Gdańsk

Gdańsk Travel Tips: Getting Around, Money and Tourist Traps

Last checked October 8, 2026

Gdańsk's Main City is compact enough to explore on foot, but the airport transfer involves one change, the tram-and-bus ticket doesn't cover the SKM trains you'll likely also want, and a couple of well-known tourist-trap patterns are worth knowing before you set off.

Arriving

Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport (GDN) is about 12 km from the centre and 10 km from Sopot. Its railway station sits directly in front of the terminal, reached by a covered footbridge from inside the building. To reach the centre — Gdańsk Główny or Gdańsk Śródmieście — change onto a Fast Urban Railway (SKM) train at Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, where trains leave from platform 3; a few services run direct to Gdańsk Główny. POLREGIO has operated this line since December 2022. Buy a train ticket from the platform machines, in apps such as Polregio, jakdojade.pl, moBiLET or zbiletem.pl, or through the Fala system.

City buses also serve the airport, opposite the terminal next to car park P1: bus 210 reaches the Main Railway Station in about 40 minutes, bus 110 reaches Wrzeszcz PKP, and night bus N3 runs every night between 23:00 and 04:00.

The airport's partner taxi company is Neptun Taxi, which takes credit cards; Uber and Bolt also operate around the clock. Avoid unofficial "taxis" that approach arriving passengers once they clear security — go to the official rank or book through an app instead.

Gdańsk Główny, the main station, opened in 1900 and holds a ticket office and tourist information in its main hall — pickpockets are reportedly common in the station area, so keep bags close. SKM trains reach Sopot from Gdańsk Główny in about 20 minutes.

Getting around

Most sights cluster in the Main City (Główne Miasto). The Royal Way runs along Długa and Długi Targ, from the Upland Gate and Golden Gate to the Green Gate by the river.

On trams and buses, tap a payment card — plastic, phone or watch — on a yellow-and-black FALA device and the ticket activates immediately; there's no app or account needed, and one card buys one ticket. FALA devices take cards only, not cash; a paper ticket bought with cash from a stop machine still needs its QR code scanned on the FALA reader after boarding. Ticket inspections run around the clock.

City (ZTM) tickets don't cover the SKM or PKM/POLREGIO trains for most visitors. ZTM's own ticket page says so directly: the one exception is for Gdańsk Resident Card holders with a named monthly ZTM ticket, which doesn't apply to most travellers. If you plan to use the trains — say, to reach the airport or Sopot — buy a separate train ticket, or one of the MZKZG metropolitan "rail-and-city" tickets, which cover ZTM Gdańsk, ZKM Gdynia and MZK Wejherowo vehicles plus the SKM and POLREGIO trains within set limits. The plain "komunalny" (city-only) tickets don't include trains. Metropolitan tickets are sold in the System Fala app, journey-planner apps, and cashlessly on FALA devices for the 24- and 72-hour options.

Fontanna Neptuna, the Neptune Fountain, is one of the Main City's best-known landmarks along the Royal Way.

jakdojade.pl is ZTM's linked journey planner, with a live-vehicle map at mapa.ztm.gda.pl. Uber and Bolt both cover the city. Official taxis show the company name, number and a rate card on the door and roof; unofficial ones often overcharge. Police do enforce jaywalking rules.

Money and tipping

The currency is the złoty (PLN) — Poland is not in the euro area. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, but FALA devices on trams and buses take no cash at all; stop-side ticket machines do. When a card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in your home currency, choose złoty instead — the conversion it offers is usually worse than your own bank's.

Kantors (currency-exchange offices) at stations and in tourist hot-spots tend to overcharge; this is general advice across Poland, not specific to Gdańsk. Travellers commonly leave about 10% in restaurants, treated as optional rather than expected — and handing over cash while saying "dziękuję" ("thank you") is often taken to mean "keep the change," so say it only when you mean it.

Tourist traps

Strip clubs around Długa Street are worth avoiding, especially ones recommended by people who approach you on the street — you may get multiple invitations just walking along Długa. Reports describe spiked drinks and bills run up far beyond anything agreed in advance.

Gdańsk is sometimes called the Amber Capital of the World, and amber jewellery is sold in many shops. The amber trade's own industry portal advises buying only from legitimate retailers, checking that a piece carries a tag with test marks or an assay certificate, and asking what treatment the amber has had — some shops hold certificates from the National Amber Chamber of Commerce or the International Amber Association. The Amber Museum added a dedicated "Imitations and Counterfeits of Amber" gallery of nearly 250 objects in December 2025, a genuinely useful stop for learning to spot a fake before you buy one.

Staying safe

Most visitors experience no difficulties in Gdańsk, and serious crime against foreigners is rare — the main things to watch are street crime and petty theft in crowded tourist spots, at main stations and on trains. Police patrol frequently, but pickpockets do work the crowds around Gdańsk Główny.

Check your bill carefully in bars and clubs, especially late at night, and don't accept drinks from strangers. Poland's organised-crime police (CBŚP) reported in 2022 that crimes against customers — drinks probably laced with banned substances, followed by unauthorised card charges — had been committed in 22 go-go and strip clubs in cities including Gdańsk and Sopot, and the National Prosecutor's Office names Gdańsk among the cities involved in later action against the same networks.

The emergency number 112 is free and answered in Polish and English. On tap water, Gdańsk's water operator and the city both say the tap water here is safe to drink without worry.