USTKA FOR CHILDREN

Ustka loves children, and children love Ustka. This is the reason for eager arrival of whole families here. Healthy coastal air, beautiful views, a “sandbox” stretching to the horizon – such advantages are impossible to resist. But that’s not all. The time has long since passed when the scream of seagulls and the sight of waves crashing on the shore were enough to make us happy. Today we demand more: comfortable accommodation, child-friendly restaurant, safe playgrounds, themed tours, well-prepared trails and opportunities to spend time on rainy days. Ustka has all that in great quantities. There’s really much to do here.
The main attraction is, of course, the Baltic Sea. Ustka has two large bathing areas on both sides of the port. The eastern one is more “urban”, while the western, bordering the forest – wilder and calmer. Along the first there stretches the Promenade, i.e. a boardwalk of temptations, with plenty of attractions for children. It leads to the port where fishing boats and tourist ships are moored. A bit further, an old fishing village begins, with checkered houses that resemble toys. You can feel as if you were in a themed seaside amusement park.

Who wouldn’t want to feel like Jack Sparrow on the Black Pearl for a while? We invite you to the Dragon ship, stylized as a 17th-century galleon. The cruises start on the eastern side of the port, opposite the Harbor Master’s Office. The sea adventure lasts about 45 minutes, and animators in pirate costumes ensure a good time. The Dragon can take up to two hundred people on board. Sunset cruises are the most memorable.
The Dragon prowls the sea during school holidays. In April-June and September-October it is replaced by the smaller ship Unicus, mooring in the same place.

Lovers of excitement and adrenaline can enjoy a cruise on an ultra-fast RIB speedboat. It is a practically unsinkable unit, reaching speeds of 80-100 km/h. Contrary to appearances, such a trip is completely safe – it is available to children from 3 years of age. We are merely threatened by getting wet thanks a greater wave, but it can be considered an advantage on a hot day. The cruise takes approximately 15 minutes.

The best canoeing destination is the Słupia River. The route from Słupsk to Ustka is 35 km long, although you can also choose among shorter sections. People familiar with kayaks, sailing with older children, can also have a crack at sea kayaking (in good weather).

Water games in Ustka do not stop at sea: you can also enjoy them in indoor facilities where it is always warm. A visit to the Grand Lubicz Aquapark (ul. Wczasowa 4), a two-level swimming pool complex with a total area of 1143 m2, will provide a magnificent experience. On the ground floor we will find a four-lane sports pool, paddling pool for children with various attractions, recreational pool with a slide, artificial river and underwater water-air loungers. On the first floor, there is a recreational brine pool connected with an external reservoir.
There are pools at other facilities as well. At the Lubicz hotel (Grunwaldzka 14 Street), you can use the 135 cm deep reservoir, guarded by lifeguards at certain hours. At Jantar Hotel (Wczasowa 14 Street) there is a 10.5 x 6.5 x 1.3 m swimming pool available daily. There is also a jacuzzi and a paddling pool for children). An even larger swimming pool and shallow paddling pool have also been prepared at the Royal Baltic Hotel (Wczasowa 26 Street).

Children enjoy active exploration. Everyone will remember a tour of the city accompanied by Captain Haase wearing a historic costume. The captain appears at the Church of the Most Holy Savior every Tuesday at 10.00 am, and from there he sets off on a tour, while vividly describing the city.
On Wednesdays, at 10.00 am, a walk along the “Trail of Ustka Legends” begins on the same premises. During the journey, children will learn about the stories and legends connected with the city.
But that’s not all. In Ustka, you can take part in. . . treasure hunts (so-called geocaching). The exciting expedition should start with registering in one of the geocaching websites, e.g. opencaching.pl. The city has also prepared two tourist games: “The Ustka Time Machine” and “Tales of the Little Mermaid”. To start, you need to visit the Tourist Information Center and take special materials. (Downloadable playing cards: https://visit.ustka.pl/aktywnie/gry-i-wycieczki/#gry-turystyczne)

A convenient way to explore the city in high season is a guided choo-choo trip (Wed and Sun at 4.00 p.m., dates subject to change). The trip starts at the bus terminal at Marynarki Polskiej Street and lasts an hour (tickets at TIC).
The second choo-choo departs from the port (starting hourly from 11.00). The itinerary can be adapted to the group’s wishes.

Landscaped areas around Ustka call for being roamed on our own two feet. The most obvious are walks along the beach, combined with inhaling iodine and feet massage (and catching amber, of course). On the western side, you can walk to the Third Pier and return through the forests, inhaling clean air packed with health aerosol. It is worth extending the route a bit with a visit to the legendary Ghost Pond. Children will enjoy the new graduation tower, while adults will find appealing the fact that it is extremely favorable for the respiratory system.
You must take the children to the Promenade, especially that it has recently been extended to the east. It’s the ideal place for an evening stroll before a peaceful sleep.
Tourist routes lead to the most interesting places (more are in preparation). They are educational: there are natural plaques placed next to them which discuss the fauna and flora of Ustka and the surrounding area.

It is worth combining relaxation by the sea with cycle tourism. There are both long-distance and local routes leading through Ustka. The former includes the coastal Hanseatic Trail (around the Baltic Sea), the latter – the USB-S Trail, to Słupsk, Bytów and Somin in Kashubia. It is worth taking older children to the so-called Trail of Rolled Tracks, leading along the former railway embankments towards Rowy (23 km). There are special places of recreation prepared along the route.

