01 · Book your apartment
Twelve homes on the slope, eight ready now and four still in the making, each named after a bird of the Beskidy.
The DipperApartment 1.1Ground level
The Golden EagleApartment 1.2Top level
The Hazel GrouseComing soonApartment 2.1Ground level
The Lesser Spotted EagleApartment 2.2Top level
The Black GrouseComing soonApartment 3.1Ground level
The White StorkApartment 3.2Top level
The Honey BuzzardApartment 4.1Ground level
The Peregrine FalconApartment 4.2Top level
The NutcrackerComing soonApartment 5.1Ground level
The KingfisherComing soonApartment 5.2Top level
The BullfinchApartment 6.1Ground level
The Black StorkApartment 6.2Top level03 · Ski
Six easy steps, from the first lift to the sauna.
04 · Hiking
Eight easy steps, from the first question to the last light.
WinterSpringSummerAutumnSzczyrk’s two mountainsThe frog and the phoenixA feature · Skrzyczne and Klimczok
The trailsColours, distances, plans
The art of photographyLight, fog and viewpoints
Wildlife, watched with respectDeer, foxes and our birds
Huts & food on the waySoup at the top
The winter photographerA winter morning, in five chapters
The landscape park386 km² of protected mountains, from your door
Paragliding over the BeskidyTandem flights and schools05 · Biking
Seven easy steps, from the first question to the last descent.
06 · Horse riding
Riding in the Beskidy, then five stables within an hour, the nearest first.
07 · Lake Żywiec
Eight easy steps, from the first look to a day on the water.
From aboveFrom Góra ŻarFrom the hillsAt golden hourBoat rental at the Zarzecze marinaSail Lake Żywiec, about 20 min from ChikApart.A feature · the Halny sailing club
Rent on the waterKayak, SUP, pedal boat, boat
Beaches & swimmingSwim at your own risk
Sailing & windsurfingSchools, marinas, the wind
Boat cruisesTwo ships from the Tresna dam
Around the lakeŻywiec, the brewery, Góra Żar, the dams
WinterRinks, never the lake ice08 · Szczyrk
Nine easy steps: the town, the places near it, then the practical things.
Near SzczyrkA few minutes away
The centre & the Żylica walkThe square, the river, the main street
Churches & the SanctuaryGórka, St James’, Sts Peter and Paul
The Skalite ski jumpsThree hills, a stage, a museum
Events & marketsFestivals, jumps, fairs
For familiesParks, ropes, playgrounds
The aqua park at Mercure SzczyrkPools, slides and saunas, five minutes away
The rope parkThree routes in the trees, in the centre10 · Utilities & Rental
Eight easy steps, from what you need to who to call.
02 · Book a tour
Your own Vito, the 3 Plans for your comfort, the days out, then booking.
A day, a destination, a driver — with your own VitoBy the day, for the week, or yours to drive
3 Plans for your comfortEssential · Prestige · Signature
KrakówThe royal city
Zakopane & the TatrasCable cars, lakes, thermal pools
Auschwitz-BirkenauMemorial and Museum · Oświęcim
Oskar Schindler’s Enamel FactoryKraków
EnergylandiaThe great theme park
Further favouritesPszczyna, Ojców and shooting09 · Restaurants
Five easy steps, from what you feel like to a table tonight.
10 · Utilities & Rental
Five kinds of rental, four shops, three pharmacies in town, and a host on WhatsApp day and night.
All a stay needs that the apartment does not hold. Rentals for the slopes, the trails and the water; groceries, a pharmacy, a doctor. Cash and the post; fuel, charging, buses, airport transfers and a laundry.
Eight easy steps, from what you need to who to call. Each detail was checked on the places’ own websites and official lists on 30 September 2026 (the gyms on 6 October).
A story
The drive ends on ul. Turystyczna, on a quiet wooded slope above the town: about an hour from Katowice airport, an hour and a half from Kraków’s. Your host meets you at the door, shows you in and hands you the keys; your parking space is waiting.
Skis, boots and bikes go downstairs to the ski & bike room; the suitcases go up. Everything you might need is close: four grocery shops in Szczyrk, three pharmacies in town, a night and holiday doctor, and ski and bike rentals at the foot of the lifts.
