Szczecin Transportation

In the centre of the town you must pay for parking your car from Monday to Friday in hours 10-17 . ( If you follow the link below you will see what streets are included). You can buy the parking tickets from men who are strolling around and checking it.
0,5 hour of parking costs 1 zl.

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Driving in Poland can be challenging as Poles have to feed their ego while operating vehicle.
They often tailgate, speed, cut you off. Road rage is not rare as almost every Pole behind a wheel has high blood pressure (genetic I guess :-)

Don't get discouraged however from driving as it is the best way of seeing the country.
Be careful, always watch your back view mirror. Be polite, let the crazy Poles go first and watch out for cops hiding behind every corner and every bush.

Here are some photos of us driving to Pniewo village by Borne Sulinowo close to Pojezierze Drawskie.
Rt 10

Dont pass unless you are 200% sure you can make it.
Make sure those who are trying to pass you can make it - other wise they will crash head on and you may get hurt as well
Be aware of huge trucks - they can't stop as fast as you can.
Be aware of those huge trucks passing you or passing someone else and going straight head on to you.

Yeah - it is exciting :-)

It's quite obvious you have to have a ticket if you want to go by bus or tram.. But it's not so obvious which one you should buy though.

In Szczecin, price of a ticket depends on the period of time it is valid. When you punch the ticket, the puncher places a current time on it. You can change means of transport as many time as you want, but when the ticket expires - you have to punch another one. For example, if your ticket is valid for 20 minutes since it was punched, when the 20 minutes pass, punch another one, unless you want to be in trouble and pay a fine.

Prices of tickets:

REGULAR TRANSPORT (marked as numbers from 1 to 500)

TIME / NORMAL / HALF-FARE
20 mins / 2.20 PLN / 1.10 PLN
60 mins / 3.40 PLN / 1.70 PLN
120 mins / 4.40 PLN / 2.20 PLN

FAST BUSSES (marked as letters) and NIGHT BUSSES (marked as numbers from 501)

TIME / NORMAL / HALF-FARE
20 mins / 4.40 PLN / 2.20 PLN
60 mins / 6.80 PLN / 3.40 PLN
120 mins / 8.80 PLN / 4.40 PLN

Also, you should remember that the public transport in Szczecin will allow you to get to some neighbour towns and villages, such as Police, Tanowo, Pilchowo, Warzymice or Przeclaw.

* The fine for travelling without a valid ticket is 169.00 PLN (if you pay it immediately or in a period of 7 days) and 242.00 PLN (if you pay it later)
* If you carry a huge luggage, you have to pay additional fee that equals the price of a normal ticket; if you don't, you may have to pay a fine of 69.00 PLN or 99.00 PLN
* Half-fare tickets: for children and students
* The tickets can be bought at press stands (not all), shops and ticket offices belonging to the Municipal Public Transport and Road Institution (ZDiTM). Also, you can buy tickets from tram/bus drivers: Monday-Friday: from 18.00 to 6.00; Saturday-Sunday + public holidays: for the whole day
* More information can be found by following the link below, but, unluckily, the website is in Polish only :(
* 1 PLN equals about 0.25 - 0.30 EURO

Szczecin is well-connected with European highway network, therefore you can get to the city easily if travelling from Germany (German highway No. 11 from Berlin is directly connected with Polish higway No. A6, which will lead you to Szczecin southern parts).

Other roads to Szczecin:
- Polish Express Route No. S3 (from the north and the south)
- Polish State Road No. 3 (from the southeast)
- Polish State Road No. 10 (from the east)
- German Federal Road No. 104/113 + Polish State Road No. 10 (from the west)
- German Federal Road No. 2 + Polish State Road No. 13 (from the southwest)

You can reach Szczecin using PKS buses (PKS is a general name of intercity bus companies) which connect Szczecin with some major Polish cities, as well as towns and villages in the Pomerania region.

If you're travelling from Berlin, you can use buses belonging to specialised carrier companies, such as Berlinia (www.berlinia.eu)

SZCZECIN BUS STATION
pl. Grodnicki 1, 70-952 Szczecin

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Szczecin's central railway station (SZCZECIN GLOWNY) is located at Kolumba Street, facing river Odra. It's very close to the city centre. In front of the railway station, there's a huge traffic junction: here you'll catch city trams and buses that will give you a ride to the centre.

