Mobile data in Kraków: from Balice to Wieliczka and Oświęcim
Kraków is compact and has no metro, but almost every visit includes two or three day trips that depend on bookings, timetables and tickets kept on the phone. This is what changes when your data comes from abroad.
At a glance
- Does an eSIM work in Poland?
- Yes. It connects to Play, Orange (5G).
- Price
- From 4,49 € (3 GB, 15 days).
- For a one-week trip
- 5 GB for 30 days: 6,49 €.
- Does an EU phone plan work there?
- Yes: Poland is in EU roaming, so a plan from an EU country usually works at no extra cost, within your operator's fair-use limit. If your plan is from outside the EU, it charges international roaming.
- When does the plan start?
- When your phone first connects to a network in Poland. The QR code arrives by email within minutes.
Balice or Katowice: the first hour
Kraków airport is at Balice, west of the city. The airport train, run by Koleje Małopolskie, reaches Kraków Główny in about 20 minutes, and you buy the ticket from the machine on the platform or on board. City buses such as the 208 also stop at the terminal, and Uber and Bolt pick up outside. Data is what lets you book the car while you are still walking to the exit.
Many low-cost flights land instead at Katowice airport, in Pyrzowice, a long coach ride from Kraków. Shuttle companies such as Matuszek run buses to Kraków that leave from outside the terminal, timed to arrivals. Both airports are in Poland, so a Poland eSIM installed at home connects as you land at either of them.
eSIM for Poland
Data on your phone the moment you land in Poland. No account, no app, no shop.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
Trams, buses and a city without a metro
Kraków has no metro. The old town is a ring of pedestrian streets, and trams and buses run by MPK cover the rest, from Kazimierz and Podgórze to Nowa Huta. Tickets come from machines at stops and on board, or from apps such as Jakdojade, which also plans the route across both. In Kraków an app ticket asks for the number of the vehicle you are on; our guide to mobile data in Poland explains how that works.
In practice the phone works hardest in the evening: finding the tram back from Kazimierz, or the night bus when the trams have stopped. Keep the hotel address saved as a screenshot too: it opens without signal, and you can show it to a taxi driver.
Oświęcim and Wieliczka: two days that run on bookings
The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Oświęcim issues entry cards only online, at visit.auschwitz.org, for guided tours and for free entry alike, and nothing is sold at the entrance. Book before you go and save the confirmation on the phone. Trains and buses to Oświęcim leave from beside Kraków Główny; the bus usually stops near the museum entrance, while the railway station is about two kilometres away.
Wieliczka is closer. Trains from Kraków Główny end at Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia, about ten minutes on foot from the salt mine. The visit is underground, so load the ticket and the time of your return train before you go down. Both day trips are in Poland and inside the Poland pack.
Zakopane, the Slovak ridge and the trains south
Zakopane and the Polish Tatras are a classic day trip from Kraków and stay in the Poland pack. The border runs along the ridge itself: Rysy, the highest peak in Poland, sits on the line with Slovakia, and up there the phone can switch to a Slovak network, where the Poland pack has no data. Download the trail map in the valley.
If Kraków is the start of a longer route by train to Bratislava, Budapest or Vienna, the 33-country Europe pack covers Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria on one eSIM. Lviv is the exception: Ukraine is in neither the Poland pack nor the Europe pack.
How much data for Kraków
Kraków itself is light on data. The centre is walkable and most of the day is maps, messages and tram tickets. A long weekend with one day trip fits in 3 GB, which lasts 15 days. A week that adds Oświęcim, Wieliczka and Zakopane, with photos sent home every evening, is a 5 GB trip on a 30-day pack. Take 10 GB if a laptop will run on the phone's hotspot.
The pack starts counting at its first connection in Poland, not when you buy it, and you can buy it up to 180 days ahead. If you top up during the trip, you do not reinstall anything. The data calculator turns your habits into a number if you are unsure.
Can I buy an Auschwitz entry card at the entrance?
No. Entry cards, including the free ones, are booked only online at visit.auschwitz.org. Save the confirmation on your phone before you set off from Kraków.
Does a Poland eSIM work if I land at Katowice airport?
Yes. Katowice airport is in Poland, so the pack connects when you land there, the same as at Kraków Balice.
Is there a metro in Kraków?
No. Trams and buses cover the city and the centre is easy on foot. Apps such as Jakdojade plan routes and sell tickets.
Will I keep my WhatsApp number?
Yes. The eSIM is data only, with no Polish number, so WhatsApp stays on your usual number while the eSIM carries the data.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See eSIMs for Poland