Cheap flights to Poland

Sandwiched between Russia and Germany, Poland’s history has often been turbulent, going from kingdom to commonwealth (with Lithuania) to independent country (after the First World War). Following the Second World War, it fell under Soviet rule for 40 years or so until it overthrew it in 1989. With its accession to the EU in 2004, Poland has become more accessible to travellers, and many young Poles have sought work in other parts of the EU.

Thanks to numerous cheap flights to Poland, its cities have become must-sees. Krakow, the former capital in the south, is a splendid city more than 1,000 years old. Warsaw, the capital, has beautiful parks, wide boulevards, and an old quarter that was rebuilt after the war by volunteers using maps, old paintings, books, and the rubble of buildings flattened during the war.

Natural wonders include Bialowieza Forest where the last of the European bison roam; the Polish Tatras mountains, shared with Slovakia in the south, and Masuria, the land of 10,000 lakes.

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Poland climate

Summers in Poland average a mild 19 degrees, but the interior can be much hotter. Winters can be extremely cold, especially inland from the Baltic Coast, where temperatures average -5 in Warsaw. It rains throughout the year, particularly in the southern mountains.

When is the best time to fly to Poland?

The climate in Poland is a tourist’s dream – warm summers, blue-skied autumns and snowy winters.

Peak season:

May to September. July and August are the busiest holiday months. Flights to Poland should be booked as far in advance as possible.

Off season:

The winter months, unless you are a skier. Szklarska Poreba, in the western part of the Karkonosze Mountains, Szczyrk and Zakopane, in the foothills of the Tatras, south of Krakow, are the best-known resorts. Elsewhere, the winter months can be very dreary and very cold.

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Getting around Poland

LOT, the national carrier, offers domestic Poland flights – Gdansk, Bydgoszcz, Szczecin, Poznan, Zielona Gora, Wroclaw, Lodz, Katowice, Krakow and Rzeszow.

All the major car-rental companies are represented here – Avis, Budget, Hertz, Europcar – but road quality varies somewhat.

PKP, the Polish State Railways, offers service on three types of trains: intercity, eurocity and expresses. The country is well connected with good services from Warsaw.

PKS, the Polish Car Transport Company, offers intercity bus services. There are also lots of private bus companies that offer services throughout the country.

Warsaw has a good underground train system. Trams operate in several cities including Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Poznan, Wroclaw, Szczecin, Katowice.

How long is the flight to Poland?

Cheap flights to Poland from Manila will generally take between 18-27h depending on stopovers and your destination. Flights from Manila to Warsaw are likely to take around 18h with a single stopover and up to 25h with two stops. Flights to Krakow typically take around 21-22h. Flying from Cebu City to Warsaw will usually require multiple stops and will take around 20-21h, while flights to Krakow are likely to take around 21-22h.

Where can you get direct flights to Poland from?

Currently, there are no Poland flight deals with direct routes from airports in the Philippines. These flights generally have routes that require travellers to have a stopover or two before continuing to the different airports in Poland. If you’re flying from Manila, you’ll find flights to Gdansk with stopovers in Doha and Copenhagen. There are flights to Poland from Manila that stopover in Doha and France before heading to Krakow. If you’re flying to Warsaw from Cebu City, you can expect flights to have a stopover in Hong Kong and Zurich before completing the trip. Flights from Cebu to Krakow generally have stopovers in Hong Kong and Munich.

What is the best way to travel around Poland?

Warsaw offers bus and tram systems that crisscross through the city, providing transport to all areas. There are two metro systems, one running from north to south and the other running east to west. Tickets can be bought from ticketing machines in the city. Krakow has bus and tram systems that run throughout the city for most of the day. These tickets can also be bought from ticketing machines at most major stops. In Gdansk, the public trams and buses provide transport to everywhere in the city. To travel between Warsaw and Gdansk, you can take a train from Warsaw East Railway Station or Warsaw Central Station. The EIP train travels from there to Gdansk Station. Trains between Warsaw and Krakow will generally take around 2h 15min and run on a regular basis between the stations in each city.

What are some things to do in Poland?

You’ll find the Republic of Poland in Central Europe is famous for its diverse geography and stately castles. Poland offers visitors a variety of attractions to check out on their trip. If you’re interested in the history of Poland, you’ll have the luxury of a variety of museums to choose from that include Malbork Castle, Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau, Warsaw Rising Museum and the National Museum in Krakow. As an art enthusiast, Poland is teeming with an array of art exhibitions and collections that can be seen at The Cloth Hall, the Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanow and the Princes Czartoryski Museum. Looking to spend some time outdoors? You can explore hiking trails and scenic routes through Tatra National Park, Lake Solina, Ojcowski National Park or Bialowieza National Park. Go river rafting along The Dunajec River running through southern Poland, or spend time skiing and hiking through the Giant Mountains. You can also make your way to Wigry Lake and enjoy some light fishing, a ferryboat ride or some bird watching.

Do I need a passport or visa to fly to Poland?

As a citizen of the Philippines, you will need to obtain a Schengen visa before visiting Poland. This visa will cost around ₱4,400. This can be applied for through the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Manila. Your passport will need to be valid for at least three months after your date of departure from Poland, and you will need financial stability and medical insurance to apply.

What is good to know if travelling to Poland?

• Zamosc, in southeastern Poland, is a beautiful Renaissance town dating from the late 1600s. It was built by a wealthy landowner, Jan Zamoyski, who set up, essentially a country within a country to escape paying royal taxes. Zamoyski employed an Italian architect (Bernando Morando) to design this ideal town often called Padua of the North. The Old Town is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
• Several of Poland’s Old Towns are on the Unesco list including Krakow (see the Royal Castle and Cathedral on Wawel Hill as well as the medieval Old Town); Warsaw, painstakingly and beautifully reconstructed after the Second World War; Wroclaw, another Old Town that was reconstructed after 1945. Gdansk has a postcard-perfect Old Town and is also home of the Solidarity movement. The town of Torun, about 200km from Warsaw, is the birthplace of Nicholaus Copernicus, Poland’s most famous scientist. After Krakow, it is the city with the largest number of Gothic monuments and architecture in Northern Europe. Toruń is also famous for its gingerbread, and for its leaning tower, which has a vertical deviation of 1.40 metres.
• Sun and ski. Bathe and bask on the Baltic coast. Poland has several popular beach resorts including Sopot, which has Europe’s longest pier (500m/1640ft). Off-season, between November and May, it is still possible to pick up amber on the beaches in the Gulf of Gdansk.
• Zakopane, in the alpine-like Tatras mountains, is Poland’s winter capital. The most popular areas are Kasprowy Wierch and Gubalowka. Snow lasts until May and after that, it is a popular spot for hiking.
• Natural Poland can be enjoyed in the Bialowieska Forest and Miedzyzdroje, where the bison and deer roam free. The Slowinski National Park, a Unesco World Biosphere Reserve, has moving sand dunes. The wind pushes dunes from 2 to 9.5 metres each year. The Masurian Lakes Plateau has more than 4,000 lakes and is one of Central Europe’s largest forested areas.
• If you are planning to visit Poland and still need to find a hotel in Krakow, a hotel in Warsaw or a hotel in Gdansk, visit trivago to compare deals and reviews.