Section length: 15 km
The Motława is a Żuławy river. It is best to start your trip in Wróblewo or Grabiny Zameczek (+3 km of additional trip), and end it in Gdańsk. You can easily cover this distance in one day. The route is easy and, due to the weak current, can be followed in both directions while admiring the monuments of the old city of Gdańsk. In the summer season, the river may become overgrown in places (duckweed).
You launch your kayak at the marina in Wróblewo. Next to it is an interesting timber-framed church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the second half of the 16th century. You continue north amidst aquatic vegetation. The river is embanked. On the one hand, this shields you from the wind, but on the other, it restricts your view. You pass buildings scattered along the river. The river reaches Lędowo with two bridges and then flows to the neighbouring villages of Mokry Dwór (left bank) and Wiślina (right bank) where there are also two bridges. The route moves away from the buildings and continues straight north. You pass a paltrak windmill on the left, which is so characteristic for the old Żuławy region. The route goes under a bridge and right after it, the Grand Canal, closed by the pumping station building, branches off to the right. After passing the pumping station, the Motława turns west and is much wider. You pass the village of Krępiec where you can hear the sound of traffic on the S7 expressway on the other side. Then, the route leads to the “crossing” of the mouth of the Czarna Łacha Canal and the Radunia River. You go under a cable-stayed bridge (S7). Downstream of the railway bridge, the buildings of the Olszynka district of Gdańsk appear. You pass under a footbridge and a bridge to reach the Kamienna Grodza lock. On the left, there is the Opływ Motławy route. You enter a regulated riverbed. The riverside features standard and modern residential buildings. You go under the bridge. At this point there are two routes that lead around Granary Island – the Nowa Motława straight ahead and the Stara Motława on the left. The two routes rejoin at the Crane in the heart of the Old Town. A wonderful view of the Długie Pobrzeże promenade with its cruise ship harbour opens up before you. From this point onwards, due to heavy vessel traffic, keep to the right-hand side of the fairway. You go past another island, Ołowianka, with the characteristic building of the philharmonic hall and the permanently moored ship Sołdek. Next, you paddle under the drawbridge and leave the historic centre of Gdańsk. Now you go along the canalised Motława, avoiding the former shipyard areas. Around the bend, you can see the Polski Hak peninsula (named after the Polish raftsmen who floated Polish grain), behind which the Motława flows into the Martwa Wisła river. The trip ends on the left bank in the marina created in a former shipyard dock.