The Ultimate Poland Road Trip Itinerary
Poland doesn’t get enough credit as a road trip destination. Over two weeks we drove from Warsaw to the Baltic coast, down through Gdansk, Torun, Poznan and Wroclaw, past castles and coal mines, and finally to Krakow and the salt mines of Wieliczka, with a stop at Auschwitz that we’ll never forget. Here’s our full itinerary, city by city, with everything we ate, drank, hiked and learned along the way.
- Route: Warsaw → Krynica Morska → Gdansk → Sopot → Torun → Poznan → Wroclaw → Opole → Katowice → Auschwitz → Krakow → Wieliczka → Kielce → Warsaw
- Highlights: Gdansk’s old town, golf in Torun, dwarf-hunting in Wroclaw, Auschwitz, a night underground in the Wieliczka Salt Mine
- Good to know: Poland rewards active travellers who like to walk, hike and explore on foot
Warsaw: Soviet Skyscrapers, a Mermaid and a Wall of Doorknobs
We started our road trip in Warsaw, staying at the Hampton by Hilton Warsaw City Centre, a short walk from downtown. Almost immediately we spotted a massive landmark building that looked familiar from a previous trip to Riga. It turns out these towers, often called Stalin’s skyscrapers or Seven Sisters-style Soviet architecture, pop up in several cities that once fell under Soviet influence.
From there we walked Nowy Świat, a lively pedestrian street, passing the Copernicus Monument and the famous Hotel Bristol along the way. The hotel has hosted plenty of notable guests over the years, and there’s even an artwork made of doorknobs engraved with their names. Further along we passed the Golden Terraces shopping centre, which has one of the strangest roof designs we’ve seen.
The pedestrian street continues past the Royal Castle before opening onto the Old Town, where the Warsaw Mermaid stands proudly on the main square. At the far end you’ll find the Warsaw Barbican, and you can walk a stretch of the old defensive walls surrounding it.
Wine, War Memorials and Splitting the G in Warsaw
There’s no shortage of restaurants and bars around the Old Town, especially near the Town Hall, but we chose Wines & People, a small spot a bit outside the busy centre. We got some excellent wine with proper explanation from the staff, paired with a small tapas plate.
Before dinner we visited the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army, the main garrison church of Warsaw and the representative cathedral for the entire Polish army. Right across the street stands the Warsaw Uprising Monument, dedicated to the 1944 uprising. Both are worth the short detour if you’re interested in the city’s history.
We had dinner at Emerald Irish Bar before calling it a night, and naturally that meant a Guinness. Tom tried his hand at splitting the G, a Guinness drinking game where you take one long sip and try to stop with the level sitting exactly in the middle of the letter G on the glass. Harder than it sounds.
Breakfast the next morning at the Hampton by Hilton was surprisingly extensive, a good way to fuel up before a long drive north.
A Baltic Coast Detour: Krynica Morska and Sopot
Before reaching Gdansk we drove out to Krynica Morska, a very narrow strip of land separating the lagoon from the Baltic Sea. The beach here has white sand, a few bars right on the sand, and even a small wellness area with a sauna and massage space.
We debated driving further to the border with Kaliningrad, but decided against it since there’d only be a sign to look at. Instead we turned back after a hike along the coast, which was a great way to get some fresh air after the long drive from Warsaw. There’s also a viewpoint at the lock, where a channel was cut through the narrow strip of land so ships could travel between the lagoon and the sea without depending on Russian waters. Honestly, it’s quite a detour, so if you’re short on time you can easily skip this stretch.
Next up was Sopot, which turned out to be a bit of a letdown. There’s a very long pier, but you have to pay to walk onto it, which felt odd for what’s essentially just a pier, so we skipped it. Sopot leans more towards a leisure beach town, better suited for a summer visit. We had a quick look at the Crooked House before wandering the pedestrian street on our way back to the car.
Gdansk: A Clean, Cosy Old Town on the Motlawa River
We slept at the Hilton Gdansk, which is really well located right in the centre. The fifth floor has a small wellness area with a sauna, a small hammam and a swimming pool, plus a terrace to relax on after your sauna session while watching the river below.
As Hilton Honors Gold members we got a free drink at the rooftop bar, though since June that tier no longer includes access to the full breakfast area. There’s now a separate zone for Gold and Diamond members with a continental breakfast, service and prosecco, which is nice, but it’s a shame you can’t join the main breakfast room anymore. Still, the room and the parking under the hotel were great, and at roughly 37 euros a night for parking, it’s worth factoring into your budget.
Gdansk itself treated us to great weather and plenty of people out enjoying it. We explored the Upper Gate, St. Mary’s Church, Long Lane, the Lions’ Castle, the Main Town Hall, the Neptune Fountain, and a little further along, Fahrenheit’s thermometer. Don’t skip Mariacka Street and Mariacka Gate, the cobblestones there are some of the nicest in the city.
We also checked out the Green Bridge and the Cow Gate. The National Maritime Museum is worth a visit too, we tried to recreate the same shot featured in our Lonely Planet guide, something of a running game we’ve picked up over our travels. The historic Gdansk Crane can’t be missed either, and the market is lined with colourful houses that make for great photos.
