666 Bus to Hel Revives Polish Tourist Route

Berlin One of Poland’s unique tourist attractions returns: The 666 bus to Hel resumes service after a hiatus.

The number 666 in Christian tradition symbolizes the devil, but this bus doesn’t lead to hell—it heads to Hel, a small resort town on Poland’s Baltic coast. For years, tourists enjoyed the irony of traveling by bus to a beach destination named similarly to “hell.”

However, due to concerns from Poland’s conservative Catholic population about glorifying evil, the route number was changed to 669 in 2020.

This summer, FlixBus has reintroduced Route 666, running from Kraków to Hel with stops in Warsaw and other coastal towns. The 13-hour journey will operate during the peak tourism season.

At a press event, FlixBus’s Eastern Europe managing director Michał Leman confirmed the deliberate choice of route number 666, emphasizing its clear destination for passengers.

Leman dismissed the controversy, stating that vacations should be fun and joking about the route. He acknowledged the demand for more direct connections to the coast due to heavy summer traffic.

Despite the name’s lack of connection to the biblical underworld, which is traced back to old Germanic words related to the local landscape, the 666 bus has gained recognition due to its controversial history.

Leman expects the return of Route 666 to attract attention, though not as much as before. He believes that if it brings joy and fun to passengers, it’s worth it.