Jewish Kraków, guided in Hebrew

The scheduled timetable of Kraków Airport lists direct flights between Tel Aviv and Kraków with three airlines: El Al, LOT and Wizz Air (timetable read on 7 October 2026; the rows shown then ended on 24 October 2026 and the winter season was not yet listed). Days and hours change with the season, so check the current airport timetable for your dates before you book.

Katowice Airport shows Tel Aviv on its connections map among charter destinations, not among scheduled flights.

From Kraków Airport to the city

Details and booking of our transfer: airport transfer in Kraków.

• Visa. The European Union lists Israel among the visa-exempt countries for short stays. A short stay means up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted together for all countries that use the Entry/Exit System.
• EES at the border. The Entry/Exit System has been fully in operation at all external Schengen border crossings since 10 April 2026. It records your travel document data, fingerprints, a facial image and the dates of entry and exit. The Embassy of Israel in Warsaw says travellers will be asked to spend a few minutes on this on landing.
• ETIAS. As of October 2026 ETIAS is not in operation and no applications are collected. The EU says it will announce the start date several months in advance, on its official ETIAS page.

Embassy of Israel in Warsaw

• Address: Ludwika Krzywickiego 24, 02-078 Warsaw.
• Switchboard: +48 22 597 05 00. Consular section: +48 22 597 05 02, consular@warsaw.mfa.gov.il.
• Emergency phone given by the embassy: +48 453 573 971.
• Open Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 16:00 and Friday 9:00 to 14:00, closed on Saturday and Sunday. Visits are by appointment, made by phone or e-mail.
• Lost, stolen or damaged passport: you apply for a new travel document at the embassy, in person and by appointment. The current procedure is on the embassy services page.

Travel advisories

Travel warnings, including the entry for Poland, are published by Israel's National Security Council on gov.il. We do not summarise them: read the current entry before you travel. The Council's information line, 02-666-7444, answers around the clock.

• On foot. Kazimierz is compact and its streets are cobbled. The former ghetto lies in Podgórze, on the other side of the Vistula, so seeing both in one day means a longer walk.
• By electric cart. A private cart with a driver-guide collects you from your hotel and takes your group through the district of your choice in 30 to 60 minutes. Electric carts may also enter the pedestrian streets of the Old Town, where cars and taxis are not allowed.
• By car. For the airport, for the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and for other places outside the city we send a private car, or a larger vehicle for a bigger group, with a driver.

The cart has a low step, like getting into a car, which suits older guests and small children. If someone in your group uses a wheelchair, write to us before booking and we will check what can be arranged. The carts are covered and have side curtains for rain and cold.

Routes and prices: electric cart tours in Kraków.

• Chabad Kraków publishes its own list of kosher places and names the supervising rabbi for some of them.
• Koszerna Polska, which states that its information is supervised by the Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudrich, publishes a list of kosher places in Kraków. It asks visitors to check kashrut on the spot by the certificate on display.

• "Jewish-style" restaurants. Chabad Kraków writes that the places on its list are the kosher places in the city and that the other restaurants called "Jewish" are not kosher.
• Kosher shop. According to Chabad, a kosher store operates at the Chabad House, Sebastiana 23, and opens by appointment made on WhatsApp.
• Kosher cafe. JCC Krakow runs Cafe Hafuch, which it describes as a kosher cafe in Kazimierz. The JCC gives its hours as daily except Shabbat, 9:30 to 18:00.
• Ordinary shops. Koszerna Polska publishes a list of kosher products sold in regular Polish shops (edition of February 2026). It notes that all dairy products on the list are Chalav Stam (not Chalav Yisrael).
• Shabbat meals. Chabad Kraków has a page about Shabbat and holiday meals. Ask Chabad directly about places, times and registration.
• "Bar mleczny". The name means "milk bar", but it is a low-cost canteen serving Polish home cooking, meat dishes included. It is not a dairy restaurant in the sense of kashrut.

Synagogues and cemeteries of the Jewish Community

• The Remuh, Tempel and Isaac synagogues are open to visitors from Sunday to Friday: 10:00 to 18:00 in the summer season (March to October) and 10:00 to 16:00 in the winter season (November to February). The Isaac Synagogue opens at 11:00 in winter. The Community gives 17:30 as the last entry.
• Every Friday the synagogues close two hours earlier because of Shabbat.
• On Saturdays and holidays they are closed to tourists, and also during Jewish holidays and prayers. The Community publishes the list of closing days for the year 5787.
• The old Remuh cemetery at Szeroka 40 is open Sunday to Friday, 10:00 to 18:00 in summer and 10:00 to 16:00 in winter. The New Jewish Cemetery at Miodowa 55 is open Sunday to Friday, 10:00 to 16:00.
• A head covering for men can be borrowed in each synagogue. The Community's dress code asks for covered shoulders and knees.

