I've been in Poland like 5 times, spent most of my time in Kraków but visited the other cities you mentioned too. It's simply the most wonderful place I've ever seen, and I've been to 16 countries so far :)
Kraków is the prettiest and safest town for sure, but you should also think of visiting Wroclaw. Everyone who I bring to Poland has a little bit of scepticism for the fact it's an eastern Europe country, but I must say the streets are cleaner, safer and prettier than any other country I've visited. France, Germany and Italy tend to be overrated - I've got robbed in both Germany and Italy.
Kraków is simply magical, you'll certainly fall in love with it when you see the city center for the first time. It feels like you're a prince or a princess walking down the royalty castles and presentations!
Warsaw is all right, even though much more modern and kinda more like NY course of industrialization. Pick Marriot Hotel if you have the chance, it's outstanding.
The cities I plan on visiting are Warsaw, Gdansk, Krakow, and Lublin
I've visited Warsaw & Lubin, no safety probs for me. My sis has visited the other two Polish cities, along with several others. No safety probs for her either.
Poland is really safe. You don't have to worry too much about idiots causing problems.
hmm, just a thought Seanus... a rich person is a person one of interest for those people who have little and support a drug or alcohol habit... otherwise Poland is as safe as any other country...
I'm sure that the concerned citizen that grabbed the back-pack, will get the guy's ID, call the authorities, and that superstar detective will find him unharmed.
this is not a new thread as have posted before. have been to Poland 3 times travelling as single female. didn't have any problems. my advice...respect the fact that you are not in your own country. don't make yourself a target ( lots of jewellery etc ). keep a watchful eye and don't behave like an idiot. of course you could be in wrong place at wrong time, but that could happen anywhere.
I am an older Australian woman who will be visiting Poland next year. I may travel into Poland by train, and spend some time in cities doing bus tours.
I have driven in Europe before & I will be hiring a car to visit smaller vaillages. How safe is it for a woman alone in Poland?
Should I take it further & even hire a camper/motor home in Poland? I have done this in other countries. I am a confident traveller. It is much easier for me than carting my luggage on & off buses, trains & cars.
Sukali - Poland is no different than any other European country in terms of safety for tourists. You are probably going to be safer in countryside than in big cities, people are generally very friendly towards tourists. I probably wouldn't go as far as camper-van (simply because I don't know how good are the facilities, but I'm sure you can check this on the internet) but there is other accommodation available (most popular is guest rooms - "pokoje goscinne").
Hotels, unless you go for the known chains are not the best. Keep an eye on your luggage though, there is a lot of petty theft in Poland. No valuables in general bus storage, make sure you have certified copies of your documents - usual stuff really. Hiring a car is a good option, but roads are not so good and you will need to drive left hand drive :) If you are OK with that, hire a car rather than use buses, much more comfortable if you have big luggage. If you stick to backpack/small suitcase, buses and trains are OK (don't stay alone in a train compartment though, rather choose one with few respectively looking people in there already).
cheap it is not but at least you get to see the city
and one in Krakow
cracow-life/poland/krakow-tour-bus
if you are used to driving in Australia please be aware that there is a lot more traffic on country roads than back home also Polish drivers are very inconsiderate of other road users. in fact if you ask a Polish driver their advice on the topic of road etiquette and who has right of way they will always reply 'I do'. 'I always first, I always have right of way'
Merged: Is Poland safe and free from Racism for an Asian to visit???
I'm a girl from South Korea and i might/am planning to visit Poland sometime later.
of course i guess most people are O.K and i have also visited some countries in Eastern/Central Europe like Austria, Hungary and Slovakia before and it was fine.
but i'm honestly a bit worried and I've also heard Poland is like the most homogeneous White country in Europe, and from what i know, there's still quite a lot of Skinheads/Neo-Nazis.
also, these days many people in Europe are being quite hostile to foreigners/immigrants due to Economic-crisis in Europe.
There's also a big chance that they might think me of Vietnamese(or Chinese) because there's so many of them as immigrants. (and of course, i'm not going there to live or something)
Please tell me how the atmosphere is like there towards non-Whites and other ethnicities.
