I'm half-Polish and I'm Planning a Trip to Poland - tickets, historical landmarks?

Hello I am planning a trip to Poland once I graduate high school this year, a month before I start college. I am half polish and I really want to experience Poland first hand. I just wanted some tips on where I should visit. My close friend told me I should stay in Krakow, because it is a great place to party. I want to experience that but I also want to see some historical landmarks. Does anyone have a suggestion for a great airline with reasonable priced tickets? also what should I bring with me? Anything specific? I need to start planning soon and I'm very excited and anxious!! I was also told that in most major cities in Poland that I could easily find someone who speaks english..is this true? I was planning on learning Polish better to prepare for my trip. Thanks for the help!

Regarding airlines, my girlfriend flew on LOT and wouldn't recommend it for her worst enemy. Late departure, poor service, etc. When I went to Poland I flew to Berlin and then took a train to Wroclaw...

Just do not come both of your, until you both read a book in your life. Any book!

LOT is fine. At least it was every time I flew with them.

Where should you go? I'm biased because I live in Gdansk, but it's a beautiful city replete with lots of history. So is Warsaw as are many other other cities in Poland. Reading a little Polish history will help you to understand this country and give you a better idea of where you might want to visit.

What should you bring? It'll probably rain a little while you're here, so plan accordingly. Just treat this as you would a trip to any other city or country. A Polish-English dictionary would be good. Ask a bookstore for the Oxford pocket one. And bring a positive attitude. Poland isn't like the US, so when you encounter things that frustrate you you-like long lines and indifferent people in shops-just think of them as part of the experience. It's not the US, which is part of the fun of being here.

While it's true that you'll find English speakers in most major cities, don't count on it. A little Polish will go a long way. Although the title is a joke, Polish in Four Weeks is another good one. Buy it now and spend the rest of your life wrestling with Polish.

If you have any more questions, send me a pm or an email. I'm always happy to help.

Gdańsk or Kraków would be great for starters

Try the Pimsleur method. You can probably find the instructional CDs at your local library. One hour per day for a few weeks and you'll have the basics in Polish down pat.

just come here, worry not, just use all that polish you remember from your childhood and enjoy the consequences :-)

No, not really. The people are snobbish (not you, pawian!) and the nightlife isn't particularly great.

Go to Wroclaw - you'll have a great time there.

Thank you so much everyone! Huge help for me :)

Krakow has a really nice atmosphere, Wroclaw's old market is awesome, you should also consider visiting Warsaw. There is a great FB fanpage for English speaking people wishing to discover cool things in Warsaw:

facebook.com/Warsaw

I would also recommend the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Copernicus Science Centre.

hardly awesome. much the same as any other german built town square.

Hi guys

Hot news! Escape2Poland has just opened a huuuuge sale on their trips to Poland. Don't waist your time it won't last forever!

Strongly recommend it! tours for students even for 19 GBP per person!!

Avoid Cepelia.

Seeing as they charge £16 (escape2poland.co.uk/warsaw_sightseeing_bus_prices.html) for a 12zl (ztm.waw.pl/?c=110&l=2) bus ticket, one might want to avoid escape2poland too.

How many times should one visit Poland before they decide they want to live there..

Read as much Polish history as you can before you come. It will help you to understand the culture. This isn't the US.

I knew I wanted to live here before my first trip here 5 1/2 years ago but I'm an exception. Why would you want to live in Poland? What would you do?

If you want to consider such a thing, then you need to live here as a local and not as a tourist.

Anyway, if you want to live here, ask yourself one question : how will you cope with your family being thousands of miles away, in the middle of winter, when it's freezing and you have to wait 10 minutes for the elevator because some moronic Babcia has blocked the lift on the 9th floor?


You can spot Americans a mile away, eh?

Przemysl has an "awesome" Rynek, because it's the only one in Poland that's actually quite dramatically sloping.

And I found a rather interesting one in a place called "Zduny", near Krotoszyn. Totally off the tourist trail though ;)

You should remember that from Wrocław to Przemyśl is about 500km and it will be more than 8 ours journey.

In my opinion it would be good to visit 3 or 4 cities. Warszawa, Kraków, Wrocław and Grańsk (also Sopot and Gdynia) and spend in each one 2 or 3 days. I think that it is enough to taste them and fill the atmosphere.

Although if you want visit our mountains and go skiing you should decide to visit Kraków and Wrocław because high mountains are only 80-100km far from them.

I love all the feedback its really helpful :) any websites that anyone has to help me learn the history better? Also any websites for hotels? dziekuje :)

The fanpage I mentioned: facebook.com/Warsaw

often publishes information about events and interesting places in Warsaw, yesterday they posted a link to a Polish Guide, which should prove helpful:

polishguide2012.pl/en/

Hope it helps.

Gdansk is currently about seven hours from Warsaw....

Polskibus.pl they do that trip in six hours for about 35zl.

Yes, but six hours on a bus? No thanks!

Talking of trips to Gdansk, you there in the last week of January? I'm plotting a trip up there then.


I'd be tempted to remove Gdansk from that list and replace it with Lublin. Only two hours from Warsaw.

Gruesome. Better to get the train.

Even if it does currently go to Gdansk via either Torun or Bydgoszcz.

Helpful hint for everybody: there is now something called the 'Super Bilet' which is pretty much a ticket from Warsaw to anywhere on any train for 59zl (second class but with seat reservation). But you have to buy it ahead of time. PKP ticket office in Warsaw is insisting that that ticket can only be bought for trains Warsaw to Gdansk that run via Torun but the PKP website will happily sell you those for any train to Gdansk.

I'm really thankful for all the help :) I know basic polish phrases now, probably could have a simple conversation but nothing too in depth lol. My mom has been helping me learn. I plan to spend most of my time in cities but I was wondering about any place I could go to see some nature? Like a beautiful hike or something. I don't know maybe I'm asking for too much but I just wanna make this trip unforgettable :)

no it is not. The A1 is open from Gdynia to Torun.

When did it fully open Pip, I drove that route in the summer (July) it was closed and the roadworks around Torun were an absolute disgrace, especially at midnight in torrential rain.

November. But only from Gdynia to Torun. The stretch from Torun to Strykow won't be open for a few months- before Euro but not for a while yet.

as far as I know the stretch from Toruń to Stryków won't be open before the Euro 2012 - so won't be the motorway from Kraków to Ukrainian border because there will be unfinished gaps - it is not even yet certain if the £ódź (or Stryków) Warsaw bit is going to be ready before Euro 2012 - if the winter is mild like so far it can possibly be ready