indy2001

We are planning to spend 12-14 days in Poland. The main purpose would be to visit a friend in Torun, but we would also like to see some other cities while we are there. Based on reading the forums, here are some of the cities we are considering:

Gdansk
Torun
Krakow
Zamosc

If time allows:
Warsaw
Czestochowa

1. Would this be reasonable to squeeze all this in <2 weeks? If not, which cities do you recommend for a first time visit?

2. We will be flying from California. Can you please suggest the best order to visit the cities? We’ll likely use public transportation once there (bus, train).

3. We were also considering visiting Budapest, if it is feasible (we have already been to Prague). Is it worth trying to do on the same trip, or should we just stick with Poland?

Thanks for any suggestions!

iris1745

Hi indy2001; We have not visited all the cities you mention. But you could consider flying into Warsaw, then take the train or bus to Torun. We loved Wroclaw and that could be next, with Krakow to follow. We took the train to Vienna. That was about seven hours. You could take the train or bus or possibly the plane to Budapest. Not sure how many hours, but probably not much more than the seven hours to Vienna. Probably only a few hours, if you could find a flight. Then fly out of Budapest. ENJOY Iris P.S. Czestochowa can be reached by train or tour bus from Krakow on a day trip. Go to inyourpocket.com and you can download many of the cities you are considering

indy2001

Hi Iris, thanks for your suggestions. Wroclaw sounds like it should not be missed. It also seems that Poznan is highly recommended. Here is what I'm thinking now:

Fly into Warsaw
Torun
Poznan
Wroklaw
Krakow (with side trips)
Train back to Warsaw?

How does this sound? It seems that Gdansk would be too far out of the way... just by looking on the map. I think we'll probably skip Budapest too for the same reasons. Thanks again for your help!

nannibray

When we were in Poland we enjoyed 2 days in Zacopane in the mountains where John Paul II skied and hiked. It is a 2 - 3 hour bus ride from Krakow. The mountains were a good contrast to Krakow and Warsaw.
Don't skimp on time in Krakow - see the salt mines and enjoy the castle district and GRAND SQUARE.

nannibray

Why not fly home from Krakow and save having to train back to Warsaw?

indy2001

nannibray: Thanks for your suggestions. Can Zakopane be enjoyed at any time of the year?

It definitely would be easier to fly out of Krakow, but we were just considering the extra cost of open jaw ticket. I guess I should figure out the cost of the train ride and decide. It would definitely be more convenient. Thanks again for your comments.

nannibray

We were in Zakopane in June. The weather was lovely. We stayed 2 nights. Left Krakow bus station at 10:20 and arrived Zakopane at 1:00.(13:00).That afternoon (15:30 - 18:30)we caught a minibus to Kusnice where we took a Gondola ride up the high mountain (snow everywhere - and cold!) Beautiful view of the mountains and valleys with small villages below. The next day we caught a bus to Muske Oko park at 9:45 (took about 50 minutes) where we boarded an large Wagon drawn by a pair of Beautiful horses. The wagon held about 20 people and cost of the trip was about $7.U.S. The wagon trip was UPHILL and took about 55 minutes. MANY Polish people were in the Park and were doing the trip walking!
At the top we had about a 20 minute walk to Muski Oko Lake - absolutely stunning! Beautiful scenery in those Tartra mountains - high snow covered peaks of shear granite! Took the horse wagon down to the entrance where we got a bus back to Zakopane by about 15:00. A PERFECT DAY. Spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Zakopane, its beautiful "Zakopane style architecture and the Parish Church. It was the feast of Corpus Christi and there was a beautiful procession thru the church yard after Mass. This was an evening weekday Mass and we were told they had the procession daily for 7 days in honor of the feast. Very devout people!
Stayed at the Sabala Hotel right on the pedestrian street and ate dinner at the hotel both nights. The next morning we left Zakopane at 9:45 to return to Krakow.

PeterB

Indy: Don't skip Gdansk!!! and spend some time in all 3 of TriCity cities (including Sopot) ... also you may want to fly to Krakow ... skip Poznan - and Wroclaw be too far (although see how much time you have left)... You could also do this - have Warsaw as a "base" city ... so fly to Warsaw - take train to Gdansk (many connections - about 5-6hr trip) ...
see http://www.PKP.pl for schedules ... from Gdansk to Torun - From Torun to Warsaw (3hrs by train - maybe even getting on 6/7am express to Warsaw) at this point maybe spending a night in Warsaw (so that will give you nice full day) ... Very next day again maybe early train to Krakow (about 4-5hrs ride) - Enjoy Krakow and then do some side trips Zakopane, Wieliczka ... again see how much time you got left and then maybe ... maybe Wroclaw OR Budapest (from Krakow/Katowice as well as from Warsaw you have train connections to Budapest (overnight sleeper train included) ...

