Wojewodztwo Kujawsko-Pomorskie Travel Forum

Hi folks,
Me, my boyfriend and my daughter are planning a bike trip in Northern Poland, from Szczecin to Wolin, Gdansk and Masuria. The coast and countryside of Poland must be beautiful. But I heard that there is a lot of truck traffic on some roads. Does anyone have tips about nice cycling roads near the coast, which places we should not miss and which roads should we avoid for busy trafic?
And another question: Poland is not famous for its tolerancy against gays. Does anyone have experience with camping or travelling otherwise as a gay couple in Poland? How should we act, just be ourselves or pretending to be brothers? Are there any gay-friendly places on the coast, like towns where gays use to go on holidays, campsites, beaches and so on? Any info and tips are welcome!
Tijs from Holland

Hi,
I can't help you with first part of your post so I answer on second part. It's true that Poland is not famous for its tolerancy against homosexual, but this matter have two sides. Firts - political and second - social. Of course the political side is know all the world. Social don't (I think) Most of peoples are not interested what is your sexsual orientation, so just be yourself. You can see intolerancy on homosexual parade and only there because it's moment when political parties fighting of votes. Don't scare, be yourself

Hello, Tijs from Holland. I'm from Belgium, so this conversation would probably be easier in Dutch. I only have a bit of cycling information. I have a brochure here 'Gdansk for the fit' that contains nice places and areas to do by cycle in Gdansk. The brochure has a link to an internetsite but I already went looking and you find all the info about hotels and events, but nothing about cycling. Because it's a brochure I can't mail it. I could send it to you but then you have to put your adress on the site (which I wouldn't do). I have the e-mail adres of the publisher: umg@gdansk.gda.pl. Maybe try www.gdansk-life.com, you can ask advice there. And in Holland you also have the PNKV (Pools-Nederlandse Kulturele vereniging)

You could look at this thread to get an idea of the danger on Polish roads:

http://forum.virtualtourist.com/discussion-259313-1-1-Travel-0-799-Poland-discussion.html

I used to spend lots of time in Poland in the end of 1990's and in many family parties etc. there were also gay couples and it was not any problem, not for local people or others. They were just couples among other couples. And we were far from warsaw so please don't worry about it too much! The official Poland and the everyday life differ from each otehr very much :)

hi, i must say its a great idea for vacation :) there are plenty of places to see on the road, and as long as you don't ride in the biggest roads you dont need to be afraid of any traffic. you can take the road: Wejherowo – Władysławowo – Hel – Jastrzębia G๓ra – Białog๓ra – Łeba ;
the lenght 213 km; its difficulty level is 3 in a scale up to 5 :)

i will try to describe this tuck in "steps":
Step1: WEJHEROWO - PUCK
u start from train station in Wejherowo ( the bycycle truck starts 300 metres from the station) and you take the blue bycycle truck. It goes along the Kepa Pucka ( the forrest) and then through Mrzezino and Rzucewo ( countrysides) - then you get to Puck.

Step 2: PUCK - HEL
from Puck throught Swarzewo to Wladyslawowo ( by the yellow bycycle truck). from Wladyslawowo u go to Chalupy - at this part of the road there is no bycycle truck so u take the road for cars - it can be a bit busy but not that bad. when u get to Chalupy u can take a bycycle truck again ( very beautiful )- it goes to Jastarnia and Jurata and ends in Jurata. then u take the road for cars again :( to Hel.

Step 3: Hel – Jastrzebia Gora
after you see Hel u go back to the same road u came there - the same road for cars. in Wladyslawowo the truck for bycycle starts again ( blue one) - this truck goes to Jastrzebia Gora

step4: Jastrzebia Gora - Białogora
from Jastrzebia Gary u gake blue truck leading to Ostrowo. this part is pretty hard - too much sand. when u pass Ostrow the truck cross the other truck ( the blue truck for walking people) - u make it right at this cross and then throught Blota Karwienskie u go to Debki ( beutiful truck again ). when u pass Debki u still keep the blue truck along the coast - then u get to Białogora.

