Hel Travel Guide

  Me and my guest on a ferry to Hel...
by piosku67
 
  • Me and my guest on a ferry to Hel Peninsula (2008)
      Me and my guest on a ferry to Hel...
    by piosku67
  • Me on a ferry to Hel Peninsula (summer 2008)
      Me on a ferry to Hel Peninsula (summer...
    by piosku67
  • Restaurant front
      Restaurant front
    by evaanna
  • Not a healthy diet for the fish
      Not a healthy diet for the fish
    by evaanna
  • House in Hel
      House in Hel
    by evaanna
 

Pro

evaanna profile photo

 Spacious sandy beaches, the port running tourist cruises, some good restaurants, interesting shops with amber jewelry 


Con

Ekaterinburg profile photo

 Probably a better place to visit off-season 


In a nutshell

chiara76 profile photo

 gold beaches and yellow amber 

 

Explore Hel

Things to Do  

Boat trips on Gdanska Bay

Boat trips on Gdanska Bay, Hel

 evaanna Says:  If you have a day for exploration, take a passenger boat from Gdynia, Gdansk or Sopot to Hel or Jastarnia (only from Gdynia). You can go on a round or one-way trip, but give yourself some time to visit Hel and have a meal there before you return to the city. Unfortunately,... 

The Seal Sanctuary

The Seal Sanctuary, Hel

 evaanna Says:  The scientists at the Seal Sanctuary at Hel look after seals which, for various reasons, were unable to live in their natural habitat and then, when they get stronger, release them into the Baltic Sea, where seals have become very rare. A visit to the sanctuary is an... 

The sea

The sea, Hel

 ZiOOlek Says:  Hel is mainly famous for its sea and beaches. The town is surrounded by the Baltic sea from three sides, partly by waters of the bay. The beach in many places is really wide and there is plenty of place to rest, play or sunbath. However, during high season (June, July,... 

Justice come too late

Justice come too late, Hel

 evaanna Says:  At the battery named after Heliodor Laskowski you can see a plaque commemorating its commander Lt. Zbigniew Przybyszewski. His battery heroically put up a fight against the overwhelming German forces for 32 days in the campaign of 1939. Hel was the last place in Poland to... 

Memorabilia of the defence of Hel 1939

Memorabilia of the defence of Hel 1939, Hel

 evaanna Says:  The forest leading to the beach hides numerous remains of the defence of Hel in 1939: anti-aircraft gun emplacements, bunkers, pillboxes and even one of the guns. You can now reach them walking along Kuracyjna St, which used to be closed as part of a military area. It's a... 

Ride the waves on the Cpt. Morgan

Ride the waves on the Cpt. Morgan, Hel

 evaanna Says:  If you can't take a trip on one of the big boats going to Gdansk or Sopot, don't despair. You can still enjoy a round boat trip into the open sea on one of the smaller boats. They are there off season as well and for the small sum of 10 (for 30 min.) or 15 (for 45 min.)... 

Take a water-taxi if you dare

Take a water-taxi if you dare, Hel

 evaanna Says:  If you crave for adventures, perhaps you would like to take a trip by water-taxi from Hel to Gdynia? This speedy boat will take you there in just 15 minutes. Tightly fastened to your seat, you will still feel the excitement of travelling on the water at the high speed of 90... 

Old fisherman's cottages

Old fisherman's cottages, Hel

 evaanna Says:  Walking along Wiejska St, the main street of Hel, you will see some charming 19th century fisherman's cottages. Half-timbered, with tiny windows and with low wooden fences around them, they remind me of doll's houses, but they still serve their purpose. More and more of them... 

Fokarium photo 2

Fokarium photo 2, Hel

 chiara76 Says:  In Fokarium there are several adult seals: Balbin, Unda, Joel and some young ones.Last news from this place, I have read on the interenet page Balbin was dead;( I don't know the reason of it but it is sad news. The new seal man is coming from Sweden and we all hope he will... 

