Greetings, Budget Ventures. How are you doing? I’m going to give you seven things to know today before you travel to Poland. I’ll be posting some travel and possibly packing recommendations in this blog. In essence, I’m compiling this list of things I wish I had known before visiting Poland as counsel to my younger self.
I’ll go over the fundamentals in this list as well as some additional tidbits and advice I’ve picked up along the road. While some people might find them obvious, others might pick up some new information. There might also be some things you hadn’t considered or realized previously. So let’s get started right now, please.
Currency
Number one with PLN or Złoty, that is their currency. If you pay with Euros, they actually cannot accept that at all. So what I do is I’ve actually got a credit card, and this is a Capital One credit card in the US. I don’t know if you’re coming from Canada or Great Britain or wherever, and you’re going to Poland. I don’t know what your credit card situation is gonna be like, but I actually got a credit card and with this credit card I can pay for purchases in Poland and it won’t take out any fee for another currency. So when I go to Poland, I just simply pay with that card anywhere I go and on there I can see the transaction from USD to PLN and it’s pretty simple to navigate. And what’s really nice is that they don’t take anything out of my own account like any interest or any extra fees for switching to a different currency.
When I get back from my trip, I basically will just go and simply pay off the entire card from there and you know this will help my credit but also I really just hate the word credit cards. I just think of debt and people really messing up with credit cards. So yeah but I mean this is the most straightforward and easiest thing to do. You don’t have to go to some scam counter exchange place and you know whether you’re gonna take out a big chunk of your own money. And yes, if you really don’t have to go to a currency exchange like especially in the airports or anywhere in any capital city not even just talking about traveling to Poland. I mean definitely think of possibly getting a card out where you can just pay in any currency and it’s not gonna charge you anymore. So that’s the first travel hack here is figure out what you’re gonna do money-wise when you go over to Poland and look into debit cards or credit cards that could possibly just pay right there in Polish currency and it’s not gonna have any transaction issues at all. So just look into that but also with that, there’s probably going to be some areas or situations that you’re going to encounter that actually just take cash. This could be some taxicabs and you know maybe some smaller businesses or things like that. For example, this entire tattoo sleeve took cash only and I actually didn’t know this at all. So I was going to all of these ATMs, I was trying to withdraw cash, and it just wasn’t working. And it basically got to the point where I’d ask my tattoo artist, “Hey, can I just send you PayPal money?” And he didn’t have PayPal himself but actually his boss did. So I sent his boss money and I even added on like a little bit more just for the situation itself and all the trouble. And so yeah, I mean, you know some situations you’re gonna have to have cash in before and you know maybe figure that out on your own but yeah, maybe just hold a little bit of cash in your pocket just in case for some situation.
So I know this has been a long point so far but I’m still going with it and I wanted to say that if you’re coming from the West like the US, Canada, Great Britain, wherever from the West and you’re coming to the East, you know typically it’s cheaper. So I’m just saying that with Poland, you know most things aren’t really, I wouldn’t say like, are completely cheap and you know it’s not like that you know this is in a third world country or something like that but most things are a lot more affordable in Poland than in the states for example. So I just wanted to throw that out there like you’re not gonna break your wallet going to Poland, it’s really affordable and for me that’s such a great experience because then I know I don’t have to basically destroy my wallet, you know traveling around the country so I just wanted to throw that out there it’s pretty affordable.
