By Plane...
Located only 13km northwest of the center, Nicolaus Copernicus Airport Wrocław (try it in Polish: Port Lotniczy im. Mikołaja Kopernika we Wrocławiu) is a model of efficiency, with luggage arriving in minutes and passport control a breeze, even for non-Schengen zone flights. Modern, bright and refreshingly free of bad smells the airport is indeed set to get even better: a brand new terminal will be built for the 2012 European Football Championships. Nostalgia-buffs might want to look out for Wroclaw’s old, communist-era airport, visible as you taxi in from the runway and looking every inch as though it had just starred in a live-action remake of Where Eagles Dare. At Copernicus you’ll find press stores, refreshment kiosks, currency exchange and ATMs aplenty in the arrivals hall, almost as many as there are rogue taxi drivers offering to take you into town for all the money in your wallet. Ignore them (and most taxis for that matter) and head smartly out of the terminal building, turning right and walking towards the rank of Taxi Blues, Taxi Plus and Partner Taxis - the three most trusted companies, and all of them officially cooperating with the airport. Choose one of these three and you can expect a fair fare of 40-45zł or €12-14, and though the drivers speak little English there is usually a dispatcher on hand who will at least be able to communicate your destination to the driver. The journey only takes a breezy ten minutes. Cheapskates can take bus No. 406 from outside arrivals to Wrocław’s main bus station, itself just behind the railway station. Tickets cost 2.40zł and can be bought from the vending machines next to the bus stop, the press kiosks inside the terminal or direct from the driver. Remember to stamp your ticket as you get on board, and note that excessively bulky luggage in theory warrants an extra charge of 1.20zł, but this rule is rarely observed.
Although there is currently no tourist information point in the airport, airline and flight info is available by calling tel. 71 358 13 81. To find a fully updated flight schedule see www.airport.wroclaw.pl/en/rozklad.php. Phone booths are scattered around the airport and phone cards are available from both newsagents and the post office. To connect to a Polish mobile network you’ll need a SIM lock free mobile – from there purchase pre-paid cards from Relay kiosks and the post office.
If looking to leave a vehicle at the airport, there is plenty of guarded parking. Each half hour for the first two hours will cost 3zł, with every hour after costing 4zł. If you plan on parking for 24hrs expect to pay 50zł, 42zł for a second day and 32zł for a third. After that each extra day will set you back 15zł.
Although there is currently no tourist information point in the airport, airline and flight info is available by calling tel. 71 358 13 81. To find a fully updated flight schedule see www.airport.wroclaw.pl/en/rozklad.php. Phone booths are scattered around the airport and phone cards are available from both newsagents and the post office. To connect to a Polish mobile network you’ll need a SIM lock free mobile – from there purchase pre-paid cards from Relay kiosks and the post office.
If looking to leave a vehicle at the airport, there is plenty of guarded parking. Each half hour for the first two hours will cost 3zł, with every hour after costing 4zł. If you plan on parking for 24hrs expect to pay 50zł, 42zł for a second day and 32zł for a third. After that each extra day will set you back 15zł.
By Train...
Fun times ahead for you: In anticipation of the 2012 European Football Championships (set to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, dontcha know), Wrocław's main train station (Dworzec Główny, B-6) is presently undergoing major renovation works on the entire building, including the interior, exterior, tracks, platforms, facilities and even the area surrounding the train station. Works are not scheduled to be complete until 2012 (if all goes well, fingers crossed). To deal with this, the city, instead of approaching the work in sections, has essentially shut off access to 90% of the station complex and set up a temporary station building (Dworzec Tymczasowy) at ul. Sucha 10/12 (B-6), on the eastern side of the main station complex.
To their credit, they’ve done a decent job of this. In this temporary building there are 18 ticket windows and you’ll find most everything else you need, including an information point, 3 ATMs (bankomats), 2 toilets (one for disabled people), lockers and vending machines with coffee and sandwiches. Outside the building on the sidewalk street vendors have also set up selling food and drinks, as well as kiosks with phone cards and the like. Luggage storage is also available here. However, because a large station complex has been condensed into a much smaller one, travelers need to allow themselves extra time to deal with extended queues and general confusion, commotion and disorientation. This cannot be stressed heavily enough.
