Hello, I’m traveling to zakopane with my gf in 2 days. I have some questions and also would love for someone who’s been to zakopane to double check my plan for the trips.

The questions are:

how do you know whether the weather allows you to climb the mountain on the date. What forecasts do you look for when deciding whether it’s safe to climb or not. Are thunderstorms the only risk?

In general how much does the temperature drop for altitude?

Where do the minibusses depart from if I want to get from zakopane to morskie oko?

What kind of clothing is the best for a hike?

Can I refill a water bottle on the trails?

Also maybe someone knows of good places to eat in zakopane?

Also, I think on the last day we could try the cable car to kasprowy wierch. Can someone maybe give me a good trail that’s not too long from kasprowy wierch?

Here are the trails I have planned for friday and saturday.

https://mapa-turystyczna.pl/route?q=49.2545440,20.1029760;49.2155227,20.0449848;49.2123720,20.0423020;49.2135830,20.0484900;49.2014110,20.0708100;49.1903740,20.0737000;49.2545440,20.1029760#49.26122/20.10841/13

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/poland/lesser-poland-malopolskie/kuznice-koscielec?mobileMap=false&ref=sidebar-static-map

3 comments

  1. I was just there this weekend so let me know if you have any specific questions. We only did the one hike to Czarny Staw pod Rysami with a loop around Morskie Oko.

    1. As long as it’s cloudy or sunny, you should be fine. Even a little temporary rain is okay, but once it starts to rain hard/thunderstorm, you may want to re-consider.

    2. Maybe a few degrees – I wore shorts and I was comfortable the entire hike, but bring a rain jacket/warm layer.

    3. We used the main bus station (Dworzec Autobusowy Zakopane). There were many buses at 7am – one way is 15 PLN per person (cash only).

    4. Light clothing that can dry quickly, multiple layers. Good shoes, rain jacket, hat. See https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/how-to-choose-hiking-clothes.html

    5. There’s a few places to buy water bottles (at the start, halfway to Morskie Oko, and at the restaurant next to Morskie Oko) but we brought about 2.5L and had enough water to last us the hike. Not sure if you can refill for free though.

    6. We enjoyed Bistro Las (if you’re into vegan food).

  2. On first day we arrive at zakopane at 18:00. Is taking a cable car up at 19:00 and then down at 20:40 a good idea? Originally was thinking about doing the aquapark on first day, but since i dont have the kasprowy wierch cable car in my next 2 day plans, maybe this is a better idea.

  3. Temperature change for elevation is a fairly standard calculation — ~10°C per 1,000 meters. Always bring a layer or two when you’re hiking and always prepare for rain.

    Check the weather forecasts for threat of storms — be *very* careful on days where there’s a risk. Getting caught in a thunderstorm is incredibly dangerous in the mountains (I was in a very bad one near Morskie Oko and it was very scary). Stay far away from Giewont on those days.

    For the hike near Kasprowy, since you’re already doing Koscielec, you could go the other direction towards Kondratowa and maybe make your way to Kuznice via Kalatowki for a good meal there. A quick word on Koscielec: please be careful, this is super steep — I prefer to stay just under it and enjoy the view of the lake.

    In Zakopane itself, I’m obsessed with Cafe Samanta for sweets. Otherwise I stick to smaller polish restaurants away from the main part of town and the mountain huts. 🙂

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