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Untitled Document
Naturism in Poland
Information for Foreign Visitors
If you are interested in nude vacation in Poland, then this information is for
you.
General information
Geography and basic information
Poland is located in Central Europe, east of Germany, north of Czech and Slovak
Republics, west of Russia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. It is a democratic,
intermediately advanced country, which is joining European Union in May 2004.
From the naturist's point of view, the most important fact is that Poland has
beautiful, 500-km long seaside of clean, sandy beaches on the Baltic sea, ideal
for practicing naturism. A very special thing about Polish seaside is that -
apart from rare cities - there are no big hotels, resorts with private beaches,
etc. The seaside is clean, there is always a forest on dunes (no buildings are
allowed) and it is sufficient to walk a few minutes from the main beach to be
alone in clean, unspoiled nature.
Visiting Poland
You can come to Poland either by plane (connections to Warsaw from all major
world cities available, connections to other Polish cities available as well),
by train (connection with many European cities) or by car.
When traveling around Poland, it is recommended to use either train or car. Express trains are moderately priced, fast, comfortable and punctual. If
possible, choose InterCity and EuroCity - the other can be less comfortable.
They connect all major cities in Poland so if you're traveling from one to
another probably the best way would be to use trains. Visit Polish National
Railways (http://www.rozklad.pkp.pl/cgi-bin/new/query.exe/en) for information
about directions, timetable and prices.
If you prefer to hire a car, you can do that in branches of all international
car rental companies, located in all major cities. If you're coming to Poland in
your own car, you may face increased risk of car theft. In that case, make sure
that - whenever you leave a car - it is well secured and, preferably, on a
guarded car park.
Society
Poland is inhabited predominantly by Poles (97% of the population), white,
Slavic, Roman Catholic. 'Polish spirit' is independence, self-consciousness,
romanticism and hospitality. Poles love to meet foreigners and they are very
open - don't be surprised if they invite you for a dinner at home when they
hardly know you. The younger population speaks foreign languages (English,
German and French, in that order), but the older does not.
It is worth to mention that Polish society is the youngest society in Europe.
40% of European young adults (18-22 y/o) live in Poland. Therefore, you will
find an infinite number of discos, pubs, beer gardens and other typical places
where young people go. Polish nude beaches, unlike, for example. German, are
visited mostly by people between 25 and 40.
Weather
Poland has a moderate climate. The good thing about it is that during summer
(June, July and August) there could be several weeks of warm weather suitable
for nude sunbathing and swimming. The bad thing is that you're never able to
predict the weather, even two days in advance. You may see three days of
continuous rain and a week of blue sky just after that - simply, there's no
rule. Do not trust tourist agents or online weather services.
But if you're caught by bad weather at Polish seaside, go to local tourist
office. They will recommend you thousand ways of enjoying yourself during bad
weather - fishing, biking, horse-riding, canoeing, visiting beautiful cities,
theme parks, trying local cuisine, etc. You'll find it not less interesting than
practicing nudism at the seaside.
Money
Visitors from Scandinavia will find Poland ridiculously cheap. Those from
Western Europe will find Poland very cheap. Americans will find it at least
attractive.
Polish currency, "Polish zloty" (international symbol PLN), is nowadays stable
and reliable. You can exchange any popular foreign currency (e.g. USD, EUR, GBP)
in a vast number of places: banks, exchange points ("kantor") and tourist
agencies situated mostly in city centers and popular tourist places. All major
credit cards are accepted in hotels, fuel stations, large shops, etc. Small
shops accept only coins and banknotes. ATMs are very popular in the cities, but
they may be unavailable in smaller towns and villages at the seaside.
Before you go to Poland, have a look at Polish banknotes and coins at Polish
National Bank site: http://www.nbp.pl/en/banknoty/index.html.
