Krakow and the Dunajec Path Cycling Holidays
Start: Krakow

Your Itinerary


Krakow and the Dunajec Path Self-Guided Cycling Holiday
Self-Guided | Individual | 8 days | 7 nights | From £599 per person
Other durations available on request.
Full holiday prices by date are shown on the ‘Book Now’ tab.

Book the Krakow and Dunajec Path cycling holiday here >>

Tour Highlights
• Ride on routes parallel to rivers
• Cycle along the Dunajec Path
• Start in historic Krakow
• Explore Zakopane – the Polish Alpine resort

Route: Along the river path
The terrain is flat to slightly hilly with some short climbs. You will find yourself almost exclusively on paved roads or on natural roads which are in good condition.

The approximate difficulty level for this tour

Difficulty Scale

Day-by-Day Itinerary


Day 1: (Saturday) Arrive in Krakow

You arrive in Krakow and spend the first night in a three-star hotel in the Old Town. After finding your room, there is time for a stroll through Krakow and for a first impression of the Old Town and its nightlife.

Day 2: (Sunday) Krakow – Zab – Zakopane 25-30 km cycling

Bikes are selected at our cycle hire centre in the middle of the Old Town our tour of Krakow, a former capital of Poland gets underway. The city that was once the residence of Polish kings is on the UNESCO World Heritage list and boasts a historic architecture which came through the Second World War unscathed.

Among Krakow’s most important architectural treasures are St Mary’s Church with the world-famous altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss; medieval buildings of Jagiellonian University, Poland’s oldest university; Wawel Cathedral adjacent to the 11th century Wawel Castle; Europe’s largest medieval town square; Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter; the promenade along the Vistula at the foot of Wawel Castle. On our cycle tour we visit the “Planty”, attractive gardens laid out around the Old Town on the site of the earlier medieval city walls.

At about midday a minibus takes us to Podhale. Our destination is the village of Zab, Poland’s highest village. The journey takes about 2 hours. The first ride will be to Gubalowka, from where we can enjoy a panoramic view of the High Tatras. We then cycle down the mountain, past farm carts laden with hay. After a short rest at the point where the Poroniec and Zakopianka streams join the White Dunajec, we ride through the village of Olcza to Zakopane. Our accommodation here is not far from Krupowki, Zakopane’s main street, a pedestrian area lined with lively cafés and shops.

Zakopane has developed a very distinctive cultural character. The folk culture of the people who live in the Tatras, the Gorale, has been preserved in their music, their songs and their local costume. And the characteristic “Zakopane style” of timber architecture, which developed around the turn of the twentieth century, can be found nowhere else in Europe. During our break we can sample “oscypek”, the delicious smoked ewe’s-milk cheese made in the Goral houses here.

Day 3: (Monday) Zakopane – Nowy Targ 46 km cycling, mostly downhill

We take the cable car back to the top of Gubalowka and then cycle down through the village of Dzianisz as far as Chocholow, a village which is now a “living open-air museum” of timber architecture, where we have lunch in the village inn. Following a short climb we enter the valley of Cichy Potok (“the quiet stream”) and continue further downhill along a quiet path, through Ciche, Stare Bystre, Ludzmierz (with a famous Marian pilgrimage shrine), to the town of Nowy Targ, the main town of the Gorale mountain people. We spend the night in a stylish hotel located on the green outskirts of the town.

Day 4: (Tuesday) Nowy Targ – Niedzica 44 km cycling

Today we head south and follow the course of the Bialka, a third mountain river flowing into the Dunajec and see its impressive gorge near Nowa Biala. On the way we can also take a look at one of Poland’s oldest wooden churches at Debno, built around 1500, which has an impressive painted interior.

We are now in the Spisz region, an area with a rich history and a remarkable folk culture. Until 1918 this area was part of Hungary, and for many centuries it was home to several ethnic groups: Gorale and Ruthenians lived in the villages, Germans in the towns and the Hungarian nobility in the castles. Following the bank of the reservoir, we reach one of these castles at Niedzica and spend the night in a nearby hotel.

Day 5: (Wednesday) Niedzica – Szczawnica 35-40 km cycling

This is the most spectacular day of the tour. We follow the river through Sromowce, a village once famous for the flocks of geese that used to be bred here. Soon, at about midday, we cross the border into Slovakia on the newly built bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.

After cycling to the village of Cerveny Klastor (Red Monastery), above which rise the three peaks of Trzy Korony (Three Crowns), the highest point in the Pieniny range, we have a meal and visit the local museum. We then cycle along the “Pieniny Way”, a narrow ledge open only to walkers and cyclists, carved out of breathtaking limestone cliffs that run the entire length of the Dunajec Gorge. Unlike the tourists on wooden rafts being steered down the river by Gorale we can stop at any time to take photographs or even to bathe in the river.

