Travelling Around Poland: All You Need to Know

Spread the love







Poland is a really beautiful country and I am really trying not to be biased even though I am Polish. But I really think that we have a lot to offer at reasonable prices 🙂 If you read a little bit about me and my husband, you probably already know that we used to live in a few different countries. To another few countries we have travelled, but now we are exploring Poland in the free moments we have. Therefore, today I wanted to share some things you need to know when travelling around Poland. I’ll tell you some tricks you might want to consider in order to make your way more affordable 🙂

Train

Even though we have a car, train is still my favourite means of transportation in Poland. Especially on the most common tourist attraction route, which is Gdansk -> Warsaw -> Kraków (Cracow). The train connections and timings are excellent, really affordable and you can get from Warsaw to Cracow in just over 2 hours, whilst by car it takes you nearly 4 hours, depending on the traffic.

The best website to check the schedule and book the tickets is PKP Intercity. Definitely, the most convenient and quickest option is the Pendolino train, that you will be able to recognise with the symbol EIP (Express Intercity Premium). The regular ticket prices start at 49zl one way (around 12 euros) in the 2nd class and do not cost you more than 150zl one way (around 35 euros).

Important: In order to get the best price, you should book your tickets online 1 month in advance. This is when the sale starts and this is when you have all the great offers!

In the price of the ticket, you get one free drink: coffee, tea or water. When you get hungry there is a nice restaurant called Wars where you can enjoy a meal or a drink 🙂 Of course, there are other options of trains, but they normally take a bit longer and are slightly less comfortable. Anyway, all of them you will be able to check on the PKP Intercity website and then decide what works best for you.

Bus

In general, travelling by bus is also quite common in Poland (not the one in the picture!). Especially if you want to travel low cost or travel to places that are less accessible by train. For example, when we went to a very beautiful mountain city called Zakopane we first took the train from Warsaw to Cracow and then we took a bus from Cracow to Zakopane, as the train connection was not so good. Many people also take a bus between Warsaw and another nice city called Lublin.

There are many bus companies you can choose from! Probably, the best well-known websites to look for the tickets are:

But really, there are MANY MANY more! It’s enough for you to type in google “bus Poland” or “autobus Polska” and multiple websites will come up 🙂

Bla Bla Car

You probably know this one or, at least, you have heard of it. This recent booming platform for carpooling also made its presence some time ago in Poland. It can be a very cheap way of getting to know the country as well as some interesting people 🙂 You simply need to register on their website – BlaBlaCar and then once you are searching for the ride, you input your location, your destination as well as desired travelling date – as easy as this ! 🙂

The list of available drivers will then pop up together with their rating (this is very useful as you know you will not be travelling with someone suspicious!). You’ll also be able to see the price they want to charge for the ride. If you are happy with the choice, you just book the space and then you can send a message or text your driver to set the details!

Flights

There used to be very good deals with Ryanair to fly between cities like Warsaw -> Wroclaw or Warsaw -> Gdansk, however, for some time they do not operate any longer… So the only option left is Polish national provider – LOT Polish airlines. I have to admit that I consider their flights to be very good but, of course, they can be sometimes pricey. At the same time, it is quite convenient as the flight normally does not take longer than 40-50 minutes 😉

However, you have to bear in mind that not all of the airports are located close to the city center. Additionally, you’ll need to get to the airport like 1 hour before your flight. So in my opinion, it is not worth taking a plane for short trips. For example, for the journey Warsaw -> Cracow, the travel takes 2h20min and the train station is located in the city center. While flying, it would take you 50min flight + 1 hour check-in + travelling from and to the airport 🙂 In total, you’ll spend at least the same time as a train journey. But in my opinion, train journeys are way more comfortable and pleasant.

On the other hand, it can make more sense to travel by plane from Gdansk to Wroclaw or Warsaw to Wroclaw. I recommend you check on a weekly basis the promotions that LOT offers every Wednesday 🙂 It is called Szalona Środa = Crazy Wednesday, and they announce some promotions to different destinations in Poland and other countries 🙂

Wrapping Up

If you have plans to go to Krakow, good for you! It’s a lovely city! I highly recommend visiting Auschwitz so you can find out more about what happened in concentration camps during WWII. Rafa recently went with his mom to Auschwitz, and he wrote a post with some tips on how to go to the concentration camp from Krakow. He took a guide tour and he was quite happy with it.

Additionally, if you’re planning to visit Warsaw as well, take a look at our list of museums with free admission days in Warsaw. There are many nice museums whose admission is free of charge on specific days of the week. I particularly like The Warsaw Rising Museum, The Museum of History of Polish Jews and the Wilanów Palace.

So that’s it for now 🙂 I hope you enjoyed the article and that it will help you find the best way to travel across Poland! If you found something else worth sharing, some other exciting tips, please share them with us here 🙂 I hope you enjoy your journey in Poland! Do widzenia!