Poland Travel Guide: Everything to Plan Your Trip

A Poland vacation fits into 7 days: 3 days in Kraków with a day at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial or the Wieliczka Salt Mine, 2 days in Warsaw, and 2 days in Gdańsk on the Baltic coast or in Wrocław. A Poland vacation also costs less than a trip to Germany or Austria, because Poland uses the złoty (PLN) rather than the euro and meals, trains and hotel rooms cost less than in Western Europe. May, June and September give warm days without the July and August crowds, and December is Christmas-market season.

Poland is a country of about 37.3 million people in Central Europe, between Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave and the Baltic Sea. Poland is a member of the European Union, the Schengen Area and NATO, has 16 provinces called voivodeships, and holds 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This guide is written by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team for independent travellers, and it covers timing, trip length, entry rules, transport, costs, money, lodging, food, festivals, etiquette, the 16 provinces and safety. Founder Sofie Couwenbergh’s first-hand notes come from her guided day trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial from Kraków.

Poland quick facts

The Poland quick facts below cover the capital, population, language, currency, government, size, time zone, plugs, EU and Schengen status, driving, tap water and the emergency number.

The table stops at the practical facts. Trivia such as Malbork, the largest castle in the world by land area, sits in our 24 facts about Poland post.

Poland guides on Wonderful Wanderings

The Poland guides on Wonderful Wanderings go deeper than this hub on the cities, Auschwitz, car rental, prices, festivals, holidays, food, castles and beaches. The 18 guides are listed below, most useful first.

1. Things to do in Kraków: 19 sights, from the Rynek Główny to Schindler’s Factory.
2. Things to do in Warsaw: 19 sights, including the POLIN Museum and the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
3. Things to do in Gdańsk: 20 sights in the Baltic port city.
4. Auschwitz tour from Kraków review: Sofie’s first-hand account of a guided day trip, with the bus, train and tour options.
5. 17 destinations in Poland: the cities and towns to visit, season by season.
6. Renting a car in Poland: 34 tips on licences, deposits, tolls and insurance.
7. Driving in Poland: speed limits, road rules and etiquette.
8. Transportation guide to Poland: trains, buses, taxis, ferries and airports compared.
9. Prices in Poland: hotel, restaurant, transport and grocery costs.
10. Festivals in Poland: 22 festivals with dates and venues.
11. Public holidays in Poland: the public-holiday and school-holiday dates by year.
12. Traditional Polish food: 25 dishes and where to eat them in Warsaw.
13. Castles in Poland: 18 castles, Malbork first.
14. Beaches in Poland: 18 Baltic beaches, from Sopot to the Hel Peninsula.
15. Things to do in Gdynia: 17 sights in Gdańsk’s port neighbour.
16. Things to do in Bydgoszcz: 17 sights in Kuyavia-Pomerania’s river city.
17. Facts about Poland: 24 facts about the country.
18. Famous Polish people: 36 Poles, from Marie Curie to Robert Lewandowski.

Older posts sit in the archive. Browse all Poland posts for the full list.

Top things to see and do in Poland

Poland’s headline sights are Kraków’s Wawel Castle and Rynek Główny, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, the Wieliczka Salt Mine, Warsaw’s rebuilt Old Town and POLIN Museum, Gdańsk’s waterfront and European Solidarity Centre, and the wild bison of Białowieża National Park. The 10 places to plan around are listed below, most visited first.

1. Kraków’s Old Town: the Rynek Główny, one of Europe’s largest medieval market squares, the Cloth Hall, St Mary’s Basilica and Wawel Castle and Cathedral.
2. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum: the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp at Oświęcim, about 70 km (43.5 mi) west of Kraków, where at least 1.1 million people, most of them Jews, were murdered. Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau form one memorial; entry is free, but every visitor needs a timed entry pass booked online at visit.auschwitz.org, and the Museum does not recommend visits for children under 14. Sofie went on a guided day trip from Kraków, described in her Auschwitz tour review.
3. The Wieliczka Salt Mine: a UNESCO-listed mine outside Kraków with chapels and chandeliers carved from salt.
4. Warsaw’s Old Town and museums: the Old Town rebuilt after 1945, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and Łazienki Park.
5. Gdańsk: the Long Market and Motława waterfront, amber shops on Mariacka Street, and the European Solidarity Centre at the shipyard where Solidarity began in 1980.
6. Białowieża National Park: the last large fragment of Europe’s primeval lowland forest, home to wild European bison.
7. Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains: Poland’s mountain resort, 2 to 2.5 hours from Kraków by regional train, for hiking and skiing.
8. Wrocław: a city of 12 islands and more than 100 bridges, with a Gothic Market Square and bronze dwarf statues.
9. Malbork Castle: the Teutonic Knights’ brick fortress south of Gdańsk, the largest castle in the world by land area.
10. Toruń: the UNESCO-listed Gothic birthplace of Copernicus and of Polish gingerbread.

