Tours and Excursions

Day 1:

ARRIVAL, WARSAW

On your arrival day we arrange for limousine transfer to your centrally-located deluxe hotel. Should it be more convenient for you to arrive earlier, we will be happy to tailor the programme especially for you.Evening: In the evening you meet your tour leader, driver and a representative of our office. It will be an occasion to savour a hearty and delicious welcome dinner.

Day 2:

WARSAW

Morning: A full-day tour of the city. Our sightseeing will include the very best of Warsaw: the cozy Old Town painstakingly rebuilt from scratch after the WW2, the area of the historic Jewish Ghetto, the busy downtown, and the elegant Royal Route with the Palace on the Water in the Lazienki Gardens.

Afternoon: You are invited to a complimentary snack in the famous Blikle Café. The next stops are the observation deck of the huge socialist Palace of Culture, and optionally one of the newest historical museums in Poland - the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. Alternatively free time in the Old Town.

Evening: For the evening we have scheduled a delicious dinner in a stylish restaurant which serves traditional Polish cuisine. We will conclude the day with a private Chopin piano concert in the original interiors of the 18th-century Myslewicki Palace in the Royal Lazienki Gardens.

Day 3:

THE DAY OF TEUTONIC KNIGHTS

Morning: Shortly after the early breakfast we will board our bus to travel north towards the Baltic Sea. We will cross Warmia (Ermland) region and stop for a short visit to an open-air ethnographic museum in Olsztynek to see genuine local folk architecture.Lunch at the premises.

Afternoon: We will make a very short stop in the Ilawa Lake District to admire a miracle of the 19th-century German engineering: the Ostroda-Elblag Canal, a system of canals combined with narrow-gauge railway. Afterwards, we will have a sightseeing tour of the Malbork (Marienburg) castle: one of the biggest castles in Europe, in 1309-1459 a seat of the mighty Teutonic Order.

Evening: We will continue to Gdansk-Lezno where we will check into an 18th-century mansion converted into a hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4:

BEAUTIFUL TRICITY

We will spend the whole day exploring Tricity.

Morning: We start with Oliwa - a district of Gdansk where we will visit the beautiful Cathedral and enjoy an organ concert. Then we continue to Sopot, the most popular Polish summer holiday resort. We can enjoy a walk down the Monte Cassino Boulevard to the funfair pier and have a coffee break.

Afternoon: On the way to the marvelous Old Town of Gdansk we stop at the famous Gdansk (formerly Lenin) Shipyards where the Solidarity movement led by Lech Walesa came into being in 1980. In the past, Gdansk was the richest Polish city; at present, it is a favorite tourist destination in Poland for its exciting maritime atmosphere and specific Hanseatic-style architecture. After an introductory tour of the city and a presentation about amber, there will be free time to enjoy the Old Town.

Evening: Tasty dinner in one of the best-known Gdansk restaurants, followed by return to the Palace in Lezno.

Day 5:

COPERNICUS & COTTON MILLS

Morning: Following breakfast, we will head south towards Torun. On our way we will pay a short visit to the impressive Teutonic castles in Chelmno or Grudziadz (exterior).

Afternoon: Lunch break and a tour of the Torun Old Town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). It is a delightful historical city with a preserved Gothic structure, magnificent town hall, awe-inspiring fortification walls and the Polish "leaning tower of Pisa". We will taste local gingerbread and optionally visit the house of Nicolaus Copernicus where the famous astronomer was born. Alternatively free time.

Evening: Arrival in Lodz, the second largest city in Poland (750,000 inhabitants) – the enigmatic post-industrial city associated with Art Nouveau and the Polish film school