Telecommunications and Internet
Poland is almost entirely covered by three cellular phone networks. If you have
roaming, you will have access to at least one network anywhere. In particular,
there will be no problems in tourist places. Access to Internet is possible in
Internet Cafes, which are very popular in tourist villages. If you have modem
and a telephone socket, you can dial 0202122 from any place for PPP connection,
log in as user "ppp", password "ppp". You will be connected to the Internet -
you pay about 0.35 PLN for every 3 or 6 minutes, depending on the hour of the
day.
Telephone prefix for Poland is 48. If dialing from inside Poland abroad, use 00
and the country prefix.
Accommodations
When you're going to Poland, you can choose from wide assortment of
accommodations: from large, comfortable and expensive hotel to small, quiet and
ridiculously cheap camping. We would certainly recommend renting a room in
private houses (marked as "wolne pokoje", "kwatery" or "pensjonat",
"agroturystyka" or German "zimmer frei"). Apart from a comfortable and
reasonably priced room, you will get traditional cuisine and true hospitality of
owners. Stay away from post-communist, large "resorts" - usually they are ugly
and over-priced.
If you need help
In emergency, call:
999 - ambulance
998 - firemen
997 - police
or dial 112 for any of the above, if you're using mobile phone.
If you just need help (e.g. your pet is ill, you lost a credit card, your child
was bitten by mosquitoes), ask average Poles rather than officials. People will
be willing to help you if you just tell them what you're looking for.
Naturism in Poland
Poles are very tolerant towards beach naturism. Although there are no "officially designated" nude beaches, thousands of Poles choose nude recreation
at the seaside. Note that all the beaches described in this short guide are
clothing-optional beaches. That is the general rule in Poland - on such beaches
you will find mixed couples (e.g. nude man with topless woman), mixed groups
(one nude couple, one textile), mixed families (nude parents with textile kids
or the other way around), all other imaginable combinations and, last but not
least, nude singles, couples, families and groups of friends.
You can safely practice naturism in any place at the seaside (not only on listed
beaches), provided that you respect other people's privacy. In practice, walk
away from most crowded center of the beach and when you don't see people around,
just get undressed and don't worry. However, never try to go nude in the central
place of the beach - that would be perceived as exhibitionism.
The high degree of tolerance towards nude couples and families will not
necessarily be attained towards nude single men or nude gay couples, especially,
when they are near children. Make sure that you are not violating the privacy of
textile sunbathers. If you're not sure whether you may undress or not, try doing
that and observe reaction.
Important note: topless is not popular at Polish textile beaches at all. It is
very popular to walk along the beach. If you are sunbathing at the nudist beach
and you'll see people walking or biking along the sea, don't be surprised. They
are not gawking - they are just having their daily walk.
Seaside
The list of most popular Polish naturist places, going from German border
eastwards.
Miedzyzdroje-Lubiewo
This beach is situated near Miedzyzdroje, one of the most posh resorts on the
Polish seaside, about 20 km from German border. When you enter the main beach,
walk left. The nude section starts about 2 km from the entrance to the beach.
The beach is very clean and nice, during summer the water is warmer here than in
other places on the Polish shore. Probably most foreign tourists go to
Miedzyzdroje; there is a large hotel here and the city is very committed to
satisfying the needs of foreign (mostly German) visitors.
Grzybowo
This beach is accessible by car only. Go to Kolobrzeg and take direction Dzwirzyno. Pass Grzybowo; 2 km from the town there is a big parking place (100-150 parking places). Leave your car here and go to the beach (about 200 m north). To the right there is a naturist beach - it starts, depending on the season, up to 50 m from the entrance to the beach. It is a family-friendly beach; most of the visitors are couples with small children. Many people in Grzybowo know each other, so they will camp very closely. In the high season there is a group of naked volleyball players. The beach here is wide and clean; the sea is warm in the July or August.
Rowy
Rowy (20 km north of Slupsk) was the small fishermen's village some years ago,
now it is developing quickly as a modern tourist place, but it is far less
crowded and loud than Miedzyzdroje. It lies at the border of Slowinski National
Park, which is an exceptionally beautiful area of forests, lakes and sand dunes.