Transportation
So the second point here is getting around Poland, which can be pretty easy if you know what you’re doing. So that is what I’m gonna teach you right now. So what you can do right now is go to a website called Jakdojade.pl, and also this app is in English, so it has all of the bus routes on there or seen it to anywhere you’re going, you know, within a city or area, you know, region that’s, you know, close to a city. So basically on the app, you can basically tell it where you are right now, where you want to go, and it’s gonna show you the exact bus routes to go to, you know, if you’re asking you will how am I gonna read, you know, which bus it is while they ought, they’re all numbered so you don’t have to worry about reading the whole language or anything like that, they’re all numbered and when you get on if can either pay for a ticket there I know there are little kiosks in
the buses are in English and to don’t have to talk to the bus driver at all so you can basically insert your coins and pay for ticket there and that’s also really affordable so you can either pay for a ticket on the kiosk in the bus or you can pay for it in the app itself and really I mean I’ve never had issues with the like ticket counter casinos there’s like a team or group of people that will come on the bus from every single door so you can’t run off and look app to people and make sure that they have their tickets I’ve had it happened once out of all the time I’ve been in Poland on the bus which has been quite a lot and so I mean if you don’t have a ticket on the bus you might be able to get away with it but if you get caught you’re gonna be paying a fine so just remember that so another thing is that students get a pretty big discount in Poland itself and this is
also with transportation like most bus rising in like half off the price with student ID know this is gonna sound completely unethical saying this but I actually have A student ID Card from when I went to college OK and you can use this in Poland because no one in Poland is going to know exactly what you know it what is University you know they’re just gonna see your ID and then they can’t really prove anything so they’re gonna give you half off and I know I sound completely immoral saying this but you can get like half off tickets from bus rides to movie theaters I mean there’s honestly a pretty big list so you still have a student ID Card laying around I would use it and take it to anywhere in Europe and you’re probably gonna be pretty good with getting half off prices so yeah I think the pronunciation is jakdojade.pl but I think there’s also just an app I don’t think it’s just
the website I think you can download an app as well I’ve only just used the website itself but I’m sure the app is a pretty good interface because I know the website definitely does like they keep it updated it’s definitely a clean website so speaking about getting around you can actually download this app called Bolt and it’s basically like a taxi service to get around it’s similar to Uber but I know that they were having some issues in the country of banning it Uber and like these different third party taxi websites and you know things like that but bolt is a pretty good one because it’s pretty cheap and basically you know if you want to get around the city or town you can use this app because it’s pretty common in Poland and maybe you’re saying ha well I don’t know any Polish and I don’t know how to
Language
So we’re going to get into point number 3, and that is learning a little bit of the language. I highly recommend, before going over to Poland, to learn basic phrases like “hello” (dzień dobry), “good day”, “sorry” (przepraszam), “thank you” (dziękuję), or “please” (proszę). I mean, just learn those basic terms. Also, from there, download the app Google Translate and then select Polish to download the entire language. So if you download the language and you don’t have service in the country, you’re gonna be good to go because when you go up to the taxi cab or whatever person you’re talking to and you want to say something, you can basically just write a text in the app or even use your voice in talking to it, and then from there, it’s gonna automatically translate it. There’s even a conversation mode, a voice mode, a handwriting mode, and then also a cool feature that a lot of people, I think, don’t know about is the camera feature on the app. So basically, you can just open the camera feature and then it’s gonna start scanning for Polish words. The feature is actually pretty useful because let’s just say you take it out and you’re at the grocery store and you take out the camera part of the app, then you can basically go up to any item and scan it, and you’re gonna get the full translation from there if you want to look at the ingredients of any product or thing like that or if you want to look at the signs on the road. All of that you can basically just scan it and it will translate it right there in front of you. So it’s really handy, really helpful if you really don’t know anything and you’re kind of stuck with the language. I highly recommend downloading Google Translate. And also, going along with that, if you’re having some trouble learning the language.
Hotels:Airbnb
With that said, we have covered currency, travel, and learning the language. Now, point 4 is basically going to be about where you’re going to stay, and for this, I highly recommend Airbnb. And why is that? Well, this isn’t just a hotel experience; this is like you’re being in the country, you’re living where other people live, and you’re going to experience Poland in another dimension. So, I think this is really a successful part of staying in really any other country if you really want to learn like what the locals do and all that. I highly recommend staying in an Airbnb. It’s always been super simple for me; I’ve never had any issues. And there have been a couple of times where I’ve booked an entire apartment or even a house and I haven’t been able to even say a word to the person I was there, we basically just handed the keys and we were good to go. I mean, that’s what that’s really it’s so you don’t have to worry a whole lot about the whole booking experience because it’s all pretty straightforward and it’s really easy. And it’s also really affordable. With Airbnb, it’s in virtually every single city and town in Poland. Like, you’re not gonna have any trouble trying to find a spot to stay for the night; Airbnb always has your back. And also, if you’re a first-time user of Airbnb, you can use my link also. It will give you some money off your first purchase. And I really wouldn’t talk about something that I haven’t used before, and I’ve used Airbnb a lot in Poland, and I’ve had just nothing but success with it.
Do not just go to Krakow: Places to visit
I’m speaking about staying places, this is number 5. Please don’t just go to Krakow, okay? There’s so much more in Poland. I mean, not even just Krakow or even Warsaw for that matter, or Kraków, or Warszawa, that’s how it’s actually pronounced in Polish, but anyways, please don’t just go to those places. Like, there’s so much more in Poland to see, and honestly, I’m just gonna say this outright and I’m gonna get hate for this, but I think Krakow is kind of overrated. I think there are a lot of cool things to do, like, you know, seeing the castle or paying respect to Auschwitz and things like that, but I really think that it’s kind of overrated, and there are just so many tourists in Krakow. I kind of just didn’t like it, really, because of that reason. It was just overcrowded for me, and I don’t just mean going to all the cool tourist spots like Wawel Castle or Warsaw or Łódź or Zakopane. Yeah, I mean, or you know, just Katowice or Krakow. And I don’t just recommend going to all those places. I highly recommend going to all of these small towns and villages. They’re honestly really neat, and I went to a couple going to Poland, and I had such a fun time there because there were no tourists. You feel like you’re actually living in the country and experiencing what it’s like day-to-day, and I feel like it was just such a cool thing for me to do and see and really experience. You know, every little small town is a little bit different as well, like their customs or their food, and yeah, I mean, it’s just pretty interesting. So I highly recommend also checking out the small towns. And also, I wanted to say I’m going to Wrocław at some point in time. It is on my list and it is something I want to go to. I’ve talked to a couple of people that live in Wrocław, and I would love to visit. I think it would be so cool. It looks awesome, and I definitely, definitely want to experience it myself. Alright, that’s it for now.
