Travel : Eastern Europe

[jacsplace]

Planning to visit Warsaw this November. Anybody got any info, tips, practical advice to share? Much appreciated!

[jacsplace]

Can anyone advise where to change Polish zloty in Singapore? thanks!

[Shan]

Went to Poland in June. Before we went, we checked with money changers and even asked LOT Polish Airlines staff who said cannot change in Singapore. But not sure whether there are any money changers now that have Polish zloty.

[jacsplace]

Thanks Shan. So what did you do for money in Poland?

[bebebub]

jacsplace\" post_id=\"1941326\" time=\"1571127605\" user_id=\"7071:

Can anyone advise where to change Polish zloty in Singapore? thanks!

I’m not surprised if you can’t get Polish zloty in Sgp. Lack of demand, I reckon.

We were not successful in getting any forint in Sgp for our trip to Hungary. We use Euro to exchange for forint upon arrival in Budapest. I was advised to change just enough for small purchases (eg. subway tickets) as the currency is useless once I step out of the country, and converting the balance to euro or US$ is unwise. Euro is accepted in most Budapest establishments, but any change will be given in forint. We used our credit card for restaurant meals and bigger purchases. At the end of our visit, I used up my balance forint in MacDonalds.

Didn’t quite answer your question. Just sharing what we did when faced with a similar issue

[Shan]

As we were in Prague before going to Krakow in Poland, we changed some in Prague. And when we arrived in Krakow, we changed at a money changer there.


For Warsaw, I recommend to visit the POLIN museum if you are interested in the history of Polish Jews. It is a wonderful museum.

[.010675zeit]

jacsplace\" post_id=\"1941349\" time=\"1571135805\" user_id=\"7071:

Thanks Shan. So what did you do for money in Poland?

I changed in Poland BDG. You can also change in the city before crossing to Poland. I have some zloty left.

Depends no. of cities you'll be visiting in Poland. There are many modern colossal malls in Poland after she joined the EU. Many EU/US brands and some local Polish brands. It's cheaper to buy them in Poland than in western EU. In malls, I swiped my credit card mostly. In food courts and farmers/festive markets, you'd better use zloty. I bought some toys, history books, vintage stamps, usual Polish souvenirs, E.Wedel chocs and supermarket foodstuffs. At one point, I ran out of zloty at a pushcart, so I used Euro but I lost out on Forex. Change will be in zloty too.

Fine-dining & Michelin-starred F&B is cheaper in Poland too. I swiped my card. Also, try eating at their communist-era milk bar which is a cross between Ikea cafeteria and Econ rice stall in Singapore. Some will go by weight, much like our Mala fragrant pot system, but others require you to point this & that items to the Pole serving you. Milk bars, cafes, pubs - better pay with zloty.

[jacsplace]

bebebub\" post_id=\"1941370\" time=\"1571144603\" user_id=\"23820:

jacsplace\" post_id=\"1941326\" time=\"1571127605\" user_id=\"7071:

Can anyone advise where to change Polish zloty in Singapore? thanks!

I’m not surprised if you can’t get Polish zloty in Sgp. Lack of demand, I reckon.

We were not successful in getting any forint in Sgp for our trip to Hungary. We use Euro to exchange for forint upon arrival in Budapest. I was advised to change just enough for small purchases (eg. subway tickets) as the currency is useless once I step out of the country, and converting the balance to euro or US$ is unwise. Euro is accepted in most Budapest establishments, but any change will be given in forint. We used our credit card for restaurant meals and bigger purchases. At the end of our visit, I used up my balance forint in MacDonalds.

Didn’t quite answer your question. Just sharing what we did when faced with a similar issue

We're thinking of changing euros to zloty when we arrive in Warsaw. Thanks for the tip about not changing too much to zloty!

[jacsplace]

.zeit\" post_id=\"1941461\" time=\"1571197095\" user_id=\"171271:

jacsplace\" post_id=\"1941349\" time=\"1571135805\" user_id=\"7071:

Thanks Shan. So what did you do for money in Poland?

I changed in Poland BDG. You can also change in the city before crossing to Poland. I have some zloty left.

Depends no. of cities you'll be visiting in Poland. There are many modern colossal malls in Poland after she joined the EU. Many EU/US brands and some local Polish brands. It's cheaper to buy them in Poland than in western EU. In malls, I swiped my credit card mostly. In food courts and farmers/festive markets, you'd better use zloty. I bought some toys, history books, vintage stamps, usual Polish souvenirs, E.Wedel chocs and supermarket foodstuffs. At one point, I ran out of zloty at a pushcart, so I used Euro but I lost out on Forex. Change will be in zloty too.

Fine-dining & Michelin-starred F&B is cheaper in Poland too. I swiped my card. Also, try eating at their communist-era milk bar which is a cross between Ikea cafeteria and Econ rice stall in Singapore. Some will go by weight, much like our Mala fragrant pot system, but others require you to point this & that items to the Pole serving you. Milk bars, cafes, pubs - better pay with zloty.

May I know what is Poland BDG please? Warsaw is our first stop and the only Polish city we'll be visiting so we'll probably change euros to zloty when we get there.

[.010675zeit]

jacsplace\" post_id=\"1944874\" time=\"1572941634\" user_id=\"7071:

May I know what is Poland BDG please? Warsaw is our first stop and the only Polish city we'll be visiting so we'll probably change euros to zloty when we get there.

Bureau de Change, but in Poland, it's called Kantor. Airport kantor rates are generally less favourable but I guess you may change some zloty to cab out of the airport? Euros are accepted but be prepared to lose out big on forex like I said b4.
Credit cards - shops in Polish shopping malls may require you to show your passport.

As for SIM, I reckon you'll buy it in Warsaw as that's your first destination. Well, it's cheap in Poland but read this review: https://www.traveltomtom.net/destinations/europe/poland/best-prepaid-sim-card-poland

\"Orange Poland sim card did not work in EU
Personally I would never recommend you to buy a Poland sim card for traveling in Europe. To test it out I bought the cheapest Orange Poland sim card available. For 5 Zloty (€1,15) I bought 6GB data in Poland and 2GB in Europe. When I landed in Oslo, Norway my Orange Poland sim card worked for like 15 minutes and then kept on saying insufficient funds.
When looking for sim cards to travel in Europe this is not what we want! Free data roaming in Europe is the best invention since the Euro, but like I said in the beginning of the article Poland holds a special place and the free data roaming for Polish sim cards can not be guaranteed!\"

Alternatively, get your SG telco 'data passport' for whole of EU.