Warsaw

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Warsaw
<map lat='52.232005085482086' lng='21.085853576660156' zoom='9' view='0' float='right' />
Information
Country:
Flag of Poland
Poland
Voivodeship:
Coat of arms of Masovian (Voivodeship).png
Masovian (Voivodeship)
Population: 1 709 781
Licence plate: WA, WB, WD, WE, WF, WH, WI,

WJ, WK, WN, WT, WU, WW, WX, WY

Major roads: A 2S8, S2, S79
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Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa) is the capital and largest city of Poland. While hitching out, in or just passing through during rush hour can take a bit longer, because there are traffic jams everywhere.

Due to ongoing constructions for the 2nd metro line all over the city many tram lines have changed their routes. Check if the lines mentioned below really exist and go where they are supposed to go to.

Hitching out

West towards Poznań, Berlin, (Germany) 2 E 30

There are several options to hitch out of Warsaw in western direction, and the option you choose depends on your location in the city and your personal preferences.

  • Option #1: On-ramp Warszawa-Zachód on the S8

This option involves the least walking and is quite close to the city centre and the western districts. To get there you have two different possibilities:

#1:Take the tram 8, 10, 26 direction Os. Górczewska and get off at Ciepłownia Wola. There you can get in the bus 713 and get off at Mory (The first stop on public transport zone 2 (strefa II)). Walk back around 200m in the direction your bus came from, until the on-ramp of the new A2. Most traffic from the city centre will enter the A2 through this on-ramp. There are traffic lights, so cars have to go rather slow and there is a small shoulder to stop.

#2: Especially during rush hour, there is a faster way to get to the on-ramp at the A2: Take the KM3 (short for Kolej Mazowieckie) train in direction of Łowicz or Sochaczew (sometimes only going to Błonie) and get of at the station Gołąbki. From the pedestrian crossing over the tracks you can already spot the highway's noise barrier to the north-west. Follow the road on the northern side of the train station to the north, turn right at the next crossing and the road should lead you through an under-bridge under the highway after a couple of minutes. After, you cross the road and arrive at the on-ramp described under #1. The whole walk is around 1,5km.

You can take the trains from platform #3 at Warszawa Śródmieście which is next to the Central Station, but not the same! It is more East of the Central Station and South to the Palace of Culture and Science. Have a look at the timetables and different stations from where to take the trains on the website, since they run often just one or two times in an hour. Tickets cost probably a few zlotys, make sure you buy one before entering the train (alternatively you can buy one in the train in the first car).

  • Option #2: On-Ramp Warszawa-Powązkowska

This option is best when you have to get from the northern districts of the city to a good spot. There's no walking involved, you'll be able to get out of the bus and start hitching right away!

Take bus 103, 122, 180, 186 or 409 and get off at Gen. Maczka (Note: bus stops only on request here!). Hitch right from the bus stop where bus 186 in direction Szczęśliwice stops. Holding a sign with A2 might help to avoid inner city traffic. The S8 starts here and eventually changes into the A2 to Poznań. Streetview here.

  • Option #3: The (unfinished) toll plaza Pruszków on A2

If you're close to the main railway line in the city and don't mind a bit of walking if that gives you a 100% perfect spot, then you should choose this option.

From the Central Station or one of the other stations on the main line (Wschodnia, Śródmieście, Zachodnia, Ochota, etc.), take train KM1 towards Skierniewice or Żyrardów (both are good). Occasionally also KM7 goes there. Get off at station Brwinów after around 30min.

Now you have to walk for around 3km to reach the toll plaza. From the station, walk in northern direction to the square. Make sure to take the right road from here, you have to take the northeastern road called Powstańców Warszawy. Follow that one all the way out of the city. At some point you'll be able to see the highway and toll plaza on your left. Keep walking just a bit more, then when the road bends slightly right you'll see a crossing and a dead-end street going left straight towards the highway. Follow the street and you'll end up right at the toll plaza, cross the road and start hitching :)

  • Option #4: The old road

If you wish to take the old main road DK92 (not advisable if you want to travel fast...) you can use a place which takes a bit more time to reach:

Like in Option #1.2 take the KM3 (short for Kolej Mazowieckie) train in direction of Łowicz or Sochaczew, but get out one station further at Ożarów Mazowiecki.

File:Ożarów Mazowiecki.jpg
The bus stop on Poznańska

When you get out at the station in Ożarów Mazowiecki (make sure you keep an eye out for the correct station, Ożarów Mazowiecki only has one sign at the end of the station) just leave the station to the right (facing away from Warsaw) and follow Marii Konopnickiej Street until you reach a bigger street, Poznańska (about 500m). Another few hundred meters to the East you will find a bus stop with plenty of space to stop (it's across the street from the church). It's just one lane, cars are going quite slow and you avoid a great deal of local traffic out of Warsaw. Even though this is the old main road to the West and some drivers (especially trucks) take it to avoid the highway fees, it will probably take longer than using the highway.

