Thought I would give you my trip report from my recent 4 day city break to Krakow.

Flew out April 23rd with BA from Gatwick. Excellent flights, on time, LOTS of leg room in economy and they didn't lose my luggage! Booked taxi transfers in advance through the web with a local company. They cost 80zt each way (around £17) and we were met in the airport by someone holding a clipboard with our names on it before being shown to the large Mercedes mini bus to transport just the two of us to our hotel. Apparently 80zt is expensive, a taxi driver told us he would have charged us just 50zt so maybe I wont do this again.

Got to the hotel at 10.30am. We stayed in the IBIS Centrum Krakow and I have to say I could not fault it. Full review of the hotel is on TripAdvisor, but the hotel was excellent. We paid just £120 for 3 nights for 2 people for the room. We paid extra (30zt) for breakfast . The staff could not do enough to help you, the rooms were spotless and it put many budget hotels to shame in this country. Infact, we stayed in the Travellodge Gatwick Airport the night before flying and that place was a complete dump.

I absolutely LOVED Krakow. The architecture is stunning, the variance in buildings, the colours, the smells. It was a fantastic place. The old market square is stunning, sitting there with a cold drink with the sun going down in the evening with the different smells around you is something I loved each evening while listening to the different street acts.

Felt very safe walking around late at night, you do come across a few beggars and people sitting on benches drinking vodka very late at night but they didn't hassle us. The hotel was about 20 min walk from the central square. Krakow Royal Palace has to be seen, amazing place with great views from the top over the river.

Sat on the river boat restaurant which was lovely in the sun, and then did a rover baot ride for 1 hour (15zt - £4.30) up the river. I could not believe how cheap Krakow was, when something costs 50zt you immediately think, ooh that's expensive, but 50zt is only £11ish.

Food and drink was excellent and cheap, with an evening meal and 2 pints of the lovely Polish beer costing just £10. They don't even expect or hassle you for tips! Did a lot of sight seeing around the city, went to the Jewish quarter, saw parts of the ghetto walls, the Schindlers list factory (now open to the public - grand opening is Sept 2009 however), and loved how many little churches and green areas there were around the city.

The city certainly had a laid back feel about it. Workers would sit on the river bank in the sun at the end of the day. We had amazing weather by the way, sun every day, 26 deg somedays.

Did 2 tours with Krakow tours. The hotel reception sold tickets. They were 120zt each - around £24. We could have got them cheaper, but at this price we didn't really care, and Krakow tours had large, modern air conditioned coaches and the price included an official tour guide.

The Auchwitz tour was first. The coach picks you up from outside the Novotel which is attached to the front of the IBIS. It left at 09:15 and got back around 16:00. I wont go into the tour too much, everyone knows what Auchwitz-Birkenhau is and I urge everyone to visit, the only thing I will say is next time I will get my own private taxi and tour the sites myself.

The tour was far too rushed with no time to stop and take in the atmosphere and read all the displays. At times you were literally running to keep up with the guide. We only had 1 hour in the Birkenhau camp which was nowhere long enough given how huge this camp is. A day is recommended.

Next day we did another tour with the same company as they give you a 10% discount, so we went to the Salt Mines. Again, while I definitely recommend going here, I would recommend getting a taxi and making your own way around. The guided tour again moved far too quickly, and we felt very rushed. We left at 09:15 and was back around 15:00 whereas I could have spent a day walking around the mines. The mines are spectacular!

Overall, I was sad to leave Krakow, loved every minute and will return again this year, perhaps at Christmas. The city was very clean apart from graffiti which seemed to be everywhere but not a problem.

Don't eat or drink in the hotel, it is very expensive. The bars and restaurants scattered around the city and the market square are much cheaper. The Sioux cowboy and western restaurant on the market square is worth a visit and the food was very nice. For cheap drinks, try the bar just across the road from the front of the IBIS (by the river). A jack Daniels and coke and a pint cost just 12zt in here which was about £3.

They also have a BBQ area, where if you buy a hot dog, they give you the sausage (uncooked) and a roll. You then cook the sausage yourself on the BBQ grill. Lots of people were doing it during the evening and the bar had a nice feel about it.

Didn't try the trams, would have liked to have, maybe next time. We did have a taxi on the last day for a tour of the bits we missed, and the taxi driver was excellent, very friendly, spoke good English and the 30 min trip cost 36zt (about £6-£7).

Avoid the electric buggies near the market square, these were expensive, with a city tour costing around 300zt +. There were bikes for hire scattered around the city, though I didn't notice how much they cost.

One final tip, take small currency. They don't like handling large notes and will often ask you for small money. Get notes of 5,10 and 20zt and some coins if possible before going. You have to pay to use the toilet in most places but they are spotlessly clean and the charge is about 5-10p.

So yes, I would definitely, absolutely recommend a trip to Krakow and highly recommend the IBIS. Flight back with BA again was excellent. The airport by the way is tiny, there is no departure lounge as such, just the gate with a small duty free shop (no alcohol) and a small café. Polish Vodka is excellent so buy some before going to the airport, oh and if you smoke, 200 ciggies will set you back just £18.

Edit: forgot to add, we walked all the way up to the central railway station and here is huge square with hotels around it. There is a MASSIVE shopping mall here, glass front, 3 floors high, with 270 shops inside! I cant begin to tell you how big this place is. You walk in to the shiny concourse to befaced with two "arms", one left and one right, down each side of the arms are shops. Walking down one arm took 20 minutes, then they meet at the other end, and you walk back up the other - then there are another 2 floors like this to explore! It was an amazing place with some big high street shops inside, with designer clothes etc. If you couldnt find what you were looking for in here then there is something wrong, even C&A had a shop in here! Well worth a visit though expect to loose a day in here if you do want to go around the shops!