We caught a couple of happy hours along the way too, scoring two Whiskey Sours for around 7 euros, and they were genuinely good. To close out the day we walked over to the Great Mill, a striking piece of medieval architecture next to a modern fountain. A final stroll along the river brought us past the Ferris wheel and the lit-up GDANSK sign, a nice way to close out our time in the city.
The next morning we headed out early, before breakfast, for another hike so we could get our photos without the Sunday afternoon crowds. If you’re planning your own visit, that’s our top tip: start early and shoot your pictures first thing. Gdansk is a clean, cosy city that’s simply made for walking around and admiring the old buildings.
Torun: Golf, Gothic Gates and a Master Class in Omelettes
We continued our journey toward Torun, a small city with a special goal on our agenda: the golf club at Tatfort, a compact nine-hole course that’s part of the Golfamore network. We always try to fit a round of golf into our travels whenever the itinerary allows it.
We checked into Hotel Petite Fleur in Torun and headed out for a first exploration of the city, spotting the city theatre along the way. After a hike and our round of golf, we came back in the evening for a second look around, including a stop at the Copernicus House.
For dinner we went to Ale Ogień, where we had a great burger and an equally great glass of wine. Torun is a small, cosy city with a relaxed pedestrian area, easy to explore on foot in an evening.
Breakfast the next morning turned into a highlight of its own. There was a friendly chef running a dedicated omelette station, so well organised you could tell he genuinely took pride in his craft. We knew steak could be an art form, but it turns out the same goes for eggs. He calls you back roughly 25 seconds later and serves up a perfectly cooked omelette, quite possibly the best either of us has ever had. There’s real satisfaction in meeting people who care that much about what they do. A pastry for dessert alongside a proper French breakfast rounded off the experience nicely.
A Lunch Stop in Student-City Poznan
We went back and forth on our route, since heading straight to Lodz and Katowice would have been the quickest way toward Auschwitz. In the end we decided to break up the drive with lunch in the student city of Poznan, and the weather turned out perfect for exploring.
Our Lonely Planet pointed us to a church where two mechanical goats emerge at noon and butt heads twelve times, a small ritual that draws a proper crowd every day. The Town Hall anchors the central square, surrounded by colourful merchant houses.
Those goat mascots turn up in colourful form all over the city too, so keep an eye out while you walk, spotting them becomes its own little game. We also passed an imposing building that looked like it could easily be a palace, worth a look if you’re in the area. A quick break with a local specialty for lunch made the detour completely worthwhile.
Wroclaw: Chasing Dwarfs Along the Oder River
We continued on to Wroclaw, where we rented a newly renovated Airbnb apartment just a couple of hundred metres from the city square. Wroclaw has its own market square lined with colourful houses, and we treated ourselves to a fresh drink before starting our Lonely Planet-guided walk.
Wroclaw is famous for its bronze dwarf statues, said to number more than 800 scattered around the city. Hunting them down while you walk turns any stroll into a proper game. We spotted a couple of firefighter dwarfs, one enjoying an ice cream right where we ate ours, and even one lounging in a bed outside a fancy hotel.
We made our way on foot to Cathedral Island, then walked over to the multimedia fountain to catch the light show set to music once the evening fell. It was a genuinely good show. Rather than hike all the way back, we hopped on a tram.
We also visited the Parish of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, right near the university, which turned out to be genuinely beautiful inside. We wanted to see the Aula Leopoldina too, but arrived too late, and it was closed the next day when we tried again. Look it up yourself, it’s the kind of thing worth planning around, and we’re already saying it’s on the list for next time.
Opole, Moszna Castle and an Industrial Stop in Katowice
We decided to sleep close to Auschwitz and had booked our entry slot for 08:30 the following morning, so we made the drive there into a day of its own, stopping for lunch in Opole. We’d read online that people call it the “Venice of Poland”, but that’s giving it far more credit than it deserves.
It’s a small city with a nice town square, and you can get the classic shot of houses reflecting in the water, which is a nice moment, but if you’re pressed for time, don’t feel bad skipping it.
Our second stop, Moszna Castle, was genuinely impressive, with reportedly 365 rooms. We approached from the side and were already blown away, only to realise afterward that we’d only seen a fraction of it, the front facade is even more dramatic. We hiked through the surrounding park, caught a fountain show set to classical music, and visited a small island shaped like a heart. A great short stop to break up a long driving day.
Later in the afternoon we spent some time in Katowice, which honestly wasn’t anything special for us. It’s not an old town with cobblestones or a historical centre, it’s an industrial city that grew fast. They have a UFO-shaped event centre and an old mine site where you can ride up an old mine lift for a nice view over the city.
The rest of the site didn’t do much for us, some old machinery, some war-era exhibits and a few old cars. It just confirmed once again that we’re not really museum people.
