How Much We Spent Traveling in Gdansk & Krakow, Poland

Gdansk and Krakow are probably the most popular cities to visit in Poland, and for good reasons. They’re both gorgeous and have lots to offer in the way of activities and tasty food. As an added bonus, Poland tends to be an inexpensive country. There are so many things we love about Poland that we just keep going back for more. Here’s how much we spent traveling in Gdansk and Krakow, Poland.

Total Poland costs

The totals are listed in US dollars, euros, and Polish złoty (PLN). The expenses listed are for two people for 4 nights in Krakow and 5 nights in Gdansk.

$883.65 / 768.39€ / 3,213.90PLN – accommodation
$151.05 / 131.35€ / 549.30PLN – transportation
$617.29 / 536.77€ / 2,263.64PLN – food and alcohol
$192.13 / 167.07€ / 699PLN – activities
$7.02 / 6.10€ / 25.50PLN – miscellaneous
$1,851.14 / 1,609.68€ / 6,751.34PLN – total

Total accommodation costs in Krakow and Gdansk – $883.65

We spent 4 nights in Krakow and 5 nights in Gdansk.

The hotel we booked in Krakow was an apartment style place with a separate living room and kitchen, but we didn’t cook while we were there. The bed was horribly uncomfortable, and the WiFi only barely worked from the bedroom, but not at all in the rest of the apartment. It was also on the ground level of the building with windows that faced into the small courtyard, so we didn’t get any sunlight into the apartment, which made it feel cold and depressing. I’m not sure I had much good to say about the place.

>>Read Krakow hotel reviews on TripAdvisor.

Luckily the hotel we booked in Gdansk was much better. The bed was comfortable, the windows let sun in and gave us a nice view, and each room in the hotel had its own WiFi router, which meant we had fantastic internet connection. Aparthotel Neptun is definitely a hotel I’d recommend if you’re going to Gdansk.

For a total of 9 nights, we averaged $98.18 per night in Poland, or $49.09 per person per night. If you’re on a tight budget, you can find cheaper accommodation at hostels.

Total transportation costs in Poland – $151.05

Since we live in Berlin, getting to Poland isn’t too difficult. Usually we choose the train, but this time for some reason the train tickets to and from Poland were expensive, so instead we took the bus. We booked our tickets through Polski Bus, which was adequate but not super comfortable. The Polski Bus website now redirects to a Polish Flixbus site (Flixbus is the biggest bus network in Europe) so if you end up on a Flixbus, instead of an old Polski Bus, it should be more comfortable.

The train from Krakow to Gdansk was cheap and much more comfortable than Polski Bus. We also used public transport within Krakow, one taxi in Gdansk, and a few local trains for day trips from Gdansk.

Our bus tickets from Berlin to Krakow were $23.50 per person, and the bus tickets from Gdansk to Berlin were about $23.24 per person. The train from Krakow to Gdansk was about $15 per person.

Total food and alcohol costs in Krakow and Gdansk- $617.29

Food prices in Poland tend to be fairly low, especially if you seek out milk bars in Poland. We ate out for every meal on our trip, and we had alcohol most nights as well. You can really eat cheap in Poland, but we also found some restaurants in Krakow and Gdansk that were worth the splurge. Prices in Krakow were pretty similar to prices in Gdansk. Also, we purchased a few bottles of Polish vodka to bring home with us. For snacks, drinks, and all meals, we averaged about $61.73 per day, or $30.86 per person per day, for 10 days in Poland.

Total activities costs in Krakow and Gdansk – $192.13

During our time in Poland, we actually did quite a few activities, but luckily most of them were cheap or free. The most expensive thing we did was a Polish vodka tour that cost about $80 per person. We had already taken this vodka tour in Warsaw, so we knew it would be lots of fun, and it did not disappoint. Our other activities included a couple of castles, climbing a couple of towers, and a couple of small museums.

Total miscellaneous costs – $7.02

There’s not much to report for this category. Andy bought a magnet in Gdansk, which is the bulk of our miscellaneous spending. Beyond that, it’s just a couple of paid bathrooms. Definitely allow more for your budget here if you like to buy souvenirs.

I really can’t recommend Poland enough – if you haven’t put this country on your radar, you really should. We liked Krakow and Gdansk so much, we know we’ll return at some point. We even talked about maybe going back for a month and taking some Polish classes.

So is Poland cheap? I think so! Poland is a fantastic country and easy on the budget, especially if you don’t splurge as much as we did. But if you’re going to splurge, why not do it in a cheap country, right? For 10 days in Poland, we spent about $185.11 per day, or about $92.56 per person per day.

Read more about Poland:

• Best Things to do in Gdansk, Poland
• Best Things to do in Krakow, Poland
• How Much We Spent Traveling in Warsaw, Poland
• How Much We Spent Traveling in Poznan, Poland