One thing to know: most Sundays in Poland are trading-free, and on public holidays the shops stay shut. The Calendar of Poland lists the holidays and the trading Sundays, so your first evening never meets an empty fridge.
Anything else, day or night, is one WhatsApp message away. Then the door closes, the house goes quiet, and the valley lights come on below the window. You have arrived.
Step 1 of 8 · Pick a question. Go.
Choose the question that sounds like your need, and follow the arrow. In an emergency, call 112: step 4 has every number on a big button.
Skis, boots and boards, at the lifts and in town.
Eight rentals, the nearest a few minutes away.
At Bielsko-Biała station or at the airport.
Sledges, child carriers, small skis and bikes.
The supermarket closest to the residence.
It prints Sunday hours, even on non-trading Sundays.
The pharmacy open latest, and on Sundays.
Big buttons: tap to call.
In Szczyrk, evenings, nights and days off.
Bielsko-Biała, open around the clock.
Step 2 of 8 · Rent it, ride it.
Five kinds of rental, each with its own box below: skis and boards, bikes and e-bikes, the water, a car, and things for children. Tap “Call to book” to ring the rental straight from the card.
A story
You can arrive with one suitcase. Skis, boots and boards are rented at the foot of the lifts, bikes and e-bikes in town, a kayak at the lake. A car waits at the station in Bielsko-Biała, twenty-five minutes away. For the children there are small skis, sledges and carriers.
Tap the number on a card, or ask your host to book for your dates. What you rent lives downstairs in the ski & bike room, not in your hallway.
At the end of the week you hand it all back, and go home as light as you came.
Skis, boots and helmets on the racks of a timber ski room1 / 4
Photos 4
Every rental here is one of the ski guide’s places: tap “More in the ski guide” for its season, address and school.
about 4.3 km by road · about 8 min by car
At the gondola and at Czyrna: skis, boots, snowboards, poles, helmets, goggles, ski service and storage; children’s and beginners’ kit at Czyrna; touring skis at the DYNAFIT centre.
about 2.1 km by road · about 5 min by car
BASIC and TOP kit, children’s sets with a helmet, and ski service.
about 2.4 km by road · about 4 min by car
A rental next to the school on ul. Myśliwska.
about 4.1 km by road · about 8 min by car
A rental on site at the gentle Krasnal slope, Czyrna.
about 4.2 km by road · about 7 min by car
Skis, snowboards, boots, helmets, touring skis, snowshoes and sledges; repairs.
Check before visiting
The biking guide’s eight rentals, closest first. Tap one for its hours, season, what exactly it rents and its booking page.
about 1.2 km by road · a few minutes by car
about 1.3 km by road · a few minutes by car
about 2 km by road · about 4 min by car
about 3.7 km by road · about 7 min by car
about 4.3 km by road · about 7 min by car
Check before visiting
about 4.3 km by road · about 8 min by car
about 10.6 km by road · about 15 min by car
Check before visiting
about 17.4 km by road · about 22 min by car
Kayaks, SUP boards, pedal boats and electric boats on Lake Żywiec, about 20 to 40 minutes by car: the lake guide’s rentals, closest first.
about 14.9 km by road · about 20 min by car
about 14.9 km by road · about 20 min by car
Check before visiting
about 29.4 km by road · about 32 min by car
Check before visiting
about 29.4 km by road · about 32 min by car
about 31.3 km by road · about 35 min by car
about 32.6 km by road · about 37 min by car
Check before visiting
about 32.8 km by road · about 37 min by car
Check before visiting
about 34.5 km by road · about 39 min by car
about 35.3 km by road · about 42 min by car
The whole lake guide: rent on the waterBoat rental at the Zarzecze marina
Each company sets its own rules (age, licence, deposit, where you may drive): read them on its site before you book.
A local car-rental firm at Bielsko-Biała’s main station; pick-up at Katowice Airport at an extra charge.
A local car-rental firm in the hall of Bielsko-Biała’s main railway station: cars and vans, short and longer rentals. Pick-up points it lists include Katowice Airport (Pyrzowice), at an extra charge.
A national car-rental company, with a pick-up point at Bielsko-Biała’s main station; booking online only.
A national car-rental company with a pick-up point at Bielsko-Biała’s main railway station; it can also bring the car to an address in the city at an extra charge. Booking is online: the company prints no booking phone (its 24/7 line is for breakdowns only).
