Is it safe to travel to Poland?

this is not a new thread as have posted before. have been to poland 3 times travelling as single female. didnt have any problems. my advice...respect the fact that you are not in your own country. dont make yourself a target ( lots of jewellery etc ). keep a watchful eye and dont behave like an idiot. of course you could be in wrong place at wrong time, but that could happen anywhere.

Merged: Is Poland safe and free from Racism for an Asian to visit???

I'm a girl from South Korea and i might/am planning to visit Poland sometime later.

of course i guess most people are O.K and i have also visited some countries in Eastern/Central Europe like Austria, Hungary and Slovakia before and it was fine.

but i'm honestly a bit worried and i've also heard Poland is like the most homogeneous White country in Europe, and from what i know, there's still quite a lot of Skinheads/Neo-Nazis.
also, these days many people in Europe are being quite hostile to foreigners/immigrants due to Economic-crisis in Europe.

There's also a big chance that they might think me of Vietnamese(or Chinese) because there's so many of them as immigrants. (and of course, i'm not going there to live or something)

Please tell me how the atmosphere is like there towards non-Whites and other ethnicities.


Thanks for reading.

samsungkorea

If it was safe for you in Hungary and Slovakia then it would be safe for you in Poland.



No economic crisis in Poland yet. And even if there was, there is nothing to blame immigrants for.



Aren't Slovakia and Hungary like that?



Again if you did not meet any in the Central European countries you've been before, then no reason to think that Poland is somewhat worse than those countries (especially comparing to Slovakia). Of course if you have a bad luck you can come across a thug in every country.

Warsaw, Cracow, Tricity, Wrocław are all cities which have a lot of foreign visitors, especially the first two.

For Warsaw, you should hire at least five Blackwater agents, five more if you go out of Warsaw...

Samsungkorea:
There are not too much nazis or skinheads in Poland, you may meet them drunk in some dark gates but I think that you won't be visiting such places. It's stereotype that Polish are intolerant. If you're ok, then they're ok for you. Simple. Well, I don't think that being mistaken with vietnamese or chinese changes anything. I have to agree with a.k that Polish are no more racist than Slovaks or any other Central-Europe nation. Hope that you'll meet really cool people in Poland, like I did. Peace.

yes it is

I've always wanted to go to Poland..
I find the country interesting.. :D

I have been in Poland for nearly 3 weeks and I am still ok :) with no problems so far. i believe if something happens, it's just bad luck. wrong place wrong time, as they say

SamsungKorea:

I have visited Poland on three occasions, Kraków and Gdańsk, and surrounding areas, to include national parks. I travelled alone, as I do most of the time; however, I have friends in Poland, whom I met during all of my visits. Being a black female, I was a little apprehensive approaching my first visit in 2009. I now look back at my apprehension with a lot of humour. Considering that I love to travel, and I consider myself to be fairly travel savvy, I am a little embarrassed to say the least. I had many fantastic experiences in Poland; in fact, I can say that Poland has left her indelible mark on me. I experienced the normal stares, but nothing excessive. I was even called ‘Murzynka’ by a little kid in Zakopane…….I just laughed a lot and so did he! Ten out of ten for observation, bright kid! lol

I cannot see you having any problems personally; however, just as anywhere that you go, you will need to demonstrate a certain level of common sense. I would say, not going to obscure places late at night alone, and I guess you know the rest.

Finally, it is fair to say that you can be in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is out of your control. Aside from this obvious statement, I am sure that you will find Poland interesting, enjoyable, and warm-hearted.

Blessings!

Do not travel in poland with your family..Its not worth the risk..

Indeed: the chances of your wife catching you appreciating the local eye-candy and having a severe sense of humour failure are 99.99999999999999%.