Szczecin Glowny has regular direct train connections with all major Polish cities, as well as Berlin, Amsterdam (Schiphol), Wolfsburg, Hannover, Osnabrueck, Luebeck, Pasewalk, Potsdam, Schwerin, etc. The direct connection with Prague is currently planned.

In Dąbie district there's another huge railway station at Stacyjna Street (SZCZECIN DĄBIE). It's directly connected with Szczecin Glowny station and most of major Polish cities. It's far away from the centre and used mostly by people who live in the "Right Bank" district.

Other railway stations in Szczecin
- Szczecin-Gumience
- Szczecin-Podjuchy
- Szczecin-Port Centralny
- Szczecin-Zalom
- Szczecin-Zdroje
- Szczecin-Zdunowo

Those stations are of minor importance - you'll most likely arrive to and depart from Szczecin Glowny railway station.

Szczecin Airport is located in Goleniow. It's an international airport, although the number of regular connections is quite low: only Warszawa (Poland), Oslo (Norway), London (UK), Liverpool (UK) and Dublin (Ireland).

There is, however, another way to reach Szczecin by plane: Berlin airports. As Berlin is located only 120 kms from Szczecin, it's very easy to get to the city from the German capital, especially when you take into account that there are regular bus connections that will help you get directly to Szczecin.

SZCZECIN-GOLENIOW AIRPORT
Glewice, 72-100 Goleniow, www.airport.com.pl, phone +48-91-481-74-00
The airport located around 40 kms from the city centre. You can get to Szczecin by car or bus

BERLIN-TEGEL AIRPORT
13405 Berlin, www.berlin-airport.de, phone +49-180-5000-186
Regular connections with most capital cities in the world

BERLIN-SCHOENEFELD AIRPORT
12521Berlin, www.berlin-airport.de, phone +49-180-5000-186
Regular connections with biggest European cities

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Those carriers will help you get to Szczecin centre from the airport AND from the Szczecin centre to the airport:
- A. Fedenczak (Szczecin-Goleniow Airport) - www.fedenczak.com.pl, phone +48-91-812-07-77
- Berlinia (Berlin-Tegel, Berlin Schoenefeld Airports) - www.berlinia.eu, phone +48-91-483-56-53
- PLL Lot Office (Szczecin-Goleniow Airport, PLL Lot's flights only) - www.lot.com.pl, phone +48-91-488-35-58
- EuroConnect (Berlin-Tegel, Berlin Schoenefeld Airports) - www.ec24.pl, phone +48-91-433-88-22
- Interglobus Tour (Szczecin-Goleniow, Berlin-Tegel, Berlin Schoenefeld Airports) - www.interglobus.pl, phone +48-91-485-04-22

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While arriving at Szczecin by car, you should remember about the Paid Parking Zone stretching across the city centre. In this area, you'll have to pay for leaving your car in the street. The parking fee depends mainly on the time you park your car. Another aspect is that there are 3 subzones: A (marked red, the most expensive), B (yellow) and C (green, the cheapest) - the fees varies depending on the subzone. Below you'll find the specification of fees as of 05.12.2010

SUBZONE A (red)
PARKING DURATION
up to 15 mins - 0.70 PLN
the first hour of parking - 2.80 PLN
the second hour of parking - 3.20 PLN
the third hour of parking - 3.60 PLN
each additional hour of parking - 2.80 PLN

SUBZONE B (yellow)
PARKING DURATION
up to 15 mins - 0.50 PLN
the first hour of parking - 2.00 PLN
the second hour of parking - 2.40 PLN
the third hour of parking - 2.80 PLN
each additional hour of parking - 2.00 PLN

SUBZONE C (green)
PARKING DURATION
up to 15 mins - 0.30 PLN
the first hour of parking - 1.20 PLN
the second hour of parking - 1.40 PLN
the third hour of parking - 1.60 PLN
each additional hour of parking - 1.20 PLN

The parking tickets can be bought at the parking meters.

In the attached pictures, you can see:
1) the map of the Paid Parking Zone in Szczecin
2) the roadsigns you'll find entering the Paid Parking Zone
3) the typical parking meter