Driving to Poland from England - any tips?

Hi im driving to poland in may from england and was wondering how long its gonna take and what is the route like, i plan to buy a sat nav to help me, also could you give me info on the costs of ferrys or changing from country to country and petrol prices, i will most prob be driving a saab 2.0 turbo petrol.

I have driven a few times from England (Beford area) to Warsaw in the past. In total it was about 1800 Km and a total driving time of about 20 hours. You can use the michelin web site to get a route planner off. Ferry prices will vary considerably on the time of year you go and how far in advance you can book.

We need to know if you are visiting north, east or south Poland.

The routes could be completely different.

If you are coming to Wroclaw your route will take you just south of Berlin, for example.

Hi...i am a Brit who has driven to Poland from Leeds in UK to drawsko pomorskie....ferry from hull to Rotterdam...arrives Rotterdam 8 am....steady drive not wasting any time , but not going mad either...i am home in Ostrowice about 10pm...about 680 road miles from leeds...mostly good roads...plenty of fuel stations...with a satnav you wont have any problems i think....ferry cost last time i travelled was 40 quid..but it was a while ago...ask p and o petrol prices are available on the net...but all are cheaper than the UK...

im travelling to ostrowiec its 50km from kielce i think

in PL peeps drive on the other side of the road. heehee :D

Wow that's a short drive!

easy pasy

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:D

OK. wildrover has the best advice.

bloody hell...no wonder they are all flashing their lights at me.....ooopsss

I use Norfolk line Ferries. Dover Dunkerque. £19 for a car last time i went.
I found the rac route planner great, printed it out. I am too mean to buy a sat nav.
Getting a bit lost is half the fun...

have plenty rest , do a few stop, dont drink alcohol (if you can), open your windows if you feel tired
have a coffe in this town.

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that's not on the way. Fvcking is in A.

Im prob gonna be driving a ford escort my mum has owned for last 8 years, its low milage and very reliable, the engine size is 1.6 petrol. How much you think it will cost in petrol.

i drove here in a 1991 bmw 325i and maintained around 110mph throughut germany and spent around £200 on fuel from dover to Poznan, Great fun until you get onto the Polish roads and can't do much over 50mph. Also remember its illegal to run out of fuel on the autobahns and you need at least 3mm of tread on all 4 tyres, Fines can be quite harsh by all accounts.

I've got a tip....FLY

As you drive through Germany you can play 'spot the Polish driver'. It helps pass the time.

Having done the drive from London to Gdansk, straight awake for 25 hrs Redbull fuelled mania. Never again I'm flying....

Hi there!

I'm kind of new on here but I have driven from the UK to Poland a couple of times. I have taken both the ferry from Hull-Rotterdam and Newcastle-Amsterdam. I think it takes about an hour longer to get to Poland from Rotterdam but it depends on where you are in the UK really. I suffer from seasickness in small boats and the Hull ferry is bigger so it wasn't so much of a problem but maybe thats not a factor for you and it all depends on the weather.

You should be able to cross Germany fairly quickly but watch out for the maniacs coming up behind you on the Autobahn. They don't break until the last minute and for me that took a bit of getting used to! Make sure you have all the compulsory equipment like first aid kits etc in case you get stopped. Make sure you check what is required in every country you are passing though. Also it makes things simpler if the car's documents are all in your name. My boss told me a few weeks ago that there is a new law in Poland where if you are driving someone elses car you need some kind of offical letter from the registered owner co-signed by some official. Don't hold me on that one but I would check up on it if I were you!

I have a 1.4 Citreon C3 and my last journey (august 07) from Perthshire in Scotland to Swiebodzin (60km from the border) cost about £70-£80 in petrol. Admittedly I don't know loads about cars so I am not sure how your escort would compare! The ferry was expensive. I think about £200 but I booked it last minute. You can get it a lot cheaper if you book well in advance. I think there is a set price of £60 for your car on those ferries and the cost of your cabin will vary.

I also have a sat nav. It's really useful but I wouldnt say essential. I don't know the area around Kielce but to be honest as far as Swiebodzin the roads are pretty straighforward at least. You shouldnt have any troubles with a decent map and a route plan. I bought mine 18 months ago and the maps on it for Poland are incomplete. It's fairly good in the big cites but doesn't have many streets in smaller towns on it. Also I have on several occassions unexpectedly come across roundabouts which aren't mentioned on the sat nav at all so beware that it might be a bit unreliable here. I am sure they have released new maps since I bought mine though so hopefully you will end up with a more up to date one. I have a tomtom 910 by the way.

I'm probably not the most knowledgable person on this subject but if I can help you any more let me know!

And a big fluffy pillow to sit on......

Ever thought about the Rosyth to Zeebrugge ferry ?

takes 18 hours, sea could be a bit choppy - maybe not !

yeah I have but driving time wise it doesn't make much difference to go Amsterdam to Newcastle and its less time on the ferry. Also I may be wrong but I think the rosyth one only goes a couple of time a week and they days didn't suit or something. I can't remember now! I'll need to look into it before my trip home in the summer.

Hi guys some advice would be appreciated im hoping to drive to poland in july but my car is only about 3 inches of the floor so was wondered if this would cause me problems in many placesim going to gdansk and kwidzyn if that helps,thanks for your time