Hello, fellow travelers! We will be traveling to Poland by car for 8 days at the end of july and first week in august. Our end goal is Gdansk. We are from Slovakia and live close to High Tatras so we have already visited almost everything in the south - Zakopane, Niedzica, Katowice, Krakow, Wieliczka, Auschwitz and some of them multiple times over the years.
Around Gdansk we plan to visit:
- Gdansk / Gdynia / Sopot
- Malbork
- Hel peninsula
- Slowinski national park
and other places that will catch our eye
We would like to spend at least 3-4 nights in the area. Rest of the time will be spent "traveling", since we like to split longer road trips by approximately half. We want to avoid Warszaw, because we going there to a concert next year.
So on our way there, we have been thinking about stopping in Bialowieza forest which is about 4 and half hour away and then move to Masurian Lake District - going trough Mikolajki and/or Gizycko - since we want to spent a bit more time in nature.
Both places are mentioned a lot in ton of places. But we have some doubts about both of them.
Bialowieza forest - when I was looking at some trails there, reviews were a bit mixed and there is also the close proximity to border with Belarus. So the question would be - is it worth it?
Masurian Lake District - we are not really into kayaking / canoeing and boat trips in general due to my weak ass stomach and I also cant swim. It also looks a bit too touristy from what I have heard about Mikolajki for example. Are there any interesting hikes / views / wild parks / zoos (we love zoos) / etc.? Except Wolf’s Lair.
There is also the posibility of going trough the middle and start in Ojcow for a little hike and then push to Gdansk or stop in some interesting places along the way...
I would like to also add that nothing is currently set in stone and we are very flexible in the order.
Thanks in advance for any tips/suggestions!