Best time to visit Poland

May, June and September are the months to visit Poland, when days are warm, daylight is long and the July and August crowds in Kraków and on the Baltic coast are absent. October adds autumn colour and lower prices, and December suits anyone who wants the Christmas markets in Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk and accepts the cold. Poland’s 4 seasons are described below.

• Spring (March to May): March is cold and grey, April brings blossom and rain, and May is warm enough for terraces and hiking below the snow line.
• Summer (June to August): daytime highs of roughly 17-25°C (63-77°F), with spells over 30°C (86°F) and thunderstorms; the Baltic beaches and Zakopane are at their busiest.
• Autumn (September and October): dry, mild weeks of roughly 5-15°C (41-59°F) with forests turning gold; November is wet and dark.
• Winter (December to February): daytime temperatures around freezing and roughly -5°C (23°F) at night, with ski season in Zakopane from January into April.

How many days in Poland and a sample 7-day route

Plan 7 days for a first Poland vacation: 3 in Kraków, 2 in Warsaw and 2 in Gdańsk or Wrocław; a city break of 3 to 4 days works if you stay in Kraków alone, and 10 to 14 days let you add the Tatra Mountains, the Masurian Lakes or Białowieża. The 7-day sample route is listed below.

1. Days 1 to 3, Kraków: the Rynek Główny, Wawel, the Kazimierz Jewish quarter and Schindler’s Factory, then a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau or Wieliczka; our things to do in Kraków guide covers 19 sights.
2. Day 4, travel and Warsaw: the EIP Pendolino covers the 293 km (182.1 mi) from Kraków to Warsaw in about 2 hours 20 minutes, leaving the afternoon for the Old Town.
3. Day 5, Warsaw: the POLIN Museum, the Warsaw Uprising Museum and Łazienki Park; our things to do in Warsaw guide has 19 sights.
4. Days 6 and 7, Gdańsk or Wrocław: Gdańsk is about 340 km (211.3 mi) north of Warsaw and under 3 hours by EIP or EIC train; Wrocław is the alternative for the Market Square and the dwarfs.

With 10 days, add Toruń between Warsaw and Gdańsk, or Zakopane after Kraków.

How to get to Poland

You get to Poland by plane to Warsaw, Kraków or Gdańsk, by train from Berlin, Vienna or Prague, by long-distance bus from most Central European cities, or by ferry from Sweden. The 3 routes in are described below.

Flights to Poland

Flights to Poland land at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the centre, at Kraków John Paul II Airport (KRK), 11 km (6.8 mi) west of Kraków, and at Gdańsk, Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań and Warsaw Modlin, served by LOT, Lufthansa, British Airways and SAS and by Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet. Compare fares on Trip.com for flights to Poland once your dates are fixed.

Trains and buses to Poland

Trains to Poland run direct from Berlin, Vienna and Prague to Warsaw and Kraków, and Poland is covered by Interrail and Eurail passes. For single tickets, compare train timetables and prices within Europe before you fix dates.

Buses to Poland are the cheapest way in from Germany, Czechia, Slovakia and Lithuania. FlixBus runs most international routes, so check FlixBus timetables and rates to Poland for your city. Schengen membership means no routine passport control at those borders, but carry your passport for spot checks.

Ferries to Poland

Ferries to Poland sail from Sweden to Gdańsk, Gdynia and Świnoujście with Polferries, Stena Line, Unity Line and TT-Line; the fastest crossing takes about 6 hours and the longer ones run overnight. Look at ferry routes and prices to Poland for the timetable.

