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|pop = 754 624762,500|plate = KR, KK

** '''Recent developmentNote:'''For quite a few months now, Don't go towards Katowice if your destination is the formerly excellent spot near Motel Krak, is undergoing extensive road reconstruction, which according to plans will lead to a giant sort of cloverleaf being constructed hereCzech Republic. Although this would be a bad development for hitchhiking here, there is still very little known about how the buses are going to be rerouted, and considering it wonYou risk getting stuck in Katowice't be upgraded to motorway standards, probably not even expressway standardss large urban agglomeration. Instead, pedestrian access will likely still be possible, and it could very well be that there will be still some bus stops near this site after follow the reconstruction. For the time being, however, this site should be downgraded to {{bad}}/{{senseless}} in terms of hitchhikinginstructions below for [[Bielsko-Biała]].

* '''From [[Petrol : I contest this above note. Heading in that direction is the quickest for getting to places such as Brno. Going to the service station hitchhiking|mentioned near bus stop Winna Gora and having a sign for Brno can get you into CZ, and then one can continue to Prague or Bratislava, for example. (9/2015) : I agree, I decided on going the katowice direction after talking with the cs hosts who also were hitchhikers. I went to the orlen petrol station]] in city suburbsalexandrowice, easily reachable by bus 209 from salwator. From there the first car took me past katowice. I will add that it is best to go to the petrol station at ruda slanska past the main area of katowice. From there I picked another ride to near gliwice. Then a truck driver picked me up and took me to Czech. If you choose the rights petrol stations to get off on, this route is very hikeable (07/2016). *'''From Pasternik Cmentarz bus stop ''Motel Krak'' Get to the bus stop (see aboveroundabout) you can walk down the road "Rondo Ofiar Katynia" (for about 1public transformation info use [https://www.jakdojade.pl www.jakdojade.pl]) and from there another 2 stops to "Pasternik Cmantarz".5km or take any There is a bus in that direction stop, petrol station and plenty of space for a car to pull over. :Generally it is better to have a sign for Katowice and get off if you're going further ask the driver to take you to some petrol station at the second stop called highway. Every time I've ended up on a different one and it was always super easy to push forward. --[[User:Polski Matematyk|Polski Matematyk]] * '''From first petrol station on the highway'Pasternik Cmentarz''It''' (you have to press the stop button otherwise s about 1km further than toll booths, but the spot is better than booths. You must take bus won't [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0226/0226rw01.htm 226], [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0209/0209rw01.htm 209] or [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0258/0258rw01.htm 258] and get off on stop)"Winna Góra". There's You will be already beside the motorway and the petrol station and small parking is close by. the best is to check the amazingly helpful page [http://krakow.jakdojade.pl/ jakdojade.pl] because the buses are running once for truckstwo hours.

* '''From first gas station on the highwayTake a train for about 40km to a good spot'''It's about 1km further than toll booths, but the spot is better than booths. You must take bus [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0226/0226rw01.htm 226], [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0209/0209rw01.htm 209] or [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0258/0258rw01.htm 258] and get off on stop "Winna Góra", you will see the gas station from here. Also check [http://krakow.jakdojade.pl/ jakdojade.pl] because the buses are running once for two hours.

* ''For a bit more than 10 'Take a train for about 40km to a good spot'złoty''For about 10-11 Polish Zloty you can take a train from Krakow to the small town of '''Trzebinia''' (As of October 2012 the regional train was 18 Zloty. It will be An even cheaper if you take a option is the minibus, from the station is behind the shopping mall next to the train station). Leave the train station, turn left, cross the bridge and follow ''road 79'' direction southwest. Its It's just another 1,.5 km to get to the motorway junction and you can try hitch hiking hitching with a KATOWICE-sign "Katowice" already, because a lot of traffic goes towards the motorway and you are already outside of Trzebinia. [[User:Cyclebear|Cyclebear]] tried this spot in june 2012 and found it a good alternative to the difficult situation that is now at the ''Motel Krak'' spot. It takes about one hour to travel get from Krakow main station to Trzebinia, but compared to the other right now existing options, he found it much more comfortable.

A better option is to take the bus number 217,247,277 until the stop '''''Kuźnicy Kołłątajowskiej'''''. ''This spot is great! There Here there is a lot of space for cars to pull over and many cars are going even all the way to Warsaw. And it is very easy to get to this spot. Highly recommended!''

All these busses buses are avaible from the station '''''Nowy Kleparz''''' which you reach by bus from the center or walk, it walking. It is about 2km 2 km north of the old town. If you go there by bus you might get off at a station where only the busses to '''''Opolska estakada''''' stop. The bus terminal where the busses buses 217,247,277 leave is about 100m further north from the crossroads at ''Plac Nowy Kleparz''.

* Since 2011, people usualy take the newly built highway in direction of the east. Take the [http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0304/0304rw01.htm bus 304] and get off at '''Jerzmanowskiego''' (old ''Prokocim CPN''). There is a bus stop and plenty of space to stop even for a truck. You can also walk like 500m along the road and try straight from the highway entrance - there is enough space and you can be easily seen. But now (March 2016) it isn't a good place. From the northern entrance to highway there are the fence hindering drivers from seeing you and the road sign forbidding you to walk. From the southern entrance traffic is VERY poor and mostly going to Katowice, not to Rzeszów.

