Poland on Bike

An expedition during which we will travel around the mountains is a great idea for an active weekend. It is also a good idea to start your adventure in riding with panniers. The route to the Tatra Mountains is nearly 210 km which we cover in 3 days. It may seem nothing special. However, the sum of the elevations during this bike tour is 3500 m. Despite the fact that we have roughly 3 passes along the trail, you can feel it. It is worth taking the challenge to fall in love with the view of the Tatras with each traveled kilometer. During this bicycle trip, you will get to know four geographical regions: Podhale, Orava, Spisz, and Liptov. A major part of the route runs through Slovakia. In the case of an efficient ride through the route, after the first day of cycling, those interested can enjoy thermal pools. The route gives you the opportunity to overcome it 100% on paved roads. If you plan to go on a longer or harder trip, treat this tour as training. You will see what mountain biking is all about.

Our excursion base is around Zakopane. There, we take our bikes to Harenda on Friday. Starting with the Gubałówka Range on our left, we admire beautiful views of the entire panorama of the Tatra Mountains. Thursday evening is all about barbecue, oscypek cheese, sausage, and tea. On Friday we start with a beautiful view and an incredible descend to Witowo through the picturesque terrain of Podtatrze. Next, we pass Oravice, Liptovský Mikuláš with thermal pools and Liptovska Mara. Starting Saturday with each kilometer we approach the majestic High Tatras.

Stary Smokovec and windbreaks are the remains of a huge hurricane from years ago, and the previously visited Strbskie Pleso is the highest point of our trip when we are closest to the peaks of the High Tatras. The return is the already cult driveway to the Zdziarska Pass, followed by Łysa Polana and Zakopane.

Lubelszczyzna is one of the oldest historical lands in Poland. We want to present the most beautiful corners of the western part of the region from the perspective of a bicycle saddle. We start from Lublin, which is sometimes also called the Polish Lviv because of similar architecture and terrain. The Old Town, Lublin Castle, and Chapel of the Holy Trinity are its greatest monuments. The charm of old houses, the appeal of small cafes and the breath of history – this is what you experience walking through the narrow alleys of the beautiful capital of the Lublin region.

Kazimierz Dolny is undoubtedly the gem of this land, which we will visit the first day on a bike. It is considered by many to be the most beautiful city in Poland. Red roof tiles, white houses, numerous memorable monuments. The city founded by Casimir the Great not only captivates with its wonderful architecture but also with stories circulating the cobbled streets. We can see the true richness of the landscape while moving away just a few hundred meters from the center of Kazimierz. The area is famous for its numerous loessal gorges that surround the city with a dense network.

But here too, there will be something for fans of exploring cities and towns. During our stay, we will visit well-known and attractive places such as Zwierzyniec, Zamość, Józefów, Szczebrzeszyn, Krasnobród, and numerous smaller towns. During the trips, we will go along the sections of the Green Velo trail, the Central Roztocze Cycle Route. We will devote one day to visiting Zamość, with the Renaissance Market inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

This trail is part of the route along the Baltic Sea, with nearly 8,000 km. It runs along the entire Polish coast. Originally, it begins in Świnoujście and ends in Krynica Morska or in another version past Braniewo. We will make the trip shorter. We will begin in Międzyzdroje and reach Hel. On our way, we’ll stop by several lighthouses, since our route also follows the lighthouse trail. As indicated by guides, this trail is a great option for avid cyclists. We will cover a distance of approx. 422 km in 6 days of cycling. An asset of this trail is the fact that lighthouses are most often located near the most beautiful Baltic resorts which give us a great opportunity to visit all these sites. The downside is that we must take a detour to reach some lighthouses.

Sailors – since time immemorial they’ve returned home led by the light of lighthouses. It was them who set out on long journeys, discovered new lands; they were conquerors, winners, but they also missed their families, had fun singing shanties and perished in the blue abyss. The formation of the Lighthouse trail does not surprise; it allows us to admire this mysterious world of marine expeditions.Although we can benefit from such an amazing development of technology and electronics used to equip ships and yachts, lighthouses will for many years be a showcase of our maritime landscape.

Our bike tour is directed to virtually every cyclist. We will start in Międzyzdroje and move east; after a six-day adventure, visiting the most interesting and beautiful places on the Baltic coast, we will reach Hel, where we will end our joint adventure.

