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Visiting Gdansk / Sopot for first time


FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
5 Mar 2008 /  #1
Hi all

Myself and a group of friends are visiting Gdansk for a long weekend at the end of July. I have seen lots of great advice on here for Gdansk and Topot for last year but couldn't really see any feedback from those people who visited the Tri Cities last summer.

We will be looking for good beach life in the day and lively night life in the evenings. There will be between 10 or 15 of us and we are in our 30s so still going strong but not young and stupid.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanls

Nick
spiritus  69 | 643  
5 Mar 2008 /  #2
Hi Nick,

Do you mean Sopot ?

Check out gdansk-life.com
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
5 Mar 2008 /  #3
Hi

Yes I did, sorry! I spelt it correctly in the title and then got it completely wrong!

I will check that site, thanks.
scottie1113  6 | 896  
5 Mar 2008 /  #4
Sopot has good beaches; both Sopot and Gdansk have good night life. I don't know what you're lokking for so I won't give any tips yet, but my night life is centered in Old Town in Gdansk because I live only five minutes from there. Do you want pubs, clubs, or what?
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
5 Mar 2008 /  #5
Hi Scottie

We'd usually do pubs first and then bars and clubs later on at night.

If you know good places to eat that would be good too.

Thanks
scottie1113  6 | 896  
7 Mar 2008 /  #6
You haven't mentioned your budget so I'm not sure what to tell you. If you want to be close to beaches, check out gdansk-life.com and search for places to stay. Poseidan hotel (spelled a little differently in Polish) is good but I don't know about summer rates. Once you've decided on a place to stay I can give some more tips on places to go near you. If you come to Gdansk Old Town the hotel Wolne Miasto is nice but small and I don't know if they'd have rooms for all of you. Book soon; you'll be coming in peak season. The Absinthe Bar in Old Town is a don't miss for my money. I don't do the club scene but Yesterday in Gdansk is supposed to be good and I'll ask a friend about the club he goes to in Sopot.

Where to eat? Depends on what you want. Funky and inexpensive or upscale? You can find pretty much everything here although the Polish palate doesn't take to spicy food and there's only one Indian restaurant that I know in Gdansk and it's just OK.

Decide where you want to stay and I'll have more info for you.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
7 Mar 2008 /  #7
Hi Scottie

Thanks for taking the time to reply. From what we have read Sopot seems the livlier place to be but friends have stayed at the Novotel in Gdansk and said it was okay. I have also seen a place in Sopot called mokwy14a and have emailed them but not heard anything back. Our budget is probably £30 per person, per night (140PLN I think).

I will check out the Posejdon, thanks.

I know it is not much help to you but we want decent cheap places to eat and drink in the day and early evening but would go more upscale later at night.

Even if you just tell me where not to go that would be a great help.

Thanks again.
Ranj  21 | 947  
7 Mar 2008 /  #8
I have also seen a place in Sopot called mokwy14a

I stayed at the Mokwy last summer and it was alright....clean and intimate.....withing walking distance of the night life in Sopot. Think it's under new management now from when I stayed there.

You might want to pm Bubbawoo......he's quite familiar with the tri-city area.....I'm sure he could give you some good tips.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
7 Mar 2008 /  #9
Thanks Ranj, is it more of a hostel type place?

Thanks
Ranj  21 | 947  
7 Mar 2008 /  #10
I would say it is, although the rooms have their own private baths. There is a common kitchen area, and I believe breakfast is included in your stay.....nice Polish woman cooks the meals. There's a courtyard with a fireplace that's conducive to entertaining, so if you just wanted to hang out there and entertain yourselves, you could.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
7 Mar 2008 /  #11
Okay, my main concern is that there may be 15 of us rolling back in from the clubs in the early hours and we wouldn't want to be disturbing people and getting ourselves in trouble.

Thanks for the information.
scottie1113  6 | 896  
8 Mar 2008 /  #12
Don't sing, try to keep it relatively quiet and you'll have no problems.

