Wonderful Poland

Thank you! I like Poland very much. It's so scenic and affordable.

• Rynek Underground Museum
• A boat cruise at sunset ( another magical moment!)
• Auschwitz ( so emotional . I don’t know how people can combine it with other sites . We needed time to process it. Very moving. So happy to have had the opportunity to be there.
• Wieliczka Salt Mine *Walk, walk , walk!

We stayed at a lovely apartment very close to main square Relaks Apartments . Very recommended.
Best meals: We ate very well in Krakow.
So sorry to tell that I just can’t find the name of two very good restaurants in Kazimierz where we ate very good food 🙈
Just at main square we ate very well at La Grande Mamma . Another good restaurant in our opinion was Chata.

I wish I had the time to share a more detailed trip report because this amazing country deserves it.
Also because Carlos and TexasTravelmom’s trips reports inspired me so much!

This trip was AMAZING!
We loved everything about it ( well, traditional Polish food not so much 🙈. We ate very well because there are tons of options. We were kind of surprised by this because we are very open to new flavors and usually like almost everything we eat but , traditional Polish food didn’t grow on us)
We traveled everywhere by train. Very easy to use, clean, efficient and inexpensive although almost everything was inexpensive!
We were gladly surprised by this.
I wish we had at least one extra night at every city we went. So many interesting things to do in each of them. I had to accept that we just couldn’t do or see everything so I just enjoyed and appreciated all places I got to see.

Highlights:
* Its people friendliness and willingness to help
* Its BEAUTIFUL scenery
* Its AMAZING museums
* Very inexpensive
* So many things to do , so many wonderful places to visit.
* Very happy we chose to visit only one country

Poland, a wonderful country to visit!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped me organize this trip that I’ll forever treasure.

Thanks for sharing! Don’t feel bad if you can’t post more, we will take any information you are willing to share!

This sounds like a wonderful trip. And you wrote a beautiful trip report - you were really able to convey your enthusiasm and some great insights into what made you love it so much !!! I call that a very successful trip and trip report ! Thank you for taking the time.

All these trip reports are making me really want to go back to Poland !! I haven't been there in more than 20 years.

It seems to be Polands time to shine lately. Your comments were so enthusiastic, thanks for sharing it all. I never thought of going but with CWsocial telling us about her great ongoing trip as well, I’m thinking Poland may be on the next trip status, edging out Amsterdam and Bruges.

Thanks, Veronica, for this great report. We loved Poland when we were there years ago (More than 20, Kim; about double that!)

We've signed up for the RSE Poland tour next summer, and are really looking forward to it.

I'm mildly surprised that you didn't care for traditional Polish food; we loved it! Well, with a few exceptions. Neither of us cared for kaszanka (buckwheat and blood sausage,) and Stan didn't like flaczki (tripe soup.) But the soups and salads were amazing; the cheeses and sausages were very good, as well. And the bread was first rate. I do hope the very simple rye bread is still the everyday choice. I can approximate it at home, with very fine rye flour and just a bit of sourdough starter, but I can't wait to have the real thing again.

Thanks again for the report and for stirring up a few food memories.

Glad you enjoyed Poland and I was very happy to help! You write a very good report, I can feel every emotion with each destination haha.

I think Poland is one of the last great undiscovered corners of Europe, the wealth of culture and sites is on par with many western European countries but for half the price and a fraction of the tourists! Over the past decade, Poland has seen significant economic growth and has modernized its infrastructure, including highways, bullet trains, skyscrapers, and the tech industry. Each year, Poland inches closer to the economic and developmental levels of countries like Germany and France, and is not too far behind these days.

Well, I thought this was a great trip report and I am glad mine helped! I haven’t been to Zakopane or Gniezno yet, but Zakopane (and area) especially is still on my list. :) And it sounds like you and I started and ended with the same ideas about Warsaw. 🤣

I was just in Warsaw for a week and I agree that it is such a positive surprise. I loved it!

It seems I am destined to see Poland one city at a time, one trip at a time. Krakow (2018) and Wroclaw (2019) got me hooked. 2020 would have included an all Poland trip.

I couldn't fit Gdansk into this trip with Warsaw, but I'm determined to get there. I like museums that pull me in, so I appreciate your time estimates and comments about those in Gdansk.

