Moving around and outside Poland: Transport Information

The government of Poland has opened its borders to refugees arriving from the ongoing war in Ukraine. So anyone who is escaping from Ukraine and reaches the border will be admitted into Poland. 

Helplines for more information: 

Hotline: +48 47 721 75 75
Website: www.ua.gov.pl

Ukrainian refugees can stay in EU countries to live, work, receive medical care, housing and education for 1 year without applying for asylum. If the conflict continues and it is not safe to return to Ukraine, this support can be extended to refugees for another 2 years. 

Refugees coming by car, train, or foot are all allowed to cross the border. If you have a specific destination or place to stay, you can proceed to that location in the country. If not, the government is giving provisions for refugees at reception points within Poland. 

Reception Points in Poland

Here is a list of reception points in Poland:¹  

What to expect when you arrive to Poland

Reception points will provide information about staying in Poland and:

• Temporary accommodation
• A hot meal
• Basic medical assistance
• A place to rest

You do not need any specific documents that allow you to cross into Poland. And when you do cross, you are legally allowed to stay in Poland and are not required to register or submit any applications.  

But it is important to carry and present any of the following documents:²

• An internal passport
• Foreign passport (if you have one)
• Birth certificates of children traveling with you
• Medical documentation

Any dogs, cats, and ferrets you have with you must be microchipped and vaccinated. Other types of pets don’t have restrictions but the decision for entry into Poland is made at the border by the National Revenue Administration. 

Cars are allowed to come into Poland but the ultimate decision is done at the border by the National Revenue Administration.³

How to move around Poland?

Once you have entered Poland, you are allowed to move around the country. Here are some options to reach your destination:

Trains

PKP, Poland’s largest train operator, runs through major towns and cities in the country. Ukrainian citizens may ride the train for free until March 25, 2022, as long you can show an ID.⁴

Bus lines

Buses tend to be convenient to get to with bus stations usually in the center of most towns or cities. The journeys can be longer than a train but can be more accessible to smaller stops across the country.  There are both public and private operators in the country. 

Flixbus is providing free rides to all nationalities that are coming from Ukraine that are at the Poland/ Ukraine border towns. You can request free tickets through their website chat:

1. Go to the Flixbus Help page in English or Ukrainian
2. Find the chatbox at the bottom corner
3. Enter in your details 
4. Select ‘voucher’ for category 
5. Select a subcategory
6. A Flixbus representative will then help to book the free tickets 

If it is easier, you can also send an email to service@flixbus.com.ua with the required subject line of “UKRAINE”. The body of the email must have the following to qualify for a free ticket:

• Where you are leaving from and your destination
• Chosen date and time of departure based on the Flixbus schedule for your destination
• Full name of all passengers
• Phone number 
• Email address

You will receive an automated email as a response, but a representative will get in touch with you within a couple of hours, if not sooner. 

Alternatively, here are a few coach bus companies within Poland that can be found at local bus stations:

• Sindbad
• PKS Poland
• Polski Express
• Usługi Transportowe Małgorzata Rosiak Boguszów-Gorce
• F.P. "ATENA" Bożena Cieślak Głogów
• INTERTRANS PKS S.A.Głogów
• BRONISŁAW SZWED
• Wacha-bus
• Przewóz Osób Mariusz Pilarski

Websites like e-podroznik can help plan and navigate the bus system. ⁵

Taxis

Poland has traditional taxi operators and modern taxi apps, like Uber. Both are available in the major cities in the country. 

Uber

Uber is offering 2 free rides of up to 300 PLN each from the Ukraininan border points of Hrebenne, Dolhobyczow, Dorohusk, Zosin, Budomierz, Korczowa, or Medyka to the Polish cities of Lublin or Rzeszow. The codes to use are: POMOCLUBELSKIE or POMOCPODKARPACKIE. Keep in mind that these may be updated so check on the Uber website blog. 

iTaxi

iTaxi has a Ukrainian language version of the app to help make bookings easier⁶

Traditional taxis

Here are numbers for traditional taxis in major Polish cities:⁷

• Warsaw - +48 228 111 111 (Ele Taxi)
• Cracow - +48 609 400 400 (Barbakan Taxi)
• Gdańsk - +48 586 664 444 (Green Cab Taxi)
• Wrocław - +48 713 828 282 (Eko Taxi)
• Poznań - +48 618 219 219 (Taxi RMI)
• Łódź - +48 519 000 400 (Green Cab Taxi)
• Szczecin - +48 914 833 833 (Taxi 4 You)
• Katowice - +48 327 232 323 (Lider Taxi)

How to go from Poland to a neighbouring country

If you are thinking of continuing on from Poland, the government of Poland suggests first contacting the embassy of the country you are looking to go to.

For travel to a neighbouring country, there are options to get there by bus, trains and flight depending on the destination city.

Here are a few options for travelling from Poland to a neighbouring country:

By bus, Flixbus is offering free tickets to surrounding countries

There are free Eurocity crossborder tickets are available for Ukrainian passport or ID holders on the following train services:

• The German Deutsche Bahn
• Austrian ÖBB
• Dutch NS
• Belgian NMBS
• Danish DSB
• Finnish VR
• Lithuanian LTG Link

For Germany, there are 8 Eurocity long-distance trains from Poland that are allowing Ukrainian passport or ID holders to ride for free. ​​The Eurocity long-distance trains are leaving from Warsaw, Gdansk, Przemyśl, Krakow, and Wroclaw.⁸

The Hungarian airline Wizz Air is offering 100,000 free seats on flights for Ukrainian ID holders. The seats can be on selected flights leaving from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, to the destinations within its network. But destinations to Iceland, Canary Islands, and UAE will not be serviced. ⁹

Main transportations

Here is a quick list of the major transportation hubs in Poland. Most cross border travel can be done from these hubs, or are spots to change trains or buses:

🚝 Major train stations:

• Gdańsk‎
• Gdynia‎
• Gorzów Wielkopolski‎
• Katowice‎
• Kraków‎
• Łódź‎
• Opole‎
• Sopot‎
• Szczecin‎
• Warsaw‎
• Wrocław‎

✈️ International airports:¹⁰

• Warsaw (WAW)
• Wroclaw (WRO)
• Krakow (KRK)
• Gdansk (GDN)
• Katowice (KTW)
• Warsaw Modlin (WMI)
• Poznan (POZ)
• Rzeszow (RZE)
• Szczecin (SZZ)
• Lublin (LUZ)
• Bydgoszcz (BZG)
• Lodz (LCJ)

🚎 Major bus stations:¹¹

• Warsaw
• Wroclaw
• Bialystok
• Radom
• Rzeszów
• Kielce
• Lomza
• Augustów
• Ostrów Mazowiecka
• Suwalki
• Augustów
• Pultusk

Poland has over 330 bus stations across the country to connect domestically, and a few that connect internationally. The ones in the smaller towns are less formal and can be a stop along a road or parking lot, while major cities will have more facilities and amenities at the stations.

All sources checked as of 5 March, 2022