Curly Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Hi everyone we will be off to Poland in 2 weeks time any good stops/campsites you could recommend and any pitfalls to watch out for. In the Bord Atlas the fees are in Euros but not sure if they have been converted from the Zloty or do they accept the Euro. Thanks Curly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 We have no need to visit Poland as half their population seem to be living in our area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Curly - just use the "Search our Forums" thingy and put in "Poland", and there should be several previous threads which come up, giving useful info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugga Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Poland is in the EU so I am sure they will accept the Euro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
on the road again Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Hi, just got back from Poland (not in motorhome unfortunately!). Quite a lot of places, but not all, accept euros but you probably won't get such a good exchange rate as buying them before you go, so I'd tend to go with zlotys if in Poland for any length of time. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Curly - 2012-08-14 8:51 AM Hi everyone we will be off to Poland in 2 weeks time any good stops/campsites you could recommend and any pitfalls to watch out for. In the Bord Atlas the fees are in Euros but not sure if they have been converted from the Zloty or do they accept the Euro. Curly Use this to convert any currency to £. http://www.xe.com/ Poland uses Zloty as their currency so you will at least need some cash. Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard etc) are accepted virtually everywhere, but their main Supermarket chain Biedronka, which are excellent, only take cash......no cards. There are other Supermarkets such as Lidl, a few Tesco (thankfully very few!), but hundreds of Skleps which are basically the equivalent of what used to be "the corner shop" in UK. You will find these in even the smallest of villages and though you pay a bit more, it's good knowing you are helping to keep a little community alive. As for sites it depends where in Poland you are heading for? I could give you many excellent sites most of which charge an average of £8 a night.....and that's with electricity. A decent meal with beer plus espresso can be bought for as little as a fiver or less. I can't buy Fish 'n chips at home for that price. Diesel is £1.12 - £1.15 a litre though £1.15 is at the 'top end' major Stations such as Orleon which is Polands main supplier. Pitfalls to look out for? There aren't any. It's a wonderful country with some amazing scenery and the people are very helpful. Most young people can speak English, but don't expect it from older.....and if they do, be sure to compliment them, eg; one guy I met there a few weeks back, similar age to myself (60's), had only been taught Russian and Polish at School. Yet he could speak fluent English. Totally self taught from buying any English books/magazines he could get hold of. Not easy when growing up during Communist era times. Another younger chap I met barged into a Restaurant when he overheard me having a problem getting the waitress to understand which salad I wanted. He sorted it out and I invited him to have a drink where he then told me his Grandfather had been a Pilot during WW2 flying Spitfires. After the War his Grandfather returned to Poland, but when his Grandson was born he only ever spoke to him in English......never Polish, and told him of places he should visit in UK. This has been my fourth time in Poland and I will be back again.....so that should tell you a lot. Ignore the usual comments about "Polish pinching our jobs" or the rubbish roads etc. Go and see for yourself but go with an open mind. And if you try to learn just a little basic Polish, you will endear yourselves to the locals even more! Have a good time, explore, and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Jones Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I'm with BG here. We've only had chance to go once so far, but we will be back. BordAtlas puts prices in Euros because it's a German publication, but I'm glad you've got it because we found it FAR more helpful (and up-to-date) than the Caravan Club's much-vaunted offering. And Cheryl, WE'RE in the EU too, but only a very few places in the UK accept payment in Euros! Same applies in Poland - be ready to shop in Zlotys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Tony Jones - 2012-08-14 12:03 PM I'm with BG here. We've only had chance to go once so far, but we will be back. BordAtlas puts prices in Euros because it's a German publication, but I'm glad you've got it because we found it FAR more helpful (and up-to-date) than the Caravan Club's much-vaunted offering. And Cheryl, WE'RE in the EU too, but only a very few places in the UK accept payment in Euros! Same applies in Poland - be ready to shop in Zlotys. Exactly. Try shopping at your local Asda, Tesco, Morrison etc, or filling up with fuel.......offer to pay in euro and you will be marched off to the nearest Bank! Here is a list of the countries which use the euro as their official currency. http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/euro.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Pitfalls..............? Well, off the motorways the roads can be diabolical though when we were last there 2 years ago lots of work ongoing. We travelled from central west Poland just over border from Germany to Masurian Lakes in north east and it took ...........can't remember how long but on roads we had 2 years ago 100 miles was a 7 hour drive. And mossies in Masurian were diabolical (May) First time we were in Poland though about 9 years ago the roads were even worse. We crossed the border at Cottbus and immediately hit a dual carriageway which was so badly rutted 30mph was too fast. So, check your dental fillings before you go and don't try to go too far in a day. Having said that we love Poland - friendly people, cheaper than here. generally better weather. We will go back Arthur :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 From an earlier thread something which may be of help Just thought I'd warn any of you planning to travel through Poland that they now have a system, as explained to me by a very officious traffic cop, similar to that of Austria, where you need to register and pay to travel on certain sections of motorway (only if over 3.5t). We knew nothing about this, hadn't seen any signs as we crossed in from northern Germany, driving over cobbled roads. We spent a little time along the Baltic coast manouvouring over the potholes as best we could!!! before deciding we'd rather be back in Germany. Just after Szczecin about 2km from the German border we were stopped by said traffic cops and fined £600. We did wonder why the road surface had suddenly improved and hardly any other traffic around!!!! Despitelengthy protestations we had to pay up. After we got home some Polish friends said we should have offered them a bribe but knowing our luck we would have been thrown into jail. Anyway the point of this message is to highlight this toll to any other unsuspecting travellers. We consider ourselves to be pretty clued up on this sort of stuff and avoid toll roads of any type when possible. Don't remember ever seeing anything about this Polish system.!!! By the way, spent 8 weeks travelling around Germany, nothing but praise for the stellplatz we stayed on and for the helpful Germany people we came across. Jupe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur49 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Try this link for roads and tolls info http://www.poland.travel/en/by-car/roads-and-motorways/ Arthur Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curly Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 Thanks for the feed back guys I was surprised that so many replied and was very helpful all taken account of and will let you know how we get on during our travels. (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 kelly58 - 2012-08-14 4:35 PMFrom an earlier thread something which may be of help Just thought I'd warn any of you planning to travel through Poland that they now have a system, as explained to me by a very officious traffic cop, similar to that of Austria, where you need to register and pay to travel on certain sections of motorway (only if over 3.5t). We knew nothing about this........KellyI think the couple concerned in that case are in dispute over the matter. The fine certainly seems excessive to say the least. The toll fees are minimal and if unsure about paying or not, it's easy to check simply by calling in at the first Service area. My experiences with Polish Police is most certainly not what this couple experienced. They are very helpful, in particular toward foreign tourists. They want you to return to their country.....not go back to the UK feeling bitter and angry.http://www.dalnicni-znamky.com/en/highway-toll-poland.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tugga Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Tony Jones - 2012-08-14 12:03 PM And Cheryl, WE'RE in the EU too, but only a very few places in the UK accept payment in Euros! Same applies in Poland - be ready to shop in Zlotys. Good point, well presented. I thought other EU countries were better than us, plus I thought they were in the EMS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikethebike Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Hi all Completely agree with you Bulletguy, we were there for the second time this year. roads in the south of the country were much improved on what they were two years ago. We hope to go back next year to the Masurian lake district (thanks for the warning about the mozzies) We found the Polish people almost without exception to be warm, generous and very helpful. As already said eating out is extremely cheap and I found the food really nice. If you can visit Krakow it really is a beautiful city. We have also visited on an earlier trip Gdansk, Gdinia, Sopot and Torun, each very different but all lovely places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.