If you have got luck you can find a cheap ticket for buses (but not direct).
For example www.polskibus.com (available in english). There is a bus from Berlin to Warsaw (around 9h) and from Warsaw to Krakow (around 4h30). But sometimes this ticket are not cheap and it may be necessary to spend a night in Warsaw.
You can also try with mitfahrgelengenheit.de or mitfahrzentrale.de. The prices are between 25 and 40 EUR. Unfortunately there are only few rides in a month.
Via the webiste of the German Railways (bahn.de), it is possible to book a bus from Berlin to Krakow for 29 EUR, even for a departure on a (very) short notice (read: tomorrow). The price for a regular train ticket is 61 EUR. Eurolines will charge you about the same. The travel time by bus or train is 9 – 10 hours. By train you have to change once. The typical routing is via Warsaw.
The plane is more expensive. Air Berlin has direct flights from Berlin to Krakow. One-way fares start at about 100 EUR, even for a departure at short notice (in a week or so). Travel time is 1h20.
Regarding Poznan, it is an underrated destination in Poland. It’s definitely worth a stop. Note that all the trains from Warsaw to Berlin stop in Poznan too.
It is indeed possible to travel on a night train from Poznan to Krakow. I don’t think that you will save a lot of money by doing that (if any at all). The major advantage of the night train is the time saving. You can leave Berlin in the late afternoon and you will arrive in Krakow early in the morning. Traveling by day you will leave in the morning and arrive in the evening. On the other hand it can be pleasant to spend an evening in Krakow and sleep in a real bed.
The cheapest way is obviously to hitchhike, especially if time is not an issue. You can check out Hitchwiki for suggestions on how to do that.
To fly might be cheap, but remember that the cheap airlines (RyanAir, for example) often take you to airports well outside the city, and then you have to get a bus/train in.
Also, asking which is the cheapest is variable – flights have specials and vary in price throughout the year.
Odds are good that trains/buses are reasonably priced, and I’d look into those. I did the train two years ago from Berlin to Krakow, and it helps that they’re well located, close to hostels, and I did an overnight trip like you suggested, saving me money on a hostel. Indeed, myself and a Brazilian girl found a cabin of 8 seats empty, so stretched out with 4 seats each, and essentially had a bed. Great way to travel.
Eurolines bus may be your alternative method for bussing around Europe, and may be worth a look.
But the cheapest? Hitchhiking.
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5 Mar, 2024
4 Mar, 2024