Car-rental desks in the passenger terminal (level +1): collect the car when you land.
The airport lists the car-rental companies with desks in the passenger terminal (level +1), each with its own phone and booking link: collect the car when you land.
The airport lists the car-hire companies at Terminal C, each with its phone, e-mail and website.
Who rents what for children. Sledging: we found no official, supervised sledging run in Szczyrk; keep off the ski pistes with a sledge (the ski guide, step 3).
Who rents what
Children’s skis & boots
Sledges
Kids’ bikes & bike seats
Child carriers
Decathlon in Bielsko-Biała rents child carriers, microspikes, bikes, SUP boards and a kayak: book online, collect in store.
The rental of the Decathlon store in Bielsko-Biała: child carriers for walks (two Deuter Kid Comfort models), a child bike seat, microspikes for icy paths, bikes, SUP boards and a kayak. You book online and collect in the store.
Step 3 of 8 · Fill the fridge.
Two supermarkets and two groceries in Szczyrk, closest first, with their hours as the chains print them. Mind the trading-free Sundays.
A story
Your kitchen has everything except the food. The nearest supermarket is a quarter of an hour’s walk down the hill. It opens from six in the morning until ten at night, Monday to Saturday.
Sunday is different in Poland: most shops stay shut, except on the trading Sundays the calendar lists. One shop in town opens on Sundays all the same, from eight until ten.
So shop on Saturday, or ask your host to have the basics waiting. Then cook something simple, open the window, and eat with the valley for company.
A bakery’s glass counter: croissants, baguettes and loaves1 / 3
Photos 3
A Biedronka supermarket on the main street, near the centre; the store page lists a bottle-return machine.
A grocery of the Lewiatan chain on ul. Myśliwska, south-west of the centre. It prints Sunday hours for trading and non-trading Sundays alike.
A neighbourhood grocery of the Delikatesy Centrum chain further along ul. Myśliwska: a counter for cold meats and cheese, card payment and parking (the chain’s store data).
The second Biedronka, at the lower end of town, where ul. Ogrodowa meets the main street; the Ziko pharmacy is next door.
Most Sundays are trading-free in Poland: the big chains close, except on the few trading Sundays their own pages announce. The Lewiatan on ul. Myśliwska prints Sunday hours for both kinds of Sunday.
Żabka convenience stores: the chain’s own map shows the nearest one and its hours.
Most Sundays are trading-free: the big shops close, except on the trading Sundays below. On every public holiday the shops are closed by law; from 2025 that includes Christmas Eve, 24 December. The Calendar of Poland
Step 4 of 8 · Feel better soon.
The numbers first. Then the three pharmacies in town and the two open around the clock in Bielsko-Biała. Then the night and holiday doctor in Szczyrk, and the nearest hospital emergency department.
A story
Most stays need none of this; it is good to know it all the same. The town has three pharmacies; one of them is open every day, and late on weekdays. A doctor is on duty every night from six, and round the clock at weekends and on holidays. The hospital in Bielsko-Biała, about twenty-three minutes away, never closes.
In an emergency call 112; on a mountain, GOPR on 985. Keep your ID with you. Then put the numbers away and enjoy the day.
The Provincial Hospital in Bielsko-Biała, main building1 / 3
Photos 3
Closest first, with the hours the county prints.
A pharmacy on the main street, near the centre: the one open latest in Szczyrk, and the only one open on Sundays.
A pharmacy of the Dbam o Zdrowie chain on the main street.
A pharmacy of the Ziko chain at the lower end of town, next to the Biedronka on ul. Ogrodowa; it also vaccinates.
The Szczyrk pharmacies keep the hours above: none of them keeps a night duty in the county’s list. The nearest pharmacies open around the clock are two in Bielsko-Biała, about 25 minutes by car. The county publishes the hours of every pharmacy (the duty-pharmacy information).
One of the two pharmacies in Bielsko-Biała open around the clock, in the Klimczok department store.
The other pharmacy open around the clock, at Bielsko-Biała’s main railway station.
For a sudden illness; in an emergency, call 112.
The night and holiday doctor in Szczyrk, for a sudden illness. Not an emergency department: in an emergency, call 112.
