Hotel Apollo - Darłowo, Poland

The wedding reception will take place at the Hotel Apollo, in Darłowo, Poland on Saturday, September 3, 2016. The reception will be preceded by a church ceremony in the nearby village of Iwięcino. This will be followed by drinks, dinner, and dancing back at the Apollo. 

Though a rehearsal dinner isn't typically done in Poland, we'll happily organise an informal dinner for everyone who's around on Friday evening — so please do let us know your plans as soon as you know them. That said, any speeches or toasts etc. will be done during the reception dinner on Saturday. 

The Polish wedding party is a very late-night affair — winding up usually around 5am. On Sunday, after the wedding, we'll be hosting an informal brunch at the Apollo until about 2pm. We're not sure if we'll be staying at the Apollo Sunday night — we will if guests won't be able to leave conveniently until Monday. 

Accommodation: 

Per Polish custom, we will take care of your accommodation for Saturday night — no need for you to book or pay. However, we recommend you arrive Friday. If you do, just let us know — we'll update your reservation and you'll pay for that night when you check in. 

The Apollo itself is very small, so the majority of guests will be housed in an eminently comfortable hotel nearby. You'll have full access to the Apollo, although that doesn't mean much in practice — it's mainly a beach and restaurant/café which is open to the public anyway. 

What to wear:

No strict dress code. For the ceremony, gentlemen are encouraged to wear ties but don't need to bring suits. Nothing too serious — colorful attire is welcome! Ladies can just wear nice ladyclothes. 

Early September in Poland can easily feel like either summer or fall — so pack a swimsuit and a sweater. The hotel/reception is on the beach, but none of the formal activities will take place on the sand. There's lots of good swimming/hiking/biking available, so bring your trainers. 

Scroll down for info on how to get there... 

Flights & Transportation

The nearest airports are Gdansk (GDN) and Szczecin (SZZ).

Gdansk is about a 2-hour drive to the east. It is served by major carriers and budget airlines. Szczecin airport, to the southwest, is slightly closer than Gdansk, and served mainly by budget airlines, particularly Wizz Air and Ryanair. We recommend using Kayak to search flights; not all aggregators include the budget airlines. Both airports have car rental available.

Though Szczecin is slightly closer, we'd recommend flying into Gdansk, particularly if you have a bit of time to explore. Gdansk is a picturesque historic port city, whereas Szczecin is the Polish equivalent of, say, Wichita, Kansas, or Milton Keynes in England. There are a few nice stops along the seaside between Gdansk and Darłowo (see the Poland section).

Note: In Poland, you must always drive with your headlights on, day or night. Polish police make a nice business of writing tickets to tourists who don't know the rules!

If you're considering a longer road trip, these worthwhile cities are (maybe) within reach by car: Poznan (4 hours), Berlin (4 hours), Warsaw (6 hours), Wrocław (6.5 hours), Prague (7 hours), Krakow (8.5 hours). See the Poland section of this site for more inspiration.

Please let us know your plans as soon as you've made them. We can also help match people up to save on car rentals. 

The car below is a Polski Fiat 126p, known in Polish as a "maluch," or "the little one." They dominated Polish roads in the 70s and 80s. Aga's family had a brown one and then a yellow one.