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eihpos
Joined: 14 Dec 2008 Posts: 331
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 9:49 am Post subject: Are trains cheap? |
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Hi,
I'm thinking of taking a job in the small and possibly boring town of Koszalin. It sounds well connected enough though, and I'm hoping to do a good bit of travelling while I'm there. I can't spend all of my (pitiful) salary on travel though so I was wondering about trains in general in Poland compared to the UK or Ireland. How much would I be looking at from say, Warsaw to Krakow? I'm just trying to figure out how much travel I will be able to afford on 2500pln.
Thanks
Last edited by eihpos on Sat Aug 27, 2011 3:34 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:02 am Post subject: |
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pkp.pl |
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sharter
Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 878 Location: All over the place
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 2:59 pm Post subject: erm |
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Kozalin is ok and you'll be ok. Trains are cheap but don't worry about that as you won't be doing any travelling with that salary. Poland is in the EU and has EU prices now except for food from markets. You're gonna earn just over 500 quid a month. Could you live on that in the UK and travel? Hotels are very costly now and even noclegi (rooms for rent in houses) are 60-70Zl per night. An average hotel in Poznan is not less than 200Zl/night. 80Zl/day is going to be a real struggle mate. It's a pack of smokes, a 20Zl lunch, a sandwich, a 5Zl breakfast, 2 cups of coffee and 3 pints of cheap lager or just 4 JD and cokes!! Then you'll meet a bird..........and they don't go Dutch here.
Hate to pish on your fireworks. |
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Sgt Bilko
Joined: 28 Jul 2006 Posts: 136 Location: POLAND
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 4:24 pm Post subject: |
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Two things to remember:
1 Express / Intercity trains require reservations and are very expensive
2 When you travel a long distance the price per km goes down a lot.
As an example:
Koszalin - Krakow non-stop on an express = 151zl single 2nd class
The same journey on normal trains (needs a change) is 71zl
Only going to Warsaw, doesn't save you a lot (125zl express)
Travelling on night trains may save you a hotel bill but, if you don't use a sleeper/couchette you may wake up minus a wallet - it's happened to me. |
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hrvatski
Joined: 16 Nov 2008 Posts: 270
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:52 pm Post subject: |
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What the hell is going on in Koszalin, every second post on this board seems to relate to it?
But yeah trains are cheap. Just DO NOT travel when Poles go moving around en masse, i.e. All Saint's Day, Easter, etc. - hours of standing in the corridor sandwiched between others.
It's also compulsory to bring the stinkiest thing from your fridge (kiełbasa cyganska will do the trick) and munch on it for as long as possible.
I usually rode 1st class, bit more expensive but you should get a seat. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:05 am Post subject: |
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I'm being pedantic, please forgive. It's Saturday night late and have imbibed.
But TRAINS are not cheap. It's wildly expensive to buy a train
Tickets to ride are usually pretty reasonable, unless you're in Germany -they get a whole lot costlier there. |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 1:08 am Post subject: |
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hrvatski wrote:
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It's also compulsory to bring the stinkiest thing from your fridge (kiełbasa cyganska will do the trick) and munch on it for as long as possible. |
+1.
i wouldn't recommend traveling by train during mushroom picking season either. speaking from experience. |
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Jack Walker
Joined: 23 Oct 2008 Posts: 412
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 3:12 am Post subject: |
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I'll never forget the time I was traveling to the Beskids by train, and a family decided to chow down on the boiled eggs they had brought with them for the journey.
There were about 10 people in that family and the whole train compartment reeked strongly of sulphur to the point where every passenger on the train cast them dirty looks.
It was summer and the train was very hot and stuffy and the strong sulphur smell didn't help things much. |
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maniak
Joined: 06 Feb 2008 Posts: 194
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Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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Like sharter pointed out, and I'll just chime in quite brutally here, with 2500zl you'll barely have enough to make ends meet let alone travel, so don't worry about ticket prices or what park benches or dumpsters you can take advantage off when visiting neighboring Polish cities.
I'm sure its worse in Russia or Kazakhstan, but still, besides the health care system, you'll get to experience all of Poland paradoxes, pathological behavior, stink, grime and dirt all within covering a distance of 200km (cause it'll take you about 6 hours). |
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Master Shake
Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 1202 Location: Colorado, USA
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 4:37 am Post subject: |
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If you want to travel by train, become familiar with using the poorly designed Polish railway site:
http://rozklad-pkp.pl/
As Bilko wrote, the normal trains are much cheaper than the express or intercity ones. These normal trains are designated with a TLK. They are often just as fast as the so-called 'express' trains.