Foods: Its not all about pierogies
It’s the number 6 on this list, trying the food. Now, this is kind of going on my last point like I said, and in a lot of different small towns or cities, the food is a little bit different in some places, so I just highly recommend trying all of the food. I mean, I’m not just talking about pierogies, okay? I love them myself, but there’s so much other stuff to eat and try and even drink in Poland. I mean, my God, I feel like the options are honestly kind of endless. There’s so many different Polish foods to try that are really unique, and I can’t even talk about all of them. So, for a quick example, I think the soup is called borscht, which is like a beet soup, and I think it even has these little dumplings in it as well, and sometimes they’re filled with a filling or something like that, but it’s mainly beet soup. It doesn’t really look too appealing, but it’s really good, and it’s also really
filling as well because of the dumplings. But yeah, that and also my Polish friend’s dad had some alcohol that was made, I think, like in the woods or something like that. It was called bimber, and it was really strong, and I actually kind of liked it in the weirdest way possible. But yeah, I mean, that was just a quick example of some of the stuff that’s really interesting that, like, we wouldn’t have here in the states and that I haven’t tried at least here in the states. But yeah, like I said, I just highly recommend trying the food out. It’s not gonna be spicy or anything like that, but it’s gonna have different and weird flavors and it’s gonna be combinations that you haven’t thought of as well. And also, if you’re in someone’s house and they hand you food, eat it, okay? Just eat it out of respect. At least if you don’t even like it, just eat it. I mean, it’s extremely, extremely disrespectful in Poland, and I think obviously in most countries, if you don’t eat someone’s food, it’s kind of a sign of disrespect. But yeah, this is no issue for me because I love eating all the food and any home I go to, so it’s never been an issue for me. Seated, anyways, out of respect for the hospitality and food anyways from the host.
Meet the People: most hospitable people in the world
The last and final point on my list today is meeting the people. Whether you travel with a companion or from your own country, like let’s just say you get on meetapp.com and then you’re just hanging out with Americans in Poland, don’t just do that because, number one, you’re limiting yourself from immersing in the culture and the language itself and learning more about the people and the awesome culture of Poland. So yeah, I mean, go to Poland, meet the people, and you’re gonna be surprised at how awesome Polish people are, I’m telling you. Because on the outside they kind of seem a little bit distant and like they’re not gonna open up or something like that. For example, in some of my other videos that I’ve made, I’ve talked about how they won’t say “how are you doing” or “hi” as you walk down the street. It’s not like in the South of the states, you know, where people are kind of open and friendly. It’s not like that in Poland. But once you find that a Polish person opens up, you’re gonna find that they’re some of the friendliest, nicest people out there, and the hospitality of Polish people is like the highest I’ve ever experienced in my life. I can kind of compare that to when I went to Ecuador and I was staying in Ecuador for a little while, and you know, the people there were pretty nice and they were giving us meals and all of that, but I feel like Polish people, compared to Ecuadorians for example, go above and beyond when it comes to hospitality. Like, the first time I ever stayed in a house in Poland, I felt the utmost hospitality I’ve ever felt in my life, and ever since then, I was just immediately drawn to the country and I’ve just loved it honestly.
You may ask yourself, like, how are you gonna meet a Polish person? And honestly, this is kind of a difficult situation because it’s kind of different for me because, like, I know my girlfriend and then from there that kind of opened up a friend group, and also just being here on YouTube, you know, having this kind of Polish-American community, like I can just talk to people and I’ve met a lot of cool people from here. So, this would be kind of difficult, but honestly, if you can just meet one friend and then maybe if they’re kind of extroverted, you can meet their other friends and hang out with them, or maybe you’re kind of extroverted, then I guess I would just say go out and, you know, go to different restaurants or bars or areas like that and just try meeting and maybe talking to people, and you’re gonna be surprised how they open up and how great a Polish friendship is.
So, this is all about pre knowledge for Poland. If you folks are interest about places to visit in details I will make a blog for this.
