I visited Gdansk for the first time this year, 2022 - what a year of different travels I've had. I can honestly say this city took me by surprise, I didn't know what to expect, I didn't do any research into going, I literally just looked at flights from NCL and the return for here was only £11.00, thats too good to be true, so I decided to snap it up straight away and a week later I was at the airport waiting to head to this beautiful country.
Upon landing in Gdansk, I headed through immigration, straight outside to order an uber. If you've been to Poland beforehand you will know how amazingly cheap this country is - its literally ridiculously cheap. I headed to my hostel which was inside a block of gorgeous apartments which had its very own spa downstairs - which of course I had to spend some time in there too. Can't turn down a spa trip really can you. I stayed at the WaterLane Island Hostel & Apartments, I was here for 5 days, and it cost me £44.00, The Hostel was on the 1st floor and had multiple dorms which were unisex but they also had same sex dorm rooms for those more comfortable staying in a room with all the same gender.
What I loved most about this hostel, was the variety of people who were actually staying here, from locations they are from in the world to the age of the residents. I met this one friendship group, which was 2 Finnish women, both over the age of 50, and teachers back in Finland, who just decided one day just like me - to just browse flights & go. Hearing their stories was so inspirational, & made me realise that travelling isn't just for the young, you can travel at anytime in your life.. these two amazing women were living their best lives, & truly happy. I hope when I'm their age I still hold the passion I have for travel. Not everyones stories of who was staying there was as heartwarming, one girl I met who worked in the city, her story was one of very mixed feelings, I just wanted to give the girl a cuddle, her story brought a tear to my eye & made me realise how privileged I am to be a British citizen, This poor girl is from Belarus, and for those who don't know much about this country - is unfortunately run by a dictator & long story short he's not a very nice one, their people are being killed for wanting to be free from him, so the country lives in fear, and unfortunately this girl cannot return home to her family because she voted against him in a general election & if she returns home she will be arrested or worse, so this girl lives in Gdansk currently without any of her family, & no country to return too. Absolutely heartbreaking, Just shows that not everyone who is travelling between countries always has a happy background story, but thats what I love about travelling, its not one story or size fits all, I love how diverse it is, and meeting these amazing people!
Anyways, onto the nice stuff about Gdansk! Poland is such a picturesque country, I can now understand why Gdansk is part of its rivera, the city is surrounded by natural woodland, as you come into land you will lose count of how many lakes surround it. It has some beautiful national parks, and is just a short train journey to the city of Sopot, which has a beach, and is known for its song festival and wooden pier which is the longest in the EU.
Gdansk has a good nightlife, its filled with bars, clubs and restaurants in the old town area, which over looks the river. There is so many places I could recommend, all I wanted to do whilst there is eat and try the local beers. One of the clubs I went into was called " The Legendary Jacks, also known as Fahrenheit, by Jacks" I danced my night away here, very happily with no trouble on my own as a solo female traveler, and felt very safe to do so. The staff were amazing, don't get me wrong the que to the bar was long as its a very popular place but it went down quickly and everyone in there was very friendly, I made some good friends that night. At the end, I then walked back to my hostel, which was a 10 minute walk ( made slightly longer by the amount I had consumed haha ) but hey I was on holiday right!
Food and Drink here, is just crazy cheap. I felt like I was eating for an army, I just wanted to try anything and everything - it all looked so tasty & from my experience it was, luckily it didn't break the bank in price either! Again I have my monzo card to thank for that - I highly recommend getting yourself a monzo account if you are going to be travelling on a regular basis for sure! Back to the food & Drink, I ate like a complete queen, I definitely piled on the pounds when I was there, eating 3 course meals minimum every meal, I don't think I have ever eaten so much, I wouldn't even know where to begin with recommending places to eat - just head over to my reviews pages to check out the reviews I have written as there is too many too choose from.
The weather - I came here in October and needed to use a coat in the evenings and a jumper during the day, the temperature was starting to drop in October, but the sun was still shining away. I highly recommend bringing layers you can take off and put on, at times in the evenings I required my hat, scarf and coat - however I am someone who feels the cold a lot. Poland in general tends to get very cold in the winters, they can have quite harsh winters, but I can imagine this city to be beautiful in the snow. Durning the summer time, they have good temperatures, and quite warm ones, so depending on what you prefer you might rather visit this gorgeous city during the summer, then you could hop on the train & chill at the beach also. I know i'll be happy to return during the summer sometime to see how much the city changes depending on the seasons.
Flight time - from NCL into GDN is approx 2 hours, weather permitting, which is even more of a reason to visit this beautiful city - it takes hardly anytime to get there, its the perfect cheap mini break. I'm originally from Exeter, Devon, I now live in the NE of England, it's approx a 6 hours drive from where I live now to my home town, traffic permitting of course, I could have flown over to Gdansk 3 times by the time I've completed the drive from the NE to the SW., & with fuel costs right now, its cheaper to actually go explore another country.
Below is a tourist map of Gdansk, which can be printed or use the QR code to download the app directly to your mobile. It shows all of Gdansk's popular attractions and monuments, most of them you can find in the old town area.
Would I come back? Is it safe for all traveler? Is the city welcoming to tourist? Do you need a visa? Questions can be ongoing, if you have any please don't hesitate to send me a message, I'll be happy to help. But the answer to the ones above - Yes, I would for sure come back, this time I might bring some friends so they can see the city for themselves instead of just hearing my stories. Yes, I would say this city is very safe for all traveler, as a solo female traveler I felt incredibly safe in the city for sure. Yes the city is very welcoming, and finally - No, from the UK you can get a visa on arrival, basically they just stamp your passport which most countries do. In fact I liked the design of the stamp that much I decided to have it tattooed whilst out there, alongside a traditional polish crown. Random I know, but YOLO.
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