Eight Rowy-registered fishing cutters moor at the mouth of the Łupawa. On good days the crews sell the catch straight off the deck - few Polish ports still do this.
The port in Rowy is a small, still-working fishing harbour at the mouth of the Łupawa river: eight fishing cutters carrying the ROW port letters, a harbour master's office and a promenade on the western breakwater. When the weather is kind, the fishermen sell their fresh catch straight off the deck, and in season sightseeing trips set out from here aboard the fishing cutter DAR-36. It is about a 10-minute walk from our places in Rowy, and entry is free all year round.
Can you buy fresh fish at the port in Rowy?
Yes, when the weather allows, the fishermen sell their catch straight off the deck, as soon as the cutters come back in. There are no fixed hours and no fixed prices: it all depends on whether the boats went out that day and what they brought back. Flounder and mackerel are the usual catch, and sometimes eel. Very few ports in Poland still trade this way, so it is worth walking down to the water in the morning and simply asking.
Boat trips from the port in Rowy
In season, sightseeing trips set out from the port aboard the fishing cutter DAR-36. Everything hangs on the weather, though: when the wind goes above force 5 on the Beaufort scale the cutters do not come into the port and the trips do not run. It is best to confirm the times down at the port itself, because they change from day to day.
The promenade on the western breakwater
Since 2016 a walking promenade has run along the western breakwater, and it is worth going all the way to the end. From the concrete head at the end you can see the open Baltic, the beach and the port entrance all at once. It is a short walk, just right for the evening, and the best place to photograph the cutters coming in with the catch.
The medieval cog raised in 2003
In 2003, during work in the port, a wooden cog was raised from the bottom - a medieval ship built from oaks felled around 1270. It is one of the most important finds in Polish underwater archaeology. It suggests that the site at the mouth of the Łupawa was probably already in use as a harbour in the 13th century.
What to expect: a working port, not a marina
Eight cutters, a few small boats and the harbour master's office - that is the whole port. It is closer to the everyday work of fishermen than to a tourist marina, and that is exactly where its charm lies. For children the biggest draw is often the moment the boats come in: the manoeuvre between the breakwaters, the gulls over the deck and the crates being unloaded. In season there are also stalls by the port selling freshly smoked fish.
How to get to the port and when to come
From our places in Rowy it is about a 10-minute walk to the port, following the Łupawa. Entry is free at any time of year, and there are no tickets. It is at its best in the morning, when the cutters come in with the catch, and again just before sunset, when the port empties out and you can walk the whole breakwater in peace.
