Working Remotely in Krakow, Poland
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Working Remotely in Krakow, Poland (Digital Nomad Travel Guide)
A collab is coming in hot for this edition of my Working Remotely series: my partner Kyle was feeling peppy as I was feeling tired here on our last day in Krakow as I write this, so Kyle decided to chip in and help me with this one as we’re doing some content brainstorming at the Leaky Cauldron basement (yes, a Harry Potter themed bar!)
Working remotely in Krakow this past month has been so peaceful. There’s a huge park that wraps around the city center, and the tree-lined streets and cute architecture make this Eastern European city one for the books.
This month looked a bit different for Kyle and I as we both were focused on wrapping up huge projects we’ve been working on all year. Kyle launched his movie recommendation app OmList (go download it for iPhone and Android here!) and I published my debut work of fiction: The Nomad Detective: Volume I (get the book on Amazon here!).
Instead of running around taking tons of tours and doing all of the things, we had more of a routine and spent lots of time going to the gym, working from home, and occasionally grabbing food with some friends who were in town.
Despite our more low-key existence this month, we’ve managed to find some of the best and brightest experiences for you to enjoy during your trip to Krakow, Poland:
Where to Stay in Krakow, Poland for Digital Nomads + Remote Workers
We stayed in this incredible apartment* in the heart of the Piasek neighborhood right next to Old Town. I highly recommend our place for a number of reasons: the host Dina is amazing, the apartment is one of the most intentionally designed places we’ve ever stayed in, and the location is unbeatable.
The entire apartment had a thoughtful color scheme of yellow and blue accents and cute decor. The desk in the bedroom was cozy to work at, the kitchen was well-stocked with all the basics.
In general, if you’re wondering where to stay in Krakow I recommend trying to stay somewhere near Old Town. Walking through the park at sunset was divine, and most of the places you’ll want to check out are either in Old Town or adjacent to it.
I recommend staying as close to the Piasek neighborhood as possible. This area has its own charms, with pocket parks, great restaurants, and bookstores that made our corner of town feel super cozy. We got month-long memberships at the XXS Gym which was such a deal: just $50 for an unlimited monthly membership, and the gym was huge and so clean and almost always pretty empty — a rarity for the gyms we’ve tried in Europe. While the local grocery store was super inexpensive, I did splurge on some pistachio butter and vegan yogurt at this local organic grocer that had some good stuff.
What to Do in Krakow, Poland for Digital Nomads + Remote Workers
Because July was a “buckle down and work” month, we didn’t do a whole lot in Krakow. Here are the standouts of what we did do:
Ghost Tour of Krakow.* I was unfortunately not feeling well and skipped this tour, but Kyle went and really enjoyed all of the vampire and ghost lore hiding beneath the charming facade of Krakow. This is also a great tour to do if there’s a heatwave, as the city cools down fast at night!
Polish Food Tour. We did this food tour with a group of our friends who were visiting, and it was a great way to try a bunch of Polish food quickly. However, I feel like we’ve done better food tours in other cities, so while I thought the food was pretty good, you may be able to find a better tour.
Day Trip to Auschwitz.* We didn’t end up going to Auschwitz, but some of our friends did and they recommended booking with this tour group, and said the guide was great.
We had been considering going to Warsaw or the Salt Mines, but heard less-than-good things about both from our nomad friends, so we ended up skipping them. As digital nomads, we do have to be a bit choosy about what we decide to do, especially as we’re about to embark on a two-week play festival in Edinburgh where we’ll be mostly off-the-grid enjoying independent theater.
What to Eat in Krakow, Poland for Digital Nomads + Remote Workers
Even though I wouldn’t consider all of Krakow to be a foodie city, Kyle did an amazing job finding some really insanely good restaurants that we kept returning to.
