Poland, a country in Central Europe, surrounded by Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and a little part of Russia, is one of the most underrated yet magnificent countries in Europe. Because we are originally from Latvia, a country in the Baltic States and not so far from Poland, we have been to this colorful country a handful of times and I’m glad we did. Poland is such a diverse country with beautiful cities, rich nature that ranges from vast forests to high mountains, and even a seaside that is the perfect place to enjoy warm summer days.

Since 2022 we have traveled Europe with a motorhome and this way of exploring certainly is way more different and opens the journey to new experiences and knowledge. Poland has proved to be one of the best countries to travel with a motorhome or rather – experience the vanlife lifestyle. In this blog post, I will cover the 14 things to know about vanlife in Poland and why it is a true dream place for vanlifers!

Toll roads

Some parts of the major motorways have a toll charge and you can find them on A1, A2, A4, and A8 roads, the rest for vehicles under 3,5 tonnes is free of charge. There are several ways of paying for the toll part of the road – either on the motorway at a toll booth or on a mobile application such as Autopay for motorways A1 and A4 or e-TOLL PL. The toll prices for vehicles up to 3,5 tonnes may vary depending on the part of the road therefore it’s best to check them on the apps or the official toll website here: https://www.tolls.eu/poland

Truthfully, we found the toll system a little bit confusing since there are several ways to pay for the toll and only some parts are with a fee so we tried to avoid them altogether. The way we did it was when applying a route on Google Maps, you can choose the route options to avoid tolls and it worked well since the alternative roads were close to the motorways and were comfortable enough to get where we wanted.

Water

One of the main necessities that sometimes feels like a burden, is finding a place to fill your water tank that isn’t a campsite. We found that in Poland, during winter, most water pipes are closed so the only option was to buy water at grocery stores. In summer it’s a little easier since at some gas stations you can find water pipes or even at some local parks. Frankly, water isn’t the simplest thing to find but with a lot of patience and hunting, it can be done.

Toilet emptying stations

A big surprise on our journey through Poland was finding motorhome toilet emptying stations for no cost at all. Usually, you can find services like this at campsites, certain petrol stations or rest areas, and motorhome stop areas but in Poland, we found these stations by motorhome dealerships. To find places like this we used the Park4Night free mobile application and searched for a dark brown icon that symbolizes a motorhome with water draining out from it. This helped us so much and was so convenient to use and clean everything. Usually, you could also drain the gray water tank and fill it up with fresh water. This certainly makes Poland an ideal camping country since services like this are hard to find in the nearby countries, especially for free.

Everyday waste

In some countries finding a normal-sized waste bin where you can dispose of your garbage can be a struggle but in Poland, you can find waste bins at gas stations, at public parking spots as well as other public places such as parks and other tourist points. Before starting to travel full-time with a motorhome, I didn’t even imagine how hard it could be sometimes to find a place where you can freely and without any guilt throw out garbage. In some countries, there are laws and restrictions about what waste to throw where but when you live in a vehicle it’s really hard to find the perfect bins for everything. While we traveled through Poland, we didn’t have any problems with getting rid of garbage and that’s such a big bonus to this country.

Affordable

Poland is famous for how inexpensive it is to travel there and that’s absolutely true. It’s hard to find places where you can buy groceries for a week for two persons for about 30 Euros or go out for a coffee that costs around 2 Euros at nice coffee shops, or delicious food at cafes or restaurants where a portion can vary from 5 to 15 Euros, depending how fancy you are looking to eat. Gas is one of the most attractive parts of Poland from a vanlifer’s perspective since it’s extremely cheaper than in neighboring countries and makes the distances between the many beautiful spots in the country so much more attainable.

Public transport, if you are looking at getting about cities or even catching a bus or a train to another town, is also reasonably priced, allowing you to enjoy Poland not only from your vehicle but with very comfortable public transport as well. For easier ticket purchases, I can recommend a local app called Jakdojade‘ where you can browse different cities in Poland and purchase tickets online. Overall I would say that Poland is one of the most affordable countries to travel to and a perfect long-term vanlife destination.

A lot of beautiful, safe places to stay overnight for free

We have never stayed at a campsite in Poland and only because you can find very beautiful, peaceful yet safe parking spots that cost nothing at all and offer you freedom and also, save some money. To find places like that, we regularly use the Park4Night app that shows all kinds of places in Europe where fellow travelers have left their reviews ranking places, telling what their experience was like and what you can expect there to find such as – water, bins and other noteworthy things.

Camping in cities can feel a little bit more unsafe since you can never know what neighborhoods are safe or unsafe or what people are visiting them as well but I can assure you that in Poland, if you carefully check the Park4Night app and you see no negative reviews in that regard and when reaching the parking spot, if you feel like it’s a safe place, then you shouldn’t be worried. Of course, a basic security system or awareness of what’s happening around is necessary at all places that you visit but generally, Poland is a safe country.

