🇵🇱 Cross-border drive · Poland → Belgium 🇧🇪
Driving from Łódź to Antwerpen
- Drive time
- 11h 32m
- Distance
- 1,160 km
- Same day?
- Long day
- under 12 h
- Fuel cost
- ≈ €175
- petrol · diesel ≈ €149
- Tolls
- ≈ €19
- per-km
- EV charging
- Plenty fast
- 19 of 90 ≥50 kW
On this page
Route map
Route options
Other paths OSRM found between the two cities — handy when traffic, tolls, or scenery matter more than raw speed.
Avoids motorways
+9h 19m- Distance:
- 1,219 km (+59 km)
- Duration:
- 20h 52m
Via: B 188 · 92 · 72 · 24
How else can you make this trip?
Driving is the focus of this guide; here's how cycling, coach, and (soon) train and plane stack up for the same pair.
11h 32m
1.160 km · €175 fuel
See details ↓
Not realistic
1.160 km is far beyond a typical multi-day cycle tour. Try a shorter pair like a day or weekend stage.
16h 30m
FlixBus-eu
See details ↓
16h 35m
PKP Intercity · PolRegio
See details ↓
Trip plan
How to think about the drive: one day, split, or overnight.
Overnight recommended
Too long for a single-driver day. Plan on 1 overnight stop(s) to do this trip right.
A natural overnight stop near the halfway point: Wolmirstedt (de).
- Distance:
- 1,160 km
- Duration:
- 11h 32m (free-flow, no traffic)
Where to stop
Places along the route that make natural breaks for coffee, lunch, or a night.
-
Strzałkowo 🇵🇱 pl
≈145 km≈ 12.1 km detour from the main route
-
Świebodzin 🇵🇱 pl
≈290 km≈ 14.3 km detour from the main route
-
Schulzendorf 🇩🇪 de
≈435 km≈ 4.6 km detour from the main route
-
Barleben 🇩🇪 de
≈580 km≈ 2.4 km detour from the main route
-
Garbsen 🇩🇪 de
≈725 km≈ 1.4 km detour from the main route
-
Beckum 🇩🇪 de
≈870 km≈ 4.5 km detour from the main route
-
Wachtendonk 🇩🇪 de
≈1,015 km≈ 4.9 km detour from the main route
Key moves
Things to know before you set off — borders, sides of the road, tolls.
Multi-country chain · PL → DE → NL → BE
You'll cross 4 countries on this drive — each with its own toll system, fuel pricing, and motorway rules. Skim the must-know section below before you set off, and have your registration plus insurance card in the door pocket for any roadside check.
Tolls on motorways in PL
Budget for motorway tolls — France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal charge per-km, Croatia and Greece by section. Contactless cards work almost everywhere; have one loaded.
Must-know before you go
The things a driver from another country wouldn't think to ask about — fines, stickers, payment cards, opening hours.
City access & emission zones
Brussels Low Emission Zone covers all 19 communes
Must knowBrussels LEZ runs 24/7 across the entire city; foreign plates must register online before arrival. Diesel pre-Euro 4 and petrol pre-Euro 1 are banned outright. The fine for unregistered entry is €350. Antwerp and Ghent have their own LEZs with different sticker requirements.
Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart need a green Umweltplakette
Must knowGermany's low-emission zones (Umweltzone) are simpler than the French system but stricter on entry. You need a colour-coded sticker physically on your windscreen before entering. The vast majority of zones today require a green sticker (Euro 4+ petrol, Euro 6+ diesel). Order via TÜV / DEKRA / certified workshops — about €6–13, ships in days. Driving without one costs €100 even if your car would qualify.
Tolls, vignettes & road payment
No motorway tolls, but Westerschelde tunnel charges
TipDutch motorways are free for cars, but a few specific crossings charge. The Westerscheldetunnel near Vlissingen is €5–7. Kil Tunnel (A29) and Liefkenshoektunnel (Antwerp side) are similarly priced. Pay contactless on entry — there's no booth queue.
What your car must carry
Triangle, first-aid kit, hi-vis vest — all three
Must knowGermany requires a warning triangle, a first-aid kit (compliant with DIN 13164, with a "use by" date — €10 at any pharmacy), and a reflective vest in every passenger car. Roadside checks do happen at borders. The first-aid kit is the one foreign drivers most commonly miss.
Driving rules & habits
Left lane is for overtaking only — return immediately
UsefulOn unrestricted Autobahn sections (where you'll see no speed-limit-end signs), faster cars expect to use the left lane unobstructed. Drift into it without checking the mirror and a 911 closing at 250 km/h becomes your problem. Indicate, overtake, return right — every time. Slowing in the left lane to "make space" is more dangerous than predictable speed.
