Pretty much everywhere in Poland you will be able to send a postcard or phone your loved ones back home to say greetings from Poland!
The high standard of postal services in Poland means that it is easy to stay in touch with friends and family no matter how far away they are. In almost every town (miasto) and village (wieś), no matter how small, you can buy stamps (znaczki) and find one of the characteristic red post boxes. Letters posted in Poland can be sent by either priority or economy class. In larger towns, post offices have counters where staff can provide information in a foreign language (usually English).
Post offices and agencies are normally open from early morning until evening and on Saturdays until the early afternoon. The most common opening times are 10 am to 6 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. Main post offices in cities usually stay open longer, sometimes for 24 hours a day.
How about internet access? The number of Internet users in Poland is rising at an ever-increasing rate. When setting off for Poland, you can confidently promise your friends that you will keep in touch by e-mail or blog regardless of whether you are carrying a laptop with you or not.
The easiest way for tourists to gain net access is through Internet cafés (kafejki internetowe). Some of these are open 24 hours a day. In smaller towns, there are far fewer of such cafés, but in general there should be no problem gaining access to the Internet. Prices at Internet cafés vary – an hour of surfing might cost between 2 and 7 złoty. It is also possible to pay for just 15 minutes (normally around 1 zloty) or half an hour.
If you have a laptop, things are even easier. You can gain free net access at hot spots in the centres of large towns and in some hotels. Remember, though, that Internet use is not always included in the nightly rate – you may have to pay an additional charge. More and more often, Internet connections are offered almost free of charge by pubs and cafés in large towns. Just buy a drink, sit down at an appropriate table and you can surf with no time limit.
When travelling, if you have no cell phone with you, it may sometimes be necessary to make use of a public phone. You can make a call from a public phone using special cards with 15, 30 or 60 units, sold at all post offices, kiosks and many food stores. They can be bought for as little as 9 zloty. There are also SMS cards available, which cost 5 zloty and allow you to send 20 text messages. Less common are coin-operated phones.
In large towns, it is also possible to make cheap international calls from some Internet cafés. At post offices and some kiosks you can also buy special phone cards which reduce the cost of international calls (from public or landline phones).
The international code for Poland is (00)48
Useful telephone numbers:
118 913 – directory enquiries (information on the telephone numbers of businesses and private persons)
118 912 – information on international prefix codes
Good luck and stay in touch!
