Wroclaw City Breaks

Travelling To and Around Wroclaw

Airlines	Trams and Buses
Airport	Tickets and Travelcards

Getting There...

Airlines

After Poland's accession to the EU, it has become even easier now to travel there for a weekend break. There are a couple of cheap airlines that fly from London Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports straight to Wroclaw. The most popular airlines – Ryanair are not necessarily the best. Frankly speaking their biggest drawback is the lack of numbered seats. Otherwise – they are just fine. On the other hand, Hungarian-owned Wizzair is famous for it's frequent delays, so always check the day before your travel. Prices are similar to Ryanair - you pay a little, so don't expect too much.

Make sure that you book the ticket fairly in advance, not only to pay less, but also to travel on the date that you require. Bear in mind that lots of Poles travel home for holidays/weekends as well, so the flights are full most of the time. I recommend booking the tickets at least one month in advance. If you look really hard you can find them for as cheap as £0.01. Even if you add all the fees and taxes you will pay around £30 one way.

Visit the following links to find the flights you want:

http://www.ryanair.com
http://www.wizzair.com

Nicholas Copernicus Airport

When you finally reach your destination, you might be surprised by the size of the Wroclaw Nicholas Copernicus Airport. Simply speaking – it’s tiny! No, actually it’s not tiny, it’s smaller than that. It feels like you are landing in some third world country in South America (no offence meant), not a European city with over 700 thousand citizens. Surprisingly, despite its size, it is running quite smoothly and it doesn’t take long to go through the passport control and to reclaim your luggage.

The airport is located pretty far from Wroclaw centre (approximately 8 miles) and you can get there either by bus or using a cab.

If you decide to go by bus, you need to be aware that it runs only every half an hour. However, it’s got some advantages. Ticket price for example – it costs only 2.40zl per person plus 2.40zl for your luggage (more details on tickets can be found here). You can buy tickets from a machine located next to the bus stop. Make sure to punch the tickets when you get on the bus using the ticket puncher. Funny enough – the bus line 406 is often used by old people travelling from and to their allotments located nearby, so it’s pretty crowded.

Much more convenient way of reaching the city centre is simply using a cab. There are dozens of them right outside the airport, and most cabbies speak basic English. It will cost you around 30-50zl to reach Wroclaw centre.

Getting Around...

Cabs, cabs, cabs – this is the only recommendation I can give you. It will cost you, but you are sure that you don’t find yourself drunk and naked somewhere on the outskirts. Alternatively you can use your feet, as the most interesting places in Wrocław are located near its centre.

Trams and Buses

If you are a person who likes to take risks and is looking for adventures, you can try using local public transport. Buses and trams – here is the answer for people who would like to try something different from typical tourist routes. Some of the trams were built in 1970s, and the tracks are even older than that. Apart from 3 or 4 new Porsche design trams from Skoda, the majority of them are old, crowded and shaky. But hey! It’s a lot of fun to ride them!

The buses are much better than trams. They are mostly Volvos or Mercedeses and they do not differ much from buses in other western European countries. But again – they are very crowded. It’s a good point to mention that Wroclaw has one of the worst streets in Poland – not only they are jammed more than London streets, but also holes the size of craters are not an uncommon view. You should not wonder, however, as some of the streets still remember Second World War and Russian bombings. So when getting on a bus, prepare yourself for a bumpy ride!

One more thing – make sure not only to buy a ticket before boarding, but also punch it in a special ticket puncher. Otherwise you will be liable for a penalty of around 100zl.

Tickets and Travel Cards

In Wroclaw, there are no separate tickets for trams and buses. The only difference is the price variations. The normal single ticket costs 2.40zl and allows you to use buses AND trams, but again, if you want to travel at night (buses only) you need a different ticket. It costs 2.8zl and is also used for special bus lines with letters instead of numbers. For example bus “A” or “D” – those buses are called “fast”, but the inverted comas are there for a reason. Basically they are stuck in the traffic jams just the same as normal buses, the only difference being they stop at every other bus stop. My advice – stick with normal buses.

It is also worth mentioning that trams are not that complicated. You just need a standard 2.40zl ticket irrespective of the line and time of travel.

If you plan to ride the public transport more often, it’s best to buy a daily travel card. It costs only 10zl and allows you to travel by all means of public transport in Wroclaw. However, it's valid only until 12 o'clock at night. You can buy it in a ticket machine or at local newsagents.