Hotels  

Cassubia

 6 Opinions

Restaurants  

Izdebka: The Izdebka - great for fish dishes and not only

Izdebka: The Izdebka - great for fish dishes and not only, Hel

 evaanna Says:  The Izdebka, the name of which can be translated as a cubbyhole, is a tiny restaurant in a half-timbered fisherman's cottage dating back to 1844 in the main street of Hel. Tiny as it is, it is still a great place with a lot of character, with Kashubian ornaments and all... 

Bar Ambra: Food with a seaview

Bar Ambra: Food with a seaview, Hel

 evaanna Says:  Situated opposite the port but a little above it, this restaurant and the Oceania next to it, offer a lovely view of the sea if you take a table on the terrace. But we would never have betrayed our Izdebka had there not been a long queue for the tables there and the place... 

Nightlife  

Solar: Chalupy

Solar: Chalupy, Hel

 Wloczykij Says:  The music is great there. Suits all tastes. The people are very young though. It's on the beach. It's very crowded during summer.you need to go to camping Solar in Chalupy to get there. there's also another beach club called Surf Bay club but music is mainly bad disco.... 

Transportation  

By the ferry

By the ferry, Hel

 ZiOOlek Says:  You may take a ferry (water tram) from Gdansk and Sopot to Hel. The tram runs from June 21st till September 14th everyday. The trip takes not more than two hours one way and you will have possibility to observe canals in Gdansk the coast. You may sit in the tram or outside... 

Travelling on the Hel Peninsula

Travelling on the Hel Peninsula, Hel

 evaanna Says:  You can reach Hel by various means of transport. First, you can take a bus from Gdynia or Wladyslawowo. There are a few firms operating there so the buses are frequent and you can see more places along the peninsula by hopping on and off. The road borders on the Pucka Bay at... 

Shopping  

Smoked Fish Stall: Smoke your own
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3.5 out of 5 starsHelpfulness

Ekaterinburg 693 reviews

This was not actually a shop, just a small one-man operation on the pier. The smoking unit was behind, plus a table, chair and scales in front - a complete retail unit with no frills attached. This stall was particularly eye-catching being directly opposite the futuristic looking blue and white building on the pier. This building represents everything modern and cosmopolitan about Hel and is very far removed from the simplicity of one man selling his fish. The photo actually shows the other blue and white building behind the stall - a port a cabin WC!

What to buy: No problems deciding what to buy as there was only one item for sale - smoked fish. I didn't buy any because Iwasn't sure what fish it was and didn't quite have the vocabulary to ask. But judging by the amount of customers we saw coming and going, the product was more than satisfactory.

What to pay: A few zlotie per kilo

Written Nov 7, 2006

Related to:
 Budget Travel
 Backpacking
 Road Trip

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Warnings and Dangers  

Tourists, tourists everywhere...

Tourists, tourists everywhere..., Hel

 evaanna Says:  In the summer months - starting with mid-June till the end of August - Hel changes from a nice quiet seaside town to a noisy crowded place hard to reach and hard to leave as the only road leading to it is one enormous traffic jam. All the seasonal eateries now open and the... 

Beware of wartime blind shells!

Beware of wartime blind shells!, Hel

 evaanna Says:  You certainly won't step on an unexploded shell if you walk along the beaten tracks to the beach or around it, but the woods around Hel may hide unwelcome surprises. When sappers were checking the area for mines and bombs after the war, their instruments could only detect... 

Favorites  

Keep the sea clean

Keep the sea clean, Hel

 evaanna Says:  Just outside the Seal Sanctuary you can find information on Hel and animal and plant life in the Baltic, which we found very interesting. But probably the most striking and educational was the information about the durability of various objects that people tend to throw into... 

The old fishing boat

The old fishing boat, Hel

 evaanna Says:   We saw this old boat tucked into the corner near the entrance at the port of Hel. It had all the marks of having been used for a long time but, though a little rusty, it was still in working order and must have been at sea recently. I could imagine it going out in a storm,... 

Drop your coins here and... watch them rolling

Drop your coins here and... watch them rolling, Hel

 evaanna Says:  Visitors to the seal sanctuary at Hel used to drop a lot of coins into the pools, perhaps trying to make sure that they return to Hel some day. When, however, some coins were found in the stomach of a dead seal, this had to be stopped. Now the people at the sanctuary have... 

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Map of Hel