Self-Launched: Hiking the Polish Carpathians — Krakow, Babia Góra, Tatra & Pieniny

Fly into Krakow John Paul II Airport (KRK) and take the SKA1 train or bus 208/252 into the centre (~£1.10). Check into a hostel in the Old Town / Kazimierz area. Spend the late afternoon wandering the UNESCO-listed Old Town: Rynek Główny (Europe's largest medieval square), the Cloth Hall and St Mary's Basilica. In the evening join a free walking tour of the Old Town or the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter (tip-based, ~£5-8 tip) and eat pierogi at a milk bar (bar mleczny) for £5-7.

🚌Airport train/bus ~£1.10; everything on foot

🛏Hostel dorm in Krakow Old Town/Kazimierz (~£18/night)

• →Self-guided Old Town walk
• →Free walking tour of Old Town/Kazimierz (tip-based)
• →Milk-bar dinner

Morning self-guided visit of Wawel Hill — the cathedral and castle courtyards are free, paid entry to the State Rooms is ~£10 if you want it. Walk south through Kazimierz's synagogues and cafés, then take an afternoon minibus from Krakow's MDA bus station to Zawoja (~2 hrs, ~£9-11 on a local bus/minibus operator such as those bookable via e-podroznik.pl). Zawoja is a long strung-out village beneath Babia Góra — stay in a guesthouse (pensjonat) in Zawoja-Centrum or Zawoja-Przysłop. If energy allows, take an easy 1-hour evening walk on the lower Babia Góra slopes.

🚌Krakow–Zawoja bus/minibus ~£10, ~2 hrs

🛏Guesthouse/pensjonat in Zawoja (~£22/night, twin/dorm)

• →Wawel Hill & cathedral (free courtyards)
• →Kazimierz Jewish Quarter walk
• →Optional easy valley walk in Babia Góra NP

A big, exposed day on Poland's highest peak outside the Tatras. Buy the Babia Góra NP entry ticket (~£1.50) and hike from Zawoja-Przysłop (Markowe Szczawiny route, yellow/red marks) or the Krowiarki pass — the classic ascent is 4-5 hrs up with ~900 m gain, very steep and rocky near the summit, and the summit ridge is famously windy (earn the local nickname 'Mother of Bad Weather'). Descend the same or via an alternative marked trail for a 7-8 hr day. Check the mountain weather forecast (e.g. meteoblue/GOPR Babia Góra conditions) the night before; the trail closes in bad weather. Hearty dinner of kwaśnica soup and grilled oscypek back in Zawoja.

🚌Local bus/on foot to trailhead ~£2

🛏Guesthouse/pensjonat in Zawoja (~£22/night)

• →Full-day hike to Babia Góra/Diablak summit
• →Babia Góra National Park trails

Take a local bus/minibus from Zawoja to Chyżne on the Slovak border, then a connecting bus or shared minibus to Zakopane via Sucha Hora/Nowy Targ (~3-3.5 hrs total, ~£10-13; times vary so check e-podroznik.pl and the day before). Alternatively route via Krakow or Nowy Targ if the connection is awkward. Afternoon: stretch legs with the short walk up Gubałówka (or take the funicular, ~£5) for the classic Tatra panorama, then an easy valley walk towards Dolina Chochołowska if time allows. Check into a guesthouse in Zakopane, and dinner at a regional restaurant (kwaśnica, placki po zbójnicku, śliwowica).

🚌Zawoja–Chyżne–Zakopane local buses ~£12; funicular £5

🛏Guesthouse/pensjonat in Zakopane (~£25/night)

• →Scenic border-highlands bus journey
• →Gubałówka viewpoint walk/funicular
• →Optional Dolina Chochołowska valley walk

Buy the Tatra NP entry (~£2) and walk from Kuźnice up the blue trail via Murowaniec mountain chalet to Czarny Staw pod Rysami (1,583 m) — about 3 hrs up, ~700 m gain, then lunch at the Murowaniec PTTK chalet. Strong hikers can extend over the Karb pass (1,853 m) to Kościelec (2,156 m) — a genuinely exposed scramble, +3 hrs and +500 m, only with experience and calm weather (a certified guide via a Zakopane mountain school costs ~£60-90 if you want the safety margin). Get buses/minibuses (bus 11 or shared vans, ~£1.50) to and from Kuźnice. Evening soak and dinner in Zakopane.

🚌Local bus/vans to Kuźnice ~£3 return

🛏Guesthouse/pensjonat in Zakopane (~£25/night)

• →Hike to Czarny Staw pod Rysami
• →Murowaniec PTTK chalet lunch
• →Optional Kościelec/Karb scramble (guided option)

Morning bus from Zakopane to Szczawnica via Nowy Targ/Krościenko (~2 hrs, ~£5-7). Drop bags at a guesthouse, then walk the 'Pieniny Way' (Droga Pienińska) — a 16 km marked trail along the Dunajec Gorge from Szczawnica to Czerwony Klasztor and back (or one-way, ~3.5-4 hrs), with dramatic limestone walls, the river below and forest all around. Entry to Pieniny NP ~£1. Alternative: float back by traditional wooden raft (flisacy) on the Dunajec, ~£15-18. Evening in Szczawnica's spa-town centre.

🚌Zakopane–Szczawnica bus ~£6

🛏Guesthouse in Szczawnica (~£24/night)

• →Pieniny Way / Droga Pienińska gorge walk
• →Optional Dunajec wooden raft float

A full 5-6 hr day: cross the Dunajec by wooden boat (~£2-3) or walk the Pieniny Way, climb to Sokolica (747 m) for the famous view of the river bend, then on to Trzy Korony (982 m) and its viewing platform (~480 m up, ~550 m down). Descend through Krościenko and catch a local bus back to Szczawnica (~£2). Final mountain dinner — try trout from the Dunajec and a glass of śliwowica.

🚌Dunajec boat £3; Krościenko–Szczawnica bus ~£2

🛏Guesthouse in Szczawnica (~£24/night)

• →Sokolica peak hike
• →Trzy Korony summit & viewing platform
• →Dunajec boat crossing

Morning bus Szczawnica → Krakow (~2.5 hrs, ~£8-10) with time to spare before your flight, or add an extra day in Krakow for Auschwitz-Birkenau (book directly via the museum ~£10-15 entrance plus transport, or a tour ~£35) or the Wieliczka Salt Mine (~£20). Airport train/bus from the centre ~£1.10.

🚌Szczawnica–Krakow bus ~£9; airport transfer ~£1.10

🛏None (departure day)

• →Return bus to Krakow
• →Optional Auschwitz-Birkenau or Wieliczka Salt Mine if extra day added