Transport from Warsaw Chopin Airport to City Centre and Old Town

Whether to get from Warsaw Airport to City Centre or Warsaw Airport to Old Town, you get some tips here on the type of transportation, the cost and how to get to the destination you want.

After exiting the clearance at the Warsaw Chopin Airport Arrival Hall, walk towards the right-wing where you can find all the public transports to go to Warsaw city centre or other cities. Later, you can buy your train and bus tickets from the Public Transport Service Point counter or enquire about a taxi booking from a few taxi counters in the same area.

If you do not have zloty, the Kantor Exchange opposite the Public Transport Service Point has the best currency exchange rate in Warsaw Airport (with commission) among the low zloty exchange rate nonetheless. The Forex Currency Counter even allowed you to change for as little as €10 too. I got myself 37.1 PLN (zloty currency code) there, more than enough to get a pair of return tickets to the city centre. Following your arrival to the city centre, you can then look for a Kantor Exchange with an even better rate later.

The Public Transport Service Point sells both the train and bus tickets at PLN 4.40 (€1 | US$1.15) for a single trip with multiple transfers in 75 minutes. The time is enough to get you from Warsaw Airport to City Centre and Warsaw Old Town. I bought two tickets immediately since I was having a few hours of transit. The plan was to visit Warsaw Old Town for sightseeing and also ate my lunch in one pierogi restaurant before returning to the airport later in the afternoon to catch the next flight to Brussels.

1. Taxi from Warsaw Airport to City Centre

Taxi in Poland is said to be one of the cheapest in Europe. Anyone who does not like to check on the train and bus routes or have children with them can hop onto a taxi from Warsaw Airport to City Centre. The taxi fare is approximately 40 PLN to 50 PLN (from €9.30 and $US$10.50 onwards) and takes 20 minutes to downtown.

The Warsaw taxi accepts credit cards, so you do not even have to worry about not having any Polish Zloty with you. You can easily book one cab from a few taxi counters at Warsaw Airport Arrival Hall. Furthermore, it is advisable to book from one of the three legitimate taxi companies at the airport for safety reason. The taxi uses a meter, and the driver is also obliged to give you a tax receipt for it.

• ELE Taxi +48 22 811 11 11
• iTaxi +48 737 737 737
• MPT Taxi +48 22 191 91

2. Uber Private-Hire Vehicle

Another alternative is to book from Uber, a private-hire company which is typically cheaper than the traditional taxi services. A quick check on their website with a Uber Price Estimator from ‘Warsaw Chopin Airport’ to city centre ‘Warsaw, Poland’ will cost between PLN 17 to 23 (from €4.00/US$4.50) and PLN 21 to 28 (€4.90/US$5.50 onward) to ‘Warsaw Old Town’.

Sometimes, the fare may be higher due to demand surge during peak period or holidays. You have to be ready at the pickup point and wait for the Uber car to arrive when you make a booking as the car cannot wait too long at the airport. Alternatively, get a private airport transfer in 30 minutes with a limousine or minibus.

3. Train from Warsaw Airport to City Centre

There are two train operators at the Warsaw Chopin Airport – SKM and KM. The duration takes 20 to 25 minutes for both SKM and KM train lines at every 15 minutes interval. SKM has 2 lines – S2 and S3 that will bring you to the city centre.

S2 can bring you to Warszawa Śródmieście (Warsaw Downtown) station, and S3 will stop at Warszawa Centralna (Warsaw Central) where you can connect to the regional and long-distance train at the railway station. The distance of both stations is a 3-minute walk of 260m. On the other hand, the KM train line will bring you to both destinations.

4. Bus from Warsaw Airport to Old Town and City Centre

Since I had only a few hours of layover in Poland, the initial plan was to start the city tour from Warsaw Old Town by bus and then returned to the airport by train. The best way to get from Warsaw Chopin Airport to Old Town was to take Bus 175 with a 30-minute bus ride. I could also admire the tranquil scenery during the journey which a train ride may not provide if the route went underground. Furthermore, the bus stop at Warsaw Airport was just outside the right-wing of the Arrival Hall after exiting from the security clearance which one can find easily.

» Train Transfer to Old Town

Train transfer is usually a preferred, faster mode of transport to the city centre in most cities but not this time to Warsaw Old Town. However, if you take a train and stop at Warszawa Śródmieście (S2) or Warszawa Centralna (S3), you have to walk approximately 35 minutes to go to Warsaw Old Town instead! Since the ticket comes with a transfer within 75 minutes of validation, you can take another bus or tram to reach there which is a 20 to 25 minutes’ journey if going by train is your option.

» Taking Bus to Old Town is Better Than Taking a Train

Therefore, having a transfer is too much of a hassle. Taking Bus 175 is the best way to get from Warsaw Airport to Old Town during the daytime. It is so easy to remember as you just have to alight at the LAST stop of Bus 175 which is Pl. Piłsudskiego. This pointer certainly makes travelling from Warsaw Airport to Old Town a no-brainer and do without the worry of checking the bus station names! On a side note, Bus 175 also stops at the Warsaw Railway Station. Alight at     Dw. Centralny (Show Map).

» Walking Distance and Direction from Bus Stop to Warsaw Old Town

From bus stop   
Plac Piłsudskiego 04 to Old Town (Show Map) is about 7-minute’ walk towards the right direction, facing the National Chamber of Commerce, then turn left on the park, Adam Mickiewicz Square. After the first turn, there are a few places of interest on the right side which I deviated from the said left-hand direction to explore a bit more of the street.

» Buying a Ticket inside the Bus

I had the intention to take a train back to the airport in the afternoon to experience another means of transport. Eventually, I realised my hours of a carefree stroll around the Warsaw Old Town vicinity took me nowhere near any of the train stations. The nearest one was 30 minutes of walking, and I was also pressed for time to catch the next flight too. Hence, I walked to the nearest Bus 175 bus stop that I could find.

Inside the bus, I saw that one could buy a ticket from another machine using a bank card. However, cash was not accepted. A ticket should be validated immediately upon entering the train or bus by inserting it at the lower end of the machine.

ZTM Warszawa is a local authority with an integrated ticketing system for public transport. In Warsaw, there are two ticketing zones – ① and ②. ‘Zone’ means ‘Strefa’ in Polish.

For Warsaw city centre, a Zone ① ticket is enough to travel around the downtown area. If you want to go to Zone ② which is out of the city centre, you will require a ticket that states ➊ + ➋. —–> Zone 1 Map

Here are some of the common types of tickets available to purchase from ZTM counters. Most of the tickets below are for use in Zone ① except for those with ✳ = Zone ➊ + ➋ fares.

€1 = PLN4.30   |    US$1 = PLN3.83

You can check out the full range of tickets for Zone ➊ + ➋ on the ZTM website.

Verdict

Depending on the downtown places of interest where you want to go from Warsaw Airport, taking a bus in Warsaw is as convenient as taking a train especially around the Old Town vicinity. Usually, commuting by train from airports to city centres will be my top choice for my travel.