UK
citizens no longer need a visa to visit Poland.
Page last
updated:
17 January 2012. Train times valid from 11
December 2011 to 9 June 2012.
Travelling to Poland by train...
The main square & cathedral, Krakow
It's
easy to travel from the UK to Poland by train. You
take
a lunchtime Eurostar to Brussels and a high-speed train to
Cologne, then the overnight sleeper train 'Jan Kiepura' from Cologne to Warsaw with
connections for Krakow.
Alternatively, take a mid-afternoon Eurostar to Paris, the excellent
City Night Line sleeper train
'Perseus' from Paris to Berlin, then an air-conditioned
express from Berlin to Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw or Katowice. The journey from London to Warsaw or Krakow
is safe and comfortable, with couchettes and sleeping-cars for the overnight
part. It's an
experience in itself!
There are two
good options for travelling from London to Warsaw by train.
Option 1 is to leave London at lunchtime, change in Brussels
& Cologne onto the 'Jan Kiepura' sleeper train to Warsaw
arriving next morning.
Option 2
is to leave London in mid-afternoon, take the City Night
Line sleeper train from Paris to Berlin and then a daytime
'Berlin-Warszawa Express' to Warsaw arriving early
evening.
Both options are described below.
Option 1:
London to Warsaw by Jan Kiepura sleeper train...
This is
the fastest & most convenient option between
London & Warsaw.
Train times
London ► Warsaw
Travel
from London to Brussels by
Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras
daily except Saturdays at 15:04, arriving
Brussels
Midi at 18:05. On Saturdays, depart London
at 12:57 arriving Brussels Midi at 16:08.
Travel from Brussels to
Cologne by ICE
high-speed train leaving
Brussels
Midi at 18:25 and arriving Cologne at 20:15. On Saturdays you can
also take the earlier 17:28 Thalys
train arriving Cologne at 19:15. You've time
for a meal in Cologne.
Travel
from Cologne to Warsaw overnight on the 'Jan Kiepura'
EuroNight sleeper train, leaving Cologne at 22:28 and arriving next
morning at Poznan at 07:55 and Warsaw
Centralna
at 10:55. The Jan Kiepura has modern
air-conditioned Polish sleeping-cars (1 & 2-bed deluxe rooms with private toilet
& shower plus TV/DVD player, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms
with washbasin, hot shower at end of the corridor, CCTV
security, highly recommended),
couchettes (basic sleeping accommodation in 4-berth & 6-berth
compartments) & reclining seats (not recommended). The sleeper fare
includes complimentary toiletries pack and morning tea or
coffee and croissant. There's no restaurant car in the
evening, so feel free to take you own picnic
and bottle of wine aboard, but an InterCity cafe car is attached
for breakfast serving tea, coffee and even a cooked breakfast.
More photos & information about the Jan Kiepura sleeper
train.
Warsaw Centralna station
& city information. The Jan Kiepura in fact
starts its journey in Amsterdam at 19:01, it's also possible
to pick it up there using ferries from Harwich, Hull or
Newcastle,
see
here.
Train times
Warsaw ► London
Travel
from Warsaw to Cologne on the 'Jan Kiepura' sleeper
train,
leaving Warsaw Centralna at 18:35 or Poznan at 21:21,
arriving in Cologne at 06:14 next morning. The Jan
Kiepura has modern
sleeping-cars (1, 2 & 3-bed standard
rooms with washbasin, 1 & 2-bed deluxe rooms with
private shower & toilet, highly recommended),
couchettes
(basic sleeping accommodation in 4-berth & 6-berth
compartments) and reclining seats (not
recommended). There's an InterCity cafe car in the
evening for dinner, with hot meals at
affordable prices, alternatively feel free to take you own picnic
and bottle of wine aboard!
More photos & information about the Jan Kiepura sleeper
train.
Travel from Brussels to
London by
Eurostar. Daily except Saturdays, a Eurostar
leaves Brussels
Midi at 12:56 arriving London St Pancras at 14:03.
On Saturdays, also Mondays & Tuesdays from 18
February to 1 April, and on Mondays to Saturdays from 2 April
onwards, a Eurostar leaves Brussels
Midi at 10:56
arriving London St Pancras at 11:57.
Take Eurostar to Brussels, then a
German ICE high-speed train
to Cologne...
ICE3 2nd
class. ICEs are perhaps the most comfortable
daytime trains in Europe...
ICE3 1st class, with real leather seats. All
seats in both classes have power sockets.
An ICE to Cologne &
Frankfurt waiting to leave Brussels Midi.
More ICE info.
... and introducing the
EuroNightJan Kiepura sleeper train from Cologne to Warsaw...
Named after a
famous Polish actor and singer, the Jan Kiepura is a
high-quality EuroNight sleeper train linking Amsterdam &
Cologne with Warsaw. Choose between a safe and comfortable
sleeper or a more economical couchette. A sleeper is
the recommended option, only a little more expensive than a
couchette.
More photos & information about the Jan Kiepura sleeper
train.
Dinner in Cologne before you board?
For a traditional German meal in Cologne before boarding the
sleeper to Poland, try the Brauhaus Sion (www.brauhaus-sion.de),
5 minutes walk from Cologne hauptbahnhof, or the Malzmuehle
restaurant (www.muehlenkoelsch.de),
10-15 minutes walk from Cologne Hauptbahnhof, or there's a
restaurant inside the Hauptbahnhof itself at the Schweinske,
www.schweinske.de.
Feedback is always
appreciated!
1, 2 or 3
bed sleepers, the cosy
& civilised option. The EuroNight 'Jan
Kiepura' has modern air-conditioned Polish
sleeping-cars, with 1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, either
standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
A cosy
standard sleeper shown here with
all 3 beds
folded out & the washbasin visible.
A standard
sleeper with the beds
folded away and seats folded out. There's a socket
for laptops & mobiles.
4-berth couchettes: Ideal for families.
Much more space per person than 6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes: A very economical
option, far better than a seat for just a few euros
more...
Couchette cars, the economy option. The Jan
Kiepura also has two couchette cars, with 4 & 6
berth compartments, toilets & washrooms at the end
of the corridor.
More pictures & info about this train.
How much does it cost (by Jan
Kiepura sleeper train)?
1.
London to Cologne
by Eurostar +
Thalys or ICE
Fares for Eurostar+ICE start at 49 euros (£43)
each way.
Fares
for Eurostar+Thalys start at £53 one-way (£39
London-Brussels + £14 Brussels-Cologne)
or £97 return (£69 London-Brussels +
£28 Brussels-Cologne).
Fares vary like
air fares, so book in advance to get the cheapest
prices.
The cheapest
way to book a London-Warsaw train journey is online, and
here's an easy step-by-step guide to buying the right
tickets on the best websites. You can't book from
London to Warsaw all in one go, so I recommend doing a 'dry
run' first, following the steps below to check availability
on each train before booking for real. Remember that
booking opens 90 days before departure.
