You can leave luggage in Kraków at the main railway station, at the staffed office in the bus station, at private drop-off points in the Old Town and Kazimierz, and often at your accommodation. The right choice depends on where you arrive, how long you need, and how far you want to walk with a suitcase over cobbles. This guide explains each option, what to check before you hand over a bag, and how to plan an arrival or departure day so the bags never spoil it.
TL;DR
- Kraków Główny railway station has lockers and, according to local guides, a staffed left luggage desk. Check the current rules on the spot, as PKP does not publish a detailed locker tariff or size list.
- The MDA bus station on ul. Bosacka 18 runs a staffed luggage office with a published tariff by bag size, a 20 kg limit per item and daily opening hours.
- In the Old Town, private drop-off points and automated lockers near the Main Square suit short gaps. Their hours follow the host business or the booking terms.
- Your own accommodation is usually the easiest option for a bag on arrival or departure day. Ask before you travel and get a tag or receipt.
- Keep valuables, passports, medication and chargers with you, whatever you choose.
Table of Contents
- Why luggage storage matters in Kraków
- Kraków Główny railway station
- The MDA bus station office
- Old Town and Kazimierz storage points
- Asking your accommodation to hold bags
- Which option suits which trip
- Safety and common-sense checks
- Planning your travel day around the bags
- Our view: the easiest bag is the one you never have to store
- Arrive by transfer and settle in
- A short checklist before you leave a bag
- FAQ
- Sources
Why luggage storage matters in Kraków
Kraków is a compact city, and that is the problem on travel days. Trains and buses arrive early, hotel check-in often starts in the afternoon, and many flights leave in the evening after check-out. The result is a gap of several hours with a case in tow.
The Old Town is paved with historic stone and has pedestrian-only streets, so wheeled bags are slow going. A few hours without luggage turns a tiring stroll into a pleasant one, whether you are heading to the Cloth Hall, the Wawel hill or the Kazimierz cafés.
There are four realistic ways to solve it:
- Lockers or a staffed desk at a transport hub.
- A private storage point in the Old Town or Kazimierz.
- Asking your hotel or apartment to hold the bags.
- Avoiding the gap altogether by timing your arrival and departure around check-in and check-out.
Kraków Główny railway station
Most visitors who arrive by train from Warsaw, Katowice, Vienna, Prague or Berlin connections come through Kraków Główny, which sits on the edge of the Old Town. It is the obvious first thought for a bag drop, and it works well when you are changing between trains or heading straight out of the city.
What to know:
- Lockers. The station has self-service lockers, and local guides describe them as available around the clock. PKP does not publish a detailed locker price list or size chart, so read the terminal on the day and check that your largest bag fits before you pay.
- Staffed left luggage. Local guides also mention a staffed office as well as lockers. Staffed desks have set hours and often a ticket or receipt system, which suits bags you do not want to leave in a locker.
- Keep the code or ticket safe. Photograph your locker number and any receipt so you can retrieve the bag even if your phone battery fails.
The station is a short walk to the Old Town through the Planty park ring, so it is also a reasonable choice for a morning drop if you arrive early and want to explore first. Remember that you must come back to the station to collect, which can add time on a day when you are already tight.
The MDA bus station office
The bus station next to the railway station is the one place where an official, published rule set exists. The MDA bus station operates a staffed luggage office at ul. Bosacka 18, open daily from 06:00 to 21:45, according to the MDA's storage regulations, effective April 2026.
The same regulations set out terms worth knowing before you use any storage service:
- Storage is charged per commenced day, with a tariff by size from S to XL.
- Each item has a maximum weight of 20 kg, so a heavy suitcase may need repacking.
- Items such as firearms, explosive or toxic materials and animals are not accepted, and the total value of stored items is capped.
- There is an extra handling charge if you lose your claim ticket, and a further charge if bags are not collected within seven days after the storage period ends.
