Krawl Through Krakow:
Working As A Pub Crawl Guide in Poland
Think you’d like to work and travel in Europe? Do you love meeting new people, nightlife and socializing? Working as a pub crawl leader is the ideal travel job for the outgoing, social traveler. And a job with Krawl Through Krakow comes with plenty of perks!!
I’ve worked and lived in a variety of countries around the world. Whether it was Oktoberfest in Germany or spring break season in Mexico, these short term jobs provide an amazing chance to experience slow travel.
Rather than just being a tourist somewhere for a week, you get to properly travel and see a country more like a local! Working with Krawl Through Krakow provides an incredible opportunity for to live and work in Poland while you travel around the country.
Read: THE COMPLETE TRAVEL GUIDE TO POLAND
Here’s my top 10 reasons to work with Krawl Through Krakow!
1. Paid Shifts
First of all, let’s talk about how amazing it is that you can be paid to live in another country while clubbing and socializing with like-minded travelers. The fact that jobs like this even exist make it exceedingly more difficult for me to ever think about heading back into a 9 to 5 structured work week.
Now with any travel job or pub crawl gig, you aren’t going to make it rich. But you should be able to make enough to offset most of your costs! You will be paid based on how many people are on the pub crawl divided by the number of staff working.
You will be paid cash in the Polish currency (złoty) each week.
In the dead of winter we had a few really small nights. I didn’t make a ton of money those shifts but I got to know the guests better and we had a BLAST! Other nights, we would have tour groups or bachelorette/bachelor parties book on and we’d have nearly 200 people.
In the summer, the pub crawl is even more popular. If you work busy weekend shifts, you can make decent money considering you aren’t paying any bills. Which brings me to my next point….
2. Housing Provided
Even more valuable than the money you’ll make on shift, is the fact that you are provided with free accommodation! Which also means you’re not stuck paying electrical bills, WiFi or water. You have no bills and can live free of charge at what is lovingly referred to as “the den.”
In the winter, my best friend and I had an entire room to ourselves. Just one other guy lived in the second bedroom for most of my time there. But during the summer, expect a full house!
While it isn’t the nicest accommodation I’ve had during a travel job, it certainly was FUN. We’d push the bunk beds together and make forts, cook “family dinners”, and have movie nights. Don’t expect much privacy or alone time. It’s kind of like living in a hostel.
Generally it wasn’t super tidy, given that everyone was usually too busy partying and having fun to keep it in great shape. But when I lived there, we tried to spiff it up and get it looking nice! We hung lights and wall decorations in an attempt to make it feel more like a home for us 🙂
3. Working A Job You Love
No boring days at the office. No crappy boss. And a job you genuinely look forward to every shift.
Your responsibilities will include
- Hostel Runs/Promotional Shifts- Chatting with potential guest and dropping off flyers at the local hostels
- Meeting at the town square statue by 8:45pm with the pub crawl sign to greet guests
- Taking guests to two bars and two nightclubs
- Helping usher lingering guests from one bar to the next
- Passing out welcome shots at each new location
- Chatting, socializing and making sure everyone is having a fantastic time!
4. Amazing coworkers
The best part of the job by far, is the people you meet.
While I was working there, we had staff from Wales, Turkey, Bahamas, America, UK and more! Most of the staff lives with you in the housing or nearby so everyone gets extremely close. It’s a little like living in a college dorm or apartment.
We’d walk to our shift together every night (usually grab late night food after the pub crawl) and walk home together. There is a really strong sense of friendship and community. And never a dull moment among the coworkers! We were constantly going on mini trips, out for dinner, gathering for house parties or exploring Krakow together. If you want to work a travel job and ensure you’ll make friends from all over the world- definitely apply with Krawl Through Krakow.
5. Unlimited free drinks for employees
If you enjoy going out, this is a job for you.
And yes, you can drink while you’re working.
You can also join the pub crawl for free any of your nights off.
It’s all about encouraging a fun environment and making sure the guests are having a blast. If I saw people sitting alone or too timid to join the group, I would go up and ask them to join me for a shot or a game of beer pong and get the party started.