Phone-mounted radar warnings are illegal
UsefulActive radar-detector apps (and the "police nearby" feature on Waze / Google Maps) are technically banned in Germany — fines hit €75. Most drivers leave them on without consequence, but if you're stopped for any reason, the officer can ask to see your phone. Switch the warning layer off when crossing into DE if you want to play it strict.
Plan your stops, not just your finish time
UsefulOSRM gives you free-flow drive time. Realistic add: 10% on motorway-heavy routes, 25% if you're crossing two cities. Eat at off-peak hours (11:30 lunch, 18:00 dinner) — service-area queues at noon kill 20 minutes. EU fatigue research is consistent: 15-minute break every 2 hours, full 45-minute break before 6 hours. The drive between hours 7 and 9 is where avoidable accidents cluster.
Bicycles have right-of-way at unmarked junctions
UsefulIn the Netherlands, cyclists are treated as full traffic and often given priority you'd expect from a pedestrian crossing back home. Always check the bike lane before turning. At a roundabout in town, cyclists get the inside line and you yield. The rule that bites is unmarked junctions in residential streets — yield to the bike.
Town names switch language across the border
TipBelgium signs towns in the local language: Mons becomes Bergen in Flanders, Liège becomes Luik, Brussels becomes Bruxelles/Brussel. SatNav usually handles both, but printed maps and exit signs can throw you. If you're looking for "Mons" on a Flemish-side motorway, you'll see "Bergen" on the gantry.
Fuel stations
Contactless cards work at virtually every motorway pump
TipMajor brand stations (Shell, Total, BP, Repsol, Cepsa, OMV, Eni, Esso) take Visa and Mastercard contactless without an issue. American Express and Diners are spotty south of the Alps. A €100 pre-authorisation hold is normal — it releases within 5 days. Carry €50 cash for the rare independent station.
Diesel and petrol typically 15–20% cheaper than DE/CZ
TipPolish fuel prices are among the lowest in the EU. If you're crossing from Germany or the Baltics, fuel after the border. Major brands (Orlen, BP, Shell) accept all major contactless cards; some independent stations are cash-only — the queue is the giveaway.
Money & connectivity
EU roaming covers calls, texts and data at no extra cost
TipYour home EU SIM works at home rates across every EU member, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The "fair use" cap on data only applies if you're abroad more than four months. For a 2-week road trip, just use your phone normally — but switch off "data roaming" if you're leaving the EU into UK / CH for any segment.
Emergency & breakdown
112 works everywhere in the EU and continental neighbours
TipSingle number for police, ambulance, fire — works from any phone, any network, any country. On motorways, the orange SOS pillars every 2km connect direct to the regional traffic control centre and pinpoint your location. Use them over your phone if you can — it speeds the response.
Rules, fees, and thresholds change. Always verify against the official source the day before you drive — this page is a checklist, not a legal reference.
Main roads
The highways this route spends the most kilometres on.
-
A 2 —471 km
-
A2 Autostrada Wolności343 km
-
A67 Europaweg73 km
-
A 10 —65 km
-
A 12 Autobahn der Freiheit59 km
-
E34 —57 km
-
A 40 —28 km
-
A 42 —17 km
-
S14; 91 —7 km
-
A 57 —5 km
-
A 3 —5 km
-
488 Łódzka3 km
Route character
How much of the drive is motorway vs. secondary vs. rural.
Motorway drive — fast, predictable, uneventful.
- Motorway
- 97%
- Secondary
- 1%
- Other / rural
- 2%
Drive difficulty
At-a-glance feel: how demanding is this drive for one driver?
Overall
Demanding
Tough drive — multiple complicating factors compound fatigue. Strongly recommend splitting across days.
- Long drive: 11h 32m behind the wheel at free-flow speeds.
- Cross-border: pl → be. Keep documents accessible and check border rules.
Elevation profile
Highs, lows, and the total climb / descent along the route.
- Lowest point
- 13 m
- Highest point
- 214 m
- Total ascent
- ↑ 318 m
- Total descent
- ↓ 519 m
Fuel & tolls
Rough cost expectation for a typical EU passenger car. Treat as an estimate — pump prices change weekly.
Petrol (RON 95)
≈ €175
87 L × €2.02 / L · 7.5 L/100 km
Diesel
≈ €149
69.6 L × €2.14 / L · 6 L/100 km
Electric (DC fast)
≈ €119
203 kWh × €0.59 / kWh · 17.5 kWh/100 km
Public DC fast charging — slower AC charging at home or hotels typically costs about half.
Motorway tolls & vignettes
≈ €19
- PL — €0.05/km on the motorway network (≈ 387 km in-country ≈ €19)
Prices last refreshed 2026-10-12.
