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Old town, Warsaw, Poland

© www.123rf.com / Artur Bogacki

Travel to Poland

Flying to Poland

Poland's national airline is LOT Polish Airlines (LO) (www.lot.com). Other airlines operating flights to Poland include easyJet (U2) (www.easyjet.com) and Wizz Air (W6) (www.wizzair.com).

There’s no real seasonal variation in prices, but Poles are particularly family orientated and those based abroad return home on key (usually religious) holidays such as Christmas and especially Easter, so book ahead at these times.

Air notes:

Most international flights arrive at and depart from Warsaw’s Okęcie International Airport, though other important airports are at Cracow, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław.

Flight times:

From London to Warsaw is 2 hours 25 minutes and from New York is 9 hours.

Departure tax:

None.

Travel by rail

Polskie Koleje Państwowe (PKP; Polish State Railways) (tel: 19 757, in Poland only; www.pkp.pl) operates EuroCity trains between Poland and a number of major European cities. All services from western Europe to Poland pass through the Czech Republic, Germany or Slovakia. The main routes link Warsaw with Berlin and Cologne, Budapest, Prague and Vienna. There is a car-sleeper service at least daily from the Hook of Holland to Poznań that continues to Warsaw. There are also rail services to Moscow, St Petersburg, Minsk, Kiev and Vilnius.

Rail passes:

InterRail: Offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in 29 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 22 days or one month. The Flexi Pass allows five days of travel within 10 days or 10 days’ travel in 22 days across all 30 countries. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travellers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurail: For those travelling from outside Europe and North Africa the Eurail pass (www.eurail.com) offers similar discounts.

By rail note:

A number of thefts have been reported on overnight trains between Berlin and Warsaw and between Prague and both Warsaw and Cracow. Travellers should exercise caution with personal belongings.

Driving to Poland

Poland shares a border with seven countries, so there are plenty of road crossings. There are more crossings with Germany and the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the west and the south than there are with Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Russia to the north and northeast.

Up to a dozen different national and international bus companies offer services to/from European cities outside Poland. The biggest is Eurolines Polska (tel: (022) 621 3469; www.eurolinespolska.pl).

By road note:

Poland, an EU country in the Schengen zone, no longer maintains border posts with its EU neighbours: Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania.

Getting to Poland by boat

The Port of Gdańsk (www.portgdansk.pl) on the Gulf of Gdańsk is the largest Polish port and the main ferry hub for Poland in the Baltic. The Port of Gdynia (www.port.gdynia.pl), just north of Gdańsk, also welcomes ships, containers and cruise liners.

Larger cruise ships usually dock in Gydnia, about a 45-minute drive from the Old Town in Gdańsk. Some small ships may dock at Oliwskie Pier in Gdańsk, about 6km (4 miles) from the town centre.

Ferry operators:

Polferries (tel: (091) 322 4396; www.polferries.com) operates from Poland to Sweden and Denmark, while Unity Line (tel: (091) 359 5600; www.unityline.pl) runs to Sweden only. You can buy tickets online, from travel agents or at the ferry terminal.

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