Are holidays and excursions offered by tourist enterprises, such as the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society, affordable for the “pocket” of an average-income resident of Bolesławiec? Can a school student arrange an inexpensive holiday for themselves?
I put these questions to the PTTK Office in Bolesławiec. Ms Edyta Banaszewska, PTTK Tourism Instructor, provided answers and information. “At the Office, every resident of Bolesławiec and the surrounding area can receive the necessary, detailed information or advice concerning holidays and vacations.”
Depending on the client’s financial means, PTTK can offer shorter or longer excursions and holidays lasting one week or more, both in Poland and abroad.
Let us start with students: throughout the country, in well-known tourist destinations and resorts, there are campsites and youth hostels for school students. Accommodation prices vary depending on the location, standard and other factors, but are certainly much lower than hotel prices. Holders of PTSM booklets and PTTK members are also entitled to discounts. With the help of the PTTK Office, every young person can plan a tourist and sightseeing route and spend their holiday, or part of it, exploring our beautiful country. We provide a list of hostels, tourist routes and a map of the campsite network throughout the country.
As for working people and families: private accommodation is the cheapest option. It can be rented for any number of days, with or without meals. A holiday can be planned by a lake, in the mountains or by the sea. Naturally, accommodation by the sea and in attractive mountain destinations is more expensive. Everywhere and at all times, it is cheaper before or after the season, that is, outside July and August. PTTK’s holiday offer covers both Poland and foreign destinations. “Abroad” means the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. The cheapest foreign holidays are offered in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Spain, France and Bulgaria are inexpensive, but the journey there is costly. You can travel in your own vehicle or by coach from Jelenia Góra, Wałbrzych or Kudowa Zdrój. Bulgaria can be reached by plane.
Let us talk about prices.
The cheapest option is a one-day guided excursion to Prague, Czech Republic: 250,000 złotys. The cheapest seven-day stay at Lake Balaton in Hungary costs approximately 1 million złotys without meals. In Poland, a stay by a lake with full board costs between 1.5 million and 2.1 million złotys, depending on the location and level of comfort. In Spain, you can stay for seven days in a comfortable hotel on the sunny coast, with a solarium, restaurants, a hotel swimming pool, bathrooms and other amenities, for between 2.3 million and 3.5 million złotys. However, you must travel by your own means of transport or pay more than 1 million złotys for a coach journey.
There are, of course, also offers for more affluent customers, such as 14-day holidays by the sea in Poland with full board, costing between 2,675,000 and 5,400,000 złotys. It is cheaper after the season.
A person going on holiday in Poland can negotiate a cheaper stay with the management of the holiday centre by, for example, giving up some meals or days.
A complete, extensive list of holiday stays, accommodation, campsites, excursions and other offers with prices cannot be included in a press article, so the PTTK Office invites all interested parties to visit. The Office is located at 4/6 Sierpnia Street, tel. 38-66 and 37-23.