Come to Poland
Poland is the state in the East Europe which borders with Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus and Russia. It has very convenient location because of transit crossroads of latitude and meridian direction and access to the Baltic sea. The entire Polish territory is 312 658 км2, the 9th in Europe. The main rivers are Wisla (1047 km), Odra (854 km). Other major rivers: Warta, Bug, Nara, San, Pilica. Lakes are mainly in the north, the largest of them: S’niardwy, Marmy, L’ebsko, Jeziorak and Miedwie. Poland has many tourism opportunities like Masuria Lake District, Zakopane skiing resort, Baltic Sea cruises etc. It also has the rich and comfortable transportation system to get either to the main resort areas or a small villages in bottom of Poland.
Polish public transportation system: local and international travels.
Polish transport infrastructure includes roads and objects of road transport, railways and the relevant equipment, ports and the proper equipment, airlines, waterways and ports of river transport.
Road transport. In the beginning of 2004 Poland had 473 km of motorways and 216 km of high-speed motorways. In 2005 the roads extension made additional 900 km of motorways, 400 km of high-speed roads and 40 roundabout roads for large cities.
The main border crossing points work 24 hours:
-Czech Border: Jakuszyce, Cieszyn, Chalupki, Kudowa-Slone, Pietrowice, Lubawka and Zawidow
-German Border: Zgorzelec, Kolbaskowo, Kostrzyn, Gubin, Lubieszyn, Slubice, Sieniawka, Swiecko and Olszyna
-Byelorussian Border: Terespol
-Lithuanian Border: Ogrodniki
-Slovak Border: Chyzne, Barwinek, Lysa Polana, and Piwniczna
-Ukraine Border: Hrebenne, Dorohusk and Medyka
Railway transport. The length of local railways refers to about 21.1 thousand km. Polish railway transport looks like the most considerable among the other means of transportation. Trains are not expensive, fast and reliable. They also reach the most of destinations in Poland including small towns and villages. Polish railway stations offer the following International destinations: Brussels, Berlin, Budapest, Leipzig, Hanover, Bucharest, Prague, Kiev, Lvov, Vilnius, Vienna, Moscow, and Bratislava. Polish trains can be of 4 types. The fastest are Express and Intercity trains. Their destinations are only the larger cities. During the way they usually make not more than 2-3 stops. The difference between these types of trains is prior reservation for Intercity one. Another type is Fast trains. They stop in bigger cities and are not so fast as Intercity or Express. Fast trains are more suitable for a tight budget and they also require no seat reservations. Local trains stop at every station and are the cheapest type.
Maritime and river transport. The total length of the waterways makes 3,640 km. Polish seaports are located in Gdansk, Szczecin, Gdynia and Svinouste, they connect land (rail and road) and river transport with the international maritime transport. Passenger and cars transportation by sea are made by ferries, and also (to a small extent) by passenger ships under foreign flag and merchant ships. Odra river and its tributaries give the greatest potential for the navigation.
Air transportation is important, primarily, as the international mean. The most of European cities can be reached within two hours. The largest Polish airport is Warsaw Airport Frederick Chopin (formerly Okentse), the main domestic and international airport. Warsaw has direct connections with 55 cities worldwide. Other International airports are Gdansk (Rebiechowo), Krakow (Balice), Poznan (Lawica), Wroclaw (Starachowice), Katowice (Pyrzowice), Schetsyne and Lodz. (2, 8, 9, 10- 14)
Public transportation in Polish cities. Masuria and Baltic Sea cruises.
The public transportation in Polish cities differs a little. The most complete transportation infrastructure is in Warsaw. It has all types of transport, including the underground. In general Warsaw owns 26 tram lines and 176 bus routes. The total lines extent refers to 2600 km. Bus routes make 8 types, which can be separated by numbers. For instance, number 1хх means usual route, working from 5 o'clock till 23 o'clock, number 2хх is special line to replace a specific route, number 3хх refers to buses driving only at the certain hours or days (for example, in rush hours or in days of a school vacation) and others.
Warsaw is the only Polish city that has the underground. Warsaw underground lines make 17, 7 km and have 16 stations.
Gdansk is the 6th largest city in Poland. It is the crossing point of the maritime ways, connecting city with all Baltic sea ports and the Western Europe (including a ferry route to Sweden and Denmark). The key lines of Gdansk international railway transportation are Gdansk - Koszalin - Szczecin – Berlin, Gdansk – Warsaw – Krakow etc. The city international airport in Rebiechowo (15 km from the city center) annually serves up to 500 thousand passengers. The airport main local destinations are Warsaw and Krakow, and international destinations are Frankfurt-on-Main, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Brussels. Ferry route from Gdansk goes to Nuneshamn.
Public transportation in Krakow is conducted by buses (120 routes), trams (23 routes), a taxi, fixed-route taxis and suburban trains. Recently the first line of a high-speed tram has also started. Krakow buses can be divided into four types. Like in Warsaw or Gdansk, a bus type can be defined considering a number of a route: city buses have numbers from 100 to 199 and from 400 to 499; suburban routes numbers are from 200 to 299; express buses (przyspieszone) are of numbers 500-599, night routes refer to the numbers 600-699 and others. A fixed-route taxis (Polish call them “Bus”) work usually on suburban lines.
The transport infrastructure in Poznan, as well as in all other Polish cities, is based on bus and tram routes, and, of course, a taxi. The central road service station of Poznan is located near to city centre, about 500 m from railway station. The airport Lawica is located 7 km far from the city centre, near the main the motorway to Berlin and Warsaw. Distinctive feature of Poznan public transport is that the fare depends on time of travel.
Public transportation of other cities such as Wroclaw, Lodz, Szczecin, etc. is very similar as Polish cities are not large. There are appropriate bus services and trams operating in some of the bigger urban areas. Trolleybuses are also used in all Polish cities except Warsaw. Transport services have a flat fare. Passengers can use pre-purchase tickets and passes to pay it.
Taxis are also available in the most of towns. As in other countries they can be called by phone or found at ranks. Late-night additional fare can be charged from 11 p.m. till 5 a.m., for journeys out of town or on weekends. The larger cities also have electric and rail trams. They run from 5:30 a.m. till 11 p.m. There are weekend and 7-day tourist tickets.
One of the most exiting travel opportunities in Poland is Baltic Sea cruise. Their main feature is an opportunity to visit several countries for one trip and so to get the maximum impressions. Due to Polish joining the European Union, tourists going from Poland do not need additional visas to get in any other country of Europe. Baltic Sea cruises can take you to Estonia, Sweden, Germany Lithuania, Latvia etc.
Other fascinating travel opportunity is Mazury or Masuria. This beautiful historical and ethnographic region is located in the North of Poland. Masuria region is the paradise for hikers, walkers, yachting and canoeing and for everyone who loves tranquility. Magnificent woods, including Pisz and Augustów Forests, give the good network of ramblers' trails, which are ideal for riding, hiking or biking. To get more impressions a tourist can visit numerous Gothic castles and churches that were built by the Teutonic Knights.
Poland is the country with various beautiful conditions for rest and tourism. Its joining the European Union is actively helping the country to develop its economy, tourism and respectively transport infrastructure, but numerous resorts and European service attract more and more tourists.