It's a good idea to idea to pay extra for a seat reservation (you may have to upgrade to 1st class) if it is a very long journey or a popular time to travel. Standing 5+ horus in a crowded corridor on a packed train next to a bathroom is no fun. Especially if the bathroom is being used as a smoking lounge!
Don't rule out buses either: http://www.pksbilety.pl/
spiral78 wrote: |
I'm being pedantic, please forgive. It's Saturday night late and have imbibed.
But TRAINS are not cheap. It's wildly expensive to buy a train
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It's rare to meet a man who gets this pendantic when he's drunk - only among English teachers |
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hrvatski
Joined: 16 Nov 2008 Posts: 270
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 10:32 am Post subject: |
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maniak wrote: |
I'm sure its worse in Russia or Kazakhstan, but still, besides the health care system, you'll get to experience all of Poland paradoxes, pathological behavior, stink, grime and dirt all within covering a distance of 200km (cause it'll take you about 6 hours). |
Wikipedia wrote: |
A paradox is a seemingly true statement or group of statements that lead to a contradiction or a situation which seems to defy logic or intuition. |
I don't really see the paradox in poverty, filth and madness after 50 years of communism, kinda logical. Though I like Poland for all these reasons
Some good Polish paradoxes:
- The difference between ladies on Saturday night in da club and Sunday morning in da church
- What the priest says and the radical fashion in which everyone drives home from church (I have been overtaken whilst myself overtaking on a two-lane country road)
- Blind corners are an ideal place to overtake
- The frustration of postal workers yet their refusal to improve the system in any way whatsoever |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080
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Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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mastershake wrote:
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Especially if the bathroom is being used as a smoking lounge! |
My first trip to the baltic was a memorable one. The train was so packed, people were literally standing in the bathrooms due to lack of space. Disgusting. |
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sharter
Joined: 25 Jun 2008 Posts: 878 Location: All over the place
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:34 pm Post subject: trains |
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You can't buy booze on the trains now........the killjoys!!
Seriously though, all the advice about booking a seat is sound.
Still, travel on that salary is out of the question. |
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delphian-domine
Joined: 11 Mar 2011 Posts: 674
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:24 pm Post subject: Re: Are trains cheap? |
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eihpos wrote: |
I'm thinking of taking a job in the small and possibly boring town of Koszalin. It sounds well connected enough though, and I'm hoping to do a good bit of travelling while I'm there. I can't spend all of my (pitiful) salary on travel though so I was wondering about trains in general in Poland compared to the UK or Ireland. How much would I be looking at from say, Warsaw to Krakow? I'm just trying to figure out how much travel I will be able to afford on 2500pln. |
Trains are very cheap compared to UK/Ireland prices, don't worry about that.
You can, for instance, get a ticket for 35zl that can cover a whole weekend - from 6pm on Friday to 6am on the first day of work - so if Monday is a holiday, you have 3.5 days for 35zl. Fair enough, it only covers the 'local' trains - but these are often just as fast as the express trains.
Ignore the scaremongers on this thread - Poland is as cheap or as expensive as you want it. I did a tour of Poland last summer and paid no more than 70zl for a double, en-suite room wherever I went. One place was 60zl, right in the heart of Bieszczady.
Best bet is to check http://rozklad-pkp.pl/ and play around.
As for all this talk of rammed trains and so on - avoid travelling at peak times, and it'll be fine. I went to Warsaw and back to Poznan this weekend - out Friday morning, returned Saturday evening. Paid 108zl return on the best trains, had a compartment to myself both ways.
Ignore what the doomsayers say - you'll have enough to see Poland. I'd personally be more worried about the sudden glut of recruitment in Koszalin - something is iffy there... |
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dynow
Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 1080
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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delphiandomine wrote:
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You can, for instance, get a ticket for 35zl that can cover a whole weekend - |
regardless of distance traveled?
wouldn't that essentially mean that all tickets in Poland over the weekend are no more than 35zl? i mean....why else would you pay more than that if you can buy an all weekend ticket for 35zl, no? |
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