Ryanair’s Modlin flights sit 40 km from central Warsaw
ModlinBus built its name shuttling passengers between Warsaw Modlin Airport (WMI) and the city center around the Palace of Culture, not between WMI and Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW). If you land at Chopin and realize your Ryanair ticket actually departs from Modlin, you almost always have to route through downtown Warsaw first, then switch to a Modlin-dedicated service or regional train.
Historically, ModlinBus ran frequent coaches from central Warsaw to Modlin Airport, with stops near key metro lines and advertised run times of about 40–60 minutes, depending on traffic on DK7. There is no standard ModlinBus stop at WAW Terminal A, and schedules have changed enough times over the years that you should check the exact timetable and stop location on the day you travel rather than assuming a direct airport-to-airport option exists.
How to link WAW and WMI using ModlinBus-style routes
The typical WAW–WMI transfer uses two legs: first the SKM train or bus 175/188 from Chopin Airport to Warszawa Centralna or Śródmieście (about 20–25 minutes by train), then a Modlin-focused service from the city to WMI. When ModlinBus operates, tickets are usually sold online with dynamic pricing, with cheaper seats if you book days in advance and higher prices if you buy close to departure.
- Step 1: From Terminal A arrivals at WAW, follow signs to the train station in the underground level; buy an SKM ticket to “Warszawa Centralna” or “Warszawa Śródmieście” (around 4–5 PLN, 20–25 minutes).
- Step 2: At Centralna, walk to the Modlin coach stop or regional rail platforms as shown on your ModlinBus or Koleje Mazowieckie ticket; plan at least 15 minutes to find the stop.
- Step 3: Board the bus or train to Modlin; travel time is usually 40–60 minutes, so budget 1.5–2 hours total city-to-WMI.
- Step 4: At Modlin, the coach or shuttle drops you outside the small terminal; walk a few minutes to security.
What regulars do, and what to watch out for
Frequent flyers on WMI routes often skip any airport-to-airport coach and instead stick to rail plus a Modlin-branded shuttle from Modlin railway station, which connects to Koleje Mazowieckie trains from Warszawa Centralna in about 40 minutes. Reddit threads flag past ModlinBus schedule changes and cancellations, so build at least a 3–4 hour buffer between a Chopin arrival and a Modlin departure, and always confirm the exact departure point in Warsaw before you buy a ticket.
One practical tip: if your WAW flight is delayed and your Modlin connection looks tight, price out an Uber/Bolt directly from WAW to WMI (roughly 40 km, about 40–60 minutes by car) and compare that to the combined cost and risk of the train plus ModlinBus route; sometimes the ride-share wins on both stress and total zloty.