Hi im driving to poland in may from england and was wondering how long its gonna take and what is the route like, i plan to buy a sat nav to help me, also could you give me info on the costs of ferrys or changing from country to country and petrol prices, i will most prob be driving a saab 2.0 turbo petrol.
I have driven a few times from England (Beford area) to Warsaw in the past. In total it was about 1800 Km and a total driving time of about 20 hours. You can use the michelin web site to get a route planner off. Ferry prices will vary considerably on the time of year you go and how far in advance you can book.
Hi...i am a Brit who has driven to Poland from Leeds in UK to drawsko pomorskie....ferry from hull to Rotterdam...arrives Rotterdam 8 am....steady drive not wasting any time , but not going mad either...i am home in Ostrowice about 10pm...about 680 road miles from leeds...mostly good roads...plenty of fuel stations...with a satnav you wont have any problems i think....ferry cost last time i travelled was 40 quid..but it was a while ago...ask p and o petrol prices are available on the net...but all are cheaper than the UK...
I use Norfolk line Ferries. Dover Dunkerque. £19 for a car last time i went. I found the rac route planner great, printed it out. I am too mean to buy a sat nav. Getting a bit lost is half the fun...
Im prob gonna be driving a ford escort my mum has owned for last 8 years, its low milage and very reliable, the engine size is 1.6 petrol. How much you think it will cost in petrol.
i drove here in a 1991 bmw 325i and maintained around 110mph throughut germany and spent around £200 on fuel from dover to Poznan, Great fun until you get onto the Polish roads and can't do much over 50mph. Also remember its illegal to run out of fuel on the autobahns and you need at least 3mm of tread on all 4 tyres, Fines can be quite harsh by all accounts.
I'm kind of new on here but I have driven from the UK to Poland a couple of times. I have taken both the ferry from Hull-Rotterdam and Newcastle-Amsterdam. I think it takes about an hour longer to get to Poland from Rotterdam but it depends on where you are in the UK really. I suffer from seasickness in small boats and the Hull ferry is bigger so it wasn't so much of a problem but maybe thats not a factor for you and it all depends on the weather.
You should be able to cross Germany fairly quickly but watch out for the maniacs coming up behind you on the Autobahn. They don't break until the last minute and for me that took a bit of getting used to! Make sure you have all the compulsory equipment like first aid kits etc in case you get stopped. Make sure you check what is required in every country you are passing though. Also it makes things simpler if the car's documents are all in your name. My boss told me a few weeks ago that there is a new law in Poland where if you are driving someone elses car you need some kind of offical letter from the registered owner co-signed by some official. Don't hold me on that one but I would check up on it if I were you!
I have a 1.4 Citreon C3 and my last journey (august 07) from Perthshire in Scotland to Swiebodzin (60km from the border) cost about £70-£80 in petrol. Admittedly I don't know loads about cars so I am not sure how your escort would compare! The ferry was expensive. I think about £200 but I booked it last minute. You can get it a lot cheaper if you book well in advance. I think there is a set price of £60 for your car on those ferries and the cost of your cabin will vary.
I also have a sat nav. It's really useful but I wouldnt say essential. I don't know the area around Kielce but to be honest as far as Swiebodzin the roads are pretty straighforward at least. You shouldnt have any troubles with a decent map and a route plan. I bought mine 18 months ago and the maps on it for Poland are incomplete. It's fairly good in the big cites but doesn't have many streets in smaller towns on it. Also I have on several occassions unexpectedly come across roundabouts which aren't mentioned on the sat nav at all so beware that it might be a bit unreliable here. I am sure they have released new maps since I bought mine though so hopefully you will end up with a more up to date one. I have a tomtom 910 by the way.
I'm probably not the most knowledgable person on this subject but if I can help you any more let me know!
Ever thought about the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry ?
yeah I have but driving time wise it doesn't make much difference to go Amsterdam to Newcastle and its less time on the ferry. Also I may be wrong but I think the rosyth one only goes a couple of time a week and they days didn't suit or something. I can't remember now! I'll need to look into it before my trip home in the summer.
Hi guys some advice would be appreciated im hoping to drive to poland in july but my car is only about 3 inches of the floor so was wondered if this would cause me problems in many placesim going to gdansk and kwidzyn if that helps,thanks for your time
I drove to and from south-east Poland (Katowice) in a 2.5 litre Vauxhall Omega.
The Ferry was about 30 quid each way. Norfolkline Dover - Dunkerque. The petrol cost was about 180 quid each way.
The latest Tomtom maps for Western and Eastern europe are almost perfect. I had two problems, first was right off the ferry in Dunkerque - I think the roads must of changed recently. The second problem is with some of the roads in Katowice that are being changed right now. As long as you know what direction you want to go, you can just use the compass and wait until it plans a new journey and stops telling you to double back.
Once in Dunkerque the trip across europe took me about 12 hours. All of the roads were fine with one exception. The eastbound E36/A18 from the Polish border to Wroclaw is in a terrible state. I slowed to about 40mph for that. Its fine westbound. If you're going to Northern Poland I'm not sure what the roads are like up there.
I found driving to be a very nice way to get there. Costs a bit more, but the freedom of having your own car when you are there is great. Mind you, I like driving.
I have found, from personal experience, that when driving to Poland it is invariably better to fly. Let someone else deal with the problem of getting their in one piece.
Agreed, its much more sensible and a lot cheaper to Fly. I took my car because I was there for 8 weeks so I wanted the freedom to get out and take photos.
Is this the eighty km stretch from the border ? Once you get over this and if your suspension is still intact the road is OK.
Yes. I thought it was rough all the way to Wroclaw which is about 200km. I could be wrong.
After Wroclaw and going westbound its a perfect road.
Drove from the UK to Poznań last week, I regularly do the journey by car and its fine Usually takes around 11 hours from Calais with 1 fuel stop in Hannover, The road from the border has been vastly improved recently and I had no major problems at all, Just remember when you get into Poland to forget all of your UK driving skills and try to drive like a native pole, Don't dawdle along, Overtake wherever possible including into oncoming traffic and corners etc, Treat red traffic lights as advisory stop signals and never give way to anyone and you will be fine, Make sure your insurance is up to scratch too!
Usually costs me around 30 gbp for the ferry, Fill up in the UK before you get into europe as fuel is very expensive now due to the falling value of the pound, Usually costs around 100gbp in fuel, Make sure you have a triangle, Fire extinguisher and first aid kit as the german police are terrible, Make sure your car is in tip top mechanical condition as fines for breaking down are high and remember it is an offence to run out of fuel on an autobahn.
Drive at night as there is much less traffic through germany and its loads easier you can average 120 mph and upwards which makes the trip more bearable, Keep your V5, MOT and insurance on you at all times (assuming you have a UK registered vehicle) as if you are stopped you are expected to produce these.
The road from the border has been vastly improved recently and I had no major problems at all
Just checked on the map. I'm guessing you take the e30 to Poznan. Its the E36 that's a bit rough.
Fill up in the UK before you get into europe as fuel is very expensive now due to the falling value of the pound
I think its still cheaper outside the UK. I fill up a 70 litre tank in Poland for 60 quid, Germany 70 quid and UK 80 quid. Petrol in Poland was 4.20 zlotys when I left just a few weeks ago, or just over 90p. I was shocked when I got back here and found it was over £1.20.
