Water Sport & Activities in Poland

eXtreme Adrenaline – Water Challenge

Summer is finally here… June was the month with longest days and shortest nights in the whole year. I also really hope that this is “the last straight forward” as we talk about pandemic and COVID. Having this in mind, I would like to present a more casual post about more popular ideas on how to spend your time in Poland with water sport and water-ish attractions. This is a second post from the series about “Adrenaline” and spending free time – the previous one was related with air activities. I hope that you like these posts too! So, allow me to present the subjects which I want to cover in this post:

• Hydroflying (Flyboard)
• Kayaking
• Motorboat
• Fishing
• Diving
• Aquaparks

Hydroflying (Flyboard) – exteme water sport in poland

Hydroflight sports are a category of sport in which water jet propulsion is used to create sustained flight where lift and movement are controlled by a person riding on a propulsion device. It is a fast-paced sport that is growing in popularity at a fine rate of speed. Competitions for this sport started around 2012. Below a movie with Hunter Verlander, a professional who is taking part in world class competitions. I need to say, that this looks insane 😉

Pricing starts from 200 zł up to 230 zł per 15 minutes. The price includes the rental of a wetsuit, a vest and a protective helmet. Below is an overview about current prices sorted from 15 up to 150 minutes, based on the offer from one of the most popular flyboard centers in Poland.

• 15 minutes – Price: PLN 219.00
• 30 minutes – Price: PLN 379.00
• 60 minutes – Price: PLN 659.00
• 75 minutes – Price: PLN 799.00
• 150 minutes – Price: PLN 1499.00

This activity is a revolution in water sports, an unforgettable experience and great fun. You can perform this in most places in Poland and the best way to find it in your neighborhood, is our good old uncle google. Just type in the phrase: “Flyboard *name of your city*”. But what if Flyboard is not your thing?

Kayaking in Poland

Poland has excellent conditions for kayaking: over 10,000 km of rivers, lakes and canals suitable for rafting. Nearly 800 km of waterways, plenty of forests and land almost untouched by human activity. So, there is definitely a place for Kayaking. Moreover, it is one of the cheaper water activities. The equipment is inexpensive, and you can rent it at a reasonable price as well. It starts with 50-70 zł per day. No licenses or courses are needed. To complete the selected section of the “route”, you do not need to be in perfect physical shape – kayaking is not particularly demanding. It is easy to adjust the pace of the trip to your own abilities.

Poland has a variety of rivers and potential tracks, which means that depending on your needs, you can choose a river with a calm stream and no major obstacles. When you feel more confident, there are also mountain rivers to choose from, with lots of dams, providing a high level of adrenaline. I found a polish blog about kayaking, which is written also in English. It contains a lot of useful information about this type of activity. Here you will find a link to the article, where they describe how to get ready for 1 day trip with a Kayak. Below is a movie, from “Kayak Campers” – a pack of friends who made a 3-day trip through the river during Autumn. Movie shows a little bit of everything – challenging part, beauty and the calm of nature as well as all that people love about kayaks.

Lakes in Poland – can I charter a motorboat in Poland?

Motorboat Charter Without Patent (Patent is a kind of driving license for faster and more powerful boats). Mazury, so called, “The Polish land of lakes” seems to be the best place to start your adventure with motorboats. I actually did it this year on my own for the first time in my life and I loved it. I need to mention here, that controlling a boat on your own on a lake is not the only one attraction. It gives you a lot of possibilities. You can for example drop an anchor in the middle of the lake and fish. Or jump out of the boat for a swim in the middle of the lake. Also, you can take a course on an “uninhabited island” in the middle of a lake or swim to the port city which is lying on the other side of the shore.

Taking into consideration, that you can also allow your kids (if you have them) and more people on board, it makes a great adventure for the whole day. Normally, every motorboat like this, must include safety vests and all equipment required for swimming. As we talk about the costs – you need to be really careful. I managed to rent a motorboat from a picture below for a whole day for 400 zł gross with fuel price included. And I did this on the basis of a special discount given by the owner with whom I also booked a place to stay. On the other hand, I saw similar motorboats in the nearest city center for 400 zł per hour. Per hour! instead of a day. So, better plan such activity in advance and compare the pricing in advance.

