Cycle Poland - Gdansk and the Baltic Coast

Our trip begins in Gdansk, perched on Poland's northern coastline; the historic city of Gdansk is one of Poland's prettiest seaside cities.

For those arriving on time our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 7pm for the welcome meeting and for those that wish, there is the chance to go out for dinner. There are no other activities planned today, so you are free to arrive in Gdansk at any time. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN), which is about 30 minutes' drive from the city centre. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up.

If your flight arrives earlier in the day, you might choose to take a relaxing wander through the maze of narrow cobbled streets past red-bricked churches, amber shops, grand old buildings and pretty waterfront bars and restaurants.

Leaving Gdansk and its impressive monuments for later, we get on our bus and head west to Leba where we arrive after a one and a half hour drive. Leba is a tiny town known for being a gateway to Slowinski National Park, home of the 'moving dunes' with a remarkable desert-like landscape. In the afternoon after fitting our bikes and getting comfortable, we go for a short ride to the National Park. Once there we will have a chance to visit a WW2 V2 rocket-testing site. Our tour leader will show you through this open-air museum littered with artifacts. We then cycle back to our hotel in Leba.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 10 kilometres (Total 20 metres ascent and descent).

We begin our cycle journey heading east, through the Coastal Landscape Park, a protected area covering 188 square kilometres. The park is covered by forest, mostly coniferous trees and is home to wood sandpipers, dunlins and oystercatchers. Most of the day we will be following Eurovelo 10 route - an international cycle route that encircles the entire Baltic Sea. Our ride ends in Jastrzebia Gora, a very popular coastal village and the northernmost settlement in Poland.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 62 kilometres (Total 105 metres ascent and descent).

We start the day by cycling along Hel, a 35-km-long sand bar peninsula. The route follows a dedicated cycle path and offers us wonderful views of the sandy beaches and Pucka Bay. Having reached the tip of the peninsula, we board a water tram that takes us directly to Gda n sk .
In the afternoon, we have a guided tour of the city whose history has been written by generations of Germans, Poles and many other nations. Among other places, we shall visit the Long Market and the historic old port crane.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 47 kilometres (Total 40 metres ascent and descent).

Today we head south crossing the Vistula and Nogat Rivers. We cycle through a depression two metres below sea level to the historic town of Tczew and further south to Malbork, former capital of the medieval State of the Teutonic Order. The fortress was founded in 1274 and quickly became the main seat of the Teutonic Knights. Consisting of three castles nestled inside one another, Malbork is considered to be the world's biggest castle - more than three times the area of Windsor. In the afternoon we will follow a local guide who will introduce us to this impressive UNESCO-listed building.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 65 kilometres (Total 70 metres ascent and descent).

Our morning route will take us through a very rural area to Buczyniec Lock where we board a boat and a cruise along the Elblag Canal. Designed in the 19th century by Prussian engineer Georg Steenke using an ingenious system of inclined planes with rail tracks along with canals and locks, it connects Lakes Druzno and Jeziorak which differ by 100 metres in altitude, too great a difference for traditional locks. We then continue by bike to our hotel in Elblag.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 55 kilometres (Total 210 metres ascent and 180 descent).

Today we join the Baltic Coast again cycling along the GreenVelo cycle route to Frombork, a small town where the Renaissance-era mathematician and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus spent most of his life. After visiting sites related to the life and work of Copernicus we leave our bikes and board our bus to drive 100 kilometers to Gdansk where we spend our final night, which will take approximately one and a half hours.
Our total cycling distance today is approximately 45 kilometres (Total 280 metres ascent and descent).

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Gdansk.

There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Gdansk at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you need to depart from Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN), which is which about 30 minutes' drive from the city centre.