From Wroclaw to Warsaw - is traveling long distances expensive in Poland?

Hi everyone, my name is Carlos and I'm 22 years old. Next year in February I'm going to visit Poland on my own. I don't have a driving license so I can't rent a car there. I've read that the towns are linked by long distance bus companies like PolskiBus and that you can reach most small towns in Poland by bus. I'd arrive in Wroclaw's airport, where I would be visiting some friends. From there I'd like to go to the Bialowieza National Park, and then finally go back to Warsaw's airport to return home. Is traveling long distances like this by bus very expensive in Poland?

Any additional information that you think I should be aware of is very appreciated. Thanks a lot for your help!

It depends on where you are from, but as for the European standards, travelling in Poland is cheap.

I can also recommend trains, especially for long-distance travelling.

In case of trains and some buses (like PolskiBus), you can save some more money by buying the ticket possibly early.

From Wrocław to the Białowieża Forest, you will, most probably, go through Warsaw.

The public transport is really well developed in Poland, although the timetables of buses on some local routes might be not accessible online.

Remember that there is always a big change in the trains timetable every December, and then there are smaller changes every few months. The bus timetables do not change so frequently.

Hi there kpc21! Thank you so much for your great answer. How could I buy the bus/train ticket beforehand? Can I do it online? Is traveling by train much faster than by PolskiBus?

Also, do you happen to know if it's possible to enter the Białowieża Forest by foot and by yourself?

The train ticket you can buy online at the website intercity.pl

It is possible not earlier than a month before departure.

The problem is that it's possible to buy there only a ticket for a single train, not for a whole route with changing trains, which normally is cheaper, but still, if you buy two separate tickets online beforehand, it will be probably cheaper than a single ticket just before the departure.

For the local trains in the most of the country, the website is: biletyregionalne.pl - although in some areas they are operated by other companies, and then it's usually not possible to buy them online. But for the local trains, there is no price difference in time.

Whether it is much faster, it depends on the route. It's definitely more comfortable. Maybe except the rush time, when the trains can be crowded. It's better to travel in the middle of a week than on weekends, especially in February, when the trains might be full of school students who have just begun their winter holidays or their holidays are just about to end (they last two weeks, each week in February some regions of Poland end them and some begin). Then it might be better to take a bus. Buses usually don't take more people than the number of seats, trains do it. Even though they inform passengers about it, there is often a lot of people who risk travelling by train without a seat and the result is the train corridor full of people. This is, of course, only in special cases. Normally, the trains are much more comfortable. And the exception are EIP (Express Intercity Premium) trains, which take people only on seats.

For PolskiBus you can buy tickets on their website. For some buses they are available at e-podroznik.pl or at the website of the specific company - but in case of buses, it's often only possible to buy a ticket at the station (not always) and from the driver.

About entering Białowieża Forest on foot by yourself, I don't know, but I think it should be possible without any problem. There might be an entry fee of something like a few PLN, it's sometimes so in national parks.

Remember that February is the middle of winter in Poland. It will be cold, and, most probably, snowy. It shouldn't cause any transportation problems (there is usually a lot of problems just after the first big snowfall during the specific winter, but it is usually in December, sometimes at the end of November or at the beginning of January, and afterwards everything becomes good and the problems "magically" disappear), but still in case of a big snowfall, there might be some delays of the trains and buses. Take it into account when you are going to change between means of transport. When you are going to change between trains, when your train has a delay and you tell the conductor about it, they will either keep the train you want to change to at the station, or change your ticket to a later train. But when you are going to change from a train to a bus, from a bus to a train or between buses, it's not possible to do much with it.

Thanks so much again, for all the helpful information and providing me the websites! I'm glad I asked, I never would've considered all of this.

So if I understood you correctly, I have to buy the ticket for each train or between the major cities? For example, I would have to buy tickets for these itineraries: Wrocław-£ódź, £ódź-Warszawa, Warszawa-Białystok, and finally Białystok-Białowieża Forest. Am I right?

On a different note, what would be the best way to get to the Białowieża Forest from Białystok (or another city nearby reached by PolskiBus or trains)? Because I can't seem to find any means of transportation for that last bit.

I don't really know much about the Białowieża Forest, I have never been there. But the town from which it has its name is Białowieża. There is no train to Białowieża, trains go to a bigger town nearby - Hajnówka.

There is a direct bus from Warsaw to Białowieża, but as far as I can see, it is only once a day:

There are more direct connections from Białystok to Białowieża, you can find them at E-Podróżnik.

There are direct trains and buses from Wrocław to Warsaw, you don't have to change in £ódź. Some of them don't even go through £ódź. Maybe there will be a direct train from Wrocław to Białystok in February? You have to check it too.

There is also a lowcost plane from Wrocław to Warsaw, operated by Ryanair company. It goes to the Modlin airport nearby Warsaw, so it will be not necessarily convenient, but you should check it too. Sometimes it is possible to get a really cheap ticket (although you cannot take a big luggage, only a hand luggage is allowed for this price). There is a direct bus from the Modlin airport to Białystok:

plusbus.pl/r_modlin_new.php?ln=PL

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There will be a direct train from Wrocław to Białystok from December. It is not yet present at the PKP-Intercity webpage, but there will be such a train after the December timetable change, three times for a day.

Merged: Internal transfer from Warsaw to Wroclaw

Hey Guys, I'm moving Next month from warsaw to the other branch of our company in Wroclaw, I Would like to ask what is the cheapest way to travel to there with my language and boxes and how much it would cost me if i rent a car with a driver to there.Thanks