PeterB

better site for train schedules -> http://rozklad-pkp.pl/bin/query.exe/en?

indy2001

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!

Nannibray, Zakopane sounds absolutely wonderful.

PeterB: Can train tickets be purchased on the day of travel or must we purchase in advance?

GSteed

Hello Indy,
Best advice first..Buy a copy of Fodor's Poland. It is up to date and will answer all your questions. It suggests itineraries based on interests.
Poland is a small country and can be viewed by car, bus or train.
I suggest you select two or three cities, use them as a base and explore the country about them. Settle on a local pub or restaurant, after a meal or two you will meet locals. The four cities you note are different in character and they are quite apace apart.
You can access Poland using Ryanair from Dublin. Check their website.

PeterB

Indy: You can get train tickets on same day within Poland (for international I would book at least day or so in advance), only times that they do get packed is around major holidays and vacations, but then check the schedules to see that between the major cities you do have trains at almost every 1hr or so ... also 1st class is worth the extra spare change. Many of the train stations do get scary at evening and night, so avoid staying around late at the stations (unless you need to get on overnight sleeper).

BTW if you do plan Budapest - Plan for at least 3days - Wroclaw can be done in 1day ... But then there are so many other places around Wroclaw e.g. Castle in Ksiaz, Bolkow a lot of wwII caves, more south table mountains - way too much too list ... that is why I said maybe Wroclaw (why tease your self with just old City - which BTW is nice and definitly worth seeing, but you will get that in Gdansk and Krakow ;-)

Gdansk (triCity) maybe at least 3 days, same would go for Krakow, Warsaw 1-2days be enough in Warsaw see Vialanow, Lazienki, "Old City", Torun if you just visiting sights 1-2day (although I could spend days in this beautifull city) 24km south from Torun also visit Ciechocinek - very nice cute little spa City, with some bargains for food and places to stay...

If you be taking train from Warsaw take it from Central Station ("Dworzec Centralny&quot - there are also 2 other main ones for Warsaw (East and West ("Wschodni", "Zachodni&quot, Central Station is right in the center of Warsaw, and has much better platforms to access trains with luggage.

When buying ticket as for Platform# ("Peron&quot and Track# ("Tor&quot ... where most station with just have Platform# Centralny has both ... search some of my older posts for more words in Polish which maybe helpful - also many of the younger generation speak english so you can always ask others if they do, and then to assist...

in Gdansk - Gdansk Main Station - ("Gdansk Glowny&quot is walking distance from Old City - right across from Gdansk Glowny there is a Holiday Inn Hotel and about 10min behind the hotel Old City would start - another 10min and you be in Old Square...

In Torun - main station ("Torun Glowny&quot is couple of miles outside of the city, and taxi be your best bet - just have the exact address ready on piece of paper to show to driver which are lined up to the right of the main entrance to the station ...

Krakow I've always visited by rental car so can't help you there (only with were to park ;-)

PeterB

Some of my previous comments which you may also find helpful

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35113951
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34994765
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35102376
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34984280
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34850264
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34797622
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34762783

EsmJ25

Gdansk is great. Rather than a lot of city hopping, you may want to relax for a couple days and go to one of the lakes in the north. There is a lake district east of Gdansk. I haven't been there, but someone I know who lives in Warsaw and travels all over Poland frequently says that it is his favorite place to vacation in Poland.

There is also a lovely area west/soutwest of Gdansk, Kociuba (may not be the right spelling). The people from that area have their own language. There is a great hotel on a beautiful lake that is very inexpensive and the food is fantastic! The owner's children all speak English. If you don't want to drive, they will pick you up in Gdansk. If you're interested I can get the email address.

On the southern end the area around Zakopane is beautiful. There are river cruises from the national park on the Poland-Slovakia border. An absolutely gorgeous two hour ride. very gentle, not white water

You will love Torun.

A word of caution. They are changing, but the road system is not like the US or Western Europe. It will take longer than you think to get some place. Also, because of the history (dviding in 3's, back and forth between Germany, Russia, and other countries) the train routes are not unified and systematic. sometimes it is easier to get to another country quite a distance away than it is to get from one place in Poland to another place in Poland.