Step
1, book the Jan Kiepura sleeper train from Cologne to
Warsaw & back...
Two
websites can book the Jan Kiepura sleeper train,
www.raileurope.co.uk
&
www.bahn.de.
It's a good idea to compare prices on both sites as they
can differ.
www.raileurope.co.uk
is arguably the easiest to use, it's for UK residents
only and prices are in pounds. One drawback is
that it won't book 4-berth couchettes so use
www.bahn.de
if you want these. Tickets will be sent to any UK
address, for which they charge a small fee. Only
UK credit cards are accepted.
www.bahn.de
is the excellent German Railways website, it can be used
by residents of any country, prices are in euros and you
simply print out your own ticket. Obviously, look
for the direct EN train with 0 changes and check
availability of the cheap 'Savings' fares. One
minor quirk is that it won't offer you a berth in a
3-bed sleeper if you're travelling alone, so if that's
what you want, use
www.raileurope.co.uk
instead. I strongly recommend registering when
prompted, so you can log in at any time to see all your
bookings and reprint tickets as necessary.
Step 2,
book your trains from London to Cologne & back...
First,
check to see if there are any cheap 'London Spezial' fares
from 49 euros between London and Cologne at the German
Railways website using the special links I'm about to
give you. I recommend booking a round trip as two one-ways,
as it's easier to see where the availability is. I
also recommend registering when prompted, so you
can log in at any time to see all your bookings and reprint
tickets if necessary. Here are some links I've set up
with all the details necessary to bring up the cheap fares,
just enter your departure date, remembering that on the
inward journey, departure from Cologne will be the day after
departure from Warsaw:
You may or
may not see any cheap 'Spezial' fares available on your date
of travel, as availability
is very limited because DB
only have a small allocation of seats on Eurostar. If you
find a cheap ticket, great, if not, move swiftly on to the
following paragraph.
Next
we check London-Cologne prices on the
Belgian Railways international website
www.b-europe.com. It can book both Eurostar+Thalys
and Eurostar+ICE, their booking system handles this two-leg
journey pretty well and frequently seems to offer the
cheapest fares (when there's no 'spezial' fare available at
the bahn site, that is).
www.b-europe.com allows you to print your own
tickets and accepts credit cards from anyone in any country.
Finally, you can
also check London-Cologne fares at
www.raileurope.co.uk
(UK residents only) and
www.eurostar.com.
Annoyingly, the Eurostar site can only book Eurostar+Thalys,
not Eurostar+ICE, but the Rail Europe site can book both
options. By all means
try booking London to Cologne on these sites sites, but a
major quirk of the French reservation system on which
they're based is that it can't mix & match fare types and
may come up with silly-money fares as a result. The
solution is to split the journey into London-Brussels and
Brussels-Cologne as follows:
UK residents
should go to
www.raileurope.co.uk,
and using the Eurostar & ICE times given above as your
guide, first book the train from London to Brussels & back,
add it to your basket, click 'continue shopping' then book
Brussels to Cologne & back. Add this to your basket
and checkout.
Another way
to split the journey, which can be used by anyone from any
country is to book London-Brussels at
www.eurostar.com
(with self-print tickets) and the Brussels-Cologne ICE at
www.bahn.de
(also with self-print tickets). Brussels-Cologne
Thalys trains can be booked at
www.thalys.com.
If you'd prefer to have someone book it for you,
just click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they'll send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £35 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
How to buy
tickets by phone...
The best people to call to book
this trip are
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines
open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee,
2% credit card charge, no charge for debit cards), or www.europeanrail.com
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 fee per booking, but can have more
time to help you).Click
here for a list of
agencies and other useful information on how to book.
Tailor-made travel & hotel arrangements...
If you want a compete tailor-made
trip with all your rail travel expertly booked for you and
good quality hotels arranged, UK residents can call
www.railbookers.com on 020 3327 0761. US
residents can call them on (646) 770 2894 (please
quote seat61) and Canadian residents on (416) 800 0732
(please quote 'seat61'). Australian residents can call
their Australian office,
www.railbookers.com.au on 02 8096 0550. Just tell them
what you want, and they'll advise you on the best trains,
routes & hotels and sort it all out for you, hassle-free. They get
very positive reviews and take good care of their guests.
Browse suggested itineraries &
prices.
This is a
slower option than the 'Jan Kiepura', but can be handy if
you want to stop off in Paris or Berlin, or can't find any
cheap fares available via Cologne.
London ► Warsaw
Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 16:01 (15:31 at weekends), arriving Paris Gare du Nord at
19:17 (18:47 at weekends).
It's a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Travel from Paris to Berlin
by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est daily at 20:05 (20:20 at weekends) and arriving at
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 08:26 next morning. The 'Perseus' has sleepers
(1, 2 & 3 berth with washbasin or deluxe with shower &
toilet), 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes, and ordinary seats,
see the photos & information below,
or click for more pictures
& information about this train.
Travel from Berlin to Warsaw on the 'Berlin-Warszawa Express',
leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 09:40 and arriving Poznan at 12:30 and
Warsaw Centralna at
15:15. The Berlin-Warszawa Express is a modern
air-conditioned EuroCity train with comfortable seats, a
trolley refreshment service and a restaurant car serving
drinks, snacks and full meals. Treat yourself to a
meal in the restaurant: Three courses, a beer and
a coffee come to 10 euros.
Warsaw ► London
Travel
from Warsaw to Berlin on the 'Berlin-Warszawa Express',
leaving Warsaw Centralna at 09:55 or Poznan at 12:31, arriving at
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 15:12. Restaurant car available,
treat yourself to lunch for only 10 euros...
Travel from Berlin to Paris by City Night Line sleeper
train 'Perseus', leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof daily at 20:07 and arriving Paris Gare de
l'Est at 09:24 next morning. The 'Perseus' has
ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and modern sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin or deluxe rooms with
private shower & toilet, highly recommended),
see the photos & information below.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
More pictures
& information about this train.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:30.
On board Eurostar from London to Paris:
See the Eurostar page
for photos & information about on-board facilities.
On board the Paris - Berlin City Night Line
sleeper train...
The Paris-Berlin
overnight train is one of the
German Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Perseus', it
has modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower &
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at
the end of the corridor, all rooms with power points for
mobiles & laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in
a 4- or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not
recommended, as a couchette is far better). Inclusive fares are charged covering
travel plus sleeping accommodation. The
sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast served in
your compartment.
More pictures and information about this train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, why not catch the earlier 14:02 Eurostar from
London & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
The Night train to Berlin... The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of City Night Line
sleeper train 'Perseus' boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
The Berlin-Warsaw
Express has modern air-conditioned smooth-riding coaches in both
1st & 2nd class, most with compartments and side
corridor like this, but some with seats in open-plan saloons.
