Cheap accommodations in Poland?

[Shaynelle]

My husband and I are planning our first european trip and since I am in school fulltime we are on a very tight budget. We are most likely going for three weeks in late April/early May and plan to explore one or two countries at the most - just to keep our first trip simple.

Can anyone recommend some places where we can stay for cheap in any interesting place in Poland? We prefer a private double room, clean but nothing fancy.

Does anyone have some weblinks where families advertise private rooms for rent nightly/weekly?

Thanks kindly,
Katherine

PS any other tips such as places to eat, cheap places to buy groceries, links to bus and train schedules would be very much appreciated as well

[beergal]

ok which area of Poland are you going to be staying at?
I reccomend NATHAN's VILLA in KRAKOW it was a fab hostel and very centrally located. Poland is extremely cheap, so are the supermarkets etc

[bluepea]

As Beergal said, Poland is very cheap. Krakow is a more expensive (relatively speaking) Polish city since it's more touristy, but still dirt cheap. You can get a nice full meal + beer for around $15. Zakopane is less touristy and right on the Tatra mountains. Cheap, beautiful.

You'll probably want to stay in the area if you're going to venture to another country, so you may want to consider Slovakia or Czech Republic. They're also very cheap.

Not sure about the homestay, but you can book hostels (including private rooms) at the main page of the site.

Buying from grocery stores is the cheapest way to eat.

Try this link for a homestay deal. Not sure how good it is.

[Esterina]

Hi Shaynelle, and welcome among us !

I was in Poland during the same time of year as you, and the hostels were over crowded with school groups ! Very noisy until midnight every day. Large cities have agencies that can arrange you a stay in a private room. In Warshaw, biuro Podrozy; in Krakow, biuro turystyki i zaaterowania Wawltur; in Gdansk, Gdansk-Tourist. I was only able to find the internet site for Krakow. Maybe you'll have more luck than I.

I only stayed 6 days in the country, visiting Warsaw, Krakow, and Auschwitz (Oswiecim in polish), but I was told that Gdansk and Wroclaw were worth seeing. And there are plenty more I'm sure. It is a beautiful and historically very interesting country, whose frontiers have changed a lot (it even disappeared !) over the last centuries.

I used the Lonely Planet guide, and it was very useful. I strongly recommend it, especially for the logistic details and annoyances we want to avoid ! Like to know that you'll have to pay an additional ticket for your luggages in the city bus ! I met someone who hadn't and paid a fine.

A few restaurants called milk bar (bar mleczny) created during communism, and subsidised by the state, still exist. They are self-served and offer good and cheap food (around $3 a meal). It's been too long to recall the names and addresses (I was in Poland in 2002), but you'll find info in guide books.

Hope it helps !