Travel Plan to Poland

Hi Everyone,
I am Joy, a fellow travel enthusiast. I have been longing to travel to Europe for a long time. If everything works right, I plan to start with Poland next year.

What are some unmissable places in Poland, in your opinion? Of course, Krakow and Warsaw are in the top of my list of places to see there.

Well, my first, and only, port of call was Szczecin to the North. Charming Old Town, railway a bit delapidated (then again, that was back in '96 or so), attractive restaurants (dusty menus from frequent disuseLOL), pleasant street cafes and typically Hanseatic-style architecture.

Definitely worth a trip:-)

When you are in Kraków, find some time to visit the Auschwitz Birkenau Museum and Wieliczka Salt Mine. Both not far grom Kraków.

Białowieża National Park - the last ancient European forest and the home of the European Bison.

Malbork and its Teutonic castle.
Mazury - the lake district.
Cities like Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań.
The mountains in the south of the country - Bieszczady, Beskid, the Tatra Mountains.
Jura Krakowsko-Czestochowska with its beautiful nature and castles.
Google some of the places and check what you are most interested in. The thing is that some of these are far from one another so I guess you will have to come up with your own itenary.

Of course Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia, Kartuzy and seaside if you have plenty of time and car ;) Karwia, Jantar, Mielno, Kołobrzeg. Lake district Giżycko, Mikołajki, Mrągowo, Iława.

Wow! Thanks for the great suggestions, guys! Looks like I need at least a month to see it all.
I am particularly interested in historical places, as well as scenic ones, so it's hard to take off anything from the itinerary. :)

How long are you planning to spend in Poland? Some of the places mentioned are fair distances apart so if you have limited time you might have to concentrate only on a couple of cities. Will you be hiring a car or relying on public transport?

If you have plenty of time then maybe a trip to Zamość. It's a beautiful little city in South East Poland and can be seen in a day. Lublin is also well worth seeing and is not far away from Zamość. Eastern Poland is often overlooked in favour of the more well known destinations, which is a shame, because it has beautiful countryside too.


I would definitely try to fit this in and see it while you have the chance. Who knows what will be left of it if logging continues at the current rate.

Hi Chemikiem,

Thanks for your reply. I would have about 2-3 weeks in Poland. How much of it would I be able to cover? Would love to visit Zamość, if time allows.

Yes, I am planning to rent a car there; that always gives me more flexibility.

Probably quite a bit, especially if your trip is closer to 3 weeks. Don't try and kill yourself with trying to pack too much in though! I would allow 2/3 days in Warsaw, and maybe 3/4 in Kraków, especially if you plan to go to Auschwitz and the salt mines. This is just a guess based on my experiences. Driving time between the 2 cities is about 4.5 hours although this will depend on traffic. Gdańsk is about 5 hours away, and there is plenty to see there. Again I would allow 2/3 days to see the sights.

Lublin and Zamość are both closer to Warsaw, although still a bit of a drive. As I said previously, Zamość can be seen in a day, and allow a couple of days for Lublin.

You will have to decide which cities you want to visit, and whether to spend time out in the countryside or not. Białowieża National Park is in the North East of the country, and that's a fair drive away too. Most people wanting to see the Tatra mountains will head for Zakopane in the South. It's quite commercial, and has lots of wooden buildings. Basically, everything is quite spread out, but as you will be hiring a car getting about will be easier.

Poland has, I'm told, some of the last unspoiled wilderness left on the continent of Europe (here I'm excluding Northern Scandinavia, Sweden, Norway, and Finland).

I've only seen photos thus far, but what I have seen is simply stunning!

Thanks for the detailed input, Chemikiem. Salt mines are a definite yes in my list. Quite keen about the Białowieża National Park as well.

Let's see how it plays out.