The NFZ night and holiday care point in Szczyrk, run by the Bielsko-Biała ambulance service: a doctor and a nurse for a sudden illness when family doctors are closed. It is not an emergency department: in an emergency call 112. Bring an identity document and your health-insurance document (for EU visitors, the EHIC); without a valid insurance document the visit is paid.
The town’s family-doctor practice, for its own patients: call and ask whether they can see a visitor.
The town’s NFZ family-doctor practice, a branch of Szpital pod Bukami, for adults and children. It serves its own registered patients: call and ask whether they can see a visitor.
The nearest emergency department and the children’s hospital, both in Bielsko-Biała.
The nearest hospital emergency department, in Bielsko-Biała. For anything life-threatening, call 112.
The nearest hospital emergency department (SOR, Szpitalny Oddział Ratunkowy), at the regional hospital in Bielsko-Biała. Patients are seen in order of urgency (triage), not arrival. For anything life-threatening, call 112: do not drive yourself.
The children’s hospital of Bielsko-Biała. Its admissions room (izba przyjęć) has a surgical out-patient clinic.
Step 5 of 8 · Cash, stamps, parcels.
A bank with cash machines near the centre, the post office on the main street, and the official parcel-locker maps.
A story
Carry a little cash, as you would in any mountain town. The bank on the main street, sixteen minutes on foot, has cash machines. The post office is further along the same street; the parcel lockers are on the map.
You will want it sooner than you think. The stone hut on Klimczok prefers cash for its soup, while the hut on the Karkoszczonka pass takes cards.
So fill a pocket before the climb, and forget about money until you are down again.
A red Polish post box, Poczta Polska
The PKO Bank Polski branch on the main street, near the centre, with its cash machines.
The PKO Bank Polski branch on the main street, near the centre (“Oddział 1 w Szczyrku” in the bank’s own list). The bank’s finder shows the branch hours and its cash machines.
The town’s post office, on the main street: letters, parcels and postcards home.
Parcel lockers (paczkomaty) for sending and collecting parcels: the official maps show the nearest ones.
Cash machines: the bank finders show those near you; the PKO branch on ul. Beskidzka is near the centre.
Step 6 of 8 · Buy it, fix it, go.
Skis to buy, to rent or to have serviced in Szczyrk itself, near the lifts. Bike and outdoor gear in Bielsko-Biała, on the way to the city. For anything else, ask your host.
Skis standing in rows on a timber wall, their bindings catching the light1 / 4
Photos 4
Skis to buy, rent or have serviced in Szczyrk, then bike and outdoor gear in Bielsko-Biała.
The resort’s own rental at the gondola’s lower station: Rossignol, Burton and Dynafit, with a ski service.
The resort’s own rental at the lower station of the Gondola: Rossignol skis and boots, Burton snowboards and boots, top models, Dynafit touring skis and splitboards; the Gondola rental also maintains ski and snowboard equipment. A second rental at Czyrna (ul. Narciarska 10) is mainly for children and beginners.
The Beskid Sport Arena’s rental: skis, snowboards and boots for adults and juniors, serviced on site.
The rental of the Beskid Sport Arena: sets for adults and juniors, skis, snowboards, boots, poles and helmets, top and test gear; winter equipment is serviced on site.
Ski and ski-touring gear to buy or to rent; the bindings are adjusted on the spot.
New and used ski and ski-touring gear for sale, and rental of skis, boots, poles, ski-touring sets, test skis and snowboards. Bindings are adjusted here; sharpening, base repair and waxing are done at the same company’s shop in Żywiec (ul. Dworcowa 23).
At the Biały Krzyż pass above the town: ski and snowboard rental in winter, e-bikes in summer, and equipment service.
The rental of the Progresski ski school: skis, boots, poles, snowboards and helmets, its gear regularly serviced.
A bike shop on the road into Bielsko-Biała: bikes, e-bikes, clothing and parts.
A bike shop on the road from Szczyrk into Bielsko-Biała: bikes and e-bikes, cycling clothing, accessories and parts, from lights and gloves to cassettes and brake levers.
The big sports store of Bielsko-Biała, with a bike workshop for tyres, brakes and gears.
The big sports store on the northern edge of Bielsko-Biała: one roof for bike accessories, with a bike workshop that fits them and repairs tyres, brakes and gears, and the chain’s departments for hiking and trekking, swimming and horse riding.
Five shops and rentals in Szczyrk itself, then two in Bielsko-Biała, on the way to the city. For a full ski service, ask first: your host can ring them for you.
Step 7 of 8 · Just ask.
Your host can help with the practical things: a rental, an airport transfer, a doctor or a pharmacy open now, groceries before you arrive. Ask on WhatsApp; nothing is promised until your host confirms it.
A self-service laundry: Speed Queen self-service laundry, ul. Beskidzka 112, 43-370 Szczyrk, every day 6:00–23:00.
In the residence, The White Stork has a washing machine of its own.
Step 8 of 8 · Lift, run, stretch.
Six places to train, nearest first: next door, a hotel fitness club in Szczyrk, three round-the-clock clubs in Bielsko-Biała and one in Żywiec. Each card says how a visitor enters.
A calm, bright fitness room: treadmills and bikes under a glowing ceiling1 / 3
Photos 3
A holiday need not break your training, and a day on skis is kinder to the legs after a good stretch. You need not go far for either. The nearest fitness room is in the resort next door, five minutes on foot. The second is six minutes by car, on the fourth floor of a hotel, above its pool.
For free weights at any hour, the clubs of Bielsko-Biała and Żywiec are twenty minutes down the valley. Each address below opens on the map, and each card says how a visitor gets in. Where a place does not say whether a day guest may enter, ask your host: we ask for you.
Two hotel fitness rooms in Szczyrk itself: one five minutes on foot, one six minutes by car.
ul. Wrzosowa 28a, 43-370 SzczyrkOpen the map
The resort next door: a fitness room on the sixth floor with a cardio zone (treadmills, bikes, ellipticals), strength machines, free weights and a stretching corner, towels and water provided; and the FLOW pool complex under one roof, in two zones (Water & Fun, Hot & Chill, with a sauna zone), open to visitors who are not staying at the hotel.
ul. Poziomkowa 20, 43-370 SzczyrkOpen the map
The hotel’s fitness club on the fourth floor, looking down on the indoor pool: Panatta equipment, ellipticals, treadmills, bikes, five spinning bikes, dumbbells from 2 to 30 kg, a multi-station, a bench, a stepper and a rowing machine; an outdoor gym in the gardens too. Free for the hotel’s guests; whether a day visitor may buy an entry is not printed.
Four full clubs in Bielsko-Biała and Żywiec, twenty to twenty-four minutes by car; three never close.
ul. Leszczyńska 20, 43-300 Bielsko-Biała (Gemini Park)Open the map
A round-the-clock club in the Gemini Park shopping centre: a free-weights zone, cardio, plate-loaded and isolation machines, a HIIT zone, a functional zone, a combat-sports zone and a studio for group classes; free parking. The site prints monthly passes and a one-off joining fee, no single entry; Multisport, FitProfit, PZU Sport and Medicover Sport cards are accepted.
ul. Kolista 23, 43-316 Bielsko-BiałaOpen the map
A round-the-clock club of 2,100 m² in the retail park on ul. Kolista: a functional zone with a HYROX corner, cardio, free weights and machines, group classes in the pass, personal trainers, a chill-out corner with table tennis and a coffee machine. Passes without a long contract; the site prints no prices.
ul. Łączna 28, 34-300 ŻywiecOpen the map
A club of 1,400 m² in Żywiec with more than 30 hours of classes a week: a cardio zone, a free-weights zone, group classes (Pilates, Tabata, Zumba, circuit and trampoline classes), a sauna by the hour for two to five people, a solarium, EMS and personal training. A single entry is sold at the desk; its price is on the official price list.
ul. Legionów 26/29, 43-300 Bielsko-BiałaOpen the map
One of the largest clubs in the region, 2,500 m² of training floor, open round the clock: free-weight and machine zones, cardio equipment, group classes in the pass, body-composition analysis, changing rooms with showers. Single entries are sold; the chain’s price list gives a starting price that differs by club, so ask this club for its own.
Hotel fitness rooms are first for the hotel’s own guests. Where a page prints no day entry, we say so: ask the hotel. The clubs in Bielsko-Biała are open round the clock and sell passes by the month. The one in Żywiec sells a single entry at the desk.
The epilogue
Nothing is charged here. On the booking page you add your details and see the summary; your host confirms your dates personally.
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