Fuel and EV charging along the route
Stations within a few kilometres of the road, sampled at evenly-spaced waypoints.
EV charging
19 at 50 kW or above (fast / ultra-fast).
Fastest first
- Aral Hansestraße — Brunswick 300 kW
- Tesla Supercharger Bielefeld 250 kW
- Tesla Supercharger in Moers — Moers 120 kW
- Hauptstraße 1a — Groß Schwülper 75 kW
- PKN Orlen — Łódź 50 kW
- PKN Orlen — Łódź 50 kW
- Volkswagen Financial Services AG — Braunschweig 50 kW
- Lilientalplatz 5a — Braunschweig 50 kW
- Siegfriedstraße — Braunschweig 50 kW
- Siegfriedstraße 67 — Braunschweig 50 kW
- Flughafen Braunschweig — Braunschweig 50 kW
- Haus der WIssenschaft — Braunschweig 50 kW
Weather by month
Average daytime high / overnight low and typical monthly rainfall, over the past five years.
🇵🇱 Łódź
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
4°
-1°
|
5°
-1°
|
10°
1°
|
15°
5°
|
19°
8°
|
24°
13°
|
25°
15°
|
25°
15°
|
22°
13°
|
13°
6°
|
6°
1°
|
4°
-0°
|
| 57mm | 46mm | 39mm | 38mm | 42mm | 56mm | 85mm | 90mm | 49mm | 57mm | 48mm | 45mm |
hot mild cold
🇧🇪 Antwerpen
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
6°
2°
|
9°
3°
|
12°
5°
|
15°
7°
|
19°
10°
|
23°
14°
|
23°
15°
|
23°
15°
|
21°
13°
|
16°
10°
|
10°
6°
|
8°
4°
|
| 101mm | 60mm | 78mm | 69mm | 94mm | 61mm | 94mm | 60mm | 73mm | 101mm | 91mm | 64mm |
hot mild cold
Next 5 days at Antwerpen
Live forecast — refreshes every few hours.
-
Sun 25
⛅
10° / 10°
—
-
Mon 26
🌧️
14° / 8°
5mm
-
Tue 27
🌧️
18° / 10°
14.9mm
-
Wed 28
⛅
14° / 8°
—
-
Thu 29
☀️
14° / 7°
—
Forecast: MET Norway
Directions
Turn-by-turn summary of the main manoeuvres, generated by OSRM.
Show all 31 manoeuvres
- —
- Zgierska 6 km
- Łódzka (488) 3 km
- —
- (S14; 91) 7 km
- (14) 0.1 km
- Autostrada Wolności (A2) 343 km
- Autobahn der Freiheit (A 12) 59 km
- (A 10) 57 km
- (A 10) 8 km
- (A 2) 187 km
- — 2 km
- — 0.5 km
- (A 2) 284 km
- (A 3) 5 km
- — 0.6 km
- (A 42) 17 km
- (A 42) 1 km
- (A 57) 5 km
- — 0.6 km
- (A 40) 28 km
- (A67) 6 km
- (A67) 0.5 km
- (A67) 0.9 km
- Europaweg (A67) 18 km
- (A67) 31 km
- (A67) 19 km
- (E34) 57 km
- — 0.4 km
- (R1) 0.7 km
- Braderijstraat
By coach from Łódź to Antwerpen
Indicative duration of the fastest direct long-distance coach found in the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus EU schedules.
- Travel time
- 16h 30m
- Direct
- Operator
- FlixBus-eu
- Departures / day
- ~1
- Approximate based on the published schedule.
Show coach corridor on map
Schedules sourced from the FlixBus and BlaBlaCar Bus GTFS feeds via transport.data.gouv.fr. Times are indicative; verify on the operator's site before booking.
Booking link coming soon.
By train from Łódź to Antwerpen
Fastest cross-border rail itinerary from the public Transitous planner. Times reflect a typical Monday-morning departure on the next available service-day.
- Fastest journey
- 16h 35m
- 4 changes
- Lead operator
- PKP Intercity
- + 2 more
- Alternatives
- 4
- Itineraries returned by the planner.
Trains on the fastest itinerary
- IC 9102 Jagna
- 95
All operators across alternatives
- PKP Intercity
- PolRegio
- DB Fernverkehr AG
Show route on map
Routing via the public Transitous OTP planner (community-run MOTIS instance). Cached 24 hours; verify on the operator's site before booking.
How this page is built
Compiled by COD Solutions Oy from open European data — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for the route geometry, Open-Meteo for monthly climate normals, OpenTopoData SRTM 30m for elevation, EU Weekly Oil Bulletin for cross-border fuel-price bands, and Open Charge Map for EV charging stations. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.