The Varsovian Voyage

Metro, Trams, & Buses

Warsaw boasts one of the best public transportation networks in Europe, consisting of a plethora of tram lines, numerous bus routes, and 2 metro lines. Despite its seemingly byzantine structure, it is relatively easy to navigate. Hopefully, we can make it even simpler for you.

Tickets can be bought at one of the ticket machines at any Metro station, and next to a large number of bus & tram stops. Tickets purchased here must be validated at the gates inside the Metro station, or on board the bus or tram. Otherwise, tickets can be purchased on board the bus or tram, and these tickets are already pre-validated. Beware: these machines are very, very often broken. Rely on at your own risk.

Alternatively, you can purchase tickets online from a variety of apps. We recommend moBilet (despite its absolutely shocking review score), since it has worked a treat for us over several years. Prior to usage, it is necessary to open an account and pre-load it with a minimum sum of 10zł. You will also require a Polish number to be able to open an account.

Ticket costs:

App to download: moBilet

Trains

Perhaps you are someone who likes to deal with a real person, to not rely too much on technology, and to buy tickets from the ticket office. Please remove that notion from your mind if you intend to depart from Warszawa Centralna. While ticket offices technically exist, in the many years of living in Warsaw, we have never seen anyone actually buying a ticket from them, since they are always closed. The best option would be to purchase the ticket online in advance from the PKP Passenger Portal, or from the jakdojade app.

App to download: jakdojade

Bikes & more

App to download: nextbike

(P.S. yes, e-scooters exist in Warsaw. In abundance, in fact. If you so choose to make use of one, please kindly leave it at a designated e-scooter station/point, especially if you wish to avoid a fine. This goes for bicycles, too. We have seen too many littering the streets: dumped helplessly into bushes, or left sideways on the pavement. We would prefer that the streets of Warsaw do not turn into a British Army assault course, thank you.)

Standard bicycle and tandem rates:

Electric bicycle rates:

Airport

Warsaw has the luxury of being served by two pretty dependable airports: Chopin & Modlin airports. While the scales and functions of them are quite different, they do share one key trait: reliability. Here are some things worth knowing when planning your trip to Warsaw:

Chopin Airport

Warsaw's largest airport, Chopin Airport (also known as Warsaw Okęcie Airport)

Connection to the centre:
a) Train to Warszawa Centralna
b) Bus 175. Buses leave around every 15 minutes. The journey takes around 26 minutes. Standard fares apply. c) Bolt, Uber, or FreeNow (fares vary greatly in relation to time & exact destination. Generally, the fares are very fair.)

Modlin Airport

Located 40km north-west of Warsaw, Modlin serves as the city's second airport. Predominantly operating flights run by Ryanair, Modlin acts as a small, yet dependable, airport to act as a relief airport for Chopin.

(Another little P.S. so, technically, there are three airports which "serve" Warsaw: Chopin, Modlin, & Radom. We are simply not going to bother mentioning Radom after this point, since it is preposterous that the link even exists between the airport and Warsaw. There are 3 reasons for this: 1) The airport is located over ___km away. 2) It takes over 1.5 hours with public transport to get there. 3) Trains depart once every hour. On top of all of those factors, there are only a handful of connections from this airport. If there is a suitable connection from your local airport, keep all of these factors in mind before purchasing your flight tickets).