This is a good model of what a responsible left luggage office looks like: fixed hours, fixed rules and a claim ticket. Look for the same things anywhere else you leave a bag. The tariff can change, so read the current version on the MDA site rather than relying on a figure you saw months ago.
The office hours matter: a late arrival or an early departure outside 06:00 to 21:45 means you need a different option, such as an all-hours locker or your accommodation.
Old Town and Kazimierz storage points
If you want to drop bags near where you will actually spend the day, the historic centre has two kinds of provider.
Automated lockers. There are self-service locker facilities in the Main Square area. You choose a size, drop your bag and collect it later, without needing a member of staff. They suit people who like a clear, self-contained process.
Staffed drop-off points. These are usually shops, cafés or small businesses that hold bags for travellers, typically booked online in advance. They are scattered across the Old Town and Kazimierz, and several are within a few minutes of the Main Square.
The key point is that staffed points follow the host business. If a shop closes at 20:00, your bag is unreachable at 20:30, however late your train leaves. Always check the closing time of the specific location rather than the general service description, and plan to collect with a buffer of at least an hour. Online bookings usually require you to be an adult and to have a confirmation to show.
Things to confirm before you book any private point:
- Opening hours on the specific day you will use it, including Sundays and public holidays.
- Whether bags are tagged or sealed, and whether insurance is included.
- Size and weight limits for each bag.
- The cancellation terms, in case your plans change.
- Whether there is a charge per bag, per hour or per day, and how a late pickup is handled.
Asking your accommodation to hold bags
For many travellers this is the simplest option. Hotels and apartment providers commonly hold bags before check-in or after check-out, and some will do so as a courtesy for guests only. A visitor who is not staying there usually cannot rely on it, so do not plan around it if you have no booking.
If you do ask, send a short message a few days before arrival:
- Give your arrival time and ask whether bags can be left if the room is not ready.
- Ask where bags are kept, and whether that space is locked.
- Ask for a tag or receipt, and take a photo of your bag with the tag on it.
- Tell them your departure time and when you expect to collect.
The reason to ask is practical: a locked room with a tag system is a very different thing from a bag left behind a reception desk. Treat a hotel holding bags as a favour and give a sensible pickup time.
If you are comparing places to stay, it is worth knowing whether a property is staffed around the clock. Our guide to aparthotels versus hotels in Kraków explains how reception hours differ, which affects when you can drop or collect luggage.
Which option suits which trip
| Situation | Best fit | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Early train arrival, check-in hours away | Station locker or staffed desk, or your accommodation | Walking time back to collect |
| Long gap before an evening flight | Old Town storage point near your last sights | Host business closing time |
| Arriving at night or leaving at dawn | Accommodation, or an all-hours locker | Staffed offices closing before your departure |
| Heavy or oversized bags | Staffed office with published size limits | Weight limits per item |
| Valuables or fragile items | Keep them with you | Insurance caps and prohibited items |
| Day trip from Kraków | Locker at the station you depart from | Return time versus opening hours |
Safety and common-sense checks
Whatever you choose, a few habits protect you.
- Keep essentials on you. Passport, wallet, phone, medication, keys and chargers should stay in a small day bag.
- Know what is covered. Private networks generally tag or seal bags and may include insurance, but limits apply. Official terms such as the MDA's include value caps and a list of banned items. Read them.
- Take a photo of the bag and the receipt. It helps if a claim is ever needed.
- Check the lock. Use a padlock or cable tie that you can fasten and remove easily, within the rules of the provider.
- Collect on time. Late pickup can mean extra handling charges, and the MDA terms show how quickly unclaimed bags are treated.
If something goes wrong with a staffed storage point, ask for the written terms first and contact the provider directly. For anything involving theft, contact the local police.
Planning your travel day around the bags
A smooth day is usually about sequence, not just storage. On an arrival day, drop bags first, then walk. A good start is the Main Square, the Cloth Hall and St Mary's Basilica, which can be seen in a loop of a couple of kilometres. Our one day in Kraków walking route keeps the essentials under 6 km, and fits well when you have only a few hours before check-in.