Entry requirements for Poland: visa, Schengen, EES and ETIAS

Poland is in the Schengen Area, so EU and EEA citizens enter with a national ID card, and visa-exempt visitors such as US, UK, Canadian and Australian passport holders get up to 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole Schengen Area, not per country. Your passport must be valid for at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave. The 3 rules that changed recently are listed below.

1. The EU Entry/Exit System (EES) now registers non-EU visitors with fingerprints and a photo at the border instead of a passport stamp; registration is free, the record is valid for 3 years, and the UK Foreign Office advises allowing extra time at the border.
2. The ETIAS travel authorisation for visa-exempt visitors has not started; the EU removed its 2026 launch date and will announce a start date months in advance, so check the official EU Travel Europe site before you fly.
3. Visa rules for other nationalities are set by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which lists the official entry requirements for Poland.

Getting around Poland

You get around Poland by PKP Intercity train between the cities, by coach to towns the trains reach slowly, by tram, bus and metro inside the cities, and by rental car for the mountains, the lakes and Białowieża. The 4 transport options are listed below.

1. Trains: PKP Intercity runs 4 classes, the EIP (Express InterCity Premium) Pendolino between the big cities, the EIC (Express InterCity) on the same corridors 30 to 60 minutes slower, the IC (InterCity) and the budget TLK, while Polregio covers regional routes such as Kraków to Zakopane. EIP tickets include a seat reservation and go on sale about 30 days ahead, when promotional Warsaw-Kraków fares from roughly 49 PLN (about €11, $13, £10) appear against a standard fare of roughly 169 PLN (about €39, $46, £34), so book early on intercity.pl.
2. Coaches: FlixBus and Polish operators link the cities and reach towns such as Zakopane and the Masurian lake resorts; book online for a reserved seat.
3. City transport: Warsaw has 2 metro lines, trams and buses on one time-based ticket, and Kraków, Wrocław, Gdańsk and Poznań run trams and buses; validate paper tickets on board.
4. Rental car: a car makes sense for the Tatra and Bieszczady mountains, the Masurian Lakes and the castle circuit, not for the city centres, where parking is scarce. The rules are driving on the right, headlights on at all times, a 0.2‰ blood-alcohol limit, tolls on some motorway sections, and limits of 50 km/h (31 mph) in built-up areas and 140 km/h (87 mph) on motorways. Rental desks ask for a licence held for at least 1 year, a credit card in the driver’s name and, with non-EU licences, often an International Driving Permit. Our renting a car in Poland guide lists 34 tips before you compare prices on DiscoverCars.

Two more guides cover the road. Our driving in Poland guide covers speed traps, parking and etiquette, and the transportation guide to Poland compares trains, buses, taxis, ferries and airport transfers.

What a trip to Poland costs

Poland costs less than Germany, Austria or Prague for meals, beer, transport and hotels, although prices have risen since 2022. Poland’s costs below are approximate ranges in złoty converted at the European Central Bank rate of 4 September 2026; check a live converter before you go.

A daily budget follows from the table: roughly 120-200 PLN (about €28-46, $32-54, £24-40) on a hostel-and-milk-bar budget, roughly 270-400 PLN (about €63-93, $73-108, £54-80) mid-range, and 600 PLN (about €139, $162, £119) or more with hotels, taxis and guided tours. Our prices in Poland guide breaks down costs city by city.

Money in Poland: złoty, cards and tipping

Poland uses the Polish złoty (PLN, written zł), not the euro, and cards are accepted almost everywhere, from supermarkets and ticket machines to milk bars, so you need only a little cash for markets, small-town shops and tips. Poland’s shops near the German border sometimes accept euros, but at a poor rate. The 4 money habits that save you money are listed below.

1. Withdraw złoty from a bank-branded ATM after you arrive and decline “dynamic currency conversion”, because the machine’s rate is worse than your bank’s.
2. Exchange cash only at a bank or a kantor that displays its rate, never at an airport or street booth.
3. Pay in złoty when a card terminal offers your home currency, because the conversion favours the shop.
4. Tip about 10% in restaurants and round up taxi fares; say the total you want to pay when you hand over cash, because a “thank you” as you pay tells the server to keep the change.

Tipping rules differ for hotels, guides and spas. Our tipping in Poland section covers them.

Where to stay in Poland

Stay in or just outside Kraków’s Old Town or in Kazimierz, in Warsaw’s Śródmieście or Old Town, and on Gdańsk’s Motława waterfront or in Sopot for the beach. Book ahead for July and August on the coast, for Kraków’s Christmas-market weekends and for Zakopane in February and August, because rooms sell out.

