In Poland, summer is the time for Hel. Now, the bus service with the notorious number, running from Krakow to the beach destination, has restarted. In 2023, the number was changed to 669 after protests from religious groups who linked it to satanism<\/p>\n
FlixBus has resurrected the controversial Bus 666 after it was rebranded several years ago following pressure from religious groups.<\/p>\n
The new 13-hour FlixBus service will connect Krak\u00f3w to Hel, travelling through several key Polish towns and cities, including the capital, Warsaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number 666 was deliberately chosen as a marketing communication element, intended to increase the visibility of the connection on the popular holiday route to Hel,\u201d FlixBus spokesperson Aleksander Kalenik told the Polish news service TVN24, BBC reported.<\/p>\n
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A Polish religious group had accused the bus company of \u201cspreading satanism\u201d.<\/p>\n
Route 666 to Hel: Why it\u2019s controversial<\/p>\n
The Route 666\u2019s history dates back many years. The service was operated by PKS Gdynia, which linked D\u0119bki with Hel for a long time. The route number emerged popular for two reasons: The town\u2019s name is phonetically similar to the English word \u201chell\u201d, and 666 is widely associated with the biblical \u201cnumber of the beast\u201d.<\/p>\n
The bus travelled to Hel for years; however, in 2023, the number was changed to 669 after protests from some religious groups. Petitions were reportedly launched over the issue, and the story was also picked up by the media.<\/p>\n
But now, in the 2026 summer season, the number 666 is returning. Firm representatives kept no secret that the choice of number was deliberate.<\/p>\n
Micha\u0142 Leman, managing director of FlixBus in Eastern Europe, said at a press conference, \u201cIt\u2019s better when a route explains by itself where it\u2019s going. In this case, there\u2019s really nothing more to say. Everyone will understand,\u201d as reported by EuroNews.<\/p>\n
FlixBus to Hel<\/p>\n
The new route is to run regularly during the summer season. Departure from Krak\u00f3w is set for 6:00 in the morning, arrival in Warsaw around 10:30 and in Hel before 20:00. The entire journey may take around thirteen hours.<\/p>\n
According to the operator, the carefully chosen timetable is aimed at avoiding the worst traffic jams on the approaches to the Hel Peninsula. This becomes particularly significant during the holiday season, when transport links to the Baltic coast, including trains and roads, operate at full capacity.<\/p>\n
According to the company, demand for direct services connecting Poland\u2019s largest cities with the Hel Peninsula has remained high over the past several seasons.<\/p>\n
About Hel, the Baltic town<\/p>\n
The Route 666 will take travellers to the town of Hel (spelt with one \u2018l\u2019), located at the tip of the Hel Peninsula, and not \u201chell.\u201d The 35-kilometre sandy spit is one of the most visited tourist attractions on Poland\u2019s Baltic coast.<\/p>\n
The name has a different origin. It is believed to stem from Old Germanic languages, where hel referred to a \u201cdune\u201d or coastal hill. Medieval Danish maps, meanwhile, labelled the peninsula Heel (\u201cheel\u201d), likely in reference to its distinctive shape.<\/p>\n
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With inputs from agencies<\/p>\n
First Published:
\nJune 02, 2026, 13:28 IST<\/p>\n
Home<\/a>Explainers<\/a>Poland\u2019s infamous \u2018666 bus to Hel\u2019 is back. Why is it so controversial?End of Article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Poland, summer is the time for Hel. Now, the bus service with the notorious number, running from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[7621,7382,7620,7384,7531,9,7622,7619],"class_list":["post-10060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-poland","tag-666-bus-to-hel","tag-flixbus","tag-flixbus-666-route-poland","tag-hel","tag-highway-to-hel","tag-poland","tag-poland-infamous-666","tag-route-666-supernatural"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/poland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}