Taxis in Poland, and the Bolt app

Bolt is the app Poles use most and is usually the cheapest, so install it first. Uber and FreeNow also work well across Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk and other cities, and all show the fare and driver up front.

Apps are the easy default for visitors: cheap, priced in advance, and paid by card, which removes any doubt about the meter or the fare.

From Warsaw Chopin (WAW), a train or city bus runs into the center for a few zloty, and Krakow (KRK) has a train to the main station. Both are cheap and simple.

If you prefer a taxi, use the official airport rank (clearly branded companies) or an app, and ignore anyone touting for a ride inside the terminal, which is where overcharging starts.

The one real caution is the old-school station or street taxi, especially around train stations and tourist spots, where an unofficial cab may run an inflated tariff or quote a high flat price to a visitor.

The fix is simple: book through Bolt, Uber or FreeNow, where the fare is fixed before you ride, or use a clearly branded official taxi rank with a visible meter. Avoid unmarked cars and anyone approaching you.

Fares are cheap by Western European standards: set in advance in an app, or metered in an official taxi, and paid in zloty. To tip, round up the fare; there is no set percentage.

For more, see tipping in Poland, cash or card in Poland, and the Poland money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Poland

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Tipping in PolandPoland tips a little more than Western Europe: about 10% at a restaurant. There is one quirk worth knowing, where saying thank you as you pay can mean keep the change. Here is what you actually owe.
• Do I need cash in Poland, or can I use cards?Short answer: a card for most things, a little zloty for the rest. Poland is very card-friendly, keeps the zloty rather than the euro, and is a pleasant bargain by Western European standards. Here is how to handle it.
• Bringing your dog or cat to Poland.Poland runs on the single EU pet-entry process for a US-origin dog or cat: microchip, rabies in the right order, and an EU health certificate on a 10-day clock. No quarantine, no rabies titer. Here is what that means for Poland, and the local parts worth knowing.
• Common money scams in Poland, and what they cost youPoland is a genuinely low-crime country, it sits at the calmest US advisory level, and violent crime against visitors is uncommon. Scams here are rare and usually small, and most travelers meet none of them. The short list worth knowing is: a driver who approaches you at the airport, a bar that hands out discount flyers, a phone call from someone claiming to be reception, and an exchange booth with a sign that is too good. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
• Staying connected in Poland.Poland has some of the cheapest mobile data in Europe on a network that is genuinely good, and because it is in the EU that data follows you across the union. If Poland is your first stop of several, this page is worth reading before you buy anything.
• What does getting sick in Poland cost a visitor?Poland's medical money culture is pay-as-you-go: cash before treatment is normal, and private hospitals want payment or proof before admitting. The reassurance comes from the US government's own phrasing about what those payments amount to.