Around Zakopane: Day Trips, Villages and the Slovak Tatras
Zakopane is a base as much as a destination. The surrounding region — Podhale, the highland plateau between the Tatras and the Beskid ranges — has its own character, its own villages, and its own reasons to venture beyond the main resort. Further afield, Kraków and the Slovak side of the Tatras are natural additions to a longer trip.
Kościelisko (5 km west)
The first village west of Zakopane along the Czarny Dunajec valley. Traditional wooden architecture, a slower pace, and direct access to Dolina Kościeliska — one of the best and most accessible Tatra valley hikes. The village has its own character independent of Zakopane's resort atmosphere: a working highland community with farms, a church, local shops, and a bakery culture that predates tourism.
Worth visiting for: a morning walk through the village before entering the valley, or as an alternative accommodation base. The local restaurant scene is small but genuine — you'll find kwaśnica here that wasn't made for tourists.
Nearby Villages of Podhale
Chochołów (30 km west)
One of the best-preserved traditional highland villages in Poland. The wooden cottages along the main street — many dating from the 18th and 19th centuries — are maintained as a living village rather than an open-air museum. The effect is striking: a complete highland streetscape that looks much as it did 150 years ago.
Chochołów is a protected historic rural and architectural complex and a stop on the Wooden Architecture Route. It is not a UNESCO World Heritage site — a claim that circulates widely online and is simply wrong.
Chochołów is also known for scrubbing its wooden house fronts with soap solution in spring, which turns them white and fragrant for the season — a collective tradition maintained by the community. There's a small museum and a handful of craft stalls, but the main point is walking the street itself.
Getting there: by car (30 minutes from Zakopane), or by bus toward Czarny Dunajec — check schedules. Half a day is enough; combine with Dolina Chochołowska if you're already in the western Tatras area.
Bukowina Tatrzańska (15 km east)
A small town rather than a village, known primarily for two things: the Termy Bukowina thermal bath complex and a panoramic view of the eastern Tatra range that rivals Gubałówka for drama. The town itself is unremarkable, but the setting is excellent — open Podhale plateau with the full Tatra wall visible from multiple points.
As a day trip from Zakopane: thermal baths plus the view, a couple of hours each. As an accommodation base: see Where to Stay.
Białka Tatrzańska (25 km east)
Primarily known as a ski resort and the location of Terma Bania. Less atmospheric as a village than Chochołów or Kościelisko, but the ski infrastructure here — particularly Bania thermal complex with mountain views — is excellent. Worth a day in winter for skiing, or an evening for the thermal experience.
Murzasichle (10 km southeast)
A quiet highland village with a genuine agricultural character. Less visited than Kościelisko, which is part of its appeal. The village has a fine wooden church, a PTTK shelter at nearby Rusinowa Polana, and some excellent family-run guesthouses. If you're looking for "authentic Podhale" without the tourism infrastructure, Murzasichle is closer to it than most places.
Day Trips Further Afield
Kraków (2 hours by bus)
The obvious addition to any Zakopane trip, and genuinely worth it. Kraków's Old Town — the Royal Road, Wawel Castle, the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz — is one of Central Europe's better urban historic cores, and the city has a functioning cultural life beyond tourism.
Practical logistics: Morning bus from Zakopane (first departures around 6–7am), arrive by 9–10am. Full day in Kraków. Evening bus back. Alternatively, split the trip and spend a night in Kraków before or after Zakopane — most visitors arrive via Kraków anyway.
Nearby from Kraków: Wieliczka Salt Mine (14 km, UNESCO site, impressive underground chambers) and Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial (70 km, 2.5 hours from Zakopane directly).
Auschwitz-Birkenau (2.5 hours from Zakopane)
A different kind of day trip — difficult, important, and one that many visitors to southern Poland include for good reason. The Auschwitz I main camp and Auschwitz II-Birkenau are 70 km from Zakopane, reachable by bus via Oświęcim or by organized tour from Kraków.
Entrance to the memorial is free; guided tours in English are available and recommended for context. The visit takes 3–4 hours minimum. Book online — timed entry applies.
This is not a tourist attraction in the conventional sense. It's a historical site demanding a different kind of attention. Approach it accordingly.
The Slovak Side of the Tatras (1.5–2 hours)
The Tatras continue south across the Slovak border — the same mountain range, a different national park (TANAP), different infrastructure, and a noticeably different atmosphere. The Slovak Tatras are less crowded than the Polish side, have different trail access, and the Slovak resort towns (Tatranská Lomnica, Štrbské Pleso) have a distinct Central European spa-resort aesthetic that's worth experiencing.
A good day plan on the Slovak side: Tatranská Lomnica with a cable car ride into the higher terrain — subject to weather and ticket availability, which is genuinely worth checking in advance. Either as an alternative or in addition: Bachledova Dolina and its treetop walkway, which works particularly well with children.
Getting there: Car is the practical option. From Zakopane, cross at Łysa Polana or Chyżne further west. Both countries are in Schengen, so there's no routine passport control for EU/EEA citizens — carry your passport anyway if you're not.
On the Slovak vignette: on the typical local-road route from Zakopane to these destinations you usually don't need one, but a vignette is mandatory on designated motorway and expressway sections. Don't assume "no vignette needed in Slovakia" — check your actual route before you set off, on the official E-Známka service.
Pro tip for lunch: cesnaková polievka (garlic soup), vyprážaný syr s hranolkami a tatárskou omáčkou (fried cheese, chips, tartare sauce), and a Zlatý Bažant to go with it. It is not health food and that is not the point.
Szczawnica (1 hour by car)
If you want a day trip that isn't Kraków, this is the one to pick. Szczawnica is a spa town in the Pieniny mountains with a very different character from Zakopane — smaller, calmer, built around 19th-century spa architecture.
What to do there:
- The chairlift up to Palenica for the view over the Pieniny
- A walk through the spa quarter and the promenade
- The Dunajec river rafting trip — traditional wooden rafts through the Dunajec gorge, one of the genuinely distinctive experiences in southern Poland
In autumn, Szczawnica hosts a redyk — the ceremonial return of the sheep flocks from summer pasture, with the herds passing through, concerts and associated events. Confirm dates and programme each year; it's a moving date.
The Tatra National Park Beyond Zakopane
Most visitors enter the Polish Tatras from Zakopane, but the park has additional entry points that are less crowded:
Palenica Białczańska (for Morskie Oko) — technically not Zakopane itself; approached from the east.
Kiry — western entry point into Dolina Kościeliska, approached through or past Kościelisko village.
Dolina Chochołowska — the westernmost major valley, entered from near the village of Siwa Polana. Requires transport to reach.
Distributing visits across different entry points — rather than always using Zakopane center as the hub — reduces congestion on the most popular routes and opens up less-visited areas.
Chochołów and Dolina Chochołowska do work as a single day, with a car or well-chosen transport — but plan it realistically. Walk the village street and visit the museum in the morning, then take a shorter variant of the valley in the afternoon. Trying to combine the full walk to the shelter, the thermal baths and a proper look around the village is too much for one unhurried day; something gets rushed, and it's usually the village.
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