Warsaw is suddenly a great airfare bargain
In our never-ending search for the absolute cheapest flights to desirable parts of the world, we have a new one to discuss today. This could be a great way for long-term travelers to get to Europe and start off in one of the most under-explored areas at the same time. If you’ve carefully read the title then you already know I’m talking about Warsaw, Poland.
Destination: Warsaw
At the moment the cheapest flights between New York and London are $660, which is a bit higher than it’s been recently, but you can instead fly between New York and Warsaw for only $520 round-trip. If you prefer Gdansk, which is on the northern coast of Poland, it’s only $540 round-trip.
Obviously if you want to visit London then flying to Warsaw isn’t too efficient, although this is a nonstop flight and you might be able to get a cheap connector back to London for less than the direct flight from NY. But on the other hand, I know there are many long-term travelers who read this blog, and many of them are always in search of a flight that will get them to the general area they want to go.
When you are a digital nomad and you can work anywhere there is an internet connection then you look for cheap flights to cheap places. Right now flights to Warsaw are on sale, and it’s quite cheap once you get there.
Warsaw isn’t the tourist draw that Krakow is, but flights to that touristy city are currently running $660 round-trip from NY. For that extra $140 you are better off flying into Warsaw and staying a day or two before taking a cheap train or bus to Krakow. All of that will still end up costing less than flying directly into Krakow, and you get a day or two of fun along the way.
Poland is cheap
As you probably remember, Poland was behind the Iron Curtain, and in spite of being a lovely country just next door to Germany, it’s been slow to attract tourists to any city except Krakow itself. Well, this somewhat weak demand is one of the things that keep the entire country quite cheap.
Let’s say you are in Germany with a budget of, say, $100 a day per person. You can actually get about the same enjoyment out of about $50 a day anywhere in Poland, including touristy Krakow. A nice hotel for under $50 for a couple will be easy to find, where in Munich you might only get a hostel bunk for that with enough left over for a few sausages.
From beer to museums to souvenirs, everything is much more affordable in Poland, and from the sound of things the tourism industry is really getting its act into gear. This might be similar to Prague 20 years ago where only a few people were going and they were all raving about it. Then 10 years later the city is overrun with tourists and prices have trippled. Don’t wait to go to Poland, or you might regret it.