Zakopane Travel Forum

Hello there,

I'm interested in some information on hut-to-hut camping and backpacking in the mountains near Zakopane. Is it possible to do a three-day, two-night trip? Do you have to reserve huts/camping spots in advance? Any suggestions on a possible early May itinerary that would include a loop are welcome.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Alex

Also, is there any preferred transportation to/from Zakopane from Krakow?

If you're travelling between ZXakopane & Krakow, just take the scheduled bus service from Zakopane Bus Station (in the centre of town)

The train takes nearly twice as long to cover the same journey.

Hi. Meaning "mountains near Zakopane" you mean the high Tatra mountains? There are huts and a lot of people do bakcpacking, but you have to know there are more people than places in the huts. If you're coming on the 1-4 May weekend, it will be extremely busy and I would make a guess places are reserved long ago. But if you're coming on other days, you might just search for some contact to those places and give it a try. Here's a link, try to call or get someone to call them for places availability:
http://www.tatry.turystyka-gorska.pl/schroniska.htm
greetings and good luck
Kaja

However, if it's dificult with the mountain huts, just look for some accomodation in Zakopane (lots of places to rent) and make one day trips :-)

Hi,
1.It's possible and easy.2.You can reserve, but it's not necessary.The old rule is that on the smallest space is a place for any numbers of people.It means that in case of lack of spare beds you can sleep on the floor.No one can refuse you a shelter in the mountains here (BTW.It should be Polish input in EU Lisbon treaty (hahaha).3.As the post above- if you want celebrate 1.05 here you should expect crowd in the mountains.Later it will be some school trips (due to national exams) but it will not be so bad.Weekends are usually quite crowded.

Early May trips you should have crampions and Alpian stick for some areas, and some experience with snow (there is from 50 to 150 cm of snow at the moment with still avalanche chance).
Zachodnie Tatry and valleys should be easy without equipment (and even very litlle snow) in May.
You can start from Dolina (valley) Chocholowska (hut) and the ridge above.Later go to Dolina Koscieliska (Ornak's hut), see Jaskinia (a cave) Mylna with a torch on your own, and Mrozna with a guide- up to you, Krakow wawoz (a small canyon).Than go on Czerwone Wierchy (ridge)- you will have some options where to sleep -from Kondratowa to Gasienicowa.

For the next year (hahaha)-you can start sleeping from Kondratowa's hut (or Kalatowki's hut).But also why not from Dolina Bialego or Strazyska.
Sleep in Gasienicowa's hut.than try Zawrat if snow conditions allows and sleep in Piec Stawow' hut.Than check snow conditions and go to Morskie Oko (also a hut)-the most crowded place after Kasprowy) and the asphalt road (no cars, but only horse cars hahahaha) full of kind of smashing girls on high heels and fat lads.
Also Piec Stawow-Roztoka (a hut) is shorter and nice, and safe all year round.
At the end take a bus from Lysa Polana to Zakopane.

For loops- explore Chocholchowska (can be splited in two days) and make a loop Chocholowska-Koscieliska (max. 4 days possible in total).
Czerwone Wierchy as a loop is possible.
Easy loops also from Zakopane:- Dolina Bialego-Kuznice
Dol.Jarzabcza to Strazyska ( or Dol.Malej Laki).
Loops from Kondratowa or Kalatowki towards Kasprowy
Gasienicowa, Piec Stawow, Morskie Oko huts give also many loops oportunities but snow may constrain it in early May.

Alternative places for sleeping.Camping is officially forbiden in the national park, but some sleep in stone shelters (koliby), former shepard's huts (szalasy)-still few left there, or try to check if Immanuel Kant was right and sleep on the open air with the view on stars (also possible in May with the right equipment).

Alternative places for hiking: There is lot of other nice (in some ways for some even better) places in Polish mountains beside Tatry.

It's a wonderful wonderful place, have fun!

I don't have any info on huts in the mountains, I stayed there for 5 weeks and did day trips around the various paths. There are a couple of hostels in town if you can't get accomodation in the mountains. I stayed at Goodbye Lenin, if you end up there say hi to Emil and Lucas for me! They're great hosts and the hostel is a comfortable chalet.

Maciek, sorry to say that but that tip about staying overnight in a mountain hostel if there are no beds left is no longer true. At least not entirely. And it's because of that EU craze, everything must be in accordance with the law and it seems that the arrangement of people covering the entire hostel's floor at night is entirely against the fire emergency rules. That's at least what I read in one of the mountain magazines. And that's what I experienced myself. So if you go, say, to Murowaniec, or Dolina Pięciu Stawów and claim your piece of 'floor' you'll most likely be told that it's out of the question and that you still have time to get back to Zakopane. That's exactly what I heard last July in Dolina Pięciu Stawów. There is, however, a way to circumvent this latest restriction. That is, if you turn up in the hostle in the evening, you will probably be allowed to stay overnight and have your floor, as it's too dangerous to let people scramble down in the dark, and the hostle would certainly be held responsible in case of any accident. Though I'm not sure about Murowaniec, being so close to Kuźnice, they may be more strict about it.
Anyway,taught by experience I've been wiser this year and have already booked a bed in Dolina Pięciu Stawów this June, though they'd already run out of 4 bedded rooms and I'm staying in a dorm.

I've just checked about 'gleba'- sleeping on the floor. You're (or I'm) partly right.No sleeping on the floor in Murowaniec (not my favourite place anyway, except kwasnica soup hahaha).However there are prices for sleeping on the floor in Chocholowska and Piec Stawow huts.No info about Ornak, Kondratowa, Roztoka,Piec Stawow.
I'm not sure if EU regulates such issues.It can be linked to fire security, but also perhaps it is not so convenient for hut's staff (specially possible in Murowaniec case).
I havn't slept in mountain huts for ages indeed.I' ve gone to Tatry only for one day trip lately, or have prefered 'alternative places for sleeping (hahaha).

BTW. It doesn't matter for AlexArmitage anyway.He hasn't loged in since 8.04.