Warsaw

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Warsaw, or Warszawa in Polish, is the capital of Poland.

How to get out of Warsaw

Why would you do that? Seriously, unfortunately for its inhabitants and fortunately for the hitchhikers, Warsaw does not have a district motorway nor is it linked to any major town with an expressway. As city begins, most highways and expressways end and turn into regular surface streets. This is largely due to the density of city construction and importance of existing city transit systems: The destruction of either in order to construct an inner-city freeway network is viewed as unbeneficial. This makes reaching a good spot for hitchhiking much easier, as most major roads in fact start in the city centre.

Droga krajowa 7 (E77)

  • Where to: Radom, Kielce
  • Where not: Kraków (E75 through Katowice is faster)
  • Cost from PKP (Polish State Railways):
  • Last verified: January of 2006
  • Directions: There are generally two good places to hitchhike, one just outside the city centre and the other one in a commercial suburb of Janki.
  1. Option 1: Get any tramway from the city centre (Aleje Jerozolimskie, Main Train Station, Centrum (Warsaw Metro)) going towards the final stop of {{{2}}} (9, 15, 25). Once you get there, there is a bus stop some 50 metres away from the tramway terminus further down the road. It is one of the usual hitchhiking spots in Warsaw and many drivers often drive slowly to check if there are hitchhikers waiting. It also has the merit of being located some 50 metres from lights, which give the drivers some time to see you. There is also a kiosk and a filling station located within a minute's walk should you need anything.
  2. Option 2: From the city centre (same spots as above) take a free bus to Centrum Janki(timetable), a large shopping mall area some 20 kilometres from the city centre. Once you're there, there might be some confusion as the road from Warsaw splits there onto two separate roads. The earlier (right in front of the IKEA shop) is droga krajowa 7 (E77) to Kielce, Radom, Kraków and the border with Slovakia in Chyżne. The other, droga krajowa 8 (E67) is located between IKEA and Geant shopping centres, see below for more details.

Droga krajowa 8 (E67)

Follow either path mentioned above. In Okęcie there is a risk that the driver would only get you to Janki. In Janki itself however the road is easy to reach. The droga krajowa 8 (E67) is located between IKEA and Geant shopping centres, at most some 10 minutes walk from the free bus stop. Further down the road there is a nice and wide shoulder so there should not be a problem with finding a decent place. The road itself leads to Piotrków Trybunalski, where it joins the pan-European droga krajowa 1 (E75). The latter connects Warsaw with Łódź, Katowice, Sosnowiec, Wrocław and all other major towns in the south. For Łódź leave the highway at Rawa Mazowiecka, for Wrocław leave the road at Piotrków Trybunalski.

The E75 is also a good connection to Kraków. While longer than E77 through Radom and Kielce (see above), it is in much better condition and much faster. In Katowice-Sosnowiec area the road ends, but there also starts the A4 highway linking Silesia with Kraków to the east and with Wrocław and then the German border to the west.

Going to Gdansk & Torun

Go to last Metro Station (Plac Wilsona) or to the final tram stop of Tram 15 and take bus L towards Łomianki (private line). Get off at the stop called Woycickiego (you should press the bell as the bus doesn't always stop there; the list of bus stops is within the bus itself and all bus stops are visibly marked). This is a perfect place to hitch-hike northwards, there is a lot of space for cars to stop. For Toruń, leave the road at Płock.

Hitching place to Poznan & Germany

Going to Poznan & Germany

To go in the direction of Poznan and Berlin: Take the tram 26 and gett off at Fort Wola. There you can get in the bus 713 and get off at the last but one stop. The stop is just around the corner, you can stand at the street, there's a busstop where cars can stop and a steet lantern so you can also stand there in the dark.


Going to Bialystok & Lithuania

To go in the direction of Bialystok and Lithuania: Take tram 25 from Central Station or any tram from Metro Ratusz. Get off at Dworzec Wilenska/Park Praski and walk to the bus stop in front of the Cinema. Catch bus 718 until the 2nd from last stop (this is where the bus turns). Hitch from the traffic lights, there is a street light, which helps at night.

Going to Lublin & Ukraine

To go in the direction of Lublin: From Central Station, get on Tram 9, 24, 44 and get off at Rondo Wiatraczna, from there get Bus 704 and get off at the stop called Lubelska.

Going to Brest & Belarus

To go in the direction of Brest: From Central Station, get on Tram 9, 24, 44 and get off at Rondo Wiatraczna, from there get Bus 704 and get off at the end.