The Polish Seaside

I had my third trip to the Polish seaside this year. My very first had me lauding the cleanliness of the water and beaches, much to the ridicule of Basia, my wife, who knew from Polish television that it was dirty and polluted. This year, international reality had had its effect, with the purity of Polish water being unmistakeable when compared to Italian filth on the Adriatic coast just north of Ravenna a few weeks earlier. It was her turn this year to let me know how clean it was in Poland. I particularly like seeing fish swimming just near the beach.

From 2010 08 Debki

The brown water of a river flowing into the sea was colouring, not dirt.



Access to the beach from the town was through a stretch of woodland.



The beach was wide and made up of clean, fine white sand.


Misia, our daughter, loved the waves. The flat Italian sea had been boring.


There were enough people to make the sand closest to the sea busy, rather than jammed, whilst closer to the wood and away from the main town access paths, there was plenty of empty space.


The bar sold plenty of drinks and snacks, although surprisingly little food. People walked the few minutes back to town or took sandwiches. Beer here and in town was 6zl a half litre. The bar also hosted the town's once a week club music event.


There was one beach entertainment for youngsters in addition to the sea and sand: 10zl for 10 minutes.


Canoeing for others.


The weather was wonderfully cool compared to the heat of Warsaw. There was quite a bit of cloud, but virtually no rain over the week.


The town of Dębki seems almost completely dedicated to its tourists, with little sign of general residence. Accommodation ranged from houses to rent, through bed and breakfast to space for tents. We had a chalet with communal toilets and wash facilities. I was the only one pleased that there wasn't a TV.



The visitors to Dębki largely seem to be families with young children. Although it was full of people, the shops were largely closed by 8.00 in the evening, with the bars/restaurants seeming to fade out by 10:00pm. Musical excitement was provided by a bar that had a one-man, keyboard band: something that I hate at New Year Celebrations, but which seemed completely natural here. Oh, and thinking of bars, I tried a local beer called Viva Hel, which turned out to be a nice Polish unpasteurised wheat-beer (weissbier) at the normal 6zl beer price. Unfortunately, the town seemed to have sold out a couple of days later when I went for a second (and third) bottle as a last evening, farewell drink.