Business/social hints
Appointments: must be made in advance, punctuality is important.
Attire for business meetings: men should wear a suit and tie, women a two-piece suit or equivalent and hosiery.
Etiquette: it is customary to shake hands on meeting and taking leave. Business cards are exchanged after introduction.
Language:business is conducted in Polish. However, many executives speak a second language.
Laws:minimum drinking age is 18 years.
Invitations:punctuality is appreciated. Dress as for business meetings unless otherwise indicated. A service charge is sometimes added to bills. There may be some restrictions on photography.
Poland
Local time: GMT +2hrs
Capital:Warsaw.
Language: Polish.
Electricity: 220V AC 50Hz.
Int. direct dialling code: 48.
Driving: International Driving Permit recommended if driving licence is not in English, French or German
Currency: Zloty (PLN 1 = 100 Groszy).
Notes: PLN: 10; 20; 50; 100; 200.
Coins:PLN:1, 2, 5. Groszy: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50.
Business hours
Banks:8am-6pm Mon-Fri.
Offices:8am-4pm Mon-Fri.
Shops:11am-7pm Mon-Fri.
Emergency services
Police: 997. Fire: 998. Ambulance: 999.
Health
Compulsory vaccinations: none.
Recommended Immunisations: hepatitis A (recommended insome circumstances), polio, tetanus.
Weather
Climate
Winters tend to be cold with a decrease in temperatures towards the east and in the southern mountains. The coastlands on the Baltic sea are slightly milder with cooler summers. Rainfall is spread throughout the year although summer is marginally wetter. Snow is common in winter. Summers are fairly warm with little variation throughout the country as a whole
Temp C Humidity % Rain
Warsaw Max/Min am pm (mm)
January -1 -5 92 87 27
February 0 -5 90 83 32
March 5 -2 89 70 27
April 12 3 81 58 37
May 19 9 78 55 46
June 22 12 77 57 69
July 30 15 80 58 96
August 23 13 85 62 65
September 18 9 89 66 43
October 12 5 91 70 38
November 4 0 92 83 31
December 0 -4 92 88 44
Warsaw Okecie WAW
Postal Address: 00-906
Warsaw, Zwirki i Wigury 1.
Telephone:+48 22 650 30 00/650 33 33.
Telex: 815326 PPL DP PL
Fax: +48 22 46 68 24.
Location: six miles southwest of Warsaw.
Transportation to city centre: airport-city bus to major hotels operates 6am-11pm every 30mins, fare PLN 5.7, journey time 20mins.
Taxi: fare PLN 32-38, journey time 30mins
Airport departure tax: none.
Flight information: tel 650 39 43/650 41 00 or 46 17 00/46 17 31, 6am-10pm on departures level.
Passport
Required by all.
Customs
Import allowances: tobacco and alcoholic beverages for
persons of 18 years of age or older
a) 250 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco
b) two litres of wine and 0.5 litre of other alcoholic
beverages and five litres of beer
c) gifts up to the value of USD 100