You can choose which type you prefer when you book.
The
Berlin-Warsaw Express also has a bistro-restaurant
car like this, staffed by Polish train catering
company Wars. Why not treat yourself to a meal
and kill a couple of hours over a beer and some food
in the restaurant? An excellent sausage soup,
a main course of schnitzel, potato and salad (all
served on proper china), a beer
and coffee all come to only 10 euros. You must
pay in cash, not credit card, but both euros and
zlotys are accepted.
This is the
simplest way to book, as
www.raileurope.co.uk
is the easiest website to use and you can book the Eurostar,
the Paris-Berlin sleeper and the Berlin-Warsaw train
together as one transaction. It's also backed by a UK
call centre if you need any help. However, it's also
worth checking prices for the Paris-Berlin sleeper using
www.bahn.de, as this accesses the German
reservation system and prices sometimes vary from those on
the French system.
www.bahn.de
also tends to be a pound or two cheaper for the
Berlin-Warsaw train.
Go to
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
Bookings for all trains open 90 days before departure,
except for the inward Warsaw to Berlin leg, where bookings
only open 60 days before departure.
Step 1, book the sleeper from Paris
to Berlin. Enter 'Paris' to 'Berlin' and your dates of
travel. It's best to book the Paris-Berlin sleeper
train first and check its exact timetable before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above. For some reason,
www.raileurope.co.uk
won't book 4-berth couchettes on this train. And if you've
a child aged 4- 5 or 12-14
please read this note.
Step 2, after booking
the Paris-Berlin train, add it to your basket & click 'continue shopping'.
Now book
the Eurostar from London to Paris and back, using the recommended Eurostar times above as a guide.
By
all means book an earlier Eurostar outward or a later
Eurostar on the way back if these have cheaper seats
available or if you'd like to stop off in Paris.
Step 3, click
'continue shopping' again and book the train from Berlin to
Warsaw & back.
Tickets are
sent from Rail Europe's UK office and generally arrive
within a couple of days.
This involves
two websites, so do a 'dry run'
first on both sites to check prices and availability before
booking for real.
www.bahn.de can book all accommodation, including 4-berth
couchettes, though for some reason won't offer 3-bed
sleepers to solo travellers (though raileurope.co.uk will!). If you book using the bahn.de site,
children under 6 go free, children under 14 can get the
child rate, which are the correct age limits for this train.
Step 1, Go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website, and book from Paris to
Berlin & back looking for the direct CNL train with 0
changes.
The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares (if
available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily retrieve any bookings. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before
booking the Eurostar connection, as times can vary.
Allow at least 90 minutes on the outward journey and 1 hour
on the return to make the connection in Paris.
Step 2, still on
www.bahn.de,
now use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Berlin-Warsaw trains shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. You can simply
print out your own Online Ticket. Alternatively,
if you have any problems, Berlin-Warsaw trains can also be
booked very easily at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
although this usually costs a pound or two more than using
Deutsche Bahn.
Step
3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris, using the Eurostar times
above as a guide. By all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed, or collected at the station.
If you'd prefer to have someone book it for you,
just click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they'll send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £35 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book all these trains by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday,
09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit
cards), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 09:00-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee).
London to
Wroclaw, Katowice, Oswiecim (Auschwitz) & Krakow
The Jan Kiepura in fact starts its journey in Amsterdam at
19:01, it's also possible to pick it up there using ferries
from Harwich, Hull or Newcastle,
see
here.
Regular InterCity
trains link Warsaw with both Krakow & Katowice.
A fast air-conditioned InterCity train leaves
Warsaw Centralna
at 12:55 arriving Krakow Glowny at 15:37, with a restaurant
car available for lunch (treat yourself!). An
air-conditioned EuroCity train leaves Warsaw Centralna at
12:25 arriving Katowice at 15:05, also with restaurant car.
Train times
Katowice & Krakow ► London
Regular InterCity
trains link both Krakow & Katowice with Warsaw.
An air-conditioned InterCity train leaves Krakow Glowny at
14:35 arriving Warsaw Centralna at
17:33, restaurant car
available. An air-conditioned EuroCity train leaves
Katowice at 12:50 arriving Warsaw Centralna at 15:30.
Above: A Polish Intercity (EIC)
train about to leave Warsaw Centralna for Krakow.
'EIC' trains are fast, modern, air-conditioned &
inexpensive to use. 'TLK' trains are older and
non-air-con but have cheaper fares...
Above:
A first class compartment on an air-conditioned
Polish EIC train from Warsaw to Krakow. 2nd
class is also comfortable. There's usually a
mix of traditional compartments and open plan
seating on an EIC train.
Warsaw to Krakow in 2nd class costs around
140 zlotys (£32) 2nd class, 188 zlotys (£44) on a
high-quality EIC train. On a lower-quality TLK or IR
train it costs 75 zlotys (£17) 2nd class, 83-117 zlotys
(£19-£27) in 1st class.
Step 2, book Warsaw-Krakow online at
https://bilet.intercity.pl: You can try
booking Warsaw-Krakow & back at the PKP (Polish Railways)
InterCity website,
https://bilet.intercity.pl (for the record, their home
page is
www.intercity.pl). At
https://bilet.intercity.pl, the English button is top
right, and you'll need to use the Polish spellings of Krakow
and Warszawa. You pay online with a credit card and
print out your own ticket. If you use this system
successfully (or are unsuccessful!)
feedback would be
appreciated, as it has not yet been confirmed that it
accepts UK and other non-Polish cards.
Or buy
Warsaw-Krakow tickets through recommended agency
www.polrail.com: Alternatively, you can order
your Warsaw-Krakow ticket online from reliable Polish
ticketing agency
www.polrail.com and collect it from their desk at Warsaw
Centralna, open 08:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 08:00-14:00
Saturday, closed Sunday & holidays, or they'll send it to
the UK by registered post for around £5.
Alternatively, it's easy enough to buy your ticket to Krakow
at Warsaw Centralna when you get there. Note that
www.raileurope.co.uk
appears to book Warsaw-Krakow tickets, but in fact issues an
open ticket without the necessary seat reservation for all
EIC trains and some TLK trains.
Alternatively, book the whole London-Krakow journey all
together through a UK booking agency: If you'd like someone book it
all for you,
just click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they will send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £35 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
Tailor-made travel & hotel arrangements...
If you want a compete tailor-made
trip with all your rail travel expertly booked for you and
good quality hotels arranged, UK residents can call
www.railbookers.com on 020 3327 0761. US
residents can call them on (646) 770 2894 (please
quote seat61) and Canadian residents on (416) 800 0732
(please quote 'seat61'). Australian residents can call
their Australian office,
www.railbookers.com.au on 02 8096 0550. Just tell them
what you want, and they'll advise you on the best trains,
routes & hotels and sort it all out for you, hassle-free. They get
very positive reviews and take good care of their guests.
