How to Get Around Podlachia

A car is close to essential. The region is large, thinly populated and its attractions are scattered through forest and marsh; public transport reaches the towns but not the boardwalks or the Tatar villages.

Getting in: trains from Warsaw to Bialystok take around two and a half hours; the region has no significant airport.

To Bialowieza: buses from Bialystok via Hajnowka, a couple of hours, and infrequent. Driving takes about two hours.

Cycling is excellent — flat, quiet roads and marked routes including the Green Velo trail, which runs the length of eastern Poland.

Kayaking the Biebrza, Narew or the Augustow Canal is a genuine way of travelling here rather than an activity, with operators running multi-day trips.

Border note: the Belarusian border is closed to ordinary crossing and there is a restricted zone along parts of it. Do not approach it.