No green zones until the middle of 2024

Low emission zones in Europe are becoming more and more popular such as in Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, and more. This system is carried out to improve the quality of air and regulate traffic by charging drivers who use older vehicles that produce more pollution. Since we drive an older motorhome, steering clear from these green zones is necessary to avoid any fines but in Poland, until the middle of 2024, no low-emission zones have been formed. The first cities that will have the green zones in Poland most likely will be Krakow and Warsaw but no definite dates have been set when the zones will be put into practice.

Gas stations

Gas stations on highways are one of my favorite things about driving from one place to another in Poland. Often, when driving for a couple of hours, we find ourselves craving coffee and oftentimes have a meal as well but while being on the drive, making something to eat in the motorhome feels like too much work. So Polish gas stations came to save us from the dilemma of what to eat and where to eat – there you can find delicious sandwiches, salads, pizza, and even hot meals like soups, pancakes, different meats, and potatoes or other vegetables to add on. If you are worried about the quality of gas station meals, I can assure you that they taste amazing and are a great and inexpensive meal to have while refreshing and gearing up to continue the drive.

Sim cards

As digital nomads, an internet connection that has enough data and good coverage is absolutely essential. In Poland, we found fairly good deals that provided us with enough data to work and travel through the country with peace of mind. Several companies offer prepaid SIM cards for foreigners and we used a Play SIM card that cost 5 Zloty (1 Euro) and can be bought at any grocery store. To have some data on the card, you can top-up it on the mobile app Play24 for 10 Zloty and you can get 200 GB for a month as a new customer gift. There are also other companies that offer good deals so I would recommend looking through them at a grocery store that sells them and finding what would work best for what you are looking for.

Car tools, parts, and services are inexpensive

When traveling with a vehicle, a case where you would need to find a certain tool or part to fix your car if you are keen on doing that yourself is unfortunately inevitable. While we were visiting Warsaw, we discovered that our car’s radiator was leaking so we found a new replacement radiator for a very affordable price and we were able to find the part near us in just a few hours of searching online. If you would rather go for professional help to deal with any car problems, the services are also very affordable, compared to other countries close by. Shopping for tools or car parts, or even anything else is undeniably very affordable.

Truck stop showers

We discovered this very unexpectedly but at truck stops you can find a small building with free public toilets and at some stops even a free shower option which can be an amazing opportunity for a lot of travelers. Unfortunately, the free shower option was only at one stop for certain but driving from Warsaw, closer to Germany, a lot of gas stations had showers that you could pay for and use for a certain period of time.

Free toilets

In some countries, public toilets aren’t free which can make a trip a little bit pricey considering that everywhere you go, a toilet comes with a fee, not to mention how expensive public toilets can be at highway petrol stations in certain countries, except if you go to cafes or restaurants. But in Poland, you can freely use public restrooms without any cost which is absolutely amazing, and usually, the toilets are clean and well looked after.

Vanlife isn’t so popular there

In certain countries or regions where a lot of travelers with their vehicles travel to and use the space recklessly, restrictions and even laws have been enforced meaning that other travelers face difficulties in finding a free space to park that is also a clean one, without getting a fine or being kicked out of the spot.

In Poland, vanlife hasn’t been so active, even though people do travel there and locals enjoy camping with different vehicles and motorhomes as well. But the amount isn’t even close to, let’s say in Germany, therefore we had plenty of options to park and we didn’t draw a lot of unwanted attention from people who wouldn’t want us to park somewhere. For that reason, it’s so important to be mindful of the space that you use, where you throw your waste, and that you leave the place, as many say, better than when you arrived there.

Cheaper campsites

As I mentioned before, we never used campsites in Poland because of how many free public parking spots you can find in the country and possibly with fewer other tourists and vanlifers for a calmer experience. But if you are looking to stay at campsites for safety, amenity, or even community reasons, campsites in Poland, depending on the size of the vehicle and area in the country, are more affordable, compared to other European countries. You can find a pitch for a motorhome ranging even from 20 to 30 Euros if not looking for something very fancy but that is also in a good location and with all the amenities you may need. Finding different camping spots in Poland can be done on this website where you will find all kinds of campsites all over the country: https://www.camping.info/en/country/poland

Poland is the ideal destination for travelers who are on a budget but want to explore different sides of a country – let it be city life or amazing nature views but it’s also ideal for a calm camping experience since the vanlife movement isn’t such a big thing there yet. In the country, there’s so much to explore and discover that you can spend weeks or even months fully taking in all the beauty it has. A while ago I had the assumption that Poland wasn’t an exciting destination for traveling but now that I had the chance to explore it more and spend longer periods of time in some places, I can admit that I fell in love with the country. If you are keen on traveling there, make sure to check out my blog posts about places to see in Warsaw and Poznan here.

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