Optimal order of Warsaw-Gdansk-Krakow for train travel September

Visiting Poland in September 2016 visiting Warsaw Gdansk and Krakow with sidetrips from each. We fly into and back out of Warsaw. We want to use train for intercity

connections. Any suggestions as to the proper ordering of the cities. Especially interested if iut is smart to do the travel between Gdansk and Krakow as an overnight. Is travel one way between those two cities easier than travelling in the opposite direction? Thank!

It doesn't matter.

Between Gdańsk, Warsaw and Cracow you have quite fast "EIP" connections with Pendolino trains. Buy tickets early (they are released always 30 days before the departure, and it's best to do it immediately when they appear), then you will pay much less - you can do it online. The fastest train connection between Cracow and Gdańsk is exactly through Warsaw.

Is it smart to travel overnight? It's 5,5 hour by train, so it may make sense to do it overnight (the night train is deliberately slower, so that you don't have to leave Cracow or get to Gdańsk in the middle of the night, and it takes around 8 hours). But then book a sleeper, or at least a couchette (the night train is an ordinary train, not Pendolino). Travelling overnight in an ordinary compartment you risk being robbed, the thieves are active in the overnight trains in Poland.

That's a bad idea. For one thing it costs more than a hotel room. For another you don't get a good night's sleep. Get the Ryan Air flight from Gdansk to Krakow (or vice versa), it's only 80 zl if booked far enough in advance.

Not if you're travelling with typical American amounts of luggage, though.

For what it's worth, I always had a good night's sleep on the sleeper train - but I wouldn't advise couchettes, only a private room.

For train bookings, polrail.com are fantastic.

And will charge you service fee, while you can do it online by yourself without any problem...

Booking the tickets through a middleman may make sense only for international tickets from Poland other than to Berlin, or maybe, sometimes, tickets for connections involving changing between trains. Because it's impossible to buy them online.

By plane it's faster and also cheap, for a distance between Cracow and Gdańsk it makes sense, but you have hand luggage only unless you pay extra for registered luggage.

lol never travle by train in polska

LOT fly 59PLN to big cities
or rent car ! !!

Hm... equally well I could say "never drive in Poland" :)

The Polish railway isn't maybe the most reliable means of transport, but it's not much worse from the railway in the other European countries (ok, it is, in terms of the speed, but it's definitely not bad, and still in many cases faster than car or bus).

Taking a plane is also a good option, if you can find a flight in a good price. Lot should be better from Ryanair in terms of that in Warsaw it uses the Okęcie airport, which is located within the city, while Ryanair uses the remote Modlin airport, from where you have to take a bus or a train (to which you have to get by a shuttle bus from the airport anyway) to Warsaw. But will be also probably more expensive.

The thing that's complicating your plan is that you are flying in and out of Warsaw.

I visited all three cities two years ago but flew into Gdansk and then out of Krakow. Is this an option or is it too late now ?