Have you tried the Polish and Slovak national rail company website for pricing? http://www.pkp.pl/ http://www.pkp.pl/ If the pricing is the same as from bahn.de and bahn.de will actually sell you the ticket, I’d probably go that route as the site is easier to navigate in English and will probably be more “friendly” to a “foreign” credit card.

You should be able to buy a ticket for the entire journey at the “international” window in Kosice — or a better choice might be to buy a round trip ticket in Krakow.

Slovak Railways offer RETURN ticket Kosice-Krakow-Kosice via Plavec borderpoint costs €33.92. I haven’t found any special offer or even a regular price on the site of the Polish railways. But count as I can, the €34 return ticket is still MUCH cheaper than 51 British pounds one way. Could you possibly travel with a base in Slovakia? If not, contact Polish Railways at infoeuropa@intercity.pl – maybe they have a similar discout price, and they just don’t quote it at theirs site.

The key is, you have to use the Plavec/Muszyna borderpoint, not Skalite/Zwardon in order to get this price. The most convenient is the night train, leaving Kosice at 23:29 and arriving to Krakow at 5:10 in the morning. Also, you can go with transfers, leaving Kosice at 6:04 and arriving to Krakow at 15:03 even with all the transfers.

A couple of tips: – from Kosice (or Ruzomberok) you can also go to Poprad, use a bus to Zakopane, then a train to Krakow, should be cheaper.

- A domestic ticket (e.g. from Kosice to Ruzomberok) should be bought just before taking the train. The price is €8.02 one way.

- International return tickets are ALWAYS cheaper than two one way tickets. In special cases, they are even cheaper than ONE one-way ticket. If possible, go the same route both ways so you can get a return ticket.

Why on Earth are you going to Ruzomberok anyway? It is not famous for any architecture, but it is quite infamous for its stinky paperworks that stand in the town regularly turning the Vah valley into a basin of stinky fog.

If you decide this way, do it, but change the destinations a bit. Use one-way from Kosice to Skalite (€12.08), then use a RETURN ticket from Skalite to Zwardon (€2, can be bought both in Kosice and in Zilina, where you change), and then buy a domestic Polish ticket from Zwardon to Krakow one way from a Polish ticket inspector – or, if you change trains in Zwardon, which is most possible, buy them in a local station cash desk – prices start at 27 PLN, which is about €6.50). You can do the same trick on the Eastern route through Plavec: Kosice to Plavec one way (€4.18), Plavec to Muszyna return (€1.30), Muszyna to Krakow one way (29 PLN, which is about €7). You don’t have to get out of the train just because it passes the spot from where you use another ticket.

- there is no direct train from Zilina to Krakow, not to mention Kosice to Krakow, during daylight. From both these cities there is only one direct train per day, and it runs through the night. Maybe you havent checked the “number of transfers” column on DB site.

Hi papyr,

I shall explain the nature of my trip, I’m going watch Leeds United on their Pre-Season Tour and we happen to be playing MFK Ruzomberok & MFK Kosice.

In order to keep my costs down and because I done a lot of work for my University degree on The Holocaust, I decided to fly into Krakow, so I could visit Auschwitz. My trip then takes me to Ruzomberok and then Kosice, so in theory, I can’t really change the trip around.

My flight back to England from Krakow leaves at 21:50 on Saturday 17th July 2010, so unfortunately I don’t have too many routes to play about with.

Thank you so much for the help you have provided so far, but could I ask you one favour, could you recommend the routes you would take if you had to catch the flight?

I have to be in Ruzomberok by no later than 4pm on 13/07/10 from Krakow, so how would you take on that journey?

The one I’m a little worried about, is making sure I’m back in Krakow by no later than 20.00 on 17/07/10. I will take one of the 06.05 trains from Kosice or the route to Poprad and the the bus to Zakopane and train to Krakow. Basically, if you were doing the route how would you go about?

Sorry for the ignorance, papyr, I just don’t want to miss my flight and have no experience of travelling in this part of the world.

old lady: Thank you also for your help.

Aha, I see, you are depending on a match list You should have stated we should treat this as a business trip

OK, I called the Polish rail information to get the prices, you owe me 11 eurocents for the call The number called was +48422055007 and I had to exercise my Polish with them, but I got the official prices. Krakow to Ruzomberok: one way 146 PLN (zlotys, roughly €35) return 175 PLN (€41.90). Krakow to Kosice: one way 134 PLN (€32.10), return 162 PLN (€38.80).

We have two train routes from Krakow to Slovakia, western and eastern. If you buy a return ticket, both ways will have to be on the same route. Otherwise you’d have to buy single tickets. The western route offers good connection to Ruzomberok – you leave Krakow at 7 AM and arrive to Ruz. at 3PM, but not in the opposite direction, from Kosice to Krakow, where you’d arrive to Krakow at 20:48 or 21:39, which is past your plane, or you’d have to leave Kosice at 6 AM and arrive to Krakow at 15:55.) Perhaps, instead of spending two days on a train, you’d want move sleeping on a train, save a day of a hostel and have more time during the day. I’ll list both ways.