If you're looking for the naturist beach in Rowy, it is necessary to go to the
far eastern part of the village, cross the river Lupawa, go to the beach and
walk about 1 km. A tall pole marks the begin of the nude section, though - as it
is typical in Poland - you will see nude sunbathers before the pole and textile
ones after.
The beach in Rowy is very wide, even 50 m in some places. If you're seeking
solitude, walk further - next city (Leba) is 30 km from here (!!!). In high
season local salesmen come to the nudist beach to sell sweets, ice cream or
drinks.
Debki
The village of Debki, about 50 km north of Gdansk, is famous for its unique
atmosphere. During the Communist Era, the city was never spoiled by large
complexes for the industrial working class. It was a place where artistic
bohemians was staying during summer and first Polish hippies had their communes.
Now, Debki beach is famous for its fine-grained, golden sand, clean sea and
beautiful forest just close to the beach.
For the nude beach, you need to leave the car in the center of the village (make
sure that you're parking in a proper place, cars are towed away with no mercy).
Walk westwards, cross the river Piasnica, then go the beach. After approx. 400 m
you will see a small fence that marks the rather symbolic border between textile
and nude beach. On the other side of the fence, the most crowded part of a nude
beach starts. After 300 meters, the less crowded part starts, people are more
relaxed about their swimsuit (some do wear it, some do not). Smoothly, the beach
changes back into the textile again about 2 kilometers from the fence.
Chalupy
Not far from Debki is the most famous nude beach in Poland, because of the song "Chalupy Welcome To" sung in 80's by local singer Zbigniew Wodecki. The beach
lies on Hel peninsula, between villages of Chalupy and Kuznica. When going there
by car, make sure you're not parking in a forbidden place, otherwise your car
will be towed away and you'll be fined. It is convenient to go to Chalupy by
local train from Gdynia.
When you enter the beach, go right (eastwards). After about 1 km you will be on
the nude beach. Remember, that you are in the farthest north part of Poland. The
sea in Chalupy is sometimes rough and cold, and always windy. Therefore, Chalupy
is Polish "capital of wind surfers" - there are several wind surfing schools in
the town. Go to Chalupy if you're looking for sports activities in addition to
nude sunbathing. These sports are textile, though.
Gdansk-Stogi
This is the only beach accessible from a big city, by public transportation. It
lies east of Gdansk. You can go there by car, bus or tram (number 8 and 13).
Walk to the beach, go right and walk about 1 km. The nude section starts here.
The beach in Stogi has very nice, fine-grained sand. You will also find a
popular gay section here.
The disadvantage of Stogi is the water (in the Gdansk Bay it is not as good as
in other places) and the view from the beach (industrial complex of Gdansk's
port). The advantage is short distance to Gdansk, famous for its monuments,
architecture, history and unique atmosphere.
Piaski
If you're in Piaski, you are at the end of Poland. Piaski is a small village on
the far-east end of Polish shore, close to Russian border. You may park on one
of the forest parking places along the road from Krynica Morska and walk to the
beach. Alternatively, you can walk from Piaski westwards, about 2 km from the
village the nude section starts. It is probably the longest naturist beach in
Poland - you can sunbathe nude all along the coast, 5 km or more. In some places
(near parking places) you'll see more textile folk, but don't worry - they won't
mind nude trespassers. The main disadvantage of Piaski is not clean water and
beach.
Look for amber! In Piaski, especially after windy weather, you may find plenty
of it on the beach. If you're unlucky, don't worry - you can always buy an amber
necklace in the local shop.
Simple rules of thumb on a nude beach in Poland
- Respect people's privacy, do not stare or gawk
- If the people don't mind you nude, you shouldn't mind them dressed
- Do not take photos unless everybody agrees
- Be careful about the water even if you're a good swimmer; watch the kids -
there are no lifeguards on duty!
- Take care of nature, take you garbage with you.
- No sexual activity on the beach
This text is licensed to you under GNU GPL. If you find it useful, amusing,
helping, etc. let now grommit@interia.pl. If not, buzz off.
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