South towards Radom, Kielce, Kraków 7 E 77

Get tram 7, 9, 35 from the city centre e.g Aleje Jerozolimskie, Warszawa Centralna (Main Train Station), Centrum (Warsaw Metro station) going in the direction of Okęcie and get off at the last stop. Then, take bus 707, 728, 807 (not 715) to Janki, or bus N88, 706 or 807 to Plac Szwedzki (a stop near Janki and in front of an IKEA store) and walk back to the stop Janki.

From the stop Janki, note that the road splits. The road going east (left) is national road 7 (E77) where you can hitch towards Kielce, Radom and Kraków. Using a large sign can be very effective.

Southwest towards Wrocław 8 E 67, Łódź 72, Katowice 1 E 75

Get tram 7, 9, 35 from the city centre e.g Aleje Jerozolimskie, Warszawa Centralna (Main Train Station), Centrum (Warsaw Metro station) going in the direction of Okęcie and get off at the last stop. Then, take bus 707, 728, 807 (not 715) to Janki, or bus N88, 706 or 807 to Plac Szwedzki (a stop near Janki and in front of an IKEA store) and walk back to the stop Janki.

From the stop Janki, note that the road splits. The road going west (to your right) is national road 8 (E67). Further down the road there is a wide shoulder where you can hitch, but cars go quite fast here. If you find it hard hitchhiking there, you can walk about 3 km down the road to a McDonalds. There's also a petrol station, it may be effective to hitchhike from there, as many drivers stop there before longer journeys.

North and northwest towards Gdańsk 7 E 77, Olsztyn 51 and Toruń, Bydgoszcz 10

Spot to Wrocław (in front of Festo building)

A good place to hitch from near the bus stop Dzierżoniowska. To get here, either take bus 114 from metro Młociny in the direction Młociny-UKSW, or take bus 181 from the metro station Plac Wilson in the direction Cmentarz Północny. Once you get off the bus at Dzierżoniowska, you can see the main road going north and there are several places to stand.

Northeast towards Białystok, Kaunas (Lithuania) 8 E 67

Take metro from central railway station to metro station Ratusz (note tram 25 has new route) and from there any tram from metro station Ratusz going east. Get off at Dworzec Wileński, walk right down the underground passage, walk out the other side and turn right onto the bus stop (as of Feb 2012 the crossroads are under construction). This is situated beside the big clock on the commercial building next to Carrefour super market. Catch bus 718 (which requires a 2-zone ticket) and get off at Struga. With optimal changes the whole trip takes about 60 minutes, but on weekend mornings the bus 718 runs only about every 30 minutes.

From the stop Struga, go back to the main road and then walk northeast for several hundred metres past the petrol station. There is a bus stop here with a lot of room for a car to stop, and drivers are going slow.

If your destination is Lithuania, don't go all the way to Bialystok but instead turn north at the town of Łomża and then head for Augustów.

Southeast towards Lublin, Lviv (Ukraine) 17 E 372

From Central Railway Station (Dworzec Główny) get on tram 9, 24 direction Gocławek and get off at Plac Szembeka stop, from there, go trough the street, and bus stop in this same direction (east) is on the second side of the street. Get bus 704, 720, 722, 730 and get off at the Szosa Lubelska. Hitch right from the bus stop at Szosa Lubelska street.

Or from Central Railway Station (Dworzec Główny) or from metro station Politechnika, take bus 502 to the last station, Stara Miłosna. From here walk to the intersection Szosa Brzeska, then turn right and walk 500 m to the aforementioned stop Szosa Lubelska.

East towards Siedlce, Brest (Belarus) 2 E 30

Get to the station Szosa Lubelska (see above). Try to hitch right from the bus stop at Szosa Brzeska.

Public Transport

Black riding the Metro is quite easy. You can jump the turnstiles, walk in with someone who has a ticket (the turnstiles are big enough for two people), or if you're feeling brave, you can walk around and open the emergency exit door and walk through. None of them are alarmed, and when the door is open, it stays open and almost everyone in Warsaw automatically walks in that door instead of the turnstile. The trams and buses, including night buses, are also easy. If you want to avoid any confrontation, just enter through one of the back doors.

Much of the regular buses and trams now have more ticket inspectors, as prices of tickets have been raised. Compared to other European cities tickets are still cheap and can be bought everywhere. The easiest is a single ticket for 4.40zł, about 1,10€.

Controllers are usually undercover, but can be spotted if you know what to look for: They are almost always male, operating mostly in groups of two. So if you see two guys at the bus stop talking with or looking at each other and then getting in at different doors, be alarmed. Also they usually wear something like a hip belt to carry their gear.

The longer distance trains are impossible to blackride unless you're clever. You can buy a student ticket if you've got an ISIC card (an ID from your home university may not suffice and you'll have to pay the ticket inspector the difference).

There is a good website showing you how to get from one point to another by public transport in major Polish cities (in Polish and English).

Other useful info

There is free wi-fi in Warsaw's central train station (Dw. Centralna). trash:Warsaw