Near the sea, in a pine forest hides the Rope Park on the Dune. It is great entertainment for lovers of adrenaline and challenges. There are four routes of varying difficulty, from the easiest for small children, through two medium ones, to high. A total of sixty obstacles have been prepared.

Blücher Bunkers (Bohaterów Westerplatte Street)
Militaria fascinate children of all ages. Ustka bunkers from before the Second World War are situated on the western side of the port. There are available for guided tours, you can also shoot here and play with a metal detector.

Lighthouses have been an integral part of the coastal landscape for centuries. The lighthouse in Ustka guards the entrance to the port, serving as a target for arriving ships (its light is visible from a distance of over 33 km). During the tour, you should be sure to ask about the ghost hiding in the recesses of the lighthouse. . .

Recently, many parents have started baking bread at home. Those wanting to show their children how it was done in the past can visit the Museum of Bread located in the attic of the bakery. There are various baking machines, cake mixers and old waffle makers.

Until you visit the Minerals Museum, you will find it difficult to believe that such treasures can be found in our land and rocks. The pride of the collection is the largest mountain crystal in Poland. In addition to colorful minerals, children can admire a collection of shells from around the world and a dinosaur skeleton.

It’s the best place to show your children what Ustka looked like in the past and what life there was like. The museum houses a collection of old everyday objects and photographs. The museum is located in a “checkered” building from the 18th century.

The museum presents an extensive collection of various amber gems. Visitors can see specimens caught from the sea, found in the fields, sea rocks with barnacles, characteristic specimens called drops or the so-called “horseman’s picks”. The largest nugget on display in the facility weighs as much as 1,776 grams.

The collections are exhibited in nine thematic rooms. Among them one may find a room devoted to inclusions (both animal and plant), a cinema room (where a 20-minute film is shown), an amber forest, a room with utility exhibits or one where you can see the biggest and most interesting specimens. The youngest tourists will most likely enjoy the workshop, where they can try their hand at amber processing (children can grind and polish the amber nuggets). The utility exhibits gathered here are even more interesting, e.g. various pendants, ornaments, rosaries, paintings or even pipes.

At the Museum of Wax Figures, you can take a photo with one of over fifty figures of famous people and fictional characters (such as Harry Potter or Shrek). Here you can also see Jack Sparrow’s cabin turned on its head and a distorting mirrors chamber, where you can admire your reflection that is a bit off from reality. . . You don’t have to plunge into the water to see the animals that inhabit it. You can simply visit the oceanarium, where fish of the seas, rivers and lakes swim in illuminated aquariums. There are several dozens of them here, including the respected blacktip shark.

A great idea for a thematic walk along Ustka is a game of searching for the Ustka monuments. There are plenty of them here, and one is more interesting than the other. Hunting will be facilitated by the below list:

• The Mermaid – entrance to the eastern breakwater
• The Dying Warrior – Seaside Park, close to the intersection of Chopin and Kopernika streets
• Monument of Frédéric Chopin – Seaside Park, close to the promenade, at the height of Jana z Kolna Street
• Monument to the People of the Sea – port, close to the lighthouse
• Irena Kwiatkowska’s bench – Seaside Promenade (at the height of Leśna Street)
• Monument of the Fisherman Mistral – Kaszubska 9 Street
• Mockup of the Old City of Ustka – Park of John Paul the Second (backstreet called Captain’s Alley)

You can also keep your children entertained without leaving the hotel. Some facilities have prepared various attractions for the youngest guests. At the Grand Lubicz hotel, in the play area children can have fun with toys and coloring books and spend time under the care of qualified babysitters. We have also kept in mind the little ones in buildings such as the Jantar Hotel or the Lubicz Hotel: there are special play areas fit with sets of toys, you can also rent games and books and hire a professional babysitter.

Among the multitude of attractions in Ustka, let’s not forget about “ordinary” playgrounds. There are several in the city, including on Plac Wolności (Freedom Square) and among the trees at the eastern end of the “old” part of the Promenade.

Dolina Charlotty (Strzelinko 14) has countless attractions, so many that you could spend your entire vacation there. In addition to various bed places (for example. . . in trees), there are sports facilities, a rope park, a bison farm, a marina and a small zoo. There are concerts in the amphitheater.

A visit to Swołowo Village takes you to a time of over a hundred years ago. To this day, its landscape is formed by checkered timber huts and traditional four-sided farms. Some of them are open to visitors. In Swołowo, children can easily imagine what Pomeranian villages looked like in the past.

In the past, this part of the coast was inhabited by the Slovakians, i.e. the coastal faction of Kashubians. They survived the longest in the village of Kluki – they still lived here half a century ago. Today, Kluki has been transformed into an open-air museum, where you can wander around successive farmyards and farms, feeling as if completing next levels of a computer game – only live. Interestingly, the village is alive to this day: there are workshops (including baking and basketry) and demonstrations of digging of peat, which was used by the Slovakians as fuel.

In the neighborhood of Ustka there stretches the most extraordinary part of the Polish coast: the land of enormous sand mountains, covered by the Słowiński National Park. The dunes are mobile, but they can be climbed easily (along the trails) – they move slowly enough that they couldn’t collapse on anybody. The trails also lead to the lighthouse in Czołpino and the observation platform in the former military areas.