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Castle Square, Warsaw 

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Poland

Travel to Warsaw

Flying to Warsaw

Airlines offering direct flights to Warsaw from the UK include British Airways, LOT Polish Airlines and Wizz Air.

Flight times: 

From London - 2 hours 30 minutes; New York - 8 hours 30 minutes; Los Angeles - 14 hours 10 minutes; Toronto - 9 hours 30 minutes; Sydney - 21 hours 45 minutes.

Travel by road

Summary:

Traffic in Warsaw drives on the right and the minimum driving age is 17. Speed limits are 130kph (81mph) on motorways, 110kph (68mph) on dual carriageways, 90kph (56mph) on open roads and 20-50kph (12-31mph) in built-up areas (60kph/37mph from 1100 to 0500). Headlights must be on at all times from 1 October to 1 March. International Driving Permits and European and US national driving licences are accepted for the first six months in Poland. Drivers should carry their vehicle registration and third party insurance documents. Short-term Green Card insurance is only required for cars originating from outside of the EU and Switzerland.

Information about road travel can be obtained from the Polish Motoring Association - PZM (tel: (022) 849 8449; www.pzmtravel.com.pl).

Emergency breakdown service:

PZM (tel: 9637).

Routes:

The main route to Warsaw is the east-west E30, which connects Warsaw with Łódź, Poznań and Berlin to the west and the Belarus border to the east. The north-south E77 links Gdansk with Cracow, via Warsaw. The E67 is the route from the southwestern city of Wroclaw.

Driving times:

From Berlin is 5 hours; from Prague is 5 hours, and from Cracow is 3 hours 40 minutes.

Coaches:

Dozens of licensed carriers, including the state-owned PKS (tel: 0703 403 330; www.pksbilety.pl), offer services to and from over 200 European and Polish destinations. Warszawa Zachodnia is the central bus station, located at Aleje Jerozolimskie 144. Eurolines (tel: (022) 676 9187; www.eurolinespolska.pl) also provides international services to and from Poland.

Travel by rail

Services:

Poland's rail network continues to improve and services are increasingly comfortable and punctual, especially on the main routes to other Polish cities and destinations outside Poland. However, they are often very crowded and it is worth spending the 50% surcharge for a guaranteed first-class seat or try and opt for the InterCity trains (IC) that require a reservation. The main lines passing through Warsaw are the Moscow-Berlin and Gdansk-Ostrava routes. You can buy tickets at the station or through Orbis tourist offices.

Most international services arrive at Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central), Aleje Jerozolimskie 54, across from the tall Marriott Hotel. This station attracts the dirty underbelly of Warsaw society and tourists should take care of their belongings at all times. The other main stations in Warsaw are Warszawa Wschodnia (Warsaw East), Warszawa Zachodnia (Warsaw West) and Warszawa Gdanska, which receives trains from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Operators:

Polish Railways, Polskie Koleje Panstwowe - PKP (tel: (022) 9436, for all enquiries or (022) 511 6003, for calls outside of Poland; www.pkp.com.pl), operates trains on the Polish rail network.

EuroCity and InterCity trains from Cracow (journey time - 2 hours 40 minutes), Berlin (journey time - 6 hours 20 minutes) and Prague (journey time - 8 hours 50 minutes) arrive at Warsaw Central station. Care should be taken on some night train routes, where thieves have been known to operate.

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