Some people really do talk rubbish!!!
I've lived in Poland for more than three years without any mishap.
Yes there are homeless people wandering around, drunks being loud at night and teenagers being teenagers, just as in almost every other country in the world.
I have also met some of the kindest and most helpful people, ever in my life!
We had a girl came from New Zealand to work in Wroclaw for a few months. She had a fantastic time here and met people she has stayed in contact with. The real problem she had was on a trip to Berlin, where her bag was stolen along with all her money and documentation (yes I know, stupid idea to carry everything with her).
Someone talked about aggressive driving. I have a Renault Laguna 2.0L sports. The previous owner (Polish) used to use 10 or 11 litres per 100km. I drive around, getting everywhere I need to be, on time, even stopping to let people cross at Zebra crossings! I use 7.5 litres per 100km. Never had an accident either. So don't advise people to drive aggressively, drive sensibly and remain aware of the aggressive drivers around you.
There's a lot to Poland, so don't listen to all the negatives and form the wrong impression!

Wow! You make Poland sound like South Africa... Actually WORSE, as I travel around a lot and never had any problems (in Poland or South Africa...)

During Euro 2012 there was many tourists and I've notice one thing - I could't recognize who is outside of Poland and who live here. I have understand that we are living in common Europe, we are only speaking in different language. Of course it is important to not ask for trouble, to pay attention for valet and money, do not thrust everyone. I'm from Poland, I have visited many countries in Europe, ones are more expensive, other have better roads, but in main or popular cites I have never afraid, even at night. So don't afraid to visit Poland - this is not 17'th century Montenegro with Dracula on his castle.

I heard PIS flying saucers are cooping up atheistic foreigners and dumping them in Smolensk.
Apart from this Poland is in my view a safe country. I am living here quite a few years and the only thing criminal which happened to me, is that some moron stole 2 wheel covers from my antique Nissan Sunny. I still do not know why :)

Merged: Is Poland safe?

I'm. Thinking to travel to krakow , I'm a black girl , 20 yrs
Maybe stay and study , will be ok ?

yes, but this means you need to be smart and not put yourself into questionable situations.

It's safe place, but in Krakow they know how to cheat tourists on taxi, exchange, etc. Maybe it's still better then Prague (Czech). Colour of your skin does't play any role in it.

Be aware of old people

and those dark tinted black old model beemers and audis racing towards you.....they seem like have no brake pedal:)

I'm from Warsaw and i can say that it's much safer to visit Poland/Warsaw now than few years ago. Now it normal for us to hear other languages on street. If you want to visit Warsaw I can help.
For a very long time I've been thinking about how to help foreigners to feel good in "my" city. What i can say now - I work 8am-4pm but for a little salary (for helping, travelling, explaining...) i can help to find the best way to get somewhere, to find a good restaurant etc. So if you want to come to Warsaw contact me on glinka87 (at) gmail.com

Apparently its a bit dodgy walking round Poznan just now. I hear there is an upsurge in the Police pulling people up in the street asking for ID. Stepping back into the past?

But it doesn't mean it's not safe :)
probably they have no other things to so they r trying to do sth :D
just be nice and smiled and that's all

It rather depends on if you have upset a 'Pies' previously :)

This is the difference in our languages ' come2warsaw ' in English if you are looking for ways to help someone, it would normally imply ' offering services for free' it seems you are looking for ways to make money out of tourists in Warsaw, 'therefore 'business'

Could not agree more with warszawski - the word "help" is not exactly right, correct word to use instead of "help" would be to "assist".

Since when?Must be that you have never been to the US.Here it is common practice to include words "help" or "helping" when advertising paid services.

Whoa! I'm traveling back to Poland in a few weeks with LOT--the whole way from Chicago! Can anyone confirm or deny Mike's post about no more free alcohol on LOT flights? When did this happen? I was happy to be able to book straight with them as the food and drink is usually good, and no stopovers in Western Europe.

I think a concierge service for travelers to Poland would be great. I would love to go there myself and be shown around the city by someone who's familiar with the area and not necessarily the standard tour/tourist traps. Or know I can call someone if I need to figure out an address, good place to go, where the train is, etc. Or be able to call someone and ask if they could make a few inquiries for me (for apartment or whatever, just phone calls). Or tell me how to get to consular office or wherever.

If you enjoy what someone does for you in a restaurant, waiter, bartender or whomever, you tip them (some even still tip the gas station attendant when he fills the tank). It doesn't need to be made into a business. Sometimes the best places grow from word of mouth.

So Grubas how do you like Chicago? Happy you're off the Eastern Seaboard?