If you are staying longer, a three-day Kraków itinerary spreads the sights so that your arrival and departure days remain light.
On departure day, a late-morning check-out and an evening train leave a long gap. Use it for a slow lunch, a final walk through Kazimierz or a last look at the Wawel hill. If food is part of your plan, local cuisine as part of travel is a good way to think about it: eat something local rather than grabbing a sandwich at the station.
Getting between hubs and the Old Town? Read our guide to Kraków public transport tickets before you board, because validating the wrong ticket can lead to a fine.
If you plan a day out of the city, such as a mountain trip, the bag question changes again. A Kraków to Zakopane guide shows the train times, and our list of day trips from Kraków helps you decide what to book, and when to leave your main luggage behind.
Our view: the easiest bag is the one you never have to store
We host guests in boutique apartments in a 15th-century townhouse, 100 m from Kraków's Main Square, and arrival and departure days teach you a lot about how visitors move around the Old Town. The same pattern repeats: the stress is rarely the sightseeing, it is the hours between a train and a room.
Here is what we would suggest to a friend:
- Plan the arrival, not just the stay. Decide whether you want to reach the Old Town early, or arrive after check-in. Early arrivals are lovely, but only if your bags are sorted.
- Prefer the shortest walk with a case. A hub drop is fine when you are leaving the city. If you are staying in the centre, a transfer straight to your accommodation avoids two trips with luggage.
- Choose a stay that makes travel days easy. A 15th-century building with narrow streets around it is atmospheric, and a pre-arranged pick-up from the airport or station spares you the cobbles.
- Pack with storage in mind. One small day bag and one main case is easier to store than four separate pieces.
- Do not store what you cannot replace. Documents, medication and electronics stay with you.
Historic buildings have character, and that sometimes means stairs and narrow corridors. Our guide to heritage hotels in Kraków lists the comfort checks worth making, including how heavy luggage is handled.
— Antek
Arrive by transfer and settle in
Our apartments in the Old Town are designed for stays of two to four guests, with air conditioning, a kitchenette, a private bathroom and free Wi-Fi. We also offer transfers from Kraków-Balice airport and from Kraków Główny station, so you can go straight from your arrival point to your door without a bag-storage detour. If you want to leave the apartment for the day without carrying anything, you can see our room types and contact us about your arrival and departure times on the Bracka 6 website. For terms of stay, see our booking regulations.
Planning to cook a little rather than eat out every night? Our self-catering guide for Kraków covers what to bring and what to buy locally. And if you follow a kosher diet, see kosher food in Kraków before you land.
A short checklist before you leave a bag
- Photograph the bag, the tag and the receipt.
- Check the opening hours for the day of collection, not just the day of drop-off.
- Confirm the size and weight limits, such as the 20 kg per item at the MDA office.
- Remove valuables, documents and medication.
- Set a phone alarm for your collection time, with a buffer.
- Save the address and a contact number offline.
- Check what happens if you are late.
FAQ
Are there luggage lockers at Kraków train station?
Yes. Kraków Główny has lockers, and local guides describe them as accessible around the clock, along with a staffed left luggage desk. PKP does not publish locker sizes or a detailed tariff, so check the terminal and the size of your bag on arrival.
Where can I leave luggage in the Old Town?
There are automated lockers near the Main Square and private drop-off points in shops and cafés across the Old Town and Kazimierz. Opening hours follow the host business, so check the closing time before you plan your pick-up.
Will a hotel hold my luggage if I am not staying there?
Some do, but it is not guaranteed, and many only hold bags for guests. If you are not staying, a locker or a dedicated storage point is more reliable. If you are a guest, ask in advance and request a tag or receipt.
Is it safe to leave bags in storage?
Official and well-run services use claim tickets, fixed hours and written terms. The bus station office, for example, publishes its rules and limits the value and type of items it accepts. Keep valuables and documents with you, and read the terms of any private point before you pay.