Booking sites do the filtering. Sofie books hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs through Booking.com, because its filters turn hundreds of Kraków hotels into a short list that meets her criteria, and she uses Vrbo when an apartment suits the trip better.

What to eat in Poland

Polish food is hearty: dumplings, soups, cabbage, pork, potatoes and cakes, with beer and vodka to drink and the milk bar (bar mleczny) as the cheap, canteen-style place to try it. The 10 dishes to order are listed below, with the Polish name first.

1. Pierogi: boiled or fried dumplings filled with potato and cheese (ruskie), cabbage and mushroom, meat or fruit, topped with sour cream or fried onion.
2. Bigos: the hunter’s stew of sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, mushrooms and mixed meats.
3. Żurek: sour rye soup with sausage and egg, sometimes served in a bread bowl.
4. Rosół: clear chicken broth with noodles, the Sunday soup.
5. Placki ziemniaczane: crisp potato pancakes with sour cream or goulash.
6. Gołąbki: cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and rice in tomato sauce.
7. Zrazy: beef rolls stuffed with bacon, mushrooms, breadcrumbs and pickle.
8. Kotlet schabowy: the breaded pork cutlet with potatoes and mizeria (cucumber salad with sour cream and dill).
9. Szarlotka and sernik: apple cake and quark cheesecake.
10. Kabanosy and drinks: thin, smoky sausages, with Polish lager, Żubrówka bison-grass vodka or a homemade nalewka liqueur.

Milk bars serve most of these for under 30 PLN. Our traditional Polish food guide describes 25 dishes and where to eat them in Warsaw.

What to buy in Poland

Poland’s souvenirs are Bolesławiec pottery, Baltic amber from Gdańsk, Żubrówka vodka, salt from the Wieliczka mine, a Wawel dragon figure and wooden folk carvings. Amber shops line Mariacka Street in Gdańsk, and pottery and carvings fill the Cloth Hall stalls on Kraków’s Rynek Główny.

Festivals and public holidays in Poland

Poland’s festival calendar peaks between May and August, from the Dragon Parade in Kraków to the Pol’and’Rock free festival, and Poland’s 14 public holidays fall on fixed dates apart from Easter, Pentecost Sunday and Corpus Christi. Dates shift each year, so check the current programme before you book around an event.

The table shows the events most visitors plan around. Our festivals in Poland guide lists 22 with dates and venues.

Poland’s 14 public holidays are 1 January (New Year’s Day), 6 January (Epiphany), Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, 1 May (Labour Day), 3 May (Constitution Day), Pentecost Sunday, Corpus Christi, 15 August (Assumption), 1 November (All Saints’ Day), 11 November (Independence Day), 24 December (Christmas Eve, a public holiday since 2025), 25 December and 26 December. In 2026 the movable ones fall on 5 and 6 April, 24 May and 4 June. Shops and offices close on public holidays, and most large shops also close on most Sundays. The exact dates for the current year, and the school holidays, are on our public holidays in Poland page.

Culture and etiquette in Poland: do’s and don’ts

Poles are formal with strangers and warm once introduced: expect a handshake, surnames with “pan” (Mr) or “pani” (Mrs) until you are invited to use first names, and a serious approach to faith and history. The answer to “is Poland friendly to American tourists?” is yes: English is common in the cities, and visitors who learn 3 words of Polish are treated well. The 6 do’s and don’ts that matter are listed below.

1. Greet with “dzień dobry” (good day) and a handshake, and wait to be invited before switching to first names, because the switch marks your entry into someone’s inner circle.
2. Bring flowers in an odd number when you visit a home; even numbers are for funerals.
3. Take your shoes off at the door of a Polish home unless your host says otherwise.
4. Make toasts with vodka, not wine, say “na zdrowie” (to your health) and look people in the eye as you clink.
5. Dress modestly and keep quiet in churches, and treat the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and the other former camps as cemeteries: no selfies, no loud talk, small bags only.
6. Do not joke about the Second World War, the partitions or communism with people you have just met; Poles discuss their history seriously.