Browse suggested itineraries &
prices.
Option 2:
London to Wroclaw, Katowice & Krakow
via Berlin...
This is a
slightly slower option than the 'Jan Kiepura', but can be
handy if you want to stop off in Paris, or can't find any
cheap fares available via Cologne & Warsaw. This
option runs daily between
late March & early November, but the Paris-Berlin
sleeper train only runs on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays &
Sundays in winter.
London ► Wroclaw, Katowice & Krakow
Travel from
London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving
London St Pancras at 16:01 (15:31 at weekends), arriving Paris Gare du Nord at
19:17 (18:47 at weekends).
It's a
10 minute walk
from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est. By
all means take an earlier Eurostar if you'd like to spend
some time in Paris, or if it has cheaper seats available.
Travel from Paris to Berlin
by the City Night Line sleeper train 'Perseus', leaving
Paris Gare de l'Est daily at 20:05 (20:20 at weekends) and arriving at
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 08:26 next morning. The 'Perseus' has sleepers
(1, 2 & 3 berth with washbasin or deluxe with shower &
toilet), 4-berth & 6-berth couchettes, and ordinary seats,
see the photos & information below,
or click for more pictures
& information about this train.
Travel tip: For a good meal in a classic
Parisian brasserie before boarding the sleeper train in
Paris, catch the earlier 14:01 Eurostar & dine at the
Brasserie Terminus Nord directly across the road
from the Gare du Nord.
Travel
from Berlin to Krakow by direct air-conditioned EuroCity
train, leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at 09:42 arriving Wroclaw at 15:04,
Katowice at 17:45 & Krakow at 19:52. This train is
called the 'Wawel' after the royal castle in Krakow.
It has a modern German 1st class coach with 6-seater
compartments, a modern German 2nd class coach and two
modern air-conditioned Polish coaches, all with
open-plan saloon seating. A bar car is attached
from Wegliniec (reached at 13:16) to Krakow, and there's also a refreshment trolley,
but it's a good idea to bring your own picnic
with wine or beer and enjoy the ride!
The German coaches have power sockets for laptops &
mobiles at the seats around tables, although not at the
other seats.
Doesn't run on 25 December or 1 January.
See 3D virtual tour inside the German intercity
coaches used on this train. Reservation is
compulsory, make sure you choose the option to reserve a
seat.
Krakow, Katowice & Wroclaw ►
London
Travel from Krakow to Berlin by direct air-conditioned EuroCity
train, the 'Wawel'. It leaves Krakow at 07:08, Katowice at
09:12, and Wroclaw at 11:59, arriving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof at
17:06. It
has a modern German 1st class coach with 6-seater
compartments, a modern German 2nd class coach and two
modern air-conditioned Polish coaches, all with open-plan
saloon seating. A bar car is attached whilst in
Poland
and there's also a refreshment trolley, but why not bring your own picnic
on board with wine or a few beers?
See 3D virtual tour inside the German intercity
coaches used on this train.
Reservation is compulsory, make sure you
choose the option to reserve a seat.
Travel from Berlin to Paris by City Night Line sleeper
train 'Perseus', leaving
Berlin
Hauptbahnhof daily at 20:07 and arriving Paris Gare de
l'Est at 09:24 next morning. The 'Perseus' has
ordinary seats (not recommended), couchettes (4-bunk or
6-bunk) and modern sleeping-cars (1, 2 or 3-berth
standard rooms with washbasin or deluxe rooms with
private shower & toilet, highly recommended),
see the photos & information below.
Breakfast is included in the fare for sleeper passengers.
More pictures
& information about this train.
Travel
from Paris to London by
Eurostar, leaving Paris Nord at
11:13 and arriving London St Pancras at 12:30.
Introducing the Paris - Berlin City Night Line
sleeper train...
The Paris-Berlin
overnight train is one of the
German Railway's excellent 'City Night Line' sleeper trains.
Called the 'Perseus', it
has modern sleeping-cars
(1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower &
toilet, 1, 2 &
3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, shower at
the end of the corridor, all rooms with power points for
mobiles & laptop computers),
modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in
a 4 or 6-berth compartment), ordinary seats (not
recommended, a couchette is far better). Inclusive fares are charged covering
travel plus sleeping accommodation. The
sleeping-car fare includes a light breakfast served in
your compartment.
More
pictures & information about this City Night Line train.
1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper:
The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with
washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.
4-berth couchettes:
Ideal for families, much more space per person than
6-berth couchettes.
6-berth couchettes:
A very economical option, far better than a seat for
just a few euros more...
The Night train to Berlin... The
'Comfortline' sleeping-car of City Night Line
sleeper train 'Perseus' boarding at Paris Gare de l'Est...
... and the Berlin-Krakow
EuroCity train, the 'Wawel'...
The 'Wawel'
from Berlin to Krakow, about to leave Berlin
Hauptbahnhof... This is one of the two Polish
air-conditioned EuroCity coaches.
2nd class
seats in one of the German air-conditioned cars used on
the 'Wawel' from Berlin to Krakow... The Polish
cars are similar. Bring your own picnic & beer or
wine...
1st class
seats in the German air-conditioned 1st class car on the
'Wawel' from Berlin to Krakow, in 6-seater compartments.
Oswiecim (Auschwitz)
If you are visiting the museum at
Oswiecim (better known by its infamous German name,
Auschwitz), change trains at Katowice. A local train leaves
Katowice at around 18:55, arriving
Oswiecim 19:55.
Alternatively, continue to Krakow, as regular local trains
link Krakow with Oswiecim every hour or two. See
www.bahn.de
(English button top right)
to check train times. Once in Oswiecim, there are two camps
to visit, Auschwitz I which is an ex-Polish army barracks in
the town itself about 10 minutes walk from the station (turn
right outside the station then veer left), and Auschwitz-Birkenau II which was a
purpose-built concentration camp a little way out of town,
about 30 minutes walk from the station (turn right, then
turn right again at the first major road bridge across the
railway). There are also regular buses between Krakow
and Oswiecim, see
www.pksoswiecim.pl/strona.php?grupa=9.
Alternatively, you can visit Auschwitz on a one-day tour
from Krakow, try
www.isango.com.
www.raileurope.co.uk
is the easiest way to book the London-Paris & Paris-Berlin
trains, then the cheapest way to book the Berlin to Krakow
train is at the German Railways website,
www.bahn.de.
Do a dry run on both sites first to check prices &
availability.
Go to
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Tickets can be sent to any UK address or can be collected at
the station. Only UK credit cards are accepted.
Step 1, book the sleeper from Paris
to Berlin. Enter 'Paris' to 'Berlin' and your dates of
travel. It's best to book the Paris-Berlin sleeper
train first and check its exact timetable before
booking the Eurostar connection, in case times vary from the
ones shown above. For some reason,
www.raileurope.co.uk
won't book 4-berth couchettes on this train. If you've
a child aged 4- 5 or 12-14
please read this note.
