Getting in and visas for Poland

Map of Poland

Visas

Poland is a member of the European Union and has joined the Schengen agreement, which means that you can enter on a European Union Schengen visa and there are no longer any ID/passport controls on the EU borders. Beside the countries outlined above, citizens from the following countries may travel to Poland for tourism and business purposes with a valid passport and without a visa if their planned stay does not exceed 90 days: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, USA, Uruguay, Vatican and Venezuela. Citizens of all other countries must obtain a visa in order to enter and stay in Poland legally. Always check with the local Polish Embassy or on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website for updates as this can change. Regular visas are issued for travellers going to Poland for tourism and business purposes. Regular visas allow for one or multiple entries into Polish territory and stay in Poland for maximum up to 90 days and are issued for the definite period of stay. When applying for a visa, please indicate the number of days you plan to spend in Poland and a date of intended arrival. Holders of regular visas are not authorized to work. Downloadable Visa Application Form Ukrainian citizens do not require a seperate visa for transit through Poland if they hold a Shenghen or UK visa.

By plane

Most of Europe's major airlines fly to and from Poland. Poland's national carriers are LOT Polish Airlines, and a low cost airline Centralwings (owned by LOT). There are several low cost airlines that fly to Poland including WizzAir, SkyEurope, EasyJet, Germanwings, Norwegian and Ryanair. Apart from direct air connections from many European cities there are also direct flights from United States and Canada. LOT operates direct flights from Toronto, New York and Chicago, however tickets for those flights are far from cheap and most people with limited budgets fly with other airlines which stopover in major European airports. International airlines fly mainly to Warsaw's Frederic Chopin Airport (WAW) in Okęcie. Other major airports in Poland are: Kraków-Balice (KRK), Katowice-Pyrzowice (KTW), Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (GDN), Poznań-Ławica (POZ), Wrocław Copernicus Airport (WRO), Szczecin-Goleniów (SZZ), Rzeszów-Jasionka (RZE), Bydgoszcz Ignacy Jan Paderewski Airport (BZG) and Łódź-Lublinek (LCJ). Domestic flights operated by LOT (under Eurolot brand) connect Warsaw with Bydgoszcz, Katowice, Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznan, Łódź, Szczecin Wrocław and Zielona Góra. Other smaller cities don't have airports with facilities that would allow commercial airlines to operate internationally, however there are often charter flights available - of course, these are for people with thick wallets. As the number of flights and passengers has significantly increased since 1990, a new terminal has been opened at the Okęcie airport which will significantly increase the airport's capacity. Also airports in Kraków, Poznan and Wrocław have been expanded to increase their standards and capacity.

By train

Direct connections [3] with:

• Berlin, EuroCity "Berlin-Warszawa-Express (BWE)", 3 trains per day, 6 hours + 1 train per day Berlin - Poznan, 3 hours, EuroCity "Wawel" to Krakow, every day, 10 hours
• Hamburg, EuroNight "Jan Kiepura", everyday, 15 hours
• Vilnius, Night Train "Balti", 10 hours - temporarily operated by bus
• Kiev, Night Train "Józef Chełmoński", 16 hours
• Vienna, Night Train "Chopin", every day, 9 hours, EuroCity "Sobieski", everyday, 6 hours, EuroCity "Polonia", every day, 8 hours
• Prague, Night Train "Chopin", EuroCity "Praha", every day, 9.5 hours
• Moscow, Night Train "Ost-West", every day, 20.5 hours

By car

You can enter Poland by one of many roads linking Poland with the neighboring countries. Since Poland's entry to the Schengen Zone, checkpoints on border crossings with other EU countries have been removed. However, the queues on the borders with Poland's non-EU neighbors are still large and in areas congested with truck traffic it can take up to several hours to pass. You can check the current waiting times on Polish Border Guard page (wjazd - entry, wyjazd - exit, osob. - passenger cars, autob. - coaches, ciężar. - lorries).

By bus

There are many international bus lines that connect major Polish cities, with most of major European ones.

• PEKAES part of Eurolines (from: A, BY, B, HR, CZ, DK, GB, EST, F, D, GR, NL, I, LV, LT, N, RUS, E, S, CH, UA), +48 22 6269352, +48 22 6522321, online reservation
• Orbis (from: B, BG, F, GR, E, NL, D, CH, GB), +48 22 6227356, +48 22 5001500, +48 22 5001550
• Polka Service (from: F), +48 22 8275050
• Gullivers (from: D), D +49 30 31102110, Intl +80048554837
• Visitor from London (their buses feature numbered seats)
• PPKS Warszawa +48 22 7208383 (from: BG, D, LT, S, UA)
• Certain routes are operated under the EuroLines brand

By boat

• From Sweden: Ystad (7-9 hours, 215 zł) by Unity Line; Karlskrona (10 hours, 140-220 zł) by Stena Line; Nynäshamn (18 hours, 230-270 zł), Visby (13.5 hours, 170 zł), Ystad (9.5 hours, 230 zł) by Polferries

• From Denmark: Copenhagen (9-11 hours, 220 zł), Bornholm/Rønne (5 hours, 125 zł) by Polferries

By yacht

Although there are many ports along Polish coast, at least at every river mouth, don't expect high standards there. Bigger marinas are located in Szczecin, Łeba, Hel, Gdynia and Gdańsk but some of them are still lacking basic facilities. Although there are many sailors in Poland, overbloated bureaucracy still inhibits growth of sea sailing tourism.