Travelling by taxi in Warsaw, Poland is significantly cheaper than in western European capitals and becomes essential when you explore Warsaw's night life. Taxis are necessary because hopping from club to club to bar is only half the fun if in between you have to wait 30 minutes for the next night bus to arrive.

Good Taxis and Bad Taxis

The vast majority of Warsaw taxis are equipped with meters and belong to taxi companies. They charge regular and controllable tariffs and can be identified by a broad taxi sign across the whole roof, showing the name of the company and a telephone number. Alternatively, taxis are identifiable by a small yellow sticker in the rear windows displaying the tariff per kilometre (between 1.40 and 2.00 Zloty¹ ). There exists a minority of unorganized taxis which are only discernible by a small black-and-white taxi sign on the roof. These taxis offer a fair tariff (in fact better than a taxi company) and are equipped with meters, but the rip-you-off taxis that charge you London or Paris prices look very similar and only differ in not having the yellow stickers. Using the taxis of the international hotel chains is not a good bet as they usually drive London lawyers, Brussels officials and Frankfurt bankers and charge accordingly. Besides, using these taxis is just not cool; it's a bit like sticking to global homogenised fast-food joints whenever you're in a foreign country.

How to Get a Taxi

Arriving at the airport you simply leave the arrival hall and pick a company taxi from the outside taxi stand. Beware of the independent drivers that ask you in the hall 'Taxi? Taxi?'. A company taxi will charge you between 20 and 30 Zloty for the ride to the city centre.

In the street you may hail a cab, but often they are full and you have to keep trying. You can ask for the next taxi stand - there are numerous in Warsaw - or call a taxi company by phone. A taxi firm which comes highly recommended is MPT whose number is (022) 919² - they speak English, have the largest taxi fleet and mostly modern cars. In return, they are slightly more expensive. An inner city ride, however, from the Old Town to the Palace of Culture, should cost you no more than 10 Zloty.