Monte Cassino is the main drag in Sopot. It runs down to the pier and there are lots of places to go on this street. Don't go to Ul next to McDonalds. It used to be a cool restaurant but now it's a fashion bar-whatever that means-and it's very overpriced.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
8 Mar 2008 /  #13
Thanks for all your help, guys.
spiritus  69 | 643  
11 Mar 2008 /  #14
Flyingmonkey,

Have you not thought about contacting some of the Stag Weekend tour operators in Poland ? They specifically cater for large groups with stag friendly hotels and a range of optional activities and excursions.

Many even provide a nightclub guide who will get you into the best places in town.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
12 Mar 2008 /  #15
Hi Spiritus

We prefer to arrange things ourselves to try and cut down on costs. Also stag organisers usually have a deal with certain hotels and bars and so send you there even if they are no good.

If you know differently and can recommend anyone then I would gladly look into it.

Thanks
spiritus  69 | 643  
12 Mar 2008 /  #16
I've never used any of the stag weekend organisers so I can't recommend any particular ones.

I don't blame you for trying to keep costs down as with most holiday packages you can do the same thing yourself for less money.

Decide where you want to stay. Sopot has the best nightlife and Gdansk has the best tourist sights.

Use websites such as booking.com or hotels in poland etc to source the names of hotels in the areas you want to stay. Google that hotel and then contact them directly (most of them speak English).

Also consider holiday apartments. A large apartment could sleep upto 6-8 people and you don't have the worry of being locked out at night. With a bit of research you should be able to find apartments close to each other.

Take a trip to Hel Peninsula.

Have fun but also be respectful to the people you meet and the places you stay. Gdansklife.com and ilovepoland.co.uk both have lists of the best bars to visit in the Tri City area.

There's an indoor go karting centre in Gdansk and other activities that you could easily organise yourself. Aqua Park in Sopot is only a short drive from Gdansk also.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
12 Mar 2008 /  #17
Thanks Spiritus

I have been emailing apartments, etc with no luck. I have the feeling we made need to split up and stay in apartments that are close to each other.

I have also enquired at the Miramar but that seems to be full. Another hotel I have emailed is the Novotel Marina.

Thanks for your advice and I will let you know how I get on.
Inak  - | 8  
17 Mar 2008 /  #18
hello!
I'm city-guide and my advice is ; Novotel-Marina hotel-very good situated on the beach not far from the center of Sopot .
Harry  
19 Mar 2008 /  #20
You need to have a look at the In Your Pocket guide to Gdansk, it's by far and away the best English language source of information about the Tricity (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot).

inyourpocket.com/city/gdansk.html

There's also a downloadable version somewhere on the website.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
19 Mar 2008 /  #21
Thanks Harry I did a quick Google and found the free download.
Harry  
20 Mar 2008 /  #22
No problem!

The website is in some ways better than the download because it has links to all the hotels.
OP FlyingMonkey  4 | 22  
27 Mar 2008 /  #23
Looks like we will be staying at the Lucky Hotel in Sopot, reasonably cheap and lots of room. It is the price and location that sold it for us.

Thanks
pudddddin  7 | 48  
16 Mar 2009 /  #25
Thread attached on merging:
Gdansk - places to stay and things to see

I'm going to go to Gdansk on the long weekend at the beginning of may. Any suggestions about budget hotels/accommodation?
I live in Poland already, so don't need any tips about price or culture (thanks anyway) - but any tips or suggestions of things to see would be greatly appreciated :)

Hope everyone's having a pleasant day - its sunny here today (Gorzów Wlkp.) and finally feels like spring might be coming, so i'm in a good mood :D
pudddddin  7 | 48  
16 Mar 2009 /  #27
my thread has been merged into this one (which is a stupid choice by the admin btw!) - I just want to make it clear - I am looking for a cheap hotel - not a 3-4 star one like the original author of this post. I will only be in Gdansk for about 2 days, so need to be as near to the stuff to see as possible...

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