Where do we go?
Our tour is designed to give you the best of both worlds – part things you expect and want to see & part things you probably didn’t know were here. We have had seven years of experience with the tour and we are confident that you will be happy with the results! The first part of the tour is in the Old Town, where we visit the Main Market Square, the Czartoryski Museum, the main gate & the Old City walls, St. Mary’s church and the trumpet player and talk about Copernicus, statues and Polish food among other things. We then start to leave the center behind us and get away from the touristy bit and go to some places far from the center, like Kazimierz, the old Jewish part of town, the Jewish cemetery, the Jewish ghetto from WWII, and then to Oscar Schindler’s factory. We’ll also talk about nightlife, Polish football hooligans, life in the ghetto and everything you could possibly want to know about Schindler’s List. Then we make our way back to center with a nice ride along the river to see the fire-breathing dragon of Wawel castle before making stops to talk about John Paul II and the university life in Krakow. Got all that???

Why bikes are better.
We use bikes because they allow us to get around town more quickly than walking, but we are not racing! We believe bike riding is an ideal way to see a city because you can get to where you want to go a bit faster, but still at a casual pace that allows you to take in your surroundings. We ride at a relaxed tempo for the full tour and stop about 25 times along the way and take breaks from time to time so don’t worry about not being able to manage! The only requirements for the tour are being able to ride a bike and letting us do the rest!

Does the tour run all year round?
No. We close down in the winter months when the tourism season is over and the weather is, well, not the best for bike riding. Depending on how the weather goes, we usually start up in the first half of March and finish up somewhere in the second half of November. If you are unsure if we will be running the tour when you will be in town, please write us at krakowbiketour@gmail.com and remember that bad weather doesn’t bother us at all as long as it doesn’t bother you. If it’s cold & ugly outside but people still want to go, we will run the tour as long as road conditions are safe.

What happens if it rains?
We get wet! Sorry – couldn’t resist… Of course we hope the weather will be perfect during your visit to Krakow, but sometimes things don’t work out that way. Bad weather – rain, cold, whatever – doesn’t bother us at all and we have done the tour many times in all kinds of weather conditions. If it starts raining during the tour, we will find shelter or go inside somewhere until we can move on – we don’t want to give anyone the flu as a souvenir from Krakow. The only time the weather stops us from running the tour is if it makes the road conditions unsafe for bikes – ice, snow, etc.

What languages is the tour available in?
English only. Don’t worry – we have lots of experience talking with people from all over the world and are careful to make sure that everyone can understand and enjoy everything we see and talk about on the tour.

Is the tour physically difficult?
No. We use the bikes to get around a bit faster than walking, not because we are racing or doing hardcore off-road biking. In fact, walking the same path we take on the bikes is much more tiring than riding it. Also, we stop about 25 times along the way and have a few breaks as well, so anyone of just about any age can do it without a problem. By the way, the current record for our tour is held by an 80 year old man from Washington D.C.

How long does the tour last?
Depending on traffic conditions (both people traffic and car traffic) and the size of the group, the tour lasts around four hours or so

Do we go inside any places or museums?
We don’t for a couple of reasons. First off, locations like Wawel castle, St. Mary’s church and various museums and monuments in the city require separate official guides. Each of those places could have its own four hour tour. On our bike tour, we take you to many places so you can decide where you might want to go back later to explore in more detail. Also, it’s difficult to plan when some people would spend 5 minutes inside a place and others would spend an hour. We are certainly not in a hurry on the tour but we do have a schedule to keep so everyone knows when they will be returning to the bike shop. We try to take in as much as we can during our tour, and we are happy to answer any questions you might have about anything in Krakow.

Do I have to book in advance?
While it is not absolutely necessary , we ask that you do so if you can by mail or by phone, especially if you are with a group of 10 or more. This gives us a chance to prepare in the bike shop and get the tour started more easily. But if you can’t book ahead because you are not sure what day you can join us or for whatever reason, you are very welcome to simply join us at our meeting point our bike shop in the south-east corner of the main square at Grodzka street #2 in the courtyard at 1 PM.

Do we ride in traffic?
A little. Most of the tour is in pedestrian zones, parks, along the river or on quiet backstreets but in a couple of places, we do have to ride through traffic to get to where we want to go. Before doing so, we talk about where we are going and what we have to do along the way to be as safe as possible. Riding in traffic like this constitutes about 15% of the tour.