The Vistula Spit is one of the most beautiful bike routes on the Polish coast, perfect for beginners and cycling with kids. Or for those who, like me, need a flat and easy route after a long break from cycling.
Many bicycle travellers visiting Poland choose the Eurovelo 10 Baltic Sea cycling route, a.k.a. R-10 or Velo Baltica. Yet very few make it to the Vistula Spit, one of the most spectacular areas on the Polish coast.
This narrow sand spit separating Vistula Bay from Gdańsk Bay is known for its broad sandy beaches and fragrant pine forests, home to deer, mooses, badgers and rare birds, including sea eagles.
Part of the Vistula Spit is a Russian territory, part of the Kaliningrad Oblast – the Russian enclave at the Baltic Sea. It is, however, impossible to cross the border here. The closed border makes the Vistula Spit cycling route a one-way trail.
The Vistula Spit Cycling Route – Practical Info
The cycling route on Vistula Spit is part of a long-distance R-10 cycling route that follows the Polish Baltic Sea coast. The stretch from Mikoszewo to the Polish-Russian border in Piaski is 52.5 kilometres long, with a negligible elevation of 69 metres.
That makes it a perfect cycling trail for families with kids, beginners and older or less-sporty people.
The surface varies between good gravel forest paths and asphalt. For that reason, it’s best to cycle the Vistula Spit on a touring, hybrid or gravel bike, but people do it on road bikes too.
Signage
With terrific signage (and because the spit is a narrow piece of land surrounded by water from both sides), getting lost is impossible, even for people like me, with no sense of direction.
During my last trip, my charging cable broke, so I had to save my phone’s battery and didn’t use the navigation at all. Just look out for the orange R-10 signs.
Infrastructure
Along the route, you’ll find maintenance stations with a bicycle pump, tire levers, and the most commonly used keys. You’ll also find a bunch of rest areas with benches and tables. If you need to restock on food, the signs will point you to the shops (look out for signs saying “Sklep” or “Do sklepu”.
The map of the Vistula Spit cycling route
What’s the best time to cycle the Vistula Spit?
Weatherwise, the best time to cycle the Polish coast is summer. It’ll give you a chance to take a dip in the (quite refreshing) Baltic Sea. The temperatures in July and August oscillate around 20 degrees.
The Vistula Spit is less crowded than other places on the Polish coast, like Hel or Łeba. It gets a bit busy on the weekends, though, so if you’re looking for solitude and tranquillity and don’t mind chillier temperatures, it’s better to cycle there in spring or autumn.
Even when visiting Vistula Spit in the summer, bring a good rain jacket. On average, half the days in the year are rainy in this region, so you must be prepared for every weather.
Cycling Vistula Spit – what to see?
A few spots are worth stopping by when biking on the Vistula Spit.
The Lighthouse in Krynica Morska
Krynica Morska is a popular touristy little town full of tacky souvenir stands and beach-goers. On its outskirts, however, you can find a real gem – a tall, red-concrete lighthouse from which you can embrace the panorama over the Gdańsk Bay, the Vistula Lagoon and the city of Frombork – the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus – with its majestic gothic cathedral.
The lighthouse is open for tourists from May to August. The ticket costs six złoty (ca. 1,5 euros).
Vistula Spit Canal
The most disputed investment by the Polish government opened last year and now enables ships to sail from Elbląg to the Baltic Sea, bypassing Russian territorial waters. For years, the Vistula Spit Canal was a topic of heated discussion in the Polish media, with experts questioning its profitability and environmental impact. Nevertheless, the canal is an interesting piece of engineering, definitely worth stopping by.
The beaches
If you’re cycling the Vistula Spit route in the summer, a break on a beach is a must. The further from Krynica Morska, the less busy the beaches are. The sand is white and smooth, so you might even want to stay for an entire day!
The Camel’s Hump
The Camel’s Hump (Wielbłądzi Garb) is a dune and the highest point on the Vistula Spit (49.5 metres asl). Get off your bike and climb to the top to enjoy the view over the Vistula Lagoon and the Gdańsk Bay.
The Polish-Russian border
It is not an exciting spot per se, yet the Russian border makes a nice finish line for your ride through the Vistula Spit. You’ll see the barriers, a fence, and probably some Polish border guards. It is illegal to cross the border here, so if you ignore the signs, you might risk three years in prison.
Not many people make it to this point, as the last kilometres before the border are closed to cars. That’s why the beaches in that area are calmer and more peaceful.
Nature Reserve Mewia Łacha
If you love wildlife bird watching, stop at the Mewia Łacha nature reserve. You can spot various marine birds and, if you’re lucky, even seals and beavers.
KL Stutthof Concentration Camp
Aside from pristine nature and holiday resorts, Vistula Spit has some dark history. If you’re interested in World War II, you might want to stop in Sztutowo and visit the Stutthof Concentration Camp museum.
Few people know that here, on the idyllic Baltic coast, the Nazis opened the first-ever concentration camp, already the second day of the war. Through WWII, 65 000 people died in Stutthof from murder, starvation, diseases and extreme labour conditions.
The is no entry fee to the museum, but you must pay for the guide. It costs 300 złoty per group for an English-speaking guide. The tour is about 1,5 hours. You have to make a reservation beforehand. More details here.
Accommodation on the Vistula Spit
Wild Camping
Wild camping in Poland is allowed outside woodlands, national parks and nature reserves. Camping is legal in the forest near Jantar and Stegna as a part of the spend the night in the forest program (find a map of the area here).
Campsites
If wild camping isn’t your thing, there are two campsites on Vistula Spit.
- Camping nr 179 in Krynica Morska. Price per night: 17 złoty/person +16 złoty/small tent (1/2-persons tent)
- Camping nr 159 in Stegna. Price per night: 22 złoty/person +17 złoty/small tent + 2 złoty tourist tax
Hotels and B&Bs
There are plenty of hotels and small B&Bs on the entire Vistula Spit. The majority of them are located in Krynica Morska, Stegna and Jantar. Booking well in advance shouldn’t be necessary, except for the weekends in the summer season.
Check out the options on booking.com
Public transportation to Vistula Spit
There are limited options for getting to Vistula Spit with your bike by public transportation.
Bus from Gdańsk to Sztutowo and Krynica Morska
You can bring your bicycle on a PKS Gdańsk bus if there is space. There are several buses a day. The ticket costs around 20 złoty + 20 złoty fee for the bicycle.
Ferry from Krynica Morska to Frombork or Tolkmicko
If cycling the Vistula Spit is part of a longer tour, and you’re heading east, you don’t need to cycle back to Mikoszewo. Instead, you can bring your bicycle on a ferry from Krynica Morska to Frombork or Tolkmicko.
There is only one ferry per day to Frombork. The ticket costs 80 złoty (including the fee for the bike).
The ferry to Tolkmicko departs a few times daily during the summer season (check the timetable here). The ticket with a bicycle costs 50 złoty.
Cycling to Vistula Spit from Gdańsk
You can easily get to the Vistula Spit from Gdańsk, following mostly dedicated bicycle lanes and some less busy roads. The route leads through the beautiful Sobieszewo Island and involves a ferry crossing through the Vistula River from Świbno to Mikoszewo.
The boat departs every 30 minutes from 7:00 to 21:00 during the summer (from 29 April to 2 October 2023, check the details here). The ferry doesn’t operate in winter, forcing you to add about 25 kilometres to your route.
The ticket with a bike costs eight złoty. You buy it on the boat. You can pay by cash or card.
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