Hey! You definitely should stay at Nathan’s Villa (www.nathansvilla.com). Not far from the stare miasto at all, and just a short walk up to the Rynek Glowny. It’s just near Wawel Castle. Maybe not as central as some of the others, but Krakow is so easy to walk, it’s not a problem.

I absolutely loved the hostel – so incredibly social and such a great atmosphere. It’s owned by a guy from Boston (Nathan) and a lot of Australians and Brits seem to stay there. There’s a cheap bar in the basement and tons of opportunities to meet new people! I definitely recommend it.

I’ve stayed at Orange Hostel. Good location on the back of Wawel Castle. Near a good and cheap underground pizza place!

Only had one con, no common room! Just the entry loung with a pc, but not cozy at all to meet people! :(

I’ve been at the Dizzy Daisy Hostel though and it looked great, I just think the prices aren´t that cheap! :(

Hope to have helped! ;)

I can now also recommend Hospitality Club. It depends how long are you going to stay, but there is a lot of really great people here willing to host strangers.

I would also suggest Hospitality Club but personally I prefer to use:

www.couchsurfing.com

It is a great website for travellers…free to join and free to use and bascially there are thousands of members all over the world who can offer you a place to stay, advice or even just meet up with them for a coffee and get some useful local advice. It is safe I think as last year I had quite a few people living here with me in japan :)

Also good choice to go back to Poland. I know Poland very well as I lived there for 3 years. I lived in Katowice which is not so well visited as Krakow but the travel connections are very good and Krakow is pretty close so I was there many times:)

It all depends on how long after Easter… I stayed at the Strawberry Hostel, but it is only open in the summertime, as it is a student dormitory. It’s a good place if you just want a just home base—somewhere just to sleep and shower, but it’s also a good place to meet other young travelers. And it’s close enough to the old city square that you can walk or take the trolley.

There are usually several students at the train station offering this hostel (along with many rivals) as a place to stay… they’ll give you a free ride from the train station to the hostel, but if you decide not to stay at that hostel, the ride back to the train station is up to you.

Still, it is in a nice quiet neighborhood and at the time (Summer 2001) it was very affordable.

The nearby milk bar Bar Zak is fantastic. I love the pierogi. And the nearby Greek restaurant - if it’s still there, was really convenient after a long day - and not nearly as expensive as the sign at the hostel suggested.

Thanks, lovely people! I appreciate your help, definitely gave me pointers on my way through Cracow’s hostel maze…