A few Polish words help. “Proszę” (“prosheh”) is please, “dziękuję” (“dsyenkooyeh”) is thank you, “przepraszam” (“pshehpraasham”) is sorry, “do widzenia” (“doh vidsenya”) is goodbye, and “proszę o rachunek” (“proshe o rakhooneck”) asks for the bill.

Poland’s 16 provinces (voivodeships)

Poland has 16 provinces (voivodeships), each with its own capital, landscape and headline sight, and a first trip covers 3 of them: Lesser Poland for Kraków, Masovia for Warsaw, and Pomerania for Gdańsk or Lower Silesia for Wrocław. The 16 provinces are listed below, south to north.

Three more posts sort the country by interest. Our 17 destinations in Poland post ranks the cities season by season, the castles in Poland guide picks 18 castles, and the beaches in Poland guide covers 18 stretches of Baltic sand.

Is Poland safe?

Poland is safe for travellers, including solo women: it ranked 22nd of 163 countries in the 2026 Global Peace Index published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, up from 45th the year before, and violent crime against tourists is rare. Poland’s risks are petty ones, and the 3 to watch for are listed below, most common first.

1. Pickpockets on Kraków’s Rynek Główny, at Warsaw Central station and on crowded trams: keep valuables zipped and in front of you.
2. Overcharging in unlicensed taxis and tourist-area exchange booths: book taxis by app or through your hotel, and use a bank ATM.
3. ATM skimming and card-terminal “home currency” conversions: cover the keypad and pay in złoty.

Dial 112 for police, fire or ambulance.

Is it safe to travel to Poland because of the war in Ukraine?

Yes, Poland is safe to visit despite the war in neighbouring Ukraine: the fighting is inside Ukraine, and no government advises against travel to Poland. The UK Foreign Office notes that Russian strikes have hit Ukraine within 20 km (12.4 mi) of the Polish border and that access to the border itself is restricted, so keep away from the Ukrainian and Belarusian border zones unless you are crossing them. Kraków is 230 km (142.9 mi) from the Ukrainian border, and Warsaw, Gdańsk and Wrocław are farther. Check your own government’s advisory before you book and again before you fly.

What to pack for Poland

Pack layers for every season, comfortable shoes for cobbles, a rain jacket and a reusable water bottle, because tap water is safe and a single day can run from a hot city afternoon to a cold mountain evening. The 3 seasonal packing lists follow.

• Summer (June to August): sunglasses, light clothing, sunscreen, a raincoat, comfortable walking or hiking shoes, good walking sandals, a reusable water bottle, and something to cover your shoulders in churches, such as this pashmina.
• Autumn and spring (September to November, March to May): an umbrella, a decent rain jacket, layers, sneakers and the reusable water bottle.
• Winter (December to February): merino base layers, merino socks and merino leggings, a warm, windproof and waterproof long coat, snow boots, good gloves, a hat and a warm scarf.

Poland’s sockets are types C and E at 230 V, so travellers from the UK, the US and Australia need an adapter.

Staying connected in Poland

You stay connected in Poland with your EU SIM, which works at home rates under the EU’s roam-like-at-home rules, or with an eSIM or a portable hotspot if you come from outside the EU. The 3 options are listed below.

1. An EU SIM: no roaming charges for calls, texts or data in Poland; UK plans vary by operator since Brexit, so check yours.
2. An eSIM installed before you land: data from the moment you switch your phone on.
3. A portable hotspot: Sofie carries a portable hotspot and buys day passes outside the EU and as a backup when her phone plan runs low on data. If you would rather not carry a second device, an Airalo eSIM installs on the phone you already have and does the same job.

The code HARRY5578 takes €3 off a first order.

Travel insurance for Poland

Travel insurance for Poland covers what a health card does not: cancelled flights, lost luggage, a stolen phone and repatriation after an accident. EU citizens should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), UK visitors their Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), and everyone else needs a policy with medical cover. Sofie has held ongoing travel insurance since she started travelling; the insurer Wonderful Wanderings uses is SafetyWing, whose SafetyWing Nomad Insurance plans can be bought before you leave or while you are already travelling.

A short history of Poland

Poland’s history runs from the Slavic tribes of the 6th century through a kingdom crowned in 1025, Europe’s largest state in the 16th century, 123 years wiped off the map, the Second World War and 4 decades of communism to EU membership in 2004. The 6 periods that explain what you see are listed below.

