We are in the planning stages of a trip to Poland - my husband's first return in 23 years. He is obviously fluent in the language - does it make sense to rent a car vs. booking a tour? We figure we will spend 10-14 days, hit some of the major tourist spots as well as his old homestead - that is a lot of area to cover. Any suggestions?

Well, I don't speak a word of Polish and I never even considered a tour. We did it by train, although we only did three main stops -- Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk. If I were fluent in Polish I certainly wouldn't consider a tour. I think it's up to you if you want a car or take trains, though.

I know that you often can't take rental cars into Poland as they have some major car theft problems there. But assuming you would be renting IN Poland that's another matter. I was shocked at how many big wheel locks I saw clamped onto cars like they use in big US cities so that cars can't be moved. When I asked at our hotel why the police had done that to so many cars, we found out that most people have those devices to protect their cars from being stolen, and some hotels even provide them for their guests so their cars won't be stolen. Made me sort of glad we were traveling by train, not car.

We went to Poland a year and a half ago. We did some tours, like Auchwitz and the salt mines outside Krakow. Driving seemed pretty easy and English was widely spoken in the cities. I like travelling independently and hooking up with tours as needed. That works anywhere.

I found no difficulty taking a car into, nor driving in Poland (May 2003), having learned (embarrassed to admit) less than a thimbleful of Polish.

We originally had no luck with AutoEurope and had secured a rental (originating in Vienna) through www.affordablepoland.com - - this seems to be a nice company and offers some good pricing on flights and other travel needs and you might want to take your business to them (and they;re by no means limited only to Poland but many destinations in Europe) - - but ultimately AutoEurope gave us better pricing, and greater flexibility (return in Graz).

Where in Poland? You might enjoy browsing through a LOT of info posted (mostly by others, not so much by me) on http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34435973

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks so much for your responses - I think we will look into the train option as well. We had heard there was a fair amount of "lawlessness" once you got out of the main cities and that rental cars, and the people driving them were frequently targeted. I suppose, like anywhere else, you just need to used your head when travelling abroad.

Patrick those "big wheel locks" are not private locks - someone lied to you - since tow trucks are not so common in Poland - in large cities they will lock you car like that when meter expires ... As for hotels and people concerned about their cars they park off street in very common guarded parking lots where prices for those can be very low.

When I'm in Poland I rent a car everytime - and if your husband is returning after 23 years - you definitly should since best is really off major tourist paths... Exception where I found a car to be a pain was Krakow and Warsaw, where in city public transportation and taxies are really way to go and way cheaper...

I rent from http://www.lrc.com.pl/ and been happy with those guys but there is a ton of rental companies if you just search Polish web http://katalog.onet.pl/3662,kategoria.html

Also by car you will cover more area quicker where train / bus are on schedule...

When renting make sure you ask for maps (Poland and Warsaw) Rental companies will provide latest maps where new roads are being build every year.

Also if you give some town names and when you going it would give better understanding of area you want to cover ...

One more thing to mention ... your husband is a dual citizen - in Poland he be considered Polish citizen ONLY - also he will need SECOND passport (Polish Passport) since he is considered by Poland Polish citizen ONLY he will need Polish passport in order to leave Poland - also any of his kids (even born outside of Poland) are considered Polish citizens so same deal ... crazy yes - for more info check with Polish Embassy...

also have you husband check those sites:

http://www.dziennik.com/www/dziennik.../obywatel.html

http://www.compmore.net/~czeslaw/wizy/

http://www.poloniamichigan.com/paszp...m_20020427.htm

http://www.polskiinternet.com/polski...paszport-4.htm

http://www.salonniezaleznych.org/for...opic.php?t=301

Again great help - I never thought of the dual citizenship angle. He was born near Lomza in a village, more like a hamlet. He is aware that much of it has changed since he left - his parents were back several times, but he never had the opportunity, being in school, then married with young children. I am also of Polish heritage - grandparents arrived from Bialystok -so we are really looking forward to this trip!

We would probably look to visit Zakopane, Czestochowa, and Krakow, minimally. Since we are finally getting to go, it would be a shame to miss some of the places that played such a role in Polish history.

Thanks for the websites as well - I am going to research the heck out of this trip so we can truly enjoy ourselves!

Looks like renting a car be your best option... Lomza / Bialystok area also has fe things to offer ...

http://www.pilot.pl/big_pilot.php3?z...o=&lang=pl

Couple of National Parks (ie. Puszcza Bialowieska with its "Zubry&quot also Bit North you have a Lake region which in summer gets really packed ... To your list I would also add Gdansk and Torun ... Maybe driving to Gdansk thru a Lake region then from Gdansk south thru Gniew, Malbork, Golub-Dobrzyn to Torun maybe staying a Night in Ciechocinek (spa city 24km south from Torun)... Another way is from Bialystok to go south and visit Lancut and area ... then west to Pienininy and Zakopane...
http://www.pilot.pl/big_pilot.php3?z...lrzedne=?113,9

also some good info can be found here
http://www.orbis-usa.com

btw if you do decide trains ... which are fairly cheap and overnights sleepers can be a nice option - you can find schedules and some info here -> http://www.pkp.pl