The area has been well-marked. If departing from Wrocław by train, follow ul. Piłsudskiego (B-5) east, following the crowds and signs to Dworzec Tymczasowy. You will make a right into a tunnel where there is platform access; you must pass through this tunnel to the other side to reach the new station building and ticket windows. If pressed for time, remember that you can buy tickets from the conductor onboard the train for a small price mark-up. If you are arriving in Wrocław, following the signs to ‘Centrum Miasto’ – the city centre – is pretty straightforward and will put you on ulica Piłsudskiego (B-5). Most of the city's hotels and hostels are within 15 minutes walking distance, and given that getting anywhere near the Old Town on public transport requires you take at least two trams, it isn't really worth the hassle. If you really don't fancy the walk jump in an MPT Radio Taxi (71 191 91), as they are at least allowed into the Old Town. Good luck to you, intrepid one.).
By Car...
Poland is one of Europe’s leading nations in road fatalities, a statistic that will surprise few who have had the pleasure of using the roads here. A lethal combination of poor road surfaces, networks unsuited to the volume of traffic and, most of all, frustrated and aggressive driver behavior result in the common sight of mangled wrecks around the country. While the road quality issue is being addressed with EU directives and funding, the size of the country’s road network means that it will still be years before results are seen in many places. Almost all roads outside of urban areas are a single lane in each direction, meaning traffic is inevitably bogged down by the fleet of lorries that traverse Poland as well as the odd farmer in a horse-cart. This results in impatient drivers overtaking each other at high speed and then braking sharply to avoid oncoming traffic. Be cautious and keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front.
The speed limit in Poland is generally 50km/hr in cities (60km/hr between 23:00 and 05:00), 90km/hr outside urban areas, 110km/hr on dual carriageways and 130km/hr on motorways. All cars must have their headlights switched on at all times and carry a red warning triangle, first aid kit, replacement bulbs, a national identity sticker and proper registration and insurance documents. Poland also has strict drunk-driving laws: 0.2% is the maximum blood/alcohol limit, so forget about having even a single beer. EU citizens may use their home driving licenses as long as they are valid, however citizens of countries that didn't ratify the Vienna Convention (tsk, tsk Australia and America) will find their licenses invalid (though that hasn't stopped anyone we know from driving their girlfriend's car). Carry your license and passport at all times when driving.
One of the only major highways in the country, the A4 connects Wrocław with Berlin (via Legnica) and Kraków (via Opole and Katowice). Much of Wrocław’s centre is pedestrianised, meanwhile one-way and seemingly accessible streets that are actually only available to permit holders make driving in the centre an absolute nightmare. Poor planning and limited traffic patterns mean congestion is a major, major problem as well; call a cab and it might take as much as twenty minutes to get to you, though it's only a few blocks away. As such, we suggest you ditch your vehicle at the first opportunity, which raises the question of where to put it. Free parking is available at Arkady Wrocławskie (B-5, next to the railway station, and note you will not be able to leave your car here overnight) or in the multi-storey car park on ul. Rzeźnicza, next to the Sofitel (A-2). Some hotels have limited parking spaces, so check when booking your room. Street parking is of course available by seeking out the large blue signs with the letter ‘P’ on them. Tickets are available from parking meters and those wishing to park in the centre will be charged 3zł for the first hour, 3.15zł for the second hour and 3.30zł for the third. Thereafter you’ll be forking out 3 zeds an hour. Out of the centre these charges sink to 2zł for the first hour, 2.10zł the second, and 2.20zł for the third. After that it’s 2zł per hour.
By Bus...
International buses arrive and depart from the bus terminal, Dworzec Centralny, immediately behind the railway station on ul. Sucha (B-6). As you might expect it doesn’t make the greatest first impression; grim and uncouth, the bus station also serves as the city’s unofficial day care centre for drunks and lunatics, no doubt driven to madness by the overriding unhelpfulness of the people working at the ticket windows. The purchase of tickets can be attempted at any number of windows, each of which has its own overly-complex opening hours, though we know at least one is always available between 05:30 and 21:30; for international (międzynarodowe) tickets, try platform number 4. In Wrocław’s bus station you’ll also find toilets (open 06:00 - 22:00, 2.00zł), an ATM just outside the main entrance and a currency exchange (open 08:00 - 20:00) inside the main station building. Compared to the bus station, the train station is somewhat upstanding and navigable, with more services on hand. Those heading into town will likely need to go this direction anyway. Most of the city’s hotels and hostels are within 15 minutes walk of the bus station and taking public transport doesn’t make a ton of sense unless you know exactly why you’re doing so. If at a loss, jump in a MPT Radio Taxi (71 191 91).
Wrocław is waiting for you...
