Poland lies in the transition between maritime and continental climate, which means four distinct seasons and weather that can change within a day. Regional differences are real: the west is milder, the east and north-east much colder in winter.
Spring, April to June
May and June are the best months: 18 to 24 degrees, long days, everything green and the tourist season not yet started. April is unreliable. This is the best time for the cities and for the lower mountain ranges, before the summer storms.
Summer, July and August
Warm, 25 to 30 degrees, with heatwaves above 33. This is the only realistic swimming season on the Baltic, the peak in Masuria and the Tatras, and the moment when accommodation is most expensive and Morskie Oko is at its busiest. Afternoon thunderstorms in the mountains are the rule.
Autumn, September and October
The golden Polish autumn is not a marketing phrase: September is warm and dry, and October turns the forests colours worth travelling for. Mushroom season, the wine festival in Zielona Góra and empty trails. Many consider it the best month of the year.
Winter, November to March
Cold, minus 5 to plus 3 by day and much lower in the east, with snow lying in the mountains from December to March. Ski season in the Tatras, Beskids and Karkonosze. Christmas markets run in the cities from late November, with Kraków and Wrocław the largest. Days are very short: in December it is dark before four.
Holidays and events
Easter with its water-throwing Monday. Corpus Christi with processions. The first and third of May and the eleventh of November create long weekends when the whole country travels and everything is booked. On 1 November cemeteries fill with candles, a sight without parallel in Europe. Summer festivals include Open'er and Pol'and'Rock.
Regions
The coast is cooler and windier year round but has the most sunshine hours in summer. Podhale and the east have the hardest winters, with snow lying for months. The west and Lower Silesia are mildest, and Wrocław is often the warmest large city in the country.
Prices and crowds
July and August on the coast and in the Tatras mean prices up to half again as high. Winter school holidays, staggered over four weeks between mid-January and late February, fill the mountains. Otherwise the country is cheap by EU standards and empty outside a handful of places.