First visit to Poland in 20 years - bus/traintravel around the country

I am visiting Poland next month for the first time since I was 12 years old. I am bringing my wife, who has never been to Poland before, and we are hoping to visit several cities, check out some family history, and watch birds!

Since I have no idea what Poland is like nowadays, I'm looking for opinions on bus and train travel around the country, on the quality and price of hotels and inns, and on general tourist safety (I know that theft used to be a big problem). I am able to converse in Polish, though my vocabulary is limited, so I'm hoping we're going to have an awesome visit to an awesome country!

Another thing - my wife and I enjoy visiting national parks and similar areas - if anybody has advice about this, especially as it relates to bird watching, I am very much interested. I have already begun contacting Polish birding organizations and asking about visiting and volunteering...

Thanks for your thoughts!

Jason

There's a bird sanctuary on Sobieszewo Island a few kilometers from Gdansk. You can take the112 bus and, I think, the 186. The trip takes 30-40 minutes depending on traffic and costs 3zl if you buy your tickets at a kiosk or 3.60zl if you buy them from the driver.

wildpoland.com/biebrza-marshes-wild-trips
Great place for water birds, as is siemianowka.pl
this reservoir is home to 150 species.
wejmutka.pl
This is a fairly new hotel/nature centre which runs courses on birds and wildlife in Białowieża.

Buses can get very crowded, they are small, frequently have no air conditioning and if youre wife is not used to Polish roads they can also be quite frightening. So i would reccomend trains for long journeys, maybe even a flight from say Krakow to Gdansk - theyre not that expensive.

+1 for the trains (but as far as I know there is no longer a direct flight from Krakow to Gdansk).

Personally I'd suggest using the train for long distances and hiring a car to get round the places where the train doesn't go.

There are trains from Warszawa Wschodnia to Hajnówka, with one change. Time about 3.5 hrs. Bus or taxi 25km to Białowieża. Local guides and transport are available at the tourist information office in Białowieża or at Wejmutka (see my link above). imo the north-east is the best place for birdwatching.

There is, with Eurolot and Lot (?)

Biebrza National Park (wetlands) in NE Poland are known fo a great welath of bird species living ion their natural habitat.

I would recomend Krakow, a very nice place and so much history, the trio cities (gdansk, gdynia, sopot) and know there is a national Park somewhere near Bialystok but i can't remember the name of it. It's part of the largest forest now left in europe, i know part of the forest is in Poland and alot is in neighbouring Belarus, but i don't go much by Bialystok

The Tatra Mountains

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_Mountains

Good choice :-)