Paul Smit- Practical Information to 'Kayaking in Masuria'

Paul Smit features, photos and text

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Note to the editor

The following information is extensive. My suggestion is to keep the information printed in the magazine to a minimum, favouring the text and photography, and offer the unabridged information block as a premium service for subscribers, in a website linked to the magazine.

Each feature comes with a map showing the most important sites and the route in question.

Location

Masuria is situated in northeastern Poland. It is a peacefull region with more then 3300 lakes. The possibilities for canoe and kayak are limitless. The Krutynia is only one of them.

The Krutynia-route

Usually the Krutynia (that doesn’t have that name all along its course) is navigated from Sorkwity to Kamien, feasable in 6 - 8 days. You can start however long before Sorkwity and get lost in the never-ending network of lakes and the canals and rivers that connect them after Kamien. You could continue all summer if you wished..

Best time of year

Nature, and that’s what it’s all about in Masuria, is at its best in May and June. In May a lot of canoe rentals, campsites and cabins are still closed and the weather can be unpredictable, but for flowers and birds it’s the best month. April can be cold, in July and August it’s rather busy at the Krutynia. From June till August it’s hard to escape the mosquitos, but they avoid open water and open areas.

Overnight stays

PTTK campsites are situated at less then a day distance from each other along the Krutynia, often equiped with a canoe rental. Elementary waterside cabins are sometimes available as well. The PTTK is a large Polish tourist organisation, heritage from the communist era, and their website is www.mazurypttk.pl. Private campsites are on the rise. Bivouac sites are grassy areas in nature where you can camp for free or a small fee. The German Kanuführer Masurische Seenplatte lists them all and most are indicated on the map. Camping wild is prohibited but turned a blind eye to, except in the nature reserves. Actually there is no need of camping wild since the bivouacs and most campsites have a very natural touch.

Our case as an example. At the camping/canoe rental of Kamien (PTTK Kamien, 12210 Kamien, t: (+48) 87 423 60 22), e: kamien@mazurypttk.pl, north of Ruciane-Nida, we rented a kayak each for EUR 7 pppd (can be EUR 11 for a better kayak) and slept in a simple cabin for EUR 12 pppn. Transport of our kayaks to Spychowo costed EUR 15 for 2 pers./2 kayaks. In summer that will be lower since more people use the same transport. Kamien is probably the best place to FINISH your Krutynia trip.

Who wants to visit Gdansk before or after Masuria - absolutely recommended - could stay with Witold. It takes strong nerves and a good sense of humor (which is true for all of Poland) but then you have a great time (Ul. Wagnera 34, 80-167 Gdansk, (+48) 58 306 33 14.

Food and drink

* Gdansk: Eating out is still cheap in Poland. In the shadow of the huge Mary church we liked the atmosphere of Restauracja Gdanska (Ulica Sw. Ducha 16). Kubicki, a former sailors pub at the wharf, is known for its good kitchen (Ul. Wartka 5).

* Masuria: We cooked ourselves, but we heard about the good fish in restaurant Krytnianke in Krutyn.

Maps

* Touristenkarte Grosse Masurische Seen, 1:100.000, publisher PPWK, ± EUR 7,50. Good map.

*Grosse Masurische Seenplatte 1:120.000 with 3 detailmaps 1:60.000, DSV-Verlag (EUR 6 at Amazon.de)

* Euro Road Atlas Poland, 1:300.000, £ 8 at amazon.co.uk, EUR 20 at amazon.de

Guides

* Best: Kanuführer Masurische Seenplatte, publisher BLV, EUR 18 at Amazon.de.

* Less complete: Outdoor Handbuch, Kanutouren in Masuren: Krutinna & Masurische Seen, EUR 13 at Amazon.de.

* DKV-Auslandfuehrer Bd. 7; Nordosteuropa, publisher Deutsche Kanuverband, ± EUR 25. General canoeing information about rivers and waters in Poland.

General guides

* Dumont Richtig Reisen Polen - der Norden, EUR 23 at Amazon.de. More complete and culturally orientated then the first one.

* Masuren Entdecken, publisher Trescher, EUR 14 at amazon.de. No frills, just the dry information.

* Reise Know-how, Polens Norden, EUR 18. For who wants to visit the coast as well.

* General guides of all Poland: Lonely Planet (£ 11 at amazon.co.uk, EUR 21 at amazon.de, in French EUR 21 at amazon.fr), Rough Guide (£ 12 at amazon.co.uk), Insight Guide (£ 17 at amazon.co.uk)

Useful website addresses

The page of the PTTK-website listing all PTTK campsites. Those with 'Mazury' in the location mentioned behind the name are located in Masuria. If you click on 'Kamien' f.i. you’ll arrive at the address and phonenumber. All other information is in Polish.

The most and the best information about Masuria is in German language: just type 'Masuren' in the Google search engine (or 'Masuren Kanu' for more specific information).