If it was safe for you in Hungary and Slovakia then it would be safe for you in Poland.
these days many people in Europe are being quite hostile to foreigners/immigrants due to Economic-crisis in Europe.
No economic crisis in Poland yet. And even if there was, there is nothing to blame immigrants for.
most homogeneous White country in Europe
Aren't Slovakia and Hungary like that?
there's still quite a lot of Skinheads/Neo-Nazis.
Again if you did not meet any in the Central European countries you've been before, then no reason to think that Poland is somewhat worse than those countries (especially comparing to Slovakia). Of course if you have a bad luck you can come across a thug in every country.
Warsaw, Cracow, Tricity, Wrocław are all cities which have a lot of foreign visitors, especially the first two.
Samsungkorea: There are not too much nazis or skinheads in Poland, you may meet them drunk in some dark gates but I think that you won't be visiting such places. It's stereotype that Polish are intolerant. If you're ok, then they're ok for you. Simple. Well, I don't think that being mistaken with vietnamese or chinese changes anything. I have to agree with a.k that Polish are no more racist than Slovaks or any other Central-Europe nation. Hope that you'll meet really cool people in Poland, like I did. Peace.
I have been in Poland for nearly 3 weeks and I am still ok :) with no problems so far. i believe if something happens, it's just bad luck. wrong place wrong time, as they say
I have visited Poland on three occasions, Kraków and Gdańsk, and surrounding areas, to include national parks. I travelled alone, as I do most of the time; however, I have friends in Poland, whom I met during all of my visits. Being a black female, I was a little apprehensive approaching my first visit in 2009. I now look back at my apprehension with a lot of humour. Considering that I love to travel, and I consider myself to be fairly travel savvy, I am a little embarrassed to say the least. I had many fantastic experiences in Poland; in fact, I can say that Poland has left her indelible mark on me. I experienced the normal stares, but nothing excessive. I was even called ‘Murzynka’ by a little kid in Zakopane…….I just laughed a lot and so did he! Ten out of ten for observation, bright kid! lol
I cannot see you having any problems personally; however, just as anywhere that you go, you will need to demonstrate a certain level of common sense. I would say, not going to obscure places late at night alone, and I guess you know the rest.
Finally, it is fair to say that you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is out of your control. Aside from this obvious statement, I am sure that you will find Poland interesting, enjoyable, and warm-hearted.
Some people really do talk rubbish!!! I've lived in Poland for more than three years without any mishap. Yes there are homeless people wandering around, drunks being loud at night and teenagers being teenagers, just as in almost every other country in the world.
I have also met some of the kindest and most helpful people, ever in my life! We had a girl came from New Zealand to work in Wroclaw for a few months. She had a fantastic time here and met people she has stayed in contact with. The real problem she had was on a trip to Berlin, where her bag was stolen along with all her money and documentation (yes I know, stupid idea to carry everything with her).
Someone talked about aggressive driving. I have a Renault Laguna 2.0L sports. The previous owner (Polish) used to use 10 or 11 litres per 100km. I drive around, getting everywhere I need to be, on time, even stopping to let people cross at Zebra crossings! I use 7.5 litres per 100km. Never had an accident either. So don't advise people to drive aggressively, drive sensibly and remain aware of the aggressive drivers around you.
There's a lot to Poland, so don't listen to all the negatives and form the wrong impression!
During Euro 2012 there was many tourists and I've notice one thing - I could't recognize who is outside of Poland and who live here. I have understand that we are living in common Europe, we are only speaking in different language. Of course it is important to not ask for trouble, to pay attention for valet and money, do not thrust everyone. I'm from Poland, I have visited many countries in Europe, ones are more expensive, other have better roads, but in main or popular cites I have never afraid, even at night. So don't afraid to visit Poland - this is not 17'th century Montenegro with Dracula on his castle.
I heard PIS flying saucers are cooping up atheistic foreigners and dumping them in Smolensk. Apart from this Poland is in my view a safe country. I am living here quite a few years and the only thing criminal which happened to me, is that some moron stole 2 wheel covers from my antique Nissan Sunny. I still do not know why :)
It's safe place, but in Krakow they know how to cheat tourists on taxi, exchange, etc. Maybe it's still better then Prague (Czech). Colour of your skin does't play any role in it.