Step 2, after
booking the Paris-Berlin train, add it to your basket &
click 'continue shopping'. Now book the Eurostar from
London to Paris and back, using the recommended Eurostar
times above as a guide. By all means book an earlier
Eurostar outward or a later Eurostar on the way back if
these have cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop
off in Paris.
Step 3, now go to the German
Railways website
www.bahn.de and use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Berlin-Krakow trains shown in the train
times above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. You simply print
out your own Online Ticket. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily retrieve any bookings later. Alternatively,
if you have any problems, Berlin-Krakow trains can also be
booked very easily at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
although this may cost more than using
Deutsche Bahn.
Alternatively, you can book London-Paris using
www.eurostar.com, then book Paris-Berlin & Berlin-Krakow
using the German Railways site,
www.bahn.de. Do
a 'dry run' first on both sites to check prices and
availability before booking for real.
Step 1, go to
www.bahn.de, the German Railways website, and book a
ticket from Paris to Berlin Hbf and back on the overnight
CNL sleeper train. The search results will show cheap 'savings' fares
(if available) and
fully-flexible fares for each type of seat, couchette &
sleeper. You pay by credit card and print out your own
tickets. Easy! The prices shown on
www.bahn.de are in euro, and are the total cost for all
passengers selected, not per person. I recommend
registering when it asks you before completing the purchase,
so you can easily retrieve any bookings. Always book the
sleeper train first and check its exact arrival & departure
times before booking the Eurostar connection, as times can
vary.
Step 2, stay on
www.bahn.de and use the journey planner to bring
up the connecting Berlin-Krakow train shown in the train
times section above, and buy the ticket. It will show if any
cheap special fares are available. You can simply
print out your own Online Ticket. Alternatively,
if you have any problems, Berlin-Krakow trains can also be
booked very easily at
www.raileurope.co.uk,
although this may cost more than using
Deutsche Bahn.
Step 3, go to
www.eurostar.com to book your connecting Eurostar
tickets between London and Paris, using the Eurostar times
above as a guide. By all means book an earlier
Eurostar outwards, or a later Eurostar on the way back, if
this has cheaper seats available of if you'd like to stop
off in Paris for a while. Eurostar tickets can be sent to any UK
address, self-printed, or collected at the station.
If you'd prefer to have someone book it for you,
just click here and a booking form will appear which lists
all the
trains you
need to book. Fill
it in & email it to
sales@europeanrail.com. European Rail will make
the reservations and call you back to confirm the cost.
If you're okay with the price you can give them your credit card details and
they'll send you
the tickets. European Rail is an experienced agency
equipped with the German Railways reservation & ticketing
system, so they have access to all the cheap fares for travel via
Germany. They charge a £35 booking fee which includes
postage to any UK address, or they can send to any address
worldwide if you pay the courier fee. Seat61 gets some
commission if you buy tickets using this form.
How to buy tickets by phone...
If
you'd prefer to book all these trains by phone, just call
Deutsche
Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no
booking fee, 2% credit card charge, no charge for debit
cards), or a booking agency such
as
European Rail
on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-18:00
Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday, £35 booking fee).
Travelling to
Krakow via Prague takes only a bit longer and costs only
marginally more than going via Warsaw or Berlin as shown
above, so why not combine Prague & Krakow in one flight-free
trip?! By all means travel via Prague in one direction,
via Warsaw in the other.
Train times
London ► Prague ► Krakow
Travel from
London to Prague via the Cologne-Prague sleeper train
'Phoenix', as shown on the London to
Prague page. You leave London by Eurostar at
15:04 (12:57 on Saturdays), change at Brussels and Cologne onto the
Phoenix
sleeper train arriving Prague Hlavni station at
09:26 next morning. Enjoy the morning exploring
Prague, or stay a night or two if you wish, all trains are
ticketed separately anyway, so it makes no difference to the
price.
Travel from
Prague to Krakow by modern air-conditioned EuroCity trains,
leaving Prague's Hlavni station daily at 10:17, changing
trains at Katowice (arrive 15:47, departing again at 16:18) and arriving Krakow
at 18:47. A restaurant car is available for lunch, so
treat yourself! Or there's a direct Prague-Krakow
sleeper train, the 'Silesia', leaving Prague Hlavni daily at
20:17 and arriving
Krakow Glowny at 07:14. A safe & secure sleeping-car
with 1, 2 & 3 bed rooms is available (the recommended
option), also
couchettes (6-berth) and ordinary seats (not recommended).
Train times
Krakow ► Prague ► London
Travel from
Krakow to Prague,
leaving Krakow at 09:36, change
at Katowice (arrive 11:45, depart 12:08) arriving Prague at
17:50. Alternatively, there's a direct Krakow-Prague sleeper
train, the 'Silesia', leaving Krakow daily at 21:54 and
arriving Prague Hlavni station at
07:50 next morning. A safe & secure sleeping-car with 1, 2 & 3 bed
rooms is available (the recommended option), also couchettes (6-berth)
and ordinary seats (not recommended).
Spend some time
in Prague...
Travel from
Prague to London via the Prague-Cologne sleeper train
'Phoenix' as shown on the London to
Prague page. You leave Prague Hlavni station at
18:29 by sleeper to Cologne, change in Cologne & Brussels to
arrive London St Pancras at 11:57 or 14:03 next day,
depending on the day.
You can buy
Prague-Krakow train tickets online using
www.raileurope.co.uk.
Prague-Krakow by daytime trains costs £43 each way
2nd class, £63 each way 1st class. Prague-Krakow by
sleeper costs £57 each way per person including a bed in a
shared 3-berth sleeper or £86 each way with a bed in a
2-berth sleeper. You may get a cheaper rate if you
book by phone with DB's UK office, call 08718 80 80 66,
lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday &
Sunday.
Don't be afraid
to book Krakow-Prague or Prague-Krakow trains in person at
the station when you get there. This is the cheapest
way, and there's almost always place available. Bought
at the station in Prague, Prague to Krakow costs just 1068
Kr (£34) full fare, though you can usually get a cheaper 855
Kr (£29) fare even on the day of travel. To use the
overnight train, add the following sleeper supplements:
274 Kr for a couchette, 406 Kr (£14) for a bed in a 3-bed
sleeper or 606 Kr (£21) for a bed in a 2-bed sleeper.
Krakow to
Prague tickets can also be booked by email with recommended
Polish ticketing agency
www.polrail.com.
Travel from London to Berlin using
Eurostar to Paris and the
excellent
City
Night Line sleeper train
'Perseus'. You leave London
at 16:01 (15:31 at weekends), change in Paris,
arriving Berlin at 08:26 next
morning,
see the London to Germany page
for full details of train times,
fares & how to buy tickets.