1. The Piast kingdom (10th to 14th centuries): Duke Mieszko I adopts Christianity in 966; his son Bolesław the Brave hosts Holy Roman Emperor Otto III at the Congress of Gniezno in 1000 and is crowned the first king of Poland in 1025; the Teutonic Knights, invited in 1226, build Malbork and turn against Poland.
2. The Jagiellonians and the Commonwealth (1385 to 1795): Queen Jadwiga’s marriage to Lithuania’s Grand Duke Jogaila unites the 2 countries, their armies defeat the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald in 1410, the Union of Lublin in 1569 creates the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Europe’s largest state, and the capital moves from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596.
3. The partitions (1772 to 1918): Poland adopts Europe’s first written constitution on 3 May 1791, but Russia, Prussia and Austria divide the weakened state in 1772, 1793 and 1795, and Poland disappears from the map for 123 years.
4. The Second Republic and the war (1918 to 1945): Poland regains independence on 11 November 1918; Germany invades on 1 September 1939 and the Soviet Union on 17 September; about 6 million Polish citizens die in the war, half of them Jews murdered in the Holocaust; Warsaw rises in 1944 and is razed.
5. Communist Poland (1945 to 1989): the Solidarity trade union, born at the Gdańsk shipyard in 1980, forces the partly free elections of June 1989 that end communist rule.
6. The Third Republic (1989 onwards): Poland joins NATO in 1999, the EU in 2004 and the Schengen Area in 2007.

Poland travel FAQ

How many days in Poland is enough?

Plan 7 days in Poland: 3 in Kraków with a day at Auschwitz-Birkenau or Wieliczka, 2 in Warsaw and 2 in Gdańsk or Wrocław; 3 to 4 days cover Kraków alone.

What is the best month to visit Poland?

May, June or September is the month to visit Poland, for warm days, long daylight and thinner crowds than in July and August; choose December for the Christmas markets and January to March for skiing.

Do they use the euro in Poland?

No, Poland uses the Polish złoty (PLN), not the euro; some shops near the German border take euros at a poor rate, and cards are accepted almost everywhere.

Is Poland expensive?

No, Poland is not expensive compared with Western Europe: a main course at an inexpensive restaurant costs roughly 40-50 PLN (about €9-12, $11-13, £8-10) and a mid-range double room roughly 200-400 PLN (about €46-93, $54-108, £40-80) a night.

Do US citizens need a visa for Poland?

No, US citizens do not need a visa for Poland for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen Area; they register in the EU Entry/Exit System at the border, and ETIAS will apply once the EU launches it.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The 5 tips below come from planning trips around Poland and from re-checking its prices, holidays and entry rules for 2026, and each one catches visitors out more often than the language does.

1. Book a free Auschwitz entry pass before you plan the day around it. Admission to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial costs nothing, but every visitor needs a timed pass reserved in advance at visit.auschwitz.org, and turning up without one is not an option. The Museum does not recommend the visit for children under 14, and the site is about 70 km (43.5 mi) west of Kraków, so it takes most of a day either way.
2. Buy intercity train tickets about 30 days out. PKP Intercity releases EIP seats roughly a month ahead, and promotional Warsaw to Kraków fares start around 49 PLN against a standard fare of about 169 PLN. The reservation is included in the EIP fare, so the early ticket is both cheaper and the one with a guaranteed seat.
3. Do not plan a Sunday shopping day. Most large shops close on most Sundays under Poland’s trading law, which catches out anyone expecting a supermarket run before an early Monday start. Restaurants, cafés and small convenience shops stay open.
4. Count 24 December as a public holiday, not a half day. Christmas Eve became a full public holiday in 2025, so Poland now has 14 of them, and shops and offices close. Anyone arriving that week should stock up on the 23rd.
5. Switch the headlights on the moment you pull away, in any weather. Poland requires dipped headlights day and night all year, its blood-alcohol limit is 0.2 per mille rather than 0.5, and rental desks want a licence held for at least a year plus a credit card in the driver’s name. Drivers on a US licence should also carry an International Driving Permit.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from her guided day trip from Kraków to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. The team covers Poland for independent travellers, including the Kraków, Warsaw and Gdańsk hotels, the Auschwitz tours, car rental, packing gear and travel insurance worth booking, and updates this page when prices, dates and rules change.