Travel to Poland

Flying to Poland

Poland's national airline is LOT Polish Airlines (www.lot.com). Other airlines operating flights to Poland include easyJet (www.easyjet.com), Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) and Wizz (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.

Major airports are: Cracow John Paul II International Airport, Warsaw Chopin Airport, Poznan Lawica Airport, Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport, Wroclaw Copernicus Airport, Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport and Katowice International Airport.

Notes

Most international flights arrive at and depart from Warsaw Chopin Airport. A second airport, Warszawa-Modlin International Airport, serves low-cost carriers. Other important airports are at Cracow, Gdańsk, Poznań and Wrocław.

Airport Guides

Flight times

To Warsaw: from London - 2 hours 20 minutes; New York - 8 hours 10 minutes.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to Poland by Rail

Polskie Koleje Państwowe (PKP; Polish State Railways) (tel: 19757, in Poland only, or +48 22 39 19757; 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 are also rail services to Moscow, St Petersburg, Minsk, Kiev and Vilnius.

Rail passes

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 29 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The Global Pass allows travel for 15 days, 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all 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. Reductions are available for travellers under 26. Children under 12 are free when travelling with an adult using an Adult Pass. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Voyages-sncf.com (tel: +44 844 848 5848, in the UK; www.voyages-sncf.com).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited train travel in up to 28 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months, three months, five days in 10 days, 10 days in two months or 15 days in two months. The Global Pass allows travel across all participating countries. The Select Pass is valid in four bordering countries. The Regional Pass lets you travel in two bordering countries. The One Country Pass offers travel in one of 27 countries.

Adult passes are valid for first-class travel, while youth passes (under 26) are valid for second-class travel. Children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult using an Adult Pass. The passes cannot be sold to EU citizens or residents. Available from Eurail (www.eurail.com).

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: +48 146 571 777; www.eurolinespolska.pl).

Driving 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: +48 91 322 6107; www.polferries.com) operates from Poland to Sweden and Denmark, while Unity Line (tel: +48 91 88 02 909; www.unityline.pl) runs to Sweden only. You can buy tickets online, from travel agents or at the ferry terminal.