Travel from Berlin to Szczecin by
air-conditioned EuroCity train,
departing Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 11:37
and arriving Szczecin at 13:46.
Restaurant car available for lunch.
Travel from
Szczecin to Gdansk by Polish TLK train, departing Szczecin at
14:10 arriving Gdansk at 19:50 or 19:25 depending on the date.
Train times
Gdansk & Szczecin ► London
Travel from
Szczecin to Gdansk by Polish TLK train, departing Gdansk at
09:14 arriving Szczecin at 14:14.
Travel from
Szczecin to Berlin by air-conditioned EuroCity train, departing
Szczecin at 14:32 and arriving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 16:41.
Later departures from Szczecin are possible with a change of train,
but please don't relay on any tight connections when catching an
onward sleeper train. Restaurant car available.
Travel from Berlin
to London using the excellent City Night
Line sleeper train 'Perseus' to Paris then
Eurostar to London. You
leave Berlin around 19:57, change in Paris, arriving London at 12:29
next day,
see the London to Germany page for full details of times, fares
& how to buy tickets.
To reach Łódź
(pronounced 'wooch' or 'woodge'), first
travel from London to Warsaw using
any of the options shown in the
London to Warsaw
section above.
Then take a Warsaw-Łódź
train, use
www.bahn.de
to find train times. Trains
run once, twice or three times every
hour, journey time 1 hour 40
minutes. Simply
buy your Warsaw-Lodz ticket at the
station in Warsaw. Allow at
least 40 minutes to change trains in
Warsaw.
Alternatively, the
Amsterdam-Cologne-Warsaw Jan Kiepura
sleeper train and the Berlin-Warsaw
Expresses all call at Kutno, about 1
hour 10 minutes before arriving in
Warsaw. Change at Kutno for a
local train to Łódź. This can
be quicker than going into Warsaw
and out again, depending on how your
connections work. You can
check train times, and find out if
going via Kutno or via Warsaw is the
best option, using
www.bahn.de.
To reach Zakopane at the foot of
the famous Tatra mountains, first
travel from London to Krakow using
any of the options shown in the
London to Krakow
section above.
Then travel from Krakow to Zakopane
by train, using
www.bahn.de
to find train times. There's a
train every few hours, journey time
is about 3 hours 30 minutes, and
it's a very scenic run. You can buy
a Krakow to Zakopane ticket at the
station in Krakow.
London to the Netherlands by 'Dutch Flyer' train &
ferry... Take a train from
London's Liverpool Street station directly to the
ferry terminal at Harwich. You walk off the
train, into the terminal, get your
boarding card & cabin key at the Stena Line
check-in desk and walk straight onto the overnight
ferry to Hoek van Holland. The new superferry
'Stena Hollandica' is the largest ferry of its kind in
the world. See the
Netherlands page.
Cosy cabins: The overnight Harwich-Hoek ferry is a
floating hotel. All passengers travel in a cosy private
cabin with
en suite shower & toilet and satellite TV. This is the
cheapest 2-berth
cabin...
... and this is a Captain's Class cabin with double
bed & complimentary bubbly in the minibar.
The luxury ferry from Harwich
to Hoek van Holland, a useful alternative to Eurostar...
You might prefer
to travel by train & ferry to reach Poland, for example to avoid the Channel Tunnel if
problems affect the Eurostar service or if you suffer from
claustrophobia. This route is handy if you live in East
Anglia as you can travel direct to Harwich avoiding London. Indeed, you may simply
prefer a relaxing journey,
cruising overnight on the Stena Line superferry in a luxury en suite cabin
with shower, toilet, satellite TV and free WiFi, spending a
day at leisure exploring Amsterdam, then travelling to
Prague overnight on the direct EuroNight sleeper train 'Jan
Kiepura'. It's a great way to reach Poland and see
Amsterdam on the way!
London, East Anglia & Harwich ►
Warsaw, Krakow
Day 1,
evening: Travel
from London to Amsterdam overnight by 'Dutch Flyer' train & ferry
service. You leave London's Liverpool
Street station at 19:32 by train to
Harwich International. At
Harwich, the station is right next to the
ferry terminal and you walk off the train into the
terminal, check in at the Stena Line desk and walk straight onto the Stena Line ferry to Hoek
van Holland. All passengers travel
in cosy private cabins with en suite toilet & shower,
satellite TV & free WiFi.
Deluxe 'Comfort class' or 'Captains class' cabins are also
available, with complimentary minibar. You
can get on board the ferry before 9pm, have a late
dinner in the restaurant and settle into your cabin. The
ferry sails at 23:15 and arrives at Hoek van Holland at
07:45 Dutch time next morning. At Hoek, the station
is right next to the ferry terminal. You hop on
the frequent local train to Rotterdam and change for an
InterCity train to Amsterdam Centraal, arriving 10:14.
See the Netherlands page for
full details. Dutch Flyer tickets are valid not just
from London but from any National Express East Anglia
railway station, for example, Cambridge, Norwich or
Chelmsford.
Day 2, evening:
Travel from Amsterdam to Warsaw overnight by
EuroNight sleeper train 'Jan Kiepura', leaving
Amsterdam daily at 19:01 and arriving at Warsaw
Centralna at
10:35 next
morning (day 3 from London). This train has a modern Polish sleeping-car, couchettes & seats,
see the photos & information
here. There's no restaurant car in the
evening, so feel free to take you own picnic and bottle
of wine aboard, but there's a bistro car for breakfast
next morning. Change in Warsaw for an InterCity
train to Krakow, taking a few hours more.
Krakow, Warsaw ►
Harwich, East Anglia & London
Day 1,
evening:
Travel from Warsaw to Amsterdam
by EuroNight sleeper train 'Jan Kiepura', leaving
Warsaw Centralna station at 18:55 and arriving in
Amsterdam Centraal at 08:56 next morning. This train
has a modern Polish sleeping-car, couchettes & seats,
see the photos & information
here. There's a bistro car for dinner, and the
sleeper fares include breakfast.
Day 2,
evening: Travel from Amsterdam to London
overnight by 'Dutch Flyer' train & ferry service.
You take the 18:46 train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam
and change onto the local sprinter train to Hoek van Holland.
The ferry terminal is right next to the station. Walk
onto the ferry and sail overnight in a snug private cabin to
Harwich. The ferry sails at 22:30 Mondays-Fridays or
22:00 Saturdays & Sundays and arrives at Harwich
International at 06:30 next morning, UK time. Take a train on to London next morning (day 2)
arriving 08:48-08:59. See the Netherlands page for
full details.
How much does
it cost?
London to
Amsterdam starts at £39 per person each way,
plus the cost of a cabin. Cabins start at £30 for
a single berth cabin or £43 per cabin for a 2-berth, and
are compulsory on the night sailing. The fare
covers the train from London to Harwich, the ferry, and
onward Dutch trains from Hoek van Holland Haven to any
station in the Netherlands, see the
Netherlands
page for full details of fares and cabin types and
costs.
