Practical Information

Telephones and Internet

There are a few public telephones dotted around Krakow – you will need a prepaid phone card, which you can buy from most kiosks. If you have a mobile phone that is "unlocked" and wish to make local calls, it may be a better idea to buy a prepaid local SIM card for around 10zl. Full roaming with other European networks is provided and roaming charges seem to be getting more reasonable these days.

Wi-fi Internet access is becoming more and more widespread, particularly in the city centre. In many bars and cafes it’s free, while some may charge a nominal fee for the day’s password. If you don’t have a laptop, there are plenty of Internet cafes to be found.

Time

Local time in Krakow and Poland is Central European Standard Time (CEST), which is GMT + 1 hour.

Tipping

Service is rarely included on the bill in bars and restaurants, however waiting staff are to an extent reliant on tips to supplement their income. Ten to fifteen percent of the total is reasonable, and cash always goes down better than a supplement on the credit card for all the obvious reasons.

One note of caution: if you hand money over to the waiter/waitress while at the same time saying ‘thank you’, they will assume that you mean them to keep all of it. Not a problem if this is the case but very much so if you’re expecting some change!