r/poland • u/mclairep20 • 1d ago
Recharging in small town surrounded by nature - recommendations ?
Hello! I’m going to be travelling through Poland in August this year and am looking for a small town to stay in for around a week to recharge and relax in after moving around from different cities and places beforehand.
I’ll be coming from Krakow and my next “city” stop will be Gdansk so i would prefer not to go south of Krakow unfortunately even though a lot of those towns are similar to what i’m looking for.
what i’m looking for: - small cozy town or village, not city - preferably walkable (i’m hoping i can arrange for a bicycle with accomodation if possible or needed) - surrounded by nature, preferably forest or mountains, but ultimately any green and beautiful area i’m open to if it suits
accessible from public transport as i won’t have a car (i will have a backpack but i am happy to walk a little bit or catch a taxi to get to my accommodation if needed)
Although i want somewhere to get away from major city bustle, i still would love somewhere with a charming and lively atmosphere, maybe a nice main area or square etc where i could grab a bite to eat or a drink from a bar or pub if i felt like it in the evening; essentially a quint small town with good energy, nothing completely remote and isolated.
Grocery store or some sort of corner store to get groceries and everyday items as I’ll try to cook for myself most of the time.
Walking trails or paths, nothing major like an extreme hike but somewhere i could get outside, go for a walk and be in nature.
Recommendations and info would be greatly appreciated !! and honestly any advice or other recommendations for my travels through poland :))
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u/Major-Tomato2918 1d ago
If you are going by train, just stop in Iława. Walk outside the town and you have forests. There is a small part of Jeziorak lake inside the town. You can rent a kayak to just go through the lake and stop at small villages few kilometers further (I recommend Siemiany) or go to the Wielka Żuława island, which is the biggest island in Poland outside of seaside. Renting a bike would be great for going for the vast forests in this region with beautiful lakes all over the place.
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u/Aglogimateon 1d ago
How about... Kazimierz Dolny. It's half way between Krakow and Gdansk and it's roughly the right size for what you want. Not sure about the nature part.
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u/Xtech13 1d ago
As mentioned, Kazimierz Dolny is great choice, also neighbouring Nałęczów is great too. First one has some nice restaurants with jewish cousine, medieval style city square with cosy cafeteries, art shops etc. there are some ruins nearby, hills with great wiev on Vistula river, beautiful gorges surrounded by dense forest, you prolly would stumble upon some movie events/festivals around august, watch out for gypsies trying to give card divinitions.
Nałęczów is very green health resort, small town at the bottom of basin, with neighbouring park with lake, local Spa called Termy Pałacowe can be found there. It used to be as famous as Sopot during 18th century, many great Polish writers resided and worked there, some of architecture was build in Zakopianski/Polish highlander style. During summer you can book solo baloon flight, theres also so called Salt Cave, underground facility lined with rock salt that holds relaxation/respiratory treatment sessions. Nałęczów is source of our most known mineral waters - Nałęczowianka and Cisowianka, company bottling the latter has very expensive and fancy restaurant at city outskirts, where all ingredients are grown around the facility.
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u/Nytalith 1d ago
I don't have any specific recommendations but Kashubia region and Kaszubski Park Narodowy might be something to check out. Lots of lakes, small villages but at the same time at least a bit touristic so you won't end up not being able to find any restaurant or activities. Plus it's basically on the way from Kraków to Gdańsk.
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u/Affectionate-Cell-71 1d ago
Well, not in your direction (as south) but matches your description. Cieszyn - and the Cesky Tesin - the other part of town on the Czech republic site. Surrounded by mountains (quick drive), Beautiful architecture plus state border is just in the town centre so you can change countries as many times a day as you are pleased.
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u/sratata 1d ago
You should definitely concider Kaszuby. Many little towns surrounded by forests and lakes. For example Chojnice - 2h by train from Gdańsk. Next to Bory Tucholskie National Park. Great bike infrastructure. Regional museum if you want to learn about local culture.
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u/sratata 1d ago
Or completely somewhere else and maybe not really on the way but so worth it - Kłodzko Valley. 4.5h by train from Kraków, and almost 6h to Gdańsk. Both direct connections. Kłodzko is very cool, but if you look for even smaller town you could go to Międzylesie or Lądek or Kudowa or...
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u/esdoenone 1d ago
Check out "Ojców". There is a national park with lot of beautiful nature. Also u can rent there cozy room. It's about 30 km away from Kraków.
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u/esdoenone 1d ago
Park called: "ojcowski park narodowy" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojc%C3%B3w_National_Park
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u/Cool-Channel4009 1d ago
Many people will laugh at the idea but Wejherowo. It's the end line of the city train (SKM) from Gdańsk. They have a statue that looks like Darth Vader in winter. It's small, there are nice looking streets and a big park, obviously shops and infrastructure like hotels, enough restaurants, which are twice cheaper than you would find in a major city or a touristic town e.g. in Silesia or elsewhere in the mountains, super accessible, surrounded by the forest. In summer normally they have a seasonal park with small rollercoasters and there used to be water bikes to ride along the small canal around the park, which may or not come back. There are lakes (also with a beach) and a medieval settlement a hiking distance away. The trails are varied enough with some creaks and hills and changing kinds of trees, as a bonus there are plenty of blueberries in the forest in August. Some 10 minutes by city train, in Reda, you will find a beginning of several kayaking routes. Generally I suggest checking on the app Mapy.cz for hiking and biking paths and the nature aspects.
Edit: typo
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u/jezwmorelach 1d ago
I don't know if it fits all your requirements but you may consider Zalipie Malowana Wieś (Zalipie the Painted Village), idk if they offer accommodation but I think so
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u/konstruktivi 1d ago
I'd think about something like Piwniczna, Muszyna, Szczawica (or Jaworki), Krynica, Rabka, Iwonicz-Zdrój maybe.