As long as you don’t act like a complete idiot, having fun and drinking on the job is part of the perks! Pub crawl guides should be social, outgoing and throwing a few back with the guests 🙂
6. Live in an amazing city
Personally, I adore Krakow. With so much to do, fantastic street food and a wild nightlife scene- there’s never a dull moment!
You can tour Schindler’s factory, the salt mines or wander through old town.
It’s a clean, charming city that hasn’t experienced an explosion of tourists like other European cities.
Even though, I was living there during the winter- I still found it fantastic despite the cold!
Check out my blog posts on Krakow here and here.
7. Plenty of time off
Krawl Through Krakow only requires you to work 3 shifts a week. So you will have plenty of time to explore Krakow and beyond! While you can certainly sign up to take more shifts (I often did!) – I also chose to take those four days off sometimes for a trip to Auschwitz, tours around Krakow or a mini getaway.
I recommend venturing around Poland and the neighboring countries. Buses and train makes it exceptionally easy to get around.
8. Flexible schedule
Each weekend you’ll be asked to submit your availability for that upcoming week. Since you submit your schedule only a few days in advance, it makes planning trips or events a breeze! It’s really easy to take a weekend off to go to Zakopane.
You can easily request for a few days off if you want to head to Ukraine, Slovakia, etc.
9. Great location to travel to other European countries
With the apps GoEuro or Flixbus, you can book really cheap tickets to just about anywhere!
Prague, Lviv and many other great cities aren’t far away.
My favorite trip: Slovakia
On my final weekend in Poland, we decided to take a trip to the southern mountain town, Zakopane. We stayed at a quaint mountain Airbnb that was just a few miles from the Slovakian border.
In the morning, we decided to walk across the border into Slovakia to go explore! We stopped in a little town called Sucha Hora and bought breakfast at a grocery store before spending the the later part of the day up in the mountains. It was such a lovely, spontaneous trip made easy by the fact I was living and working in Krakow.
10. The opportunity to travel around Poland
Living in Krakow puts you near a lot of other great Polish cities!
You can take a bus to explore nearby towns, even if you work the pub crawl in the evening. Catch an early bus and spend the whole day exploring before your shift that night! Or better yet, request your days off in a row so you can head out of Krakow for a few days.
In the summer you will have to work promo shifts in the afternoon but during the winter we just did hostel runs in the evening to drop off flyers and chat with any potential guests. This left our days free to do with as we pleased!
My Top 3 Trips Around Poland
1. Zakopane
Poland’s beautiful mountain town!
Zakopane is definitely worth the trip. Find an Airbnb and stay the night with your coworkers from Krawl through Krakow!
Be sure to book a horse drawn carriage excursion with food and drinks- otherwise known as Kulig! It’s almost like a Polish hoedown!
2. Auschwitz Concentration Camp
A day trip here is difficult. It is heartbreaking and impossible to fully grasp the level of tragedy that occurred here.
Auschwitz is just a short bus ride away from Krakow. And while it’s uncomfortable, its necessary to see.
3. Warsaw
What was going to be a one day trip to Warsaw, turned into a three day trip with my coworkers!
We took a train to Warsaw to visit the zoo where the true story of The Zookeeper’s Wife took place then we somehow wound up spending the next two days in Warsaw.
Together we explored the old town square, listened to street musicians. ate Polish cuisine and visited museums.
You can easily book a train or bus ticket to Warsaw any day of the week!
Overall, a worthwhile and unforgettable experience
Initially, I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend January and February in a cold destination like Poland. But WOW, I am so thankful I did.
I met incredible people, traveled all around Poland and after a tearful airport goodbye, found myself immediately searching for flights back to Krakow later in the year. I would’ve liked to stay longer and would definitely like to return.
But until then, Krawl Through Krakow is hiring!
And if you think you’re up for an experience like this, you can apply here.
Looking to get paid to travel the world? Read: TRAVEL JOBS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FINDING PAID WORK AROUND THE WORLD
Great post Em! I love how you give very specific info on where to find these amazing jobs!
Thanks Amy!! I just know how helpful the specifics would have been when I was just starting to try and find travel jobs!!
Thank you so much! This blog was great!
Would you say you felt safe working at the pub krawl? My daughter is interested, but I’m worried about her safety.
Yes I definitely felt safe!!