Also very beautiful is the gorge of the Lesnicky Potok, a stream which flows into the Dunajec from the Slovakian side, passing through the sleepy village of Lesnica. You can do a little shopping here before it’s time to head back into Poland. The little spa town of Szczawnica is a pleasant surprise, with its cycle-friendly separate lanes for cyclists. In the afternoon we ride along the elegant promenade in the valley of the Grajcarek and explore the paths in the upper and lower spa gardens.

Day 6: (Thursday) Szczawnica – Rytro 55 km cycling

The stretch today leads us through what is known as the “green Dunajec Gorge”, where the river passes between two ranges of the Beskids. Although there are no limestone cliff walls here, the slopes with their beech woods are still very impressive. We soon leave the main road, crossing the river on a suspension bridge to the right bank and making our way between the paths among the farms of the village of Tylmanowa with glimpses of the old barns, granaries and hen-houses though open doors.

We stop for lunch at a guesthouse in Lacko, known for its strong slivovitz, a plum brandy. It is also possible to halt alongside fruit gardens on the valley slopes. At Golkowice we leave the Dunajec and ride to Rytro, an old feudal village at the foot of castle ruins. On our last evening we have a dinner with grilled trout fresh from the river.

Day 7: (Friday) Rytro – Krakow 15-25 km cycling

After breakfast we take a 15 km ride through the Poprad Valley to Stary Sacz, although yo may prolongate the tour and cycle upstream the river to spa town Piwniczna. Early afternoon is spent exploring Stary Sacz – the historic little town, one of the most beautiful in southern Poland, cycling through the maze of narrow streets for a feel of the atmosphere of past times. After lunch we return to Krakow (bus journey about 2 hours).

Our accommodation for the last night is usually in the same hotel as on the first night, but we will spend the rest of the day in the quiet Kazimierz district, once the Jewish quarter of the city. An evening of Klezmer music brings the tour to a close.

Day 8: (Saturday)

If desired you can extend your stay in Krakow.

Map & Route Information

Route Profile
This tour meets in Krakow with a bus transfer to the start (included).

The entire tour is flat or gently undulating terrain. The climbs are no problem even for less adept cyclists or children. Day 6 has two slightly longer climbs (about a 150 m height differential).

Where is the starting point of the holiday?


View Larger Map

Tour Route Map

Tour Information

Holiday Information...

The Krakow and the Dunajec Path tour is available with 2 levels of accommodation. Package B stays in 2* & 3* hotels and Package A stays in 3* & 4* hotels. carefully chosen for their location, hospitality and proximity to your tour route.

The hotel list below is subject to change and should be used as a guide.
We will confirm the exact hotels prior to arrival.
Krakow to Dunajec Path Sample Hotel List
Krakow Hotel Wyspianski
Droga do Bialego Hotel Bialy Potok
Nowy Targ Goralski Raj
Polana Sosny Polana Sosny
Szczawnica Hotel Nawigator
Rytro Hotel Janina
Krakow Hotel Wyspianski

Included services

- Transport Krakow-Zab and Stary Sacz-Krakow
– 7 nights accommodation in twin bedded rooms with shower / WC
– 7 x half board (breakfast and dinner)
– Transfer of luggage from hotel to hotel
– Specialist English-speaking escort (guided tour) or detailed tour description and special 1:75000 cycle map (self guided-tour)
– Cable car Zakopane-Gubalowka (guided tour only)
– Klezmer concert on the last evening

Star Star Star
About the bikes...

The bikes used are well maintained trekking bikes.

Light Aluminium frame
21 speed derailleur gear
High quality Schwalbe Land Cruiser tyres
Comfortable, suspended gel-saddle
Cycles are equipped with bags.

Star Star Star

Your Prices

Krakow and the Dunajec Path, 8 days, 7 nights
All prices are per person and include bike hire.

Cycling Holiday Prices:

Prices are based on seasonal date bands
Season 1: May – September
Arrival Saturdays

Category A: Prices per person including bike hire
Season 1: From £769 | Book online here >>
Single Room Supplement: From £209

Category B: Prices per person including bike hire
Season 1: From £599 | Book online here >>
Single Room Supplement: From £109

Extra Nights (Price Per Person)
Location | Price (DBL/BB) | Single (SGL/BB)
Hotel Amadeus or Ferreus in Krakow (Cat A): From £79 | From £125
Hotel Wyspianski or Warszawski (Cat B): From £49 | From £65

Hotel Category Descriptions
Category A: At least 4x hotels**** (occasionally *****)
in Rytro area mainly the new Hotel Piwniczna**** 3x good Hotels***
Category B: 5-6 x hotels***, 1-2 x really good hotels**
In Rytro Area – Perla Poludnia, Willa Poprad,


Any local tourist taxes are not included in the holiday price and are payable at the hotel.

For help and queries regarding this tour…
Contact us | F.A.Qs

Holiday Price: From £599
Single Supplement: From £109

Click here to book now
Call: 01706 618155

Wheel2Wheel Holidays is part of KE Adventure Travel Ltd.

Central Car Park Road, Keswick, Cumbria, CA12 5DF

Registered Address: Fifth Floor, 27 Greville Street, London, United Kingdom EC1N 8SU

Registered in England: 1911512