Political tensions?

I've been to Poland twice in the last 18 months and will probably revisit this spring.

Poland is a NATO country. If attacked, all of NATO would respond. Think World War 3. The risk of this happening is very low.

Go and have a good time. It's a wonderful country.

(To my fellow posters...let's not turn this into a political argument. If we do, the webmaster will shut it down.)

There is a lot of scare mongering on various news sites, including about Britain going on war alert. However, people are still booking holidays irrespective of the doom and gloom. If you are nervous, perhaps book airline tickets, hotels etc which are refundable in the event of cancellation. We are planning on going back to Israel, late next year and will do the same re: refundable bookings, in case the travel advisory changes, to Do Not Travel. Otherwise, go ahead and have a wonderful trip, Zakopane is worth it.

Today, now, as we speak, I think FrankII is correct in that Poland is safe. But that could change. Still, any change to this i believe, but who am I to profess an opinion on the subject, will come with enough warning to change travel plans. FrankII comments on NATO and war I disagree on.

No Poland is not at risk. Within the first 5 years, there will be no attack towards a big NATO country.

Within 2 years, if Russia still feels the need to conquer territory, an attack on a small country like Estonia could be possible, and this under the same guise of protecting a Russian speaking minority.

At that moment we will see if the Americans are willing to send troops to a small country with 1.5 million inhabitants, if they will risk their own lives for a limited Russian invasion? And how will European countries respond? If the Americans refuse to intervene and the Europeans cannot (because they simply lack certain military assets), then Putin has defeated NATO policy by demonstrating the inrelevance of Article 5 (Article 5 states that an attack on one NATO member state is an attack on the entire alliance).

Well, I will stick to my short answer. No one can possibly know, but you will have time to react. Just look at how much time Ukraine had to react. Now, more interesting is what are your plans. You are going to a very interesting area. Are you doing more time in Poland or going into Slovakia or beyond? Details please. Just because its interesting.

When war broke out in the Ukraine the US Embassy evacuated it's citizens in Belarus to Poland and the Baltic states, because they were seen as safe countries.
If wider war breaks out, who says it will be a land war? There is an equal chance it will be a cyber war and/or a war using intercontinental missiles.
To my thinking, London or even any American city are under as much risk as Poland or Finland (and then the rest of Scandinavia). Don't forget the history of Finland as part of the Russian Empire. There would be a plausible reason to invade Finland if it was a land war.
Or, as Russia and the US literally share a border in Alaska, why wouldn't there be an invasion of Alaska by air or land?

I don't see Poland as at any more risk than anywhere else.

Regarding whether or not the US would send troops into Estonia....the US already has troops in Lithuania and Lithuania is between two Russian terrirtories.

How do I know there are US troops in Lithuania? I had a nice chat with a US Army officer--in fatigues--while I was in Lithuania. They were there with other NATO forces for training so they could work together.

The US media, especially, is very good at fearmongering. When I studied journalism in school, the mantra was "if it bleeds, it leads." (TV news.) This was before the internet and 24 hour news networks. And it's only gotten worse.

Frank,
Approximately 600 U.S. troops are still stationed in Lithuania (was 1.000 at the beginning of this year), primarily with modern equipment such as M1 Abrams tanks.
Four U.S. soldiers were killed in March after their vehicle sank into a swamp during an exercise at the Pabradė training area.

Under the current Defense bill, a minimum of 76,000 US troops must be deployed to Europe. Only an act of Congress can change that.

Usually it's between 80,000 and 100,000. After Russia invaded Ukraine, 20,000 US soldiers were deployed to Poland and Romania. Getmany still has the most.

However, the US military will never give out exact numbers.

In the mean time I think people are fairly safe visiting Poland for the near future.

We were just in Poland in August and September along with the Baltic states. We would have no problem going back.

We were in Tallinn and Helsinki this fall. When I looked at a map…I thought about “where” we really were. We loved it…beautiful cities and such nice people everywhere we went. Sure risks involved….but I also like to leave my home now and then. And yes…some places do have more risks. One can weigh them out. I would go to Poland. Never have.

Interesting discussion. I don’t think any of this falls into politics if we discuss the status of the situation and don’t tread into if the status is good or bad or why or why not. Situational security is an important consideration when traveling.

FrankII, don’t count on any US troops in Eastern Europe ever firing shot if Russia crosses the border. The few thousand left aren’t combat troops and don’t have the quantity to form a force. My guess is they would be instantly evacuated. I can ask Captain Mr. E, Jr. as he was doing some work in Romania a few months back.

Some will consider all the NATO countries safe because who would want to start a war with 95% of Europe? Well, that’s what one might think based on the news media’s portrayal of Article 5, but the news media’s portrayal isn’t what Article 5 says. Article 5 simply says if one country is attacked all countries can decide, collectively and/or independently, what to do; if anything.

This is for interesting discussion. I would go to Poland tomorrow. Very safe. Until it isn’t. But I feel certain it will be obvious well before that happens.

I saw a news report recently that said Poland had received a record number of tourists in 2024. No doubt mostly Europeans, but they would be more able to judge the security situation being closer to it.

I'm planning on Poland in 2027. I haven't been there in 25 years but love the people and am so eager to return. I think it'll be a great trip but if any where we plan to visit is warned to be unsafe, then we can modify plans. Enjoy!!

I personally wouldn't worry- we are tentatively planning another trip to Poland in August. It's a wonderful place.

..One of these days I will get a good pun in here, I promise.)

I don't think I'll live that long. (LOL)

They don't speak French in Poland.

While we believe it unlikely, for the person who suggested peace of mind through insurance, bear in mind that insurance won't pay out for an act of war - however they define that

I was in Poland for three weeks this past September and felt very safe. I met German tourists who love coming to Poland for its safety and cleanliness.

I was in Sanok for a few days- just ten miles from the Ukrainian border. No problems at all. Like others have mentioned, if Poland suffers a direct attack, that would launch WWIII. Not likely. Traveling to Poland is so wonderful. Don't let your fears stop you.

Nigel, a cancel for any reason policy; then cancel when things get real iffy but before the bullets fly.

On the same subject Nigel, i checked with my US insurance and injury in US State Dept Level 4 zones wasn't covered. It "might" be treated as a pre-existing condition meaning 6 months later they "might" start covering the then current costs. But no one would put that in writing.

For anyone who is the slightest bit worried about Poland becoming inappropriate for their tourism, I would say go now, its fine. All the good reviews and trip reports the last year have moved it up in my plans. I would add to the same list of concern, if you are concerned about Poland, Moldova, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo.

Pretty good discussion. Thanks all that understand how important that is.

I honestly wouldn't give it a second though. I was in Gdansk, Warsaw and also Riga last year (and Riga again in June this year) without any worries although the Russian's were routinely jamming GPS signals from nearby Kaliningrad so taxi drivers in Gdansk often had to do without satellite navigation.

I was also in Georgia this summer which is more at risk of another Russian invasion yet I felt completely safe. There are only a handful of countries in Europe that I wouldn't consider travelling to currently and they are Ukraine, Belarus, Chechnya, Dagestan and Russia.

I just spent three days in Wroclaw and had a great time. Lot's of conversations about history, Christmas, and the weather, nothing much about Russia.

>Article 5

“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.”

https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/introduction-to-nato/collective-defence-and-article-5

Since the Article has been mentioned, I thought it would be helpful to have the actual text, vs just any individual's 'summation' .

Putin seems to fear NATO as one of his top wishes is for Ukraine to never join NATO.

To address OP's concern, you would likely be in more danger by being within a mile of many of the rivers here now, than being in Poland next summer.

joe32F, thank you sir for the text.

We visited Zakopane back in May of this year, staying in the Hotel Sabała. Poles seemed to be a bit focused on the election that was coming up in a few days, but we didn’t hear anything about invasion/intervention concerns. It those were present, it wasn’t obvious to us American tourists.

There were TONS of people in Zakopane, masses strolling down the main, wide, mostly-pedestrian Krupówki street, which looks like a strip mall on both sides. Lots of people were walking, maybe even shopping, but didn’t appear to be doing much buying. There are countless stands selling smoked cheese, which is fantastic, and should be part of any visit to Zakopane.

One afternoon, on a flat, fenced-off square, there were what appeared to be teenage military drill team squads, doing what looked like a precision marching competition. Each “team” had different uniforms from the others, so whether this was some ROTC kind of program, or an deeply entrenched Polish culture activity, or a unique happening in Poland, I’m not certain. There were some spectators (parents?), but not a huge crowd.

One thing, which isn’t military but reflects some attitudes: Pierogi are ubiquitous Polish stuffed dumplings, which come in a variety of stuffings. The potato-and-cheese variety, which have traditionally been known as “Russian Pierogi,” were now listed on many menus as “Ukrainian Pierogi.” We were told that this reflected support for what Ukraine has been undergoing, but there was no overt sense that Poles were expecting a similar experience.