10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO POLAND

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With this list of Tips for traveling to Poland We want to help you prepare and organize your trip to one of the most beautiful countries and unknown of the European Union.
Known on many occasions by Krakow, one of the most impressive cities in the world, Poland has many more incredible places, such as the city of Warsaw, Wroclaw, Poznan, Zakopane or Gdansk, among many others, which we are sure will be part of a route Unforgettable for the country.

Based on the experience of our trip to Krakow in addition to the route through the country, we want to leave you the ones that are for us, the 10 essential tips for traveling to Poland. We start!

1. What is the best time?

As we always say with most destinations, the best time for a trip to Poland It depends a lot on the activities you want to do and, above all, what you are looking for in the country. Despite this and in a general way, we do believe that the weather is a very important factor, so we leave you the times we believe, are better to visit the country.

High season (from May to September): these months are the most frequented by tourists especially in the city of Krakow and the most tourist places in the country.
Mid season (March, April and October): good weather is usually present and except for Easter days, the most tourist places are usually much less crowded.
Low season (from November to February): it is the least recommended time of the year to travel to Poland since the weather is usually much colder and rainy, except for Christmas dates, during which many travelers come to the country to enjoy the markets .

Remember that if your trip is during the high season or during holidays, it is highly recommended to book in advance both accommodation and transportation and flights.

2. Entry requirements

If you are Spanish or a citizen of the European Union you will only need the ID or passport to travel to Poland. If you have another nationality, it is important to consult the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Embassy for updated information on the entry requirements.

In addition to the documentation mentioned above, it is important to bring the European Health Card to make a trip to Poland, since with it you can receive medical assistance if necessary. It is also important to consider the option of hiring better travel insurance for Europe if you want to have medical assistance in the best hospitals in addition to having repatriation included if necessary.

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. Security

At general levels we can say that traveling to Poland is totally safe. Despite this, it is important to travel with common sense, both in this and in other destinations and try not to leave valuables without supervision or get informed about unsafe places if you are in a city you do not know.

In addition to this, if you are traveling to Poland or to any destination in the world, it is advisable to take a copy of your important personal documentation in the cloud, such as your ID, Passport, travel insurance policy or driver's license. In this way, in case of loss or theft, it will be much easier and faster to perform any type of procedure.

Recommendations for traveling to Poland

4. Money exchange

Do not forget that although Poland belongs to the European Union (EU) it does not have the euro as its currency, its currency being złoty (PLN) with a current conversion of 1 euro = 4.37 zloty.

With this in mind and although in cities like Krakow, in some businesses they accept euros, it is important to be clear that you will need to have local currency to travel to Poland.
For this and although there is a popular belief that it is best to change at exchange agencies, at the airport or even at the bank of the country of origin, after many trips, we recommend paying as much as possible with a card and take out directly from the ATM in order to have the best change and save the abusive commissions of banks and agencies.

For this reason we always recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

Remember that it is also necessary to carry cash to make payments in shops that do not accept cards or for tips and in shops where you do not see much security, it is always preferable to pay with cash.

Poznan

5. How to start the trip to Poland?

The first and most important thing is to be clear if your trip is going to be a getaway, during which you can visit one of its best known cities like Krakow, Warsaw or Poznan or you have more days to make a trip trip to Poland Longer, touring its most tourist places.
Whatever the case, the first thing is to look for the flight that takes you to the country, Krakow being the most common gateway. In order to find the best options, we recommend using this flight search engine with which you can see the best flights at the best prices.
Once you have this point solved, the following at travel to Poland It is to look for accommodation, especially in the most tourist places and if you are going to make a trip to Poland in high season. For this we advise you to use this hotel search engine, where you can see the best options.
The next point and if you are going to make a route is to perform a search to find the best option to rent a car, with this rental car search engine that we use to rent a car on our trips.

And last but not least, it is very important to inform you in advance about the tours and excursions you want to do, especially the most demanded, to check the available times and places.
You can check and book here the best tours and excursions in Poland.

6. Route through Poland

If you have between 10 and 15 days, it is highly recommended to make a route through Poland to know some of the places to see in Poland essential.
Given that your flight probably lands in Krakow, we recommend you spend at least 4 days in the city to get to know it, making a route through Krakow in one day, which will take you to the most important places in the city, for another day follow the list of places to see in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow and the remaining two days visit Auschwitz from Krakow and Visit the Salt Mines from Krakow.
Remember that although these visits can be done for free, it is highly recommended to perform them in an organized way, to facilitate the issue of transport and tickets, as well as to get to know the places with a guide in Spanish. For this we recommend you book this Excursion to Auschwitz-Birkenau, this Excursion to the Wieliczka Salt Mines or this Offer that includes Auschwitz and the Salt Mines in one day.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Once you've known the city, the route by car through Poland, touring part of the Malopolska region, in the south of the country, where 6 churches of the Middle Ages are located, Debno, Binarowa, Blizne, Haczów, Lipnica Murowana and Sekowa, declared World Heritage, which combine Catholic architecture with the Eastern Orthodox and the city of Zakopane at the foot of the Tatra Mountains.
If you do not have a car, you can reach Zakopane by bus from Krakow Central Station in just over two hours or book this guided tour in Spanish.