Auschwitz: A Place Words Can't Prepare You For
We stayed at Willa Zator, a simple but clean place with a great shower, enjoyed pizza for dinner and a good breakfast the next morning before heading to Auschwitz. We each keep a bucket list of adventures and experiences, and while ours leans more toward adrenaline and active pursuits, Auschwitz was one of the very few destinations on it. We’d always wanted to visit, and no amount of reading prepares you for actually being there.
We booked a guided tour and started at Auschwitz I, walking beneath the famous “Arbeit macht frei” gate. Our guide was excellent, walking us through building after building where you see collected hair, shoes of every size including some heartbreakingly small ones, and piles of suitcases. It’s deeply upsetting. The tour ended at the site where people were gassed and cremated. There are no words for it.
Because Auschwitz I wasn’t large enough, the camp expanded to Auschwitz II-Birkenau. A free shuttle bus took us to the site, about 3 kilometres away. There you can see the railway tracks built from Oświęcim leading straight through the gate where countless trains once arrived. Walking the grounds is really the only way to grasp how enormous the site is.
On the left stood the stone buildings for women, on the right the wooden barracks for men, most no longer standing, though the chimneys remain to mark where they once were. We stood at the exact spot where trains stopped and people were separated to the left toward forced labour, or to the right toward death. It’s impossible to imagine having to leave your own family behind at that exact spot.
The crematoriums were demolished at the end of the war, but back at Auschwitz I there’s a detailed scale model showing exactly how it looked. Our tip: take a photo of that model so you can picture it in your mind once you’re standing at the actual location. You go very quiet thinking about the horror that took place there.
We spent close to four hours across both sites before calling it a day. We’re glad we finally made it to this extraordinary place, and honestly, we won’t try to describe it any further than we already have. Go and experience it for yourself. It leaves you thinking about the state of the world today too.
Krakow: Old Town, the Jewish Quarter and an Unexpected Grappling Championship
With time running down on our trip, we based ourselves in Krakow at the DoubleTree by Hilton, about 450 metres from a tram stop that gets you into the centre in around 15 minutes. It’s a genuinely nice city to wander through.
After walking through the historic centre we headed into the Jewish quarter, where we tried zapiekanki, an open-faced toasted Polish sandwich that’s something of a local institution here. We also visited the last pharmacy of the ghetto, one of the remaining pieces of the ghetto wall, and Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory.
We also visited the Royal Castle, wandered past the pinball and arcade museum (we skipped that one since the weather was too good to spend indoors), and watched the fire-breathing dragon do its thing every few minutes. In the evening we found a quirky pub covered floor to ceiling in old framed portraits and toasted our last days in Poland with a couple of beers.
Back at the hotel we noticed something called ADCC on the schedule and had no idea what it meant. It turned out to be the biennial world championship of grappling, essentially the Olympics of jiu-jitsu. Kids in the lobby were asking athletes for selfies, and we had no clue who any of them were until we asked, learning we’d just walked past two-time world champion Diogo Reis, nicknamed “Baby Shark”.
Friday morning we visited the hotel’s wellness area, which turned into a funny scene: we were relaxing without a stitch on while a group of fighters, towels wrapped around them, tried to cut weight in the extreme heat before the staff came to chase them out. Around 11:00 we caught the official weigh-in, and later that day we attended the amateur world championship, an event we genuinely knew nothing about walking in but found completely gripping once the grappling started. We even spotted a couple of Belgian athletes competing, though they lost in the first round. It was a shame we had to move on before the professional matches over the weekend, but the salt mines were calling.
A Night 135 Metres Underground: Wieliczka Salt Mine
We booked an afternoon slot for the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour, which takes you 135 metres underground. Over roughly two hours you’re guided through to a chapel carved entirely from salt, genuinely impressive, along with plenty of salt-carved statues along the way.
After the tour we went back up briefly, since we’d booked a night sleeping in the mine, 137 metres underground, which the operators claim brings real health benefits. It was a unique experience, most of our fellow sleepers were Polish, with only one person able to translate a little for the rest of us and one guest from Manchester, Charlie Moose. We had no idea until chatting with him that he works full-time as the social responsibility lead for UFC world champion Tom Aspinall, a genuinely inspiring conversation to have 137 metres below the surface.
The night itself wasn’t the most restful, you sleep in one large room fitted with 28 beds, and we got lucky with only 18 guests that night. Bring earplugs and expect snoring either way. The temperature stayed a steady 13 to 14 degrees, so not exactly cold, but our noses definitely felt it, giving flashbacks to a previous night spent in an ice hotel in Lapland. It was a genuinely memorable experience, though we probably wouldn’t repeat it.
Kielce and Heading Home
Our last day brought us back toward Warsaw, with a lunch stop in Kielce, where we stumbled onto a large military parade complete with tanks and other fairly serious hardware rolling through the historic square. We also checked out the cathedral before dropping off the car and heading to the airport.
Looking back, it was a relatively short road trip through a seriously underrated country, not many people we know have made the trip to Poland. We keep chasing new destinations, and this one earns a firm spot on the list. Clean, well-kept cities, cobblestones and old town squares at every turn, and more than enough active adventures to keep us busy. We can genuinely recommend going to explore Poland for yourself.
