Poland Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving in Poland-
Poland drives on the right and you can use the photo licence of any country to drive here, providing it’s written in Roman alphabet. Drivers from other countries need their own licence plus an international driving permit. Speed limits range from 130kmh on motorways, 110Kmh on Expressways, 90kmh on other roads and 50kmh in urban areas.Headlights must be used at all times.
Poland has around 400,000 km of roads, of which 75% are paved. Main routes in the country are motorways/Autostrada denoted with an A prefix and Expressways denoted with a S. Routes designated as motorways are-
The A1, also known as the Amber highway is a north-south route which runs through central Poland, from the port of Gdańsk on the Baltic Sea through Łódź to the Czech border at Gorzyczki/Věřňovice, where it meets the Czech motorway D1. The motorway is a part of European route E75 and the section from Gdańsk to Toruń is a toll road.
The A2 , also called the Motorway of Freedom runs from the German border in Świecko/Frankfurt from A12 autobahn, through Poznań and Łódź to Warsaw where it becomes the S2 Expressway . It is intended to extend it to the Belarusian border in Terespol/Brest and the M1 highway. The motorway is a part of the European route E30 connecting Berlin and Moscow and the section from the German border to Lodz is a toll road.
The A4 is an east–west motorway that runs through southern Poland, from the German border at Zgorzelec-Görlitz connecting to the German A4 autobahn, through Wrocław, Opole, Gliwice, Katowice, Kraków, Tarnów and Rzeszów, to the Ukrainian border at Korczowa-Krakovets connecting to the Ukrainian M10. It is a part of European route E40.
The A6 in Poland is a short motorway from the German border at Kołbaskowo/Pomellen which forms a southern bypass of city of Szczecin.
The A8 is the bypass for the city of Wrocław.
Sections of the A1,A2 and A4 are toll roads with payment made at toll booths on the road. More details on toll payments can be found on the Viatoll site here.
Motorways and Expressways are generally in a satisfactory state though even main roads between major towns and cities can be narrow and have the occasional pot hole. Streetlighting away from major cities can be poor. You must drive with your headlights on at all times. Local driving standards are often poor: speed limits, traffic lights and road signs are sometimes ignored and drivers rarely indicate before manoeuvring. Slow moving vehicles are common in rural areas, even on main roads. Railway crossings may not be marked and can appear in unexpected places. Try and work out if your route will cross a rail line before you set off so you have an idea when to expect a crossing.
Driving distances within Poland-
Wroclaw to Warsaw 350KM, 5hrs 30 ,
Gdansk to Poznan, 300KM, 4hrs 30 , there is a section of toll road which should be about 5 Euros
Gdansk to Warsaw, 345km, 5 hrs,
Poznan to Wroclaw, 180km, 3hrs,
Poznan to Warsaw,320km, 4hrs
Krakow to Warsaw,300km, 4 hours 30
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Poland Car rental
Sixt, Hertz, Europcar, Alamo, National,Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Dollar,have outlets here.Also usually features on Car rental broker sites and Web discount sites.
We currently have no local car rental partners in Poland. If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com
Poland Self Drive Rules –
Most of the big companies allow cars to be driven to mainland Western European countries and UK. There may be restrictions on taking cars to Eastern Europe. Budget mention that cars cannot be taken to the following –Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania & Albania. One way international rentals will be possible to certain countries for an additional fee. You should check this with the rental company.
