Getting to Warsaw

Go to: By plane | By train | By coach | By car | List of low-cost arilines

By plane

Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport is located in the south-west part of Warsaw about 10 kilometres from the city centre. It operates daily flights (both low-cost and ordinary) to many European locations.

The Polish flag carrier, LOT, offers flights to major European destinations.

From the airport, the city centre can be reached...

...by bus. Line 175 takes you directly to the city centre ("Centrum" bus stop). The ride takes about 30 minutes. Two other lines serving the airport are line 188, taking you to the underground ("Politechnika" station) and passing through the south of the city centre, and line 148, providing access to Ursynów, the southern part of Warsaw. Line N32 is a night line connecting the airport to the mail railway station.
...by taxi. Avoid the taxi drivers soliciting customers inside the terminal, as they will rip you off. Instead, pick a corporate taxi (identified by a sticker with the taxi number, the corporation name, the telephone number on the front door and a "taxi" sign on the roof) at the taxi rank outside.

You can read more about the public transport in Warsaw in the Getting Around section.

Note that low-cost airlines (except Clickair and Volare) use the Etiuda terminal for departures (all arrivals are handled by Terminal 2). Etiuda is a small separate shed building about a 5-minute walk away from the main terminal.

By train

There are direct train connections between Warsaw and the following major cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Dortmund, Kiev, Minsk, Moscow, Munich, Prague and Vienna. The best place to get off is the Warszawa Centralna Station (NOTE: It isn't the last station on the route!), located in the city centre.

You can use the online journey planner provided by PKP (Polish Railways) to find scheduled train connection in Poland and in Europe.

By coach

Coaches operate between Warsaw and most European cities. They are typically cheaper (though less comfortable) than trains. The main companies offering connections between Warsaw and other parts of Europe are:

EuroLines offering connections between Warsaw and Austria, Belarus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Orbis: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom

Most coaches arrive at and depart from a coach station called Dworzec PKS Warszawa Zachodnia. You can get to the city centre from there taking one of the following buses: 127, 130, 158 or 517, and getting off at the "Centrum" bus stop.

Some coaches, especially those for eastbound destinations, use Dworzec PKS Warszawa Stadion as an arrival and departure point. To get to the city centre from there, take the bus number 160, 512 or 517 or the tram number 7, 8, 21 or 25 and get off at the "Centrum" stop.

By car

Roads in Poland are generally well-signed but road conditions are not as good as in other European countries. Traffic drives on the right and standard international traffic signs are used. The speed limits are 130 km/h on motorways, 110km/h on dual carriageways, 90km/h outside urban areas, 50km/h in urban areas. The use of seatbelts is obligatory, as is driving with headlights at all times.

Low-cost flights to Warsaw

Here’s some information on how to get to Warsaw without paying a fortune, ordered by country.

Austria

There are no low-cost airlines flying to Warsaw from Austria. However, there is a convenient train connection between Vienna and Warsaw, with trains running twice a day. The journey takes about 8 hours and can cost as little as 19€ if you buy your ticket in advance. There is only a limited number of tickets available per train! You can read more about the offer at the Austrian Railways (ÖBB) website (in German).

Belgium

Wizz Air offers flights to Warsaw from Brussels Charleroi.

Czech Republic

There are no low-cost airlines flying from the Czech Republic Hungary to Poland and, unfortunately, neither LOT Polish Airlines nor Czech Airlines offer good prices for flights from Prague to Warsaw.

There is, however, a train connection between Prague and Warsaw, with one direct train per day (journey time: about 8,5 hours) and one per night (9,5 hours).

Additionally, EuroLines offer promotional prices on coach journeys to Warsaw, starting from CZK 440 for a single ticket.

Finland

There are no low-cost airlines flying from Finland to Poland, but the flights offered by Finnair and Blue 1 are relatively cheap when booked in advance.

France

The following airlines offer cheap flights to Warsaw from France:

Norwegian Air Shuttle: Paris Orly (Tue, Thu and Sun)
Wizz Air: Paris Beauvais

Germany

The following airlines offer cheap flights to Warsaw from Germany:

Germanwings: Hamburg, Berlin Schönefeld, Cologne/Bonn, Dresden (DRS->WAW: only Mondays) and Stuttgart
Wizz Air: Dortmund (Tue and Sat)

There is also a convenient train connection between Berlin and Warsaw, with trains running three times a day. The journey takes about 7 hours and can cost as little as 19€ if you buy your ticket in advance. There is only a limited number of tickets available per train! You can read more about the offer at the Deutsche Bahn website (in German).

Hungary

There are no low-cost airlines flying from Hungary to Poland. However, Malév Hungarian Airlines have good prices for flights from Budapest to Poland if you book your ticket in advance.

Ireland

Wizz Air offers flights to Warsaw from Cork (Wed and Sun).

Italy

The following airlines offer cheap flights to Warsaw from Italy:

Norwegian Air Shuttle: Rome Fiumicino
Wizz Air: Milan-Bergamo (Tue, Thur, Sat), Rome Ciampino (Tue, Thur, Sat) and Bologna

Norway

The following airlines offer cheap flights to Warsaw from Norway:

Norwegian Air Shuttle: Stavanger and Oslo Gardermoen
Wizz Air: Oslo-Torp (Wed, Fri, Sun)

Spain

Clickair offers flights to Warsaw from Barcelona (Tue and Sat).

Sweden

The following airlines offer cheap flights to Warsaw from Sweden:

Norwegian Air Shuttle: Stockholm Arlanda
Wizz Air: Gothenburg (Tue and Sat), Malmö (Tue, Thur, Sat) and Stockholm Skavsta

The UK

The following airlines offer cheap flights to Warsaw from the UK:

EasyJet: London Luton
Germanwings: London Stansted (Mon and Wed)
Wizz Air: Doncaster-Sheffield (Wed and Sun), Glasgow-Prestwick (Tue, Thu and Sat), Liverpool (Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun), London Luton