The mosaic of fields and meadows, forests, wilderness and mountains, lakes and winding rivers are characteristic elements of the landscape of the region. It lies in the south on the Carpathian mountain range with the majestic peaks of the Tatra and Pieniny mountains, which continue north and stretch along the ranges and hills of the Beskids. In the north, its borders are marked by the rocks of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (so-called “Jura”) and the culmination of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, while in the east by Roztocze. Between the hills there stretch fields of the fertile lowlands of the Carpathian Foothills and valleys in the forks of the Vistula and San. In the west, the Oświęcim region meets with Silesia with a conventional border.

The huge topographic diversity of Lesser Poland (Malopolska) and its turbulent history allow this land, like no other in Poland, to boast a huge number of monuments and beautiful landscapes. In the capital of the region – Krakow, we find hundreds of monuments, including the Wawel Royal Castle and the Main Square, as well as traces of the multicultural past in the Kazimierz district and monumental socialist-realist architecture in Nowa Huta.

It is located on the border of Silesia and Lesser Poland, precisely between Krakow and Częstochowa, a land of rocky hills, forested rises, caves, limestone outliers and gorges, unique in terms of sightseeing, nature, and history. We invite you to take part in our bike tour leading through the picturesque Trail of the Eagle’s Nests. During 3 days we will overcome a route of almost 205 kilometers, leading among ruins and castles which still remember the Piast times, among others, we will visit such gems as the castle in Olsztyn, Ogrodzieniec, Pieskowa Skala or Ojców. During this trip, we will discover valleys near Kraków. We will pass through the Będkowska Valley. The expedition is addressed to all enthusiasts of exploring our homeland from the perspective of two wheels. The beauty of the Jurassic landscape, historic buildings, picturesque routes, and great company – this is our plan for getting to know the Jura on a bicycle.

The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland is considered one of the most beautiful parts of Poland. It extends in an arc over a length of 160 kilometers, and its width ranges from a few kilometers at its northern ends to nearly 40 in the southern section. The northern border with the Wieluń Upland is the gorge of the Warta River near Częstochowa, the southern Vistula Valley (Oswiecim Basin, Krakowska Gate).

It is in the valleys of numerous streams and rivers feeding the queen of Polish rivers from the north that the amazing beauty of the Podkrakowskie Valley was formed. These Jurassic gorges situated among limestone outliers and rock gates have long attracted crowds of amateurs of active leisure. On the last day of our trip, we will visit such valleys as Będkowska, Bolechowicka, Kluczwoda or Prądnik.  Castles located in hard-to-reach Jura locations, known as the Eagle’s Nests, are among the oldest in Poland. Castles and watchtowers built on the tops of hills served to defend border areas in the early days of the Polish state. Most of these Jurassic strongholds are located along the route marked out in 1950 of the Trail of the Eagle’s Nests.

These two ranges belong to the Sudetes, one of the most interesting mountains in Poland. Karkonosze are a popular tourist destination. Jizera Mountains thanks to, among others Singltrek pod Smrkem which we will visit twice, has become a well-recognized part in great bicycle spots. This trip is addressed to mountain biking enthusiasts who are not afraid of overcoming large, daily climbs. Our excursion base is Szklarska Poręba, which lies on the border of the Jizera and Karkonosze Mountains. This region is called the Bicycle Land. During our trips, we will also visit Spindleruv Mlyn, which is the most famous place in the Karkonosze on the Czech side and we will pass the Karkonosze Pass on our way.

Our excursion base is Szklarska Poręba. We chose this place because of the possibility of reaching the start by train. You can reach it by rail with a transfer in Wrocław, but it’s best to arrive by car.  Szklarska Poręba located on the edge of two ranges of the Western Sudetes: Karkonosze and Jizera Mountains. It is these two ranges that are our goal and we plan to drive around them. This place is known among enthusiasts of active recreation by both families and athletes.  Szklarska Poręba is a favourite spot for cyclists, mainly thanks to Mr. Henryk Sytner from Polish Radio No3 . Szklarska Poręba is a great starting point for our routes. This place has over 240 km of cycling routes of various difficulties. We will cover 4 loops on varied terrain, looking for the maximum number of gravel or mountain sections. And above all, we’ll look under Smrek in the Czech Republic on the Polish side.