Amsterdam to
Warsaw by Jan Kiepura sleeper train starts
at 39 euros one-way with a couchette in a 6-berth
compartment, 49 euros
with a couchette in a 4-berth, 69 euros with a bed in a 2-bed
sleeper, or 129 euros with a bed in a single-bed sleeper.
Step 2, now
book the
sleeper train from Amsterdam to Warsaw. To buy tickets
online, simply go to
www.bahn.de
- I've set this link up for you to book this train easily,
just enter your dates of travel and look for the direct EN train with 0 changes
in the search results. Alternatively, you can book by phone with DB's UK office on 08718 80 80 66,
lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00
weekends.
DFDS Seaways 'Princess of Norway' about to sail
overnight from Newcastle to Amsterdam...
A Commodore deluxe cabin with minibar, satellite TV,
shower & toilet.
See the video...
A 'Seaways' class cabin with shower & toilet on DFDS
'Princess of Norway'...
If you live in
the North of England or Scotland, the fastest option is to take a train
up to London and travel from London to
Poland
using Eurostar, as described above. If you
choose this option,
see this advice on buying
cheap connecting train tickets to London. But
there are some useful ferry alternatives which allow you to
by-pass London, and spend a day in Amsterdam on the way.
DFDS Seaways run an excellent daily overnight
cruise ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, and
P&O Ferries run a daily overnight cruise ferry from
Hull to Rotterdam. So take the overnight ferry to
Holland, spend a day exploring Amsterdam,
then take the excellent EuroNight sleeper train 'Jan
Kiepura' direct from Amsterdam to
Warsaw. A wonderful combination!
Scotland & North of
England ► Warsaw, Krakow
Day 1, take a train to either
Hull or Newcastle, whichever is most convenient for where you
live. Transfer to the P&O overnight cruise ferry from Hull
to Rotterdam or the DFDS Seaways cruise ferry from Newcastle
to IJmuiden, the port of Amsterdam. Both ferries have
bars, restaurants & comfortable en suite cabins, arriving
next morning. For details of timetables, fares & how
to buy tickets for travel to Amsterdam via each of these
ferry routes, see the Netherlands page.
Day 2, spend
some time in Amsterdam, all the sights are easy walking
distance from Centraal station.
Left luggage lockers are available.
Day 2 evening,
take the EuroNight sleeper train
'Jan Kiepura' from Amsterdam
to Warsaw. The Jan Kiepura leaves Amsterdam at 19:01
daily and arrives at Warsaw Centralna at 10:55 next
morning (day 3). Sleeping-car, couchettes & seats are
available, for details of what
this train is like see here.
Day 1, evening: Take
the EuroNight sleeper
train 'Jan Kiepura', leaving Warsaw Centralna at 18:35 daily
and arriving Amsterdam Centraal at 09:56
next morning. Sleeping-car, couchettes & seats available,
for details of what this train
is like see here.
Day 2, travel overnight by cruise ferry
either with P&O Ferries from Rotterdam to Hull or with DFDS
Seaways from IJmuiden (near Amsterdam) to Newcastle, whichever is
most convenient for where you live. Next morning (day 4)
transfer to the station and take a train home. For full
details of train & ferry times and how to buy tickets for each
of these routes, see the Netherlands page.
Fares & how to
buy tickets...
For journeys via P&O
Hull-Rotterdam or DFDS Seaways Newcastle-Amsterdam, first
check the ferry times and buy tickets online at
www.dfds.co.uk (Newcastle-Amsterdam) or
www.poferries.com (Hull-Rotterdam). Then check train fares and
buy train tickets to Hull or Newcastle using
www.thetrainline.com or
www.nationalrail.co.uk;
Amsterdam to
Warsaw by EuroNight sleeper train starts
at 39 euros one-way with a couchette in a 6-berth
compartment, 49 euros
with a couchette in 4-berth, 69 euros with a bed in a 2-bed
sleeper, or 129 euros with a bed in a single-bed sleeper.
To buy tickets
for the
Amsterdam-Warsaw sleeper train online, simply go to
www.bahn.de
(I've set this link up for you to book this train, look for the direct
EN train with 0 changes).
Alternatively, you can book by phone with DB's UK office on
08718 80 80 66.
Warsaw's
Centralna Station is a typical grey concrete Communist-era
structure, currently undergoing welcome refurbishment.
A palatial ticket hall ('Sala Glowna') above ground was
obviously designed to impress us decadent westerners, whilst
the actual passengers scurry through dark underground
passageways lined with retail kiosks.
Finding
your train: Confusingly, Polish stations use both
a platform number ('Peron') and a track number ('Tor'), and
it helps to know that the number shown on departure
indicators and printed departure posters is the 'Peron'.
At Warsaw Centralna, 'Peron 1' has 'Tor 1' on one side of
it and 'Tor 2' the other, 'Peron 2' has 'Tor 3' on one side
and 'Tor 4' the other, and so on for Perons 3 & 4.
Most trains start at one of the outlying Warsaw stations (Zachodnia
or Wschodnia) and only stop at Centralna for a few minutes,
so use the printed departure posters or summary-of-departure
TV screens to find the Peron number, and go to that
platform. There are TV departure screens at several
locations in the passageway immediately above the platforms,
and in the main ticket hall at the top of the steps down to
the passageway. Don't expect your train to appear on
the platform departure indicators until maybe 10 minutes or
less before it leaves. The train may well arrive only
a few minutes before it is due to depart, this is perfectly
normal, so be prepared, be ready at the right Peron and
don't panic!
Ticket
office: The main ticket office is in the great
ticket hall (the 'Sala Glowna', pictured below right).
Credit cards are accepted. Alternatively,
privately-run PKP (Polish Railways) ticket agencies can be
found in numerous places in the underground passageways
immediately above the platforms, with bright orange 'PKP
InterCity' branding.
International ticket office: This is located in
the north west corner of the Sala Glowna, open daily
09:00-19:30. It's been refurbished as an attractive
modern travel centre with open counters rather than ticket
windows. To buy an international ticket outside its
opening hours, go to the main ticket office.
Left
luggage: There are lockers in the passageway above
the platforms, or a staffed left luggage office.
Details here.
Food &
drink, nearby hotels: There are numerous shops in
the passageways to stock up on food, drink and cheap Polish
beer for your journey. There are MacDonalds & KFC
within walking distance. However, the best place for
lunch, if you fancy a minor splurge, is the celebrated U
Fukiera restaurant (www.ufukiera.pl)
in the main square of the old town 20 minutes walk away.
If you're staying in Warsaw and need a hotel, try the
excellent and historic
Polonia Palace Hotel, just across the road from Warsaw
Centralna station.