I'm so glad you enjoyed Poland!

Bookmarked.

Thank you Veronica. You summed up all our feelings from our visit to Poland! Such an amazing country. I would go back in a second. We did like the pierogi though!

SJS, yes! Pierogi in all their forms, as well as bigos, kluski, kopytki, naleśniki, barszcz, their version of strudel, the name of which I don't remember at the moment; also kotleti made from ground meat, seasoned with dill, covered with crumbs and cooked in butter. Let's see, I'm sure I'll think of more.

I agree: I loved my visits to Poland in 2015 and 2022. I saw Krakow, Warsaw and Katowice and hope I can go back again. The highlight was visiting Oskar Schindler's factory in Krawkow.

Loved this report. So glad to hear that it’s doable/easy on trains. This might be my next adventure.
Did you have any problems with the language? I admit it is what scares me about traveling in Central (Eastern) Europe.
Thanks for the inspiration

Thanks for sharing, Veronica! It sounds like a wonderful trip. We will be in Wrocław later this year and your description of the city has me looking forward to it even more!

Thanks for this wonderful trip report, Veronica! I actually find it easier to read this style of report, with highlights and bullet points.

I am planning a 2024 Poland trip so appreciate all of the information. I've started looking at lodgings and am planning on booking two of your picks (Relaks Apartments and Petit Fleur).

Can you provide more info on the sunset boat cruise in Krakow? Now that you put it on my radar I'd love to look into it!

Thank you so much for posting! I will add this to the list of trip reports that are making me seriously consider a trip to Poland.

Thank you for sharing this. Glad to hear it's easily doable by train.

Thanks for great report Veronica. You mentioned going by train. Overall how was the experience in terms of train reliability, comfort, speed, frequency etc?. Were most stations conveniently located? Any routes extra scenic? Once arrived did you take much local transportation?

I loved Poland too! My trip was very similar to yours except we went to Poznań instead of Gniezno. I really enjoyed reading your report because it enabled me to relive my trip. Loved your enthusiasm.

It sounds like you were as impressed with the trains as I was. I had no idea they were so reliable. We were there in 2015, and traveling by train was just so easy. And yes, Poland is quite inexpensive. I wasn’t a huge fan of the traditional Polish food (though my husband was), but we had no trouble finding good inexpensive food. Lots of Italian restaurants.

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

I will be in Krakow here in a few weeks on my BOEE tour. I'm actually looking forward to the food, but I was raised on a Pennsylvania Dutch/German diet, as well as some Eastern European dishes. 😄

Dear travelers!
It has taken so long for me to be able to come back and answer your questions, sorry!
I am a teacher , we came back to school this September and it has been quite a ride!

@Patty, language problems? No, even though English is not our first language ( and we only found two Spanish speakers) we managed very well using only English. Not only in touristy places like restaurants, hotels, museums, etc . It was easy to find people ( young people) who spoke English at regular bus stops throughout the city for example.
We thought a lot about some friends and family members that would love Poland but that being non English speakers would make an independent trip, quite challenging.
But , with English no problem at all!

@Rob in Cal , we loved traveling by train!
Very reliable , punctual(ish) sometimes they had a 10-15 minutes delay but it was always announced. Following this forum recommendations, we bought first class tickets almost all the time . Clean, inexpensive, comfortable although second class was not bad at all. Stations were all very conveniently located. Easy and cheap to get to the center of each city.
The most scenic route we took was Krakow to Zakopane but we did it by bus. ( following this group recommendations too. )

@Fran, We saw different types of boats by the river . Big, cute, old, dated, modern, etc . We didn’t make any reservations we just asked to the ones we liked better.
It was kind of late ( 8:00/9:00 pm) so some of them weren’t offering service anymore ( I think it would be a better idea to get there earlier than we did) . We were very lucky to get one small boat we liked very much for $10 dollars for a 30-40 min ride at a beautiful time , the day was fading , the night approaching . It was magical .

Now, where to go next?? 😍

What a great trip! Thank you for sharing all this wonderful information. I only have 2 weeks allocated to visit Poland. Would you cut any towns or shorten stays?
Thank you!
Robin