The next stop will be the city of Wroclaw, known as the city of elves and "Venice of the East", since it has 12 islands and 130 bridges that make it a perfect city to relax and enjoy dreamlike landscapes.
If you want to learn more about the history of the city, you can book one of these free tours or guided tours in Spanish.

The next point of the route will take you to Poznan, another of the most visited cities in Poland, with more than 1000 years of history where you can enjoy incredible medieval buildings and a historic center in which it will appear that you have gone back in time and where we recommend you book this free tour of Poznan Free! With guide in Spanish.

On the way to the north of the country, on this itinerary to travel to PolandWe recommend you stop at the medieval castle of Malbork, an impressive Gothic fortress, which is considered the largest in Europe and looks at its best since 2013, after a reconstruction.

The penultimate stop of the route is Gdansk, a town located on the Baltic shore that is known for hosting the largest port in the country and for being one of the most beautiful cities in Poland, with a historic center that we are sure, will leave you without words.

From here the travel through Poland It will take you to Warsaw, the largest city and capital of the country, which after being destroyed during World War II and undergoing a great change, is now a modern city, full of life.
If you want to know the city in depth, we recommend you book one of these free tours or guided tours in Spanish.

7. Krakow

As we initially mentioned, there are many travelers who at travel to Poland They do it with the aim of getting to know Krakow, one of the most incredible cities not only in the country, but in Europe and we would dare to say, in the world.
Whenever you can, we recommend you dedicate a minimum of 2 full days to the city to know the essential places to visit in Krakow and enjoy all the things to do in Krakow most recommended.

In addition to these lists, we recommend you to tour the city following these personalized guides for days:

And if you want to get to know the city to the fullest, at the hands of a guide in Spanish, book this Free tour of Krakow Free !, considered one of the best free tours in Krakow, this guided tour of Krakow or this Factory guided tour from Schindler.

Krakow Old Town

In addition to these, from Krakow there are some getaways that you can not miss and that are among those that are considered the best excursions and tours in Krakow, among which are:

You can find much more information about the city in the post tips for traveling to Krakow essential.

8. Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp

Although we cannot say that the visit to the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau is an easy visit, far from it, we believe it is an essential visit when traveling to Poland, to understand and above all to become aware of the terrible barbarities that occurred at that time.
Known as the place where more than one million innocent people were murdered, between 1940 and 1945, on grounds of race, religion or politicians, Auschwitz-Birkenau was opened to the public in 1979 to remind all victims of the barbarism and show the truth of what the Nazi regime did.

Although it is perfectly feasible to visit Auschwitz from Krakow by rental car or taking a bus, after our experience, we recommend you to opt for the organized option since although the visit to the concentration camp is free before 10am and after 4pm, Between these two hours it is mandatory to make the guided tour.

Keep in mind that in high season or on weekends it is very important to book in advance. You have the following options to do it in an organized way:

For more information you can consult this post on how to go from Krakow to Auschwitz.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau

9. Wieliczka Salt Mines

Another of the most visited places from Krakow are the Wieliczka Salt Mines, which have been a World Heritage Site since 1978 and are considered the oldest mines in Europe.
Something to keep in mind is that the visit takes place 300 meters underground, where there is an incredible network of tunnels and galleries, which you can visit in a guided way (you can not make the visit for free) and if you have claustrophobia, Despite not being small spaces, it can be somewhat overwhelming.

In addition to the history that the guide will explain to you, among the most prominent places is the Chapel of St. Kinga, an impressive room completely decorated in salt, which will not leave you indifferent.

Although you can make the trip to the Salt Mines from Krakow by free, taking the local bus 304 at the Krakowska Gallery stop, after our experience and if you want to save time and go more comfortable, the most practical is to take the organized option .

Keep in mind that in high season or on weekends it is very important to book in advance. You have the following options to do it in an organized way:

Wieliczka salt mines

10. Polish gastronomy

Although we understand that it is impossible to summarize in a few lines everything that includes and means gastronomy for this country, in this post about Tips for traveling to Poland Yes, we want to leave you with a selection of some of its most famous and iconic dishes so you can try them and enjoy a much more complete trip.

Pierogi: This is probably Poland's best known dish. They are a kind of small dumplings, with different fillings, which are boiled. In a way they reminded us of gyozas and momos.
Zapiekanka: we could compare it to our sandwich since it is a baguette type pair to which any ingredient you can imagine is added.
Pyzy: if you like potatoes, this is your dish. They are a kind of potato fritters stuffed with onion and bacon.
Goulash: stew of meat, potatoes and vegetables.
Kielbasa: sausages to which potatoes or vegetables are added as garnish.
Borsch: beet soup.

Pierogi in Przystanek Pierogarnia

More tips for traveling to Poland

Other of the best tips for traveling to Poland They are:

The official language of Poland is Polish although in most tourist places they speak perfect English, so you will not have problems with the language.
If you are going to make a route by car through the country it is highly recommended to bring a GPS or a mobile application that is GPS, either online or oflline.
Although we believe that the rental car is the best way to travel some of the points we have highlighted above, if you want to know only the most important cities in the country, you can move perfectly by train or bus. You can see all the options and make reservations from here.
In Poland the common voltage is 230V, the frequency 50Hz and the plugs are of type E.

Do you want to organize a trip to Poland?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Poland here
The best hotels at the best prices in Poland: here
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in Poland in Spanish here
Book your transfer Airport⇆ Krakow here and Airport⇆ Warsaw here
Rent your car in Poland at the best price here