Travel to Poland Guide: Practical Information
Poland is a big European country gaining attention from international tourists. It’s good news, as the country has a lot to offer: seaside and beaches, mountains, lakes, forests and beautiful historic cities. But what about any formal or practical things?
It’s not my favourite type of blog post to write and probably also not the most exciting to read for you. However, this generic practical information is crucial for you to have a good and unproblematic trip to Poland. So let’s look at all the information and tips covering currency, time zone, plugins and other information like that.
By the way, I’m Polish living in Poland, so all this is absolutely firsthand information.
When is the best time to visit Poland?
There is no one good reply for this question, as it very much depends on the aim of your trip and the region you are travelling to.
I like late spring and summer the most (and this is also the time when the most amount of tourists arrive), but autumn can also be quite beautiful and colourful. For the winter it depends on the weather. If there is sun and snow, it can be pretty, too. Although most often it’s quite gloomy and unpleasant.
Regardless of these conditions, the Christmas markets time is a good time to visit Polish cities.
For the best answer for this question, it’s good to check details for the region you actually plan to visit, as it really varies.
As if you are looking at mountains, winter can be a great (the best) option. If you are looking at the seaside, check out details on when it’s best to visit Gdańsk in this blog post.
Is Poland safe to visit?
I know such questions appear, and I totally get it. Sometimes you may have a picture of a poor grey eastern country from the past. But the answer is simple: yes, it’s safe.
Poland is an EU, stable country with not a perfect but good economy, and it’s visible on the streets. Of course, you need to be cautious as everywhere else, for example in crowds, but I would say in some aspects it’s safer than in some other Western countries.
Poland is usually high in different safety rankings, for example when it comes to ‘phone snatching’ etc.
I know such a question appears as well because of geography and political situation. Well, we are aware of it and have it on the back of our heads, but at the moment there is no panic or huge preparation for a war crisis bigger than everywhere else in Europe. We live totally normally, and you will not feel anything unusual during your visit.
Summing up, yes, Poland is relatively safe, so it shouldn’t stop you from the visit. I think you may even get positively surprised a bit:).
Is Poland expensive?
It’s a tough question, honestly. It depends on the region (Warsaw or Gdańsk are more expensive than some other places). It depends also on which places you compare it to. Generally we say that yes, it’s not cheap anymore. But there are still things which will be cheaper than in some other countries, for example, eating out.
Anyway, if you are coming, for example, from the UK, the US or Scandinavian countries, it will not be expensive for you.
Formalities
Is Poland in the EU?
Yes, Poland is in the European Union; it’s also in Schengen.
The country joined the EU in 2004, Schengen in 2007, and NATO in 1999.
It means that all visa or passport controls apply the same as in all Schengen. If you are arriving from the UK, you will need to have your passport.
Currency
Even if Poland is in the EU, it still uses its own currency and not the euro. The local currency in Poland is the złoty (PLN).
It of course depends on the exchange rate, but you can more or less calculate that 1 GBP is around 5 zł, and 1 EUR around 4.4 zł.
It’s always good to have a bit of cash, but generally speaking, card payment is widespread in Poland.
Timezone
The timezone is CET, the same as the time in Paris, Berlin or Amsterdam.
So it’s ‘one hour later’ than in London.
As (almost) everywhere in Europe there is a time change at the end of October and March.
Voltage and plug socket type
Looking at previous information, you can probably imagine it’s similar when it comes to plug socket type. Poland uses a similar type as other countries in Europe, type ‘E’, sometimes called ‘French style’. It’s compatible with sockets C and F.
So if you are coming from other European countries, you are good.
If you are coming from the UK, you will need a plug adapter. If you are coming from the US, you will need a plug adapter and voltage converter.
The standard voltage in Poland is 230 V.
Language
The language spoken in Poland is Polish.
It’s a Slavic language, generally not too easy, and it might be quite tough for you to pronounce many names, especially because of the big number of consonants in one word and a few ‘strange letters’ like ‘ą’ or ‘ę’.
Don’t worry, Polish people are aware of it. If you want to be polite, you can learn to say:
Dzień dobry-Good morning/Good afternoon
Dziękuję-Thank you
And it will be enough:)
You will not have issues communicating in English in most of the places, especially these more touristic ones.
Poland’ Capital and Flying to Poland
The capital of Poland is Warsaw, which is also the biggest city in the country. It’s situated ‘more or less’ in the middle.
It’s an interesting city, modern and at the same time full of history, worth visiting. Warsaw also has the biggest airport in Poland.
However, it’s also worth looking at other cities. For sure you have heard about the beauty of Kraków, but also Wrocław, Gdańsk or Poznań. And not only cities, as other regions and nature are also the places to go, like Tatra Mountains, Mazury Lakes or sandy Baltic Sea beaches.
Anyway, Warsaw has the biggest amount of connections, but there are many more regional airports which may be your destination, especially if you fly from Europe.
Here you will read more about main airports in Poland.
I think this is the most important practical and formal information that is needed to get to know before organising your trip.
Let me know if there is anything else that might be useful for you on this topic.
Here you will find other tips on travelling to Poland. Here are details regarding different regions and cities.
