Is Masuria a good destination for a trip with children?

Yes. Masuria is one of the best places in Poland for a holiday with children: there is water everywhere, the sights are close together and a lot happens outdoors. It works best with children who enjoy being outside, from pre-school age upwards. Just keep water safety, ticks and mosquitoes in mind, and remember that in August the most popular places are crowded.

In this article we answer the questions parents ask us most often: what to do with children in Masuria, where to swim, what to do on a rainy day, how a house compares with a hotel for a family, and what to watch for by the water.

1. 01Water within reach: swimming, a rowing boat, a kayak, a jetty, fishing from the shore.
2. 02Short distances: most sights are 20-60 minutes away by car.
3. 03Nature instead of screens: birds, animals, forest, campfires.
4. 04Something for every kind of weather: castles, museums, a water park in Mikołajki.
5. 05A calm pace: there is nothing you have to tick off, and a day by the lake is an attraction too.

The Prof. Benedykt Dybowski Wildlife Park in Kadzidłowo, near Ruciane-Nida, covers more than 100 hectares. Visits are guided, and children can see red deer, fallow deer, European bison, elk and wolves, among others.

In Mikołajki there is the year-round Alpine Coaster with a 520-metre descent, where everyone controls their own speed with a brake, and children up to 8 get 50% off. There is also the Tropikana water park, a rope park and, from July to September, an outdoor pool complex with heated water and a water playground.

A short Żegluga Mazurska boat trip from Mikołajki lasts about an hour and a half and is the highlight of the holiday for many children. In the 2026 season the Wodne Trio cruise cost PLN 55 for a standard ticket and PLN 40 for a reduced one, which is for children and young people aged 5 to 18.

On the Krutynia a two-person kayak is a good idea for older children with a parent, while younger ones are better off in a punt: a wooden boat pushed along with a pole by a boatman, so nobody has to paddle. The Regional Museum in Piecki also runs workshops, including clay modelling.

With young children, lifeguarded bathing areas are the best choice. In season there are lifeguards on the town beach on Lake Czos in Mrągowo, with a large playground at the Ekomarina next to it, on the beach on Lake Niegocin in Giżycko, at the bathing area on Lake Ołów in Ryn and on the beach on Lake Mamry in Węgorzewo. We describe more places in Masurian lakes and beaches.

The beach at a holiday house is usually not a lifeguarded bathing area. It is a great place for play and a morning swim, but a child by the water and on the jetty must always be watched by an adult.

1. 01the Tropikana water park in Mikołajki
2. 02Ryn Castle, with guided tours
3. 03the Teutonic castle and museum in Kętrzyn
4. 04Boyen Fortress in Giżycko
5. 05the Regional Museum in Piecki and its collection of clay figurines
6. 06a day at home: games, a film on the Smart TV, cooking together

With children a house has some advantages that are hard to overstate. The children sleep in their own bedrooms while the adults stay in the living room or on the terrace in the evening. You serve meals when it suits the children, not the restaurant. There is a garden to run around in, and wet towels and sand bother nobody. There is a detailed comparison in a lake house or a hotel in Masuria.

1. 01children by the water and on the jetty always with an adult
2. 02a buoyancy aid in a kayak, a rowing boat and on a paddleboard
3. 03ticks and mosquitoes: repellent, long sleeves in the evening, checking skin after a day in the forest or on a meadow
4. 04the sun by the water is stronger than it feels
5. 05in August and on long weekends expect crowds in Mikołajki and Giżycko; it is worth arriving early
6. 06at a holiday house, ask in advance about a cot and a high chair if you need them

Each of our houses has 130 m², four bedrooms and three bathrooms, so a family with children, or two families together, have plenty of room. By the houses there is a garden, a shared fire pit and a beach with a jetty about 20 metres away. Lake Krzywe is a quiet zone, so there are no motorboats on it.

The beach by the houses is not a lifeguarded bathing area. The nearest beach with a lifeguard is on Lake Czos in Mrągowo, 9 km from the houses. Krutyń is about 20 minutes away, Mikołajki about 30 minutes and Kadzidłowo about 40 minutes.

The best family holidays are the ones where the children remember the campfire and the deer, and the parents remember finally sitting on the terrace in the evening.