step5:Białogora - Stilo
from Białogora to Lublatowo - u can ride on the beach ( i am sure there is another way too but i dont know it). in Lublatowo the bycycle red truck starts - take it to Stilo. this truck gets terrible after u pass 1/3 of it - too much sand - u can consider the beach again. but when u get there u can see the lighthouse in Stilo :)

step 6: Stilo -Leba
from Stilo to Lebe there is a red truck again. in dymnica bycycle truck cross the truck for walking people again - u should take the one for bycycle ( its easier). the truck for bycycles goes throught Ulinie ( here u make it right after u reach the main road for cars), Sarbsk, Przybrzeża and farther along the Sarbsko Lake throught Nowęcin to Leba.
OR you can get from Stilo to Leba going along the northern coast of this lake but the truck is really difficult.

step 7: Leba – Lebork – Gdynia
well this part u can make on train :) with ur bycycle of course so that u can ride a bit in Gdansk :)

the end :) thats a nice trip. most of the places i mentioned are really cute. there should be no problem with accomodation either - but just in case u can take a tent :) the must to see is: Hel ( the museum of fishing, seals, the harbour, the monument, the church ), Stilo ( the lighthouse ), and the dunes in Leba National Park !!! Chalup and Jastrzebia Gora are also really nice.

about the other question u asked. well i think its not that bad, no reason to worry :)
good luck and let me know how it went

Great itinerary!!

Wow :)

Beware though, it's _dangerous_ to drive on roads, especially if you're planning on taking your daughter with you.

There are lots of cars and trucks and they're going really fast. Lately there was a sad accident where some guy was run down by a truck in Warsaw... :( Well I go to work on a bicycle daily and I seldom use the steets.. usually pavements instead even though it's illegal and I can get a ticket but it's far more safe this way.

Hello there,
I am Polish, have lived in London for 25 years, but I am in close contact with Poland due to work and family.
We have some summer cottages there at the lake Wysokie Brodno (part of Brodnica lake district, in Polish: Pojezierze Brodnickie)- which you may find interesting. They are managed by my Mum, who is registered for Agro-tourism. they are very cheap - but the quality of accommodation is well above the average "agro" standard. We hosted a few Dutch people there who discovered the place by the word of mouth. They all came to do cycling, fishing, walking in the woods and bird-watching and they all enjoyed the place. we certainly enoyed their company very much indeed.
LISA MLYN settlement is situated on the border of the nature reserve and there are many good cycling lanes in the area. Please check out the following web page: www.lisamlyn.pl . Apologies - this page is under the reconstruction, but it works in principle. If you cannot get connection - please let me know and I scan all the details for you. My Mum does not speak English, only some German - but I should be able to help to check the availability.

Also, along the cost there is a lovely fishing village called LEBA (close to Koszalin). My brother has built a big house, renting holiday accommodation: www.morzeleba.pl . Again - very good quality accommodation at very low price , poor English - but warm hospitality.

As to you being gay - nobody in my family cares about it in the least and for sure you would not be bothered in any way whatsoever. I guess, overall POland is getting better, but my advise would be - don't advertise this fact. Deep inside, the great majority are indeed homophobic, as well as rasist etc. Look at the most recent political events! It's a circus.
Hope you will have fun there
All teh best
Margaret Cutler
Mob 0044 77 11 031 412

A useful link on safety conditions on roads in Poland:

http://polandpoland.com/driving_poland.html

'A large number of Polish drivers drive in a way which would be totally unacceptable outside of Poland. Many of these habits are extremely dangerous and account for many thousands of deaths each year on Polish roads. These rather primitive driving habits include but are not limited to: overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic, and then expecting the oncoming car and the car being overtaken to flee into the emergency lane; overtaking on blind bends; exceeding the speed limit in the most dangerous locations; and an almost total disregard for traffic signals. In practice a red light means stop only if another vehicle will or is obstructing your path. Cars only stop at zebra crossings if there are pedestrians in the middle of the road. '

and this one http://polandpoland.com/roadside_cross.html