopper. They fly every day of the week twice a day. The downside is that the cheapest rates no longer include checked luggage, so you will have to fork out extra if you don’t travel light. Plus, the more convenient afternoon flights could cost closer to €250 for the lowest class.

If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives, you could look at flights from Eindhoven instead. That’s where Ryanair and Wizzair fly from, so you might find flights to Krakow starting at as little as €20. It takes around 1h45m to get there from the Dutch capital if you opt for a combination of a train and a bus.

Time: 25h08m+

Cost: From €49.90

Comfort: 4/5

One of our favourite ways to travel across Europe is by train, and luckily if you’re looking to get from Amsterdam to Krakow by railway, it doesn’t have to be complicated. There are no direct connections from the Dutch capital all the way to southern Poland’s largest city, but there is no need to change trains more than once. That said, it involves an overnight stay in Berlin.

There are a couple of direct trains from Amsterdam to Berlin every day, and they take around 6h15m to reach the German capital. The fares for these trains start from €39.90 if you book your tickets in advance (you can do it up to 6 months ahead of the journey). Once you reach Berlin, you will have to stay overnight to get a direct train to Krakow the next day, which leaves at 10.39 am and takes 7h39m. The sale of tickets for this leg starts 60 days before the departure. You can buy these tickets together at the DB website starting at €49.90.

Alternatively, you could travel from Amsterdam to Krakow via Vienna. This route isn’t as direct as going via Germany, but you can take advantage of overnight trains to save a bit on accommodation. An Austrian Nightjet sleeper leaves the Dutch capital every day at 7.30 pm and arrives in Vienna the next day at 9.19 am. The prices for the cheapest, 6-berth couchettes start at €49.90.

Unfortunately, you won’t make it in time to catch the morning train to Krakow, but you can get the overnight sleeper, which leaves at 10.10 pm, which will give you a full day to explore the beautiful Austrian capital. Fares for this leg start from €39.90 for the cheapest couchettes, but unfortunately, you can only get them if you travel during the summer or around holidays. Otherwise, you can go for more expensive beds in 1, 2, or 3-person compartments or an upright seat.

Time: 18h55m+

Cost: From €48.99

Comfort: 2/5

What might come as a surprise these days, the cheapest way to get from Amsterdam to Krakow is by coach. That seems more like travelling in the previous decade, but because there are no cheap flights from the Dutch capital to Poland, buses are the least pricy option. However, we don’t think they’re anywhere near the most comfortable way to travel, neither they are the quickest.

It takes around 19 hours to get from Amsterdam to Krakow by bus, so you can’t count on being too fresh after arrival. You can choose between Flixbus and Sindbad, but the former tends to be cheaper, with tickets often starting below €50 one way. Check their website for the most suitable times and fares. When it comes to Sindbad, they only go once a day, and their tickets cost €75.

Time: 12h+

Comfort: 3/5

You will need to cross two borders and over 1,200 km to get from Amsterdam to Krakow by road, so it’s not exactly a quick and easy journey. That means you should account for around 12 hours of driving if you weren’t to stop along the way. We’d strongly advise against that, especially if you haven’t got a second driver to take over.

Luckily, there are many spots along the way well worthy of a stopover, so you have plenty of opportunities to break up your journey. You can visit Maastricht before you even leave the Netherlands and then do a quick detour to stop in Dusseldorf, Cologne or Bonn once in Germany. You can also stop in Saxony’s coolest city, Leipzig and explore a beautiful renaissance palace in Dresden. Once you reach Poland, Wroclaw tops the list of the best cities on the way to Krakow.  

The quickest way to get from Amsterdam to Poland is by air with KLM Cityhopper. You can also get a connecting train via Berlin or Vienna or reach Warsaw or Krakow by coach. Driving is a good alternative if you have access to a car.

Krakow is over 1,000 kilometres east of Amsterdam in a straight line and over 1,200 km away by road. That means it’s never going to be a short journey if you travel between the cities overland. It takes around 19 hours by bus and roughly 25 hours by train, but luckily the flight is less than two hours long.

The flight from Amsterdam to Poland takes around 1 hour and 50 minutes. You can fly directly to Warsaw, Wroclaw, Krakow, Gdansk, and Poznan with KLM Cityhopper.