1st class
lounge at Warsaw: There is reportedly a new 1st
class lounge at Warsaw Centralna, called a VIP Zone, open to
all holders of a domestic or international 1st class ticket
(including deluxe sleeper passengers on the Jan Kiepura, but
not standard sleeper passengers), entrance from Emili Plater
Street. Open 06:00-20:00.
Visiting Warsaw...
Warsaw
Centralna station is just across the road from the Palace of
Culture skyscraper (below left) and an easy 20 minutes walk
from Warsaw's historic old town (below right). The Warsaw
tourist information website is
www.um.warszawa.pl/en.
The Palace of
Culture is a distinctive 'wedding cake' style Soviet
skyscraper, given to Poland as a gift from the
Soviet Union. Originally disliked by Poles for that
reason, they are now softening to it a little. There's
a viewing terrace on the 30th floor, you'll need to
leave any bags in the free cloakroom on the ground
floor. See the
official website,
www.pkin.pl.
Warsaw's
historic old town
is the knife that's had its blade and handle both
replaced, as it was almost totally destroyed in WW2
and has been 85% rebuilt from scratch.
However, it's UNESCO-listed because of the effort
and care that went into the restoration. It's
well worth a visit, and only a 20 minute walk from
Warsaw Centralna. For a great meal, try the U Fukiera restaurant on the inner square, www.ufukiera.pl.
It's not difficult to buy train tickets for domestic journeys
within Poland at the station ticket office. It can help
to write down what you want, in case staff don't speak English
very well. UK agencies such as
DB's UK office on 08718 80
80 66 (open 09:00-17:00 Mon-Fri) or
www.europeanrail.com can usually get you reservations on
international trains starting in Poland. However, if
they have problems, or if you want to see if buying locally
would be cheaper, try contacting the following agency in
Poland:
Polish train ticketing agency
www.polrail.com comes highly recommended if you want to
arrange train tickets within Poland in advance, or book
international train tickets starting in Poland, for example,
from Warsaw to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Moscow, Kiev, Lviv or
Vilnius, or from Krakow to Prague, Budapest or Vienna, etc.. You should
arrange tickets between 10 & 60 days before travel (because
Polish train reservations open 60 days before departure, but
10 days is necessary for the agency to buy and send tickets).
Tickets can be couriered to your home address in any country,
or they can arrange ticket collection within Poland, for
example, at your hotel. If you use their services,
feedback is
always welcome!
You can try booking Polish inter-city
train tickets online
at the PKP (Polish Railways) InterCity website,
https://bilet.intercity.pl (for the record, their home
page is
www.intercity.pl). At
https://bilet.intercity.pl, the English button is top
right, and you'll need to use the Polish spellings of Krakow
and Warszawa. You pay online with a credit card and
print out your own ticket. If you use this system
successfully (or are unsuccessful!)
feedback would be
appreciated, as it has not yet been confirmed that it
accepts UK and other non-Polish cards.
The Thomas Cook European Timetable...
The
Thomas Cook European timetable
has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency
& climate
information. Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.
It's essential for any serious traveller
and an inspiration for armchair travellers. Still
not convinced you need one? More information
on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains. You can
buy the latest monthly edition online at
www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or
buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the
bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings
Cross stations in London.
Or
buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with
laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:
Winter/Spring 2011/12 edition (Dec 2011 to June 2012) or
(when available)
Summer/Autumn 2012 edition (June to Dec 2012)
The Thomas Cook Rail Map of
Europe is the best and most comprehensive
map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the
west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland
in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south. High speed
&
scenic routes are highlighted. Highly recommended!
Buy online
at
www.amazon.co.uk
(worldwide delivery).
See an extract from
the map.
Definitely take a good guidebook.
For the independent traveller, I think this means one of two
guidebooks, either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide. Both
series are excellent. You can buy an in-depth guide for Poland
or a guide covering all the countries in Eastern Europe. My
own book, an essential handbook for train travel to Europe based on
this website called "The
Man in Seat 61", is due to be published in June 2008, and Amazon
will let you pre-order now.
www.hotelscombined.com
is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool
which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia,
Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and
others) to find the cheapest hotel rates. Set up in
2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any
hotel online in any country, worldwide.
Personal recommendations...
In Warsaw, look no further than the excellent
Polonia Palace Hotel. It's just across the road
from both the Palace of Culture skyscraper and Warsaw
Centralna station, and 20 minutes walk from Warsaw's old
town. Opened in 1913, it was the only hotel to emerge
unscathed from WW2, and has been used by many famous people
including General (later President) Eisenhower. It
provides very high quality rooms, but at a budget price by
western European standards.
Other hotel sites worth trying...
www.tripadvisor.com
is a good place to browse independent travellers' hotel reviews.
www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system
(Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system). It
has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries
worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and
decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras
such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one
price, then charge you another!).
If you're on a tight budget,
don't forget the hostels. For a dorm bed or an
ultra-cheap private room in backpacker hostels in most
European cities use
www.hostelbookers.com.
If you want a holiday to Krakow
or Warsaw by train not plane, but want someone else to
organise all the train tickets & hotels for you, one
specialist company can do just that, for a holiday with no
airport hassles and no long days in cramped coach seats on
motorways.
Railbookers can
tailor-make a flight-free holiday to Poland for you, with
train travel & hotels, for however long you like, leaving on
any date you like. For example, a 6 night trip from
London to Krakow, Warsaw & Berlin costs around £679 per
person.
See their Poland page for details.
Travel insurance, health card, SIM card
Get travel insurance, it's essential...
Never travel without insurance from a
reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover. It should also cover loss of
cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual
multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip
policies even for just 2 or 3 trips
a year (I have an annual policy myself).
Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed
connection, but European international rail conditions of
carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection
provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next
available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to
the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and
even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and
non-changeable.
Feedback from using
insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome. Here are some suggested insurers.
Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these
links.
If you're a
UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free
European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or
reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in
many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with
the NHS. This replaced the old E111 forms
as from January 2006. The EHIC card is available from
www.ehic.org.uk. It doesn't remove the need for
travel insurance, though.
Get a spare credit card, one designed for foreign travel with no currency
exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...
It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.
If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're
not left stranded if
your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself. In addition,
some credit cards are significantly better for
overseas travel than others. Martin Lewis's
www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which
UK credit cards
have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something
overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when
you use an ATM abroad. Taking this advice
can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your
normal high-street bank credit card! You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a
Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the
multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card,
find out about these cards & sign up here.
Get an international SIM card
to save on mobile data and phone calls...
Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're
not careful you can return home to find some huge bills
waiting for you. I've known people run up over £1,000 in
data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a
simple trip to Europe. However, if you
buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company
such as
www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and
limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid. Go-Sim
cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide,
and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries. It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills
when you get home. It also allows cheap data access for laptops
& PDAs. A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't
expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some
others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone
number' for life.
In
the UK, try
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the
EU, try
If you live in the USA or Canada, try