Here’s the list:
For Breakfast/Matcha: ONA Coffee Bar. We walked by this place during our first week and I immediately stopped and added it to my Google maps, and returned on a weekly basis during our stay in Krakow. The vibes are just that good: open-air windows let in the nice breeze, and their beans-and-hummus-and-peach toast was to die for. Before I gave up caffeine, their matcha was one of my favorites.
For Breakfast: Przesada. Right downstairs from our Airbnb was Przesada, a great brunch/lunch spot with a killer plate of creamy scrambled eggs with scallion, feta, fresh bread, and chili oil — a great pairing with a glass of fresh orange or grapefruit juice. We tried a bunch of breakfast places, but this was far and away the best in the city.
For Lunch: Kiss the Kuk. This cute little cafe was also right downstairs from our Airbnb and we came here all the time. Their green juice was great, and I loved their Zapiekanki — a polish dish that equates to basically pizza on a baguette topped with ketchup. Don’t question it, it’s delicious. I recommend the mushroom flavor.
For Lunch: Mr. Broda. While this sandwich joint is known for its pastrami sandwiches, it has one of the best grilled veggie sandwiches I’ve had in a long time. While it’s a more expensive sandwich in the city, it’s amazing and the sauce they put on it is so delicious.
For Lunch/Dinner: Restaurant Veganic. This vegan restaurant has such a lovely patio and also nice chairs. Not to mention their buddha bowl and mushroom dishes are exquisite: a great upscale casual restaurant for a sunny afternoon or early dinner.
For Dinner: Molám. Kyle says this place has the best Thai food he’s ever had — and I agree with him. While this is on the pricier side for Krakow, it’s worth it. I loved the vegan green curry with roti and the fried mushrooms, but we tried lots of things on the menu and you can’t go wrong. This is also a great date night spot in Krakow, as it’s a little more upscale and the ambiance is nice.
For Dinner: Wschód Bar. This is a combo bar and Asian food spot, and I loved the dan dan noodles and veggie buns. This is another great date spot, as the lighting is really vibey and it feels a bit hidden from the rest of the world: to find it, you go into a yard and down a staircase. It’s also located a bit further away from the rest of the restaurants we tried, so it feels like a hidden gem still.
For Dinner: Mazi. This Mediterranean food place had no business making focaccia so devilishly good. Every dish had a stunning array of flavors, and the sauces were built to be mopped up with the fluffy bread. I really enjoyed all of the fresh produce that was incorporated into this menu, and while it’s a bit pricier for Krakow, it’s a must-visit dinner spot.
For Dinner: Filo. I didn’t realize I was missing Greek food until we went to Filo. There’s so much good stuff on this menu, and the vegetable dishes and tzatziki were excellent.
For Dinner/Delivery: Kreska Maki. Glovo is the app everyone uses for delivery here in Krakow, and out of all the places we tried on the app, Kreska Maki pizza was the best. You can’t go wrong with the buffalo mozzarella and four cheese, and On Lemon is the non-alcoholic drink of choice here in Krakow. This is a great simple, no-fuss delivery when you just want to stay inside and chill.
For Dessert: Good Lood. This ice cream chain had some of my favorite ice cream in the city. Kyle and I would grab ice cream from here before going on our evening park stroll, and it was fun to see what the new daily flavors were. (Good = mascarpone and lemon, and their dairy cream. Bad = Alaskan salmon.)
Overall Thoughts on Krakow, Poland as a Digital Nomad
My true accomplishment in Krakow: sticking to my workout routine!
July felt like a mid-year “reset” to me. I finished the draft of The Nomad Detective: Volume I just as Kyle launched OmList on the app store. It’s been a huge month of hard work and also days spent reading in bed.
Part of my family immigrated to the United States from Poland, so I was curious if this trip would feel… I don’t know. Like coming home? While there was something special in eating the same kinds of pierogis I enjoyed as a kid, I found the rest of Krakow to be fairly underwhelming. Maybe it’s because we had just come from an incredible action-packed month in Turkey. Or maybe seeking out rest here in Poland made me not enjoy the city as much.