Prayer times and candle lighting

• The Jewish Community publishes the Shabbat prayer times every week, in Polish, English and Hebrew. All its prayers are held in the Remuh Synagogue, Szeroka 40.
• Chabad Kraków shows the candle-lighting time and the end of Shabbat for Kraków on its home page, for the current week. Its prayers are held at the Chabad House, Sebastiana 23.

Planning Friday evening and Saturday

• Visit the Community's synagogues and cemeteries by Friday midday, or leave them for Sunday.
• Open on Saturday: the Old Synagogue, a branch of the Museum of Kraków (Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 to 17:00, Monday 10:00 to 15:00), and the Galicia Jewish Museum (daily 10:00 to 18:00). The Museum of Kraków announces holiday closures of the Old Synagogue on its site, and the Galicia Jewish Museum says changes to its hours are announced on its site.
• If you want a Shabbat meal, arrange it with Chabad before you fly.
• Our rides run seven days a week, including Friday evening and Saturday, for guests who wish to ride then.

Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory is a branch of the Museum of Kraków. The museum lists its regular guided tours for individual visitors in English only, from Tuesday to Sunday.

• Named entry pass. The entry pass is a personal document: it admits only the person named on it and is valid only together with an identity document, which you show at the entrance. Bring the identity document whose details you gave when booking.
• Booking. The Museum opens the booking of entry passes every day at 12:00, 90 days ahead, at visit.auschwitz.org.
• A visit in Hebrew. Hebrew is one of the languages in which the Museum's guide-educators lead visits. Individual visitors choose the language in the booking system, and the Museum states that passes depend on an educator being available in the chosen language.
• Closed days. The Museum is open all year except 1 January, 25 December and Easter Sunday. It may also close temporarily during state visits and ceremonies, which it announces in advance on its site.
• March of the Living. The march from Auschwitz to Birkenau on Yom HaShoah is organised by the International March of the Living. When we checked in October 2026, the organiser had not yet published the 2027 date: see motl.org.

Our day trip, with the price and what it includes: Auschwitz-Birkenau from Kraków.

• Currency. Poland uses the złoty (PLN). One złoty is 100 groszy.
• Paying by card. A terminal may offer to charge you in the currency of your card instead of złoty. You may decline and pay in złoty; your own bank then does the conversion.
• Shekels. Do not count on every exchange office taking shekels. When we checked on 9 October 2026, an exchange office in the centre of Kraków listed the shekel on its rate board, at a buying rate below the average rate of the National Bank of Poland. Ask before you rely on it.
• VAT refund. Travellers who do not live permanently in the EU can reclaim VAT on purchases above 200 PLN from one seller, in shops with the TAX FREE logo. The goods must leave the EU unused by the end of the third month after the month of purchase, and you show the Tax Free document to a customs officer when you leave. The refund is paid in złoty and a commission may be charged.
• Sundays and holidays. In Poland Sunday is the day of rest. Most shops are closed on Sundays and on public holidays, among them 1 and 11 November, 24, 25 and 26 December, 1 and 6 January and Easter Sunday and Monday. Petrol stations, pharmacies, bakeries and restaurants are exempt. The remaining shopping Sundays in 2026 are 6, 13 and 20 December.
• Mobile. The EU "roam like at home" rule covers SIM cards from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Moldova and Ukraine. Israel is not included, so ask your operator about the cost in Poland before you fly.
• Time. Under Israeli law, time in Israel is two hours ahead of UTC, and Poland is one hour ahead, so it is one hour later in Israel than in Kraków. Both countries end summer time on the last Sunday of October. Israel starts it on the Friday before the last Sunday of March and Poland on that Sunday, so for those two days the difference is two hours.
• Electricity. Sockets in Poland are types C and E, with two round pins, 230 V and 50 Hz. If your plug has three pins, bring an adapter.
• Emergency numbers. 112 is the general emergency number. Police 997, fire brigade 998, ambulance 999.