Part One: From Krakow to Ruzomberok in order to be there no later than 13.7.2010 16:00
Daytime western variant: start 13.7.2010 morning. Buy a return ticket from Krakow to Ruzomberok via Zwardon.
Krakow Glowny depart 7:35 fast train No. 335 “Skalnica” (to Zilina), arrive Zilina 13:13
EITHER (less complicated)
Zilina depart 14:08 slow train No. 7835 (to Poprad-Tatry), arrive Ruzomberok 15:15
OR (quicker)
Zilina depart 13:20 fast train No. 1841 “Strecno” (to Banska Bystrica), arrive Vrutky 13:37, change to slow train No. 7833 (to Spisska Nova Ves), depart Vrutky 13:45, arrive Ruzomberok 14:33.

Nighttime eastern variant: start 12.7.2010 evening, buy a return ticket to Kosice via Muszyna. If you want a sleeper, buy it in the morning of the same day or earlier.
Depart Krakow Glowny 22:39 on a fast train No. 1381 “Varsovia” (from Warsaw to Keszthely, Hungary). Arrive Kosice 13.7.2010 4:43.
Buy a single ticket to Ruzomberok (€8.02). Use any of the bi-hourly trains from 6:05 to 12:05 (to Bratislava), journey to Ruzomberok takes 2 hrs 22 mins.

Part two: From Ruzomberok to Kosice:
use any of the bi-hourly fast trains, departing 5:44 to 19:44, to Kosice. Journey takes 2:22 hrs.

Part three: Kosice to Krakow Balice International Airport, arrive no later than 17.7.2010 20:30.

Daytime western variant:
You already have a return ticket from Ruzomberok to Krakow, so just buy Kosice-Ruzomberok single ticket. Start 17.7.2010 morning in Kosice.
Kosice dep. 6:05 fast train No. 602 “Cingov” to Bratislava, arrive Zilina 9:17.
Zilina dep. 9:52 slow train No. 4106 to Katowice, arrive Katowice 13:44.
Katowice dep. 14:15 fast train No. 73124 (from Poznan to Rzeszow), Krakow Glowny arrive 15:55.
Use any of the hourly trains from Krakow Glowny to Krakow Balice Airport, depart X:00, arrive X:17 of every hour, no later than 20:00, to get to the Airport.

Nighttime eastern variant:
Start 16.7.2010 evening in Kosice. You already have the return ticket to Krakow, so just buy a sleeper if possible.
Dep. Kosice 23:29 fast train No. 1380 “Varsovia” (from Keszthely to Warsaw), arrive Krakow Glowny 17.7.2010 5:10.
Use any of the hourly trains from Krakow Glowny to Krakow Balice Airport, depart X:00, arrive X:17 of every hour, no later than 20:00, to get to the Airport.

FYI, if you are interested in Holocaust, you should know that most of the western route (Zilina-Cadca-Skalite-Zwardon-Bielsko Biala-Katowice) was the route of the last train journey for most of the 70.000 Jews from Slovakia murdered in Auschwitz. Their cattle-wagons rattled through the very same stations and over the very same bridges as you will go.

And my personal opinion is that I’d try to hitchhike over the border as the public transport connection is really horrible Or I’d cross the border on foot in some favorable place where the bus/train stops of public transport system of Slovakia and Poland are a short walking distance, like in Lysa Polana or Ruska Vola/Leluchow.

Thanks for the help papyr. I’m extremely grateful for the research you have put in and the personal expense!!! Absolute top man!!

Edit to say: Stupid Question. Ignore!!!!

This bit I’m a little confused about!!! Don’t you just go over the border on the train and have your passport checked?

Please look at the map. The return to Kosice is cheaper because it uses a DIFFERENT ROUTE, which is shorter, not the one through Zilina. Get it? You even leave Krakow in opposite directions for Zilina and Kosice.

Of course you will pass the border on train. I’d just go by hitchhiking in order not to pay any international ticket and to avoid unpleasant travel times. Otherwise NO, you don’t get out of the train, NO, the train doesnt stop at the actual border and NO, you won’t have your documents checked as the border is unmanned.

Cheers mate. Top reserach!

One final question, do you know how long the return ticket is valid for after the initial travel date? I’m guessing at least a week?

One month. 30 days actually.

Attention!
The night train “Varsovia” (R 1380/R 1381) has been cancelled for the whole season 2010 due to high-water, which has broken away the railway bridge near Nowy Sacz! Unfortunately, PKP does not provide an alternative route, they only relegate travellers from Hungary to EN 476 “Metropol” via Bratislava. Of course, there’s no point in that for travellers from Slovakia. Currently I am not sure which is the most convenient alternative route.
See this link for details (in polish): PKP Intercity