Regardless, I think Krakow is a lovely place to visit. It’s a nice place to spend a stress-free month or two. But it doesn’t quite hit the same notes that other cities like Buenos Aires or Istanbul did for me.
My Ratings of Krakow, Poland as a Digital Nomad
Affordability: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. Krakow is a pretty affordable city: I was easily spending $10 USD per meal here, and groceries were very affordable (maybe $15 for a week’s worth of fresh fruits, veggies, and breakfasts at home.) The cost of activities and accommodations are also pretty reasonable compared to the other cities we’ve been to, and this includes the general rising costs of Europe.
Food Quality: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5 stars. Krakow is not really a foodie city, and I didn’t love the restaurants here outside of the ones I listed in this blog. The produce was fine, but not great for what I’d expect from a European country in the middle of summer.
Vegetarian Options: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. Most places had vegetarian options, and there were tons of vegan cafes as well. However, I didn’t love the food as much as I did in other vegan heavens like Buenos Aires or Istanbul.
Adventures/Day Trips: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5 stars. This is a bit of an unfair category for me to rate as I was basically a hermit here for the month. However, in talking to a few friends who did run around and did day trips, the general consensus was that while there are important historic sites nearby (such as Auschwitz), the rest of the day trip options beyond that were a bit of a letdown. We were initially planning on going to the salt mines, but some friends of ours said it wasn’t worth the hassle to get there.
Cafes/Co-Working Space Availability: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5 stars. Most cafes didn’t have high-speed wifi or good places to work. Like lots of places in Europe, tables are small, Internet is slow, and whipping out your laptop to do some work is frowned upon. However, this isn’t too much of a bad thing: accommodations are pretty affordable here, so you can pick a place with a nice desk and workstation inside your Airbnb.
Digital Nomad-Friendly City: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. The public transportation is solid in Krakow, Ubers are pretty cheap, and it’s very safe to walk around at any time of the day or night. I’m only giving Krakow 3 stars mostly because it feels very sleepy, and there are not a lot of things to do that caught my eye. I’ll admit that I was in a more work-focused mood, but other nomads who were visiting at the same time as us felt similarly.
Kyle’s Tip: if you love movies and want to see something while in Krakow, the Cinema City Imax is great — good light bulb on that thing.
Value of Accommodations for Remote Workers: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars. Just like Istanbul or Buenos Aires, your money goes far here when it comes to finding a cool place to stay for a month or longer. Krakow is a great city to spend a month or two just living life.
General Weather: ⭐️⭐️ 2/5 stars. The weather here is pretty wild: we’d have thunderstorms that shook our apartment one night, and a muggy heat that left us sweating the next. The big drawback of Krakow (and Europe in general!) is that air conditioning is not a thing here. This is fine when it’s cooler, but on the hot days I swore off ever staying in a place without A/C again — in part because it disrupts your sleep, and also because it hurts your productivity. Are these very American things to care about? Maybe, but technology is great and I think we should all embrace innovation that improves comfort :)
Air Quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. The air quality was pretty good most days we were here, in part because of the rain. Krakow has better air quality than cities like Seoul, but not as good as cities like Istanbul it seemed by the air quality index. All of the green spaces in the heart of Krakow also helped the air feel pretty clean.
Water Quality: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. Water quality is known to be pretty good here, but we still ended up getting water jugs because when we tested our Airbnb’s water it didn’t score very well. However, maybe other accommodations will have better setups.
Kyle’s Tip. If you’re buying bottles of water, go for natural spring water. Our favorite brand is Zywiec Zdroi, which you can get from the neighborhood Zabka (a convenience store.) Spring water isn’t (usually) treated with as many chemicals in comparison to other waters like mineral water.
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 stars. Krakow was a very peaceful city to get a lot of work done. Am I itching to come back? No, not really. I think there are better cities to post up and do work as a digital nomad.
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