A month in Gdańsk

Polish law exempts foreigners from residence registration, the meldunek, when they stay in Poland no more than 30 days. A longer stay requires it: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens register at the commune office by the 30th day at the address, other nationals by the fourth day. EU citizens staying beyond three months also register their residence.

Non-EU visitors may stay 90 days in any 180 across the Schengen area, recorded by the Entry/Exit System since 10 April 2026. Poland also checks people crossing its land borders with Germany and Lithuania, extended to 30 March 2027, which matters for a drive in from Berlin.

Gdańsk and Gdynia charge PLN 3.46 per person and Sopot PLN 6.67 for every day begun, and the resolutions set no limit on days: a 30-night stay in Gdańsk adds PLN 103.80 per person to the rent, in Sopot PLN 200.10. The host collects it. The law charges the levy on stays for tourism, leisure or training; ask the host how they treat a stay for another purpose.

An act passed by parliament in September 2026 and awaiting the President's signature on 5 October 2026 would change this from 1 January 2027: the levy would be charged per night, capped at PLN 5, and stays of more than 29 consecutive nights would be exempt. The three cities would have to adopt new resolutions under it.

A flat let to visitors is a hotel service under the hotel services act. The bill now in the Sejm would limit that to stays of under 30 days for one client and require an ID number in each listing; it awaits its second reading. A month may also run on a written lease under the Civil Code. The occasional lease, najem okazjonalny, adds a notarial deed, a second address for the tenant and a deposit of up to six months' rent.

Wrzeszcz and Oliwa suit a month with a car: their blue and green sectors charge on weekdays only, and the airport trains leave from Gdańsk Wrzeszcz. Gdynia's outer paid zone starts at PLN 3.90 for the first hour on weekdays. The Main Town and central Sopot charge every day, and the Main Town access zone admits only hotel guests with a booking and identifier holders.

Sopot adds its spa levy to the comparison: PLN 200.10 per person for 30 days against PLN 103.80 in Gdańsk or Gdynia, and its red zone charges every day until 22:00 from April to September. Gdynia, with its modernist centre on the UNESCO list since July 2026, has the lowest street rates of the three outside its central zone.

Airbnb calls 28 nights or more a monthly stay, charges the first month up front, releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in and charges each later month 10 days before it starts. How other platforms label long stays in the Tricity was not verified as of October 2026.

Expecting the levy to stop after a week. In 2026 it runs for every day begun.

Choosing Sopot without counting the spa levy, PLN 6.67 a day per person against PLN 3.46 in Gdańsk.

Booking an apartment in the Main Town and assuming the car can follow. The hotel-guest rule names hotels.

Paying the red zone by the hour for a month. It charges every day from 09:00 to 20:00, so pick a flat in a blue or green sector.

Staying past 30 days without the meldunek. For non-EU nationals the deadline is the fourth day at the address.