Fishing in Poland

Since I mentioned lakes in Poland and fishing already, I will give you a little bit more details about it. As “Infor.pl” says:

A person who wants to legally fish with a fishing rod must remember three basic issues – he must obtain a fishing license, use the appropriate equipment and comply with the regulations on fish conservation periods and dimensions.

Source in Polish: Infor

What does this mean? Fishing in Poland requires:

• Obligatory Polish fishing rod license and paid fishing permit for everyone, except children under 14 and foreigners temporarily staying on the territory of Poland. Full price list available on official Polish Angling Association (PZW – Polski Związek Wędkarski).
• Secondly – proper equipment. The legal regulations define what the minimum length of the rod should be (30 cm), as well as what types of bait can be used by anglers. Artificial baits can be equipped with 3 hooks, and each of them can have 4 blades spaced in such a way that they do not extend beyond the circumference of a circle with a diameter of 30 mm. You can also catch fish with artificial baits imitating insects.
  
  On the other hand, natural baits are living or dead organisms, including fish (but they cannot be in the protective period), as well as various types of worms and plants. Protected animals, plants and fish eggs may not be used as natural baits.
• Third most important thing. When fishing with a fishing rod, you should remember about dimensions and protection periods. The point is not to catch fish during the spawning season, as well as small fish – to give them a chance to grow and reproduce.

I am also giving you a link to a blog about fishing, where the author describes in detail information about fishing in Poland. As I said this, it is a time for another activity, this time “in the water”, not on the surface of it.

Diving in Poland

Another extreme water sport in deepest pool in Poland and in the world!

As we talk about water sport in Poland, we need to mention diving. How or where can I Scuba dive in Poland? Poland is full of a Diving schools and places where you can rent or buy equipment for use. Almost every single large city has a few places like this in its area. Mostly in closed water reservoirs but also open water. Majority of open water diving schools are placed in Mazury and close to the Baltic Sea (Morze Bałtyckie) shore. In addition, Poland, at the moment of writing this article the Deepest diving pool in the world, is called “DeepSpot”.

Except the tunnel, which is 45 meters deep, they also have a lot of additional attractions, for example caves with treasures or ancient ruins and fully transparent tunnel, in which guests can watch the activities of divers. Click here, to see the price list of DeepSpot. This will give you an idea about pricing for diving in Poland. I am attaching below a movie from Deepspot.

Water Parks in Poland

As I mentioned DeepSpot already, I can’t miss Suntago. Both Suntago and DeepSpot are in the same city (Mszczonów) about 40 km from Warsaw and 70 km from Łódź. This water park is the largest water park in Poland, as well as the largest covered aquapark in Europe. The facility seats 15,000 people. Its total area is 67,000 m². In addition to numerous pools, the aquapark also includes baths, thermal pools and saunas. People from Suntagon have also managed to plant real palm trees inside.

But this is not the only one waterpark in the whole country. Allow me to present below the list of TOP 10 aquaparks / waterparks in Poland. Each single name contains a link, which will bring you to the pricing list of this specific park in English (of course, if available).

• Suntago Wodny Świat / Warsaw
• Reda / Gdańsk
• Kraków
• Chochołów
• Łódź
• Poznań
• Zakopane
• Sopot
• Białka Tatrzańska
• Dąbrowa Górnicza

Summary

That is actually all from my side, as we talk about ideas for activities “in” or “on” the water sport in Poland. Cooling down and finding our own way to relax seems to be especially important nowadays.

Would you like to read more publications about “Hobby” on my blog? Click here. You may also get to main “Table of content“, which is available here. Do you want to stay in touch and get updates about new posts? Subscribe now.

Special thanks to Eamon Gosney, who has helped with proofreading of this article.