For * 2017 - Another option is an unused bus stop on Tadeusza Śliwaka street, right before the road junction leading to {{National Road Number Poland|4}} {{E|40}} going east, the GPS coordinates are: 50°02'15.0"N 20°03'34.0"E. Use https://krakow.jakdojade.pl/ to check the buses going near that spot, preferably use a connection that will end up at bus stop ''Sandomierz'Przewóz'' take tram number 10 or 21 till ' (Bus 158), as it's the nearest one to the spot. This bus stop is right behind the last traffic lights, with a lot of space for even a big truck to stop PLESZOWand You will be easily visible. From there you can start hitching along It is not the most popular road number leading out of Cracow to the east however, so waiting times may vary. If You are going to Ukraine, bear in mind that recently finished {{National Road Number Poland|794}} {{E|40}} highway leads to '''Korczowa-Krakovets''' border crossing, where You '''cannot''' cross the border on foot (it is permitted only '''Medyka-Shehyni'''). Also there are very, very few cars stopping at the gas stations and rest areas on highway east of [[Rzeszów]], so before You pass it, either enter a car going straight to Korczowa border crossing (and wait a long time in the car queue), or go straight to Przemyśl, where You can easily access Medyka-Shehyni crossing, avoid rides to towns like Łańcut or Przeworsk, as most likely You will get stuck there.

=== South and southwest towards [[Rabka -Zdrój]], [[Ružomberok]] ([[Slovakia|SK]]) {{National Road Number Poland|7}} {{E|77}}, [[Zakopane]] {{National Road Number Poland|47}} and [[Bielsko-Biała]] {{National Road Number Poland|52}} ===

Take tram no. 8, 19, 22, 23, 40(operating only on Sundays and day offs) from center or bus no. 141, 145, 151, 201, 204, 214, 215, 225, 244, 265, 451, 608(night) from suburbs in direction ''Zakopiańska'' and get off at the centre to the last stop (''Borek Fałęcki''). There is a small bus stationhere. Walk You can either walk south on ''Zakopiańska'' street for a few hundred meters, then couple of kilometres until you will see a traffic lights after which is a bus stop where you can hitch. Cars drive here slowlygo under the highway overpass, but you also get too much urban traffic. If you don't get a ride in 30 min, it's better to or take one of the local buses (bus 175, 235, 245, 255, 275, 285) till and get out at the stop ''Opatkowice'' immediately after the highway crossing (stop overpass. You can hitch from the ''Opatkowice''), where you get much better traffic heading your waybus stop.

If your are heading to SlovakiaAlternatively if you start out early in the morning, you can take the above mentioned bus '''285''' much farther away from the road splits towards SK is Rabkacity to a much better spot. Get off at Mogilany Ośrodek Zdrowia. On the split itself there This is a good bus stop on the highway, hitch from here. Excellent spot ! <br/>(In case nobody speaks English and you don't know where to hitchhikeget off, although still a lot if you are in the front of local traffic. You can also take the bus near the driver, you will see a red bridge from the main bus station to Rabkadistance, this one: [https://www.google.com/maps/@49.939466,19.894601,3a,75y,172. It is 10PLZ78h,92. Make sure 74t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sG-2qOxM2yscYZqcBJ-67hg!2e0 Mogilany Wiadukt]As soon as you tell see the driver exactly where to drop bridge in the distance, get off immediately. In case you miss it, no worries, you can get offafter the bridge and walk back maybe one kilometer) <br/>'''WARNING''': the bus operates very rarely (and '''doesn't''' go on Sundays!), so you should check the timetable here:[http://rozklady.mpk.krakow.pl/aktualne/0285/0285t001.htm 285 bus timetable]

=== Route to If you are going towards [[PragueBielsko-Biała]] ===, tell your driver immediately so that he knows to leave you at the fork in the road a few kilometres south of Krakow.

Google Maps recommends If your are heading to go to Prague via Katowice - Gliwice - Chalupki (near Slovakia, the Polish-Czech border) - Bohuman - Ostrava. But: nobody goes from here to Prague, and getting a hitch hike is almost impossible. road splits towards SK in [[User:Vidhiraj|Vidhi RajRabka-Zdrój]] was stuck here in Chalupki and then on the Czech border in Bohuman before giving up and heading to Ostrava Central station to catch a train to Prague for 18 Euros.  Instead: Go Southward. Take a bus in direction of Myslenice and reach At the bus stop at Glogoczow. There is a split fork in the road and you choose the road towards the right hand side. This itself there is a country road good spot to hitchhike, though there is mainly local traffic and not it may require a highway. The road leads couple of lifts to Wadowice and Bielsko-Biala and further on to Cieszynreach the Slovak border. Remember that Alternatively, if you have don't want to head hitchhike in Krakow or save some time, you can take a bus to Cieszyn this spot for 9 PLN, which is a border town between Czech Republic and Poland on the Polish side and then go via Ostrava or Frydek-Mistek not that pricier from what would you pay for public transport in Czech Republic to PragueKrakow. Bus stop is called ''Skomielna Biała, skrzyżowanie''. Here you will find lots of cars and trucks heading towards Prague via You can use [[Brno]http://www.busy-krk.pl/en/rabka-zdroj-krakow.php this site]to check timetables. The journey takes up You can also take a similar mini-bus to ten hoursJabłonka (which is right at the border) for about 20 PLN. Best of luck! :)

There is a good very useful and simple to use [http://krakow.jakdojade.pl/Welcome.jsp?locale=en website] showing you how to get from one point to another by public transport in major Polish cities (in Polish and English).

The central station (Dworzec Główny) is open during the night. Guards will wake you up quite early around 5am , but won't bother you at all during the night. I don't know how old the above information is but from my experience guards patrol the central station is not a good place constantly and wake up anyone who tries to try and sleep. The benches are designed so that you cannot sleep comfortably, the security guards were waking everybody up - (even if they were just sleeping while people waiting for trains). Better to find a host from a train that left hours later - and if you tried to even sit on the floor (much more comfortable) they would come along and make you sit on hospitality exchange service or camp outside the benches. Avoidcity. __NOTOC__