October 31, 2022, 2:32 pm | Read time: 6 minutes

Rewal on the Polish Baltic coast is a place to relax and unwind. I had never heard of it when my girlfriend and my in-laws booked a week-long vacation there for us. The journey through small villages already hinted that not many tourists have found their way here yet.

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Rewal is beautiful without needing to be spectacular

This may be because Rewal and its surroundings are beautiful but not in any way spectacular. Miles of beaches, quaint villages along the seemingly endless coast, with the biggest attraction occasionally being a lighthouse. And hardly any other tourists—on walks by the sea, you sometimes felt like an explorer. Only every few hundred meters would you find a towel or blanket with other sun worshippers.

This is all the more surprising because the history of Rewal and other nearby Baltic resorts, such as Niechorze and Pobierowo, began about 100 years ago. Even then, savvy hoteliers and businesspeople realized that this was a wonderful place to relax by the sea.

The vastness of the area around Rewal is its greatest asset, as you can meet people here, but you don’t have to. If you’re in the mood for company, you just need to visit one of the vibrant promenades. Each of the small and even smaller towns around Rewal proudly spruces up, especially in the summer months. Restaurants line up next to restaurants, shops next to shops, offering an abundance of options for every appetite and shopping desire.

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On the Polish Baltic coast, the towns are as colorful as fairs

First and foremost, there’s the fresh fish caught daily and served here. From salmon to cod and pike perch to plaice, you can find everything in a quality that is hard to match. This sometimes leads to unusual experiences, such as at the “Bar Ika” in Niechorze. It looks like a snack bar, and the food is served on paper plates. Yet the unique taste of the excellent fish is worth it to many people, even if it means paying a higher price than at some more upscale-looking restaurants.

The promenades are also charmingly quirky in other ways, often resembling an outdoor amusement park. Pop-up arcades are everywhere, where you can play air hockey under tent roofs, for example. Among them are “attractions” that would probably only be considered such here, including a park with miniature lighthouses in Niechorze or a house (!) in Pobierowo that is upside down.

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The church ruins of Trzęsacz on the Baltic coast

The true sightseeing highlights are the wonderfully white beach and the cliffs. In the usually quite calm sea, you can still enjoy swimming even in autumn. Those who visit Trzęsacz will likely notice the stone church ruins perched almost directly over a cliff. In fact, only one wall of the building remains today, which is all the more remarkable when you learn that the church was built in the 14th century two kilometers from the coast. Over time, the sea has claimed more and more land here, and it continues to do so today.

In this context, it’s understandable why beech trees are found here on the coast instead of the usual pines. The deeper-rooted deciduous trees simply offer better erosion protection against further land loss, which is why they were deliberately planted.

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Stars and spray-on tattoos in Misdroy

If you prefer something a bit larger, you can head to Międzyzdroje (Misdroy). It’s a popular spa town among German seniors, and during my visit, it was definitely in Teutonic hands. Thanks to the “Döner Berlin” chain, with dozens of branches, most of which are located right next to each other at the pier, even city dwellers feel at home. From the city’s harbor, vacation boats depart several times a day to nearby Wollin and/or Usedom.

Everything in Misdroy is like in the other towns, just a bit louder and more opulent. The city even boasts the “Alley of Stars” as an attraction, where the stars of Polish cinema have left their handprints in cement.

Even more remarkable is the long pier of Misdroy, where only those who walk to its very end can enjoy an unobstructed view of the sea. On the meters before, shop after shop lines up, including one for spray-on tattoos. The city’s real trump card, however, is the surrounding nature of the Wollin National Park, which is especially famous for its wildlife. Right outside the town’s gates is Wzgórze Gosań, one of the most beautiful viewpoints along the coastline.

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Pure relaxation on the beach of Rewal

In Rewal itself, the starting point of our journey, the beautiful beach particularly stood out to me. You can also buy fresh smoked fish at low prices right by the sea. Otherwise, there are again the numerous charming peculiarities, such as a sightseeing train on wheels or a real narrow-gauge railway that runs several times a day between the towns around Rewal.

But it was precisely this apparent lack of attractions that ultimately made for a wonderfully relaxing vacation. Since there wasn’t really anything to see, the daily deliberations about where to go today were also eliminated. Instead: sleep in late, have a leisurely breakfast, then eventually head to the beach, where one afternoon the sky was almost the same color as the sea—a pastel, almost impressionistic beige that evoked a sense of infinity. Our vacation was unfortunately not infinite, but I rarely felt so well-rested within just one week.