How to get from the railway station (or the airport) to the University campus (and elsewhere) in under 12 hours

This document is meant to help GLiP-5 participants find the ultimate truth. Errm, the conference site, that is. Plus a few other places. Enjoy :-)

I. General Information

Relevant Addresses

Hera hotel: Belwederska 26/30, phone: 553-10-00.
University campus: Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28.
Institute of English Studies: Nowy Swiat 4, 4^th floor, phone: 553-14-24

Taxis

If you want to take a taxi from the airport or the railway station, make sure that you order it at the information desk there, rather than using those waiting just outside - that should save you quite a lot of money. The standard-issue airport-mafia taxi driver will attempt to rip you off of 3 PLN per kilometer (and who knows how often their meters tick), while the average fare after a recent reduction is nowadays around 1.40/1.50 per kilometer. The fare is usually higher by 50% between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and on Sundays. There is a standard extra charge on each ride, either 5 or 6 PLN.

I regularly use taxis for 1.20 PLN (Taxi Plus -- phone number 9621; Sunday fare 1.80) or 1.30 (Bayer Taxi; 9627). Others I've used and can recommend are Super Taxi (9622; 1.40), WaWa Taxi (9644; 1.40) and Partner Taxi (9669 [sic]; 1.40). They are all medium to high standard. A taxi company of guaranteed high standard (they say, I never checked) is MPT (919 [yes, 3 digits]; 2.00).

As far as the Central railway station is concerned, there is one more option to get a taxi without having to order it by phone: if you exit it on the eastern side (the one closest to Palac Kultury, the huge ugly^H^H^H^Hstylish building that you cannot miss) and continue some 100/150 metres in the direction of Palac Kultury, you will see groups of taxis waiting there - these should be safe to use as well (though see the disclaimer below).

II. Public Transportation

Fares

You might want to have a look at the tariff (in Polish) directly. A short excerpt follows. Prices are the same for buses, trams, and the underground, within city limits. At night, buses are available only. Make sure to validate your ticket right after you get on.

A single trip fare: 2.40 zl.
Night bus (single trip) fare: 4.80 zl.
A single trip on weekdays, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.: 2.00 zl.
10-trip ticket: 21.60 zl.
60 minute ticket: 3.60 zl.
90 minute ticket: 4.50 zl.
2-hour ticket: 6.00 zl.
24-hour ticket: 7.20 zl.
3-day ticket: 12.00 zl.
There is a surcharge per each piece of luggage: 2.40 zl.
You can buy tickets from the driver, when the bus/tram is not in motion. There is a surcharge of 0.60 zl for this, and they expect exact change.

You can also buy tickets in the many kiosks that you can find in the main hall of the station and in the underground passages.

When at the station or on a bus/tram near it, make sure to guard your belongings. Many pickpocket gangs are reported to operate in that area.

Map

The following is a very sketchy map of the relevant locations:

                                  (North)

                                 University
                                     |
                                     |
          Railway Station ---- Rondo de Gaulle'a (and EMPiK)
               |                     |
               |                     |
               |                   hotel
               | 
Airport __...__/

Routes

The relevant routes are:

Airport - Rondo de Gaulle'a ("De Gaulle Roundabout", I am going to use the Polish name, because this is what you are going to look for)
Railway Station - Rondo de Gaulle'a
Rondo de Gaulle'a - hotel
Rondo de Gaulle'a - University
hotel - University

1. How to get to Rondo de Gaulle'a from the airport

Use bus no. 175 from the airport (this is a long trip! The Warsaw Public Transportation says 27 minutes, but that's ignoring traffic jams during weekdays) - in case it is impossible for you to read the name of the bus stop, this is the second stop after the stop right after a huge roundabout between the Forum hotel (brownish and tall to your right) and Palac Kultury (grey, monstrous and ugly behind you to the left), or the third stop after the one between the Mariott hotel to your right and the Central railway station to your left; behind the station, Palac Kultury looms).

At Rondo de Gaulle'a, the 175 bus takes a turn to the left into Nowy Swiat street, and this is where you should get off if you're going to the hotel (the name of the stop is "Foksal"); stay on it if you're going straight to the campus.

2. From the Central railway station to Rondo de Gaulle'a

This is very much a subpart of the trip from the airport. You can catch the 175 bus across the street from the station (this is the best choice if you want to go straight to the University campus). You can only get there via an underground passage (mind your luggage). You can also catch any tram (no. 9, 7, 25, 42, etc.) going in the direction of the Forum hotel (this is also the direction of 'Praga' and 'Centrum' as some signs may say) and get off on the 3rd stop.

The landmark useful in getting both to the campus and the hotel is a medium-sized building at the corner of Aleje Ujazdowskie and Nowy Swiat, with a sign on it saying "EMPiK". To get there from a tram, you have to cross the street to the left, facing the direction in which the tram is going (i.e., the tram is going eastward, and you need to go to the north). To get there from the 175 bus, you basically need to cross the street after you get off on Nowy Swiat street.

3. Rondo de Gaulle'a - hotel

Once you are beside EMPiK, walk a few paces to the north, along Nowy Swiat street - there you need to catch a bus no. 116 or 195 (going south). After some three (long) stops, the street will begin to descend. The Hera hotel is at the bottom of that descent, on the left, before the crossroads. The bus will continue till after the crossroads. The name of the stop is "Spacerowa".

4. Rondo de Gaulle'a - University campus

NOTE: the easiest way to the University straight from the railway station is to catch the 175 bus. It turns to the left on Rondo de Gaulle'a and continues towards the University.

Getting there from the roundabout:

The bus stop you need is on the side of Nowy Swiat opposite EMPiK, somewhat to the north. Most of the buses there go past the University, for example 503, E2 (1 stop), 116, 195, 175 (2 stops). The name of the stop you should get off at is "Uniwersytet".

5. Hotel - University

Get on either the 116 or 195 bus. The campus is some 7 stops away (yes, one more than if you were going in the opposite direction).

III. Disclaimer

I take no responsibility for any damages and misfortunes resulting from following this guide. Use at your own risk...

IV. History

This 'guide' was first written for GLiP-1, in November 1999. The original version might still be there. It was very slightly revised before GLiP-2 through GLiP-4, and then reviewed, updated, and html-ized for GLiP-5, in late November 2002.