Transportation Warsaw airport to Lublin

Note that when many people write "best", they mean "cheapest." It is best to specify your specific needs.

We were surprised how cheap taxis into town were from the Warsaw airport. I'd buy a train ticket to Lublin, but there is the problem or uncertain arrival time, if you are getting off a flight from the USA (also not specified.) I can confirm that prepaid advance discounts on the Polish railways CANNOT be used for trains other than the single departure actually purchased. OTOH, the trains are not that expensive.

I wonder if you are hoping that someone will describe a car service that is willing to make the 2 hour trip back from Lublin empty, without you having to pay for that time?

You can take public transport (bus # 175) from the airport to the main train station (Warszawa Centralna). The central train station has connections to major cities all over the country including Lublin, you can just buy a ticket when you get there. That's the cheapest and simplest approach.

Bus maps, timetables, etc:
https://www.wtp.waw.pl/en/chopin-airport-waw/
https://www.wtp.waw.pl/en/bus-and-railway-stations/

Many thanks to all for your tips! Since I arrived in Warsaw late Saturday afternoon, the best option to Lublin was the FlixBus. Very easy with the app! There were 2 buses leaving directly from Chopin Airport that evening and the time worked perfectly with my flight arrival. To take the train, I'd have to taxi or s-bahn to the main train station. On Saturdays at my arrival time, the train travel times were as long as the bus (3 hours), plus time to get to the train station from the airport. The FlixBus was very comfortable and prompt! Of course, it was the least expensive, but that wasn't my concern. As a 70+ female travelling solo, I wanted the most logistically easy mode of transportation.

On Monday evening, I had to return to Chopin Airport for a flight out on Tuesday morning. Being a weekday, I thought there'd be more options on both the bus and train. However, this was not the case. I went to the TI earlier that afternoon and the young lady who helped me was exceptional! She spoke perfect English, pulled up the train schedules, printed out and highlighted train numbers, track, etc. There were no (Flix) buses at all on Monday evenings. I took a taxi to the train station, purchased a ticket from a very helpful agent who's English was excellent. She too, printed out the schedule, highlighted track, my stop, etc, My stop was Warsaw West and since the connection was local transportation (subway/S-Bahn), I needed to buy the ticket there. I waited in line at the ticket office, but the young female agent did not speak English and appeared to be annoyed that I even asked. A couple of 30 year old English speaking passengers were in line behind me, also going to the airport. Not knowing how to buy a ticket, the 3 of us then started approaching people asking if they spoke English. Everyone in Lublin spoke some English and if not, they found someone who did, but this was a challenge in Warsaw. Finally, we found a very helpful young couple who spoke English. They directed us to the correct set of tracks (subway vs train), and told us we could buy the ticket on the train. Once on the train, we only saw the ticket stamping machine. Then a very helpful young agent who didn't speak English, took us to the next train where the ticket purchase machine was located. She walked each of us through the steps, pointing at each one to hit. The 3 of us agreed that we would not have known how to do it without her, because it asked for zones, duration of travel, etc,. and in Polish. The train turned out to be far more complicated than the Flixbus! Although I did my homework, trying my best avoid this, but I doubt there's a way to since it depends on your day and time of travel in Poland. All part of the adventure! Keep on Travelin'!

To conclude, I got where I needed to go, did what I needed to do, didn't get lost, met some delightful people, and got a taste of Polish culture and food. Mission accomplished! Technology's not my gen, but I think I did rather well for a 71 year old female solo traveller!

I won't need to return, but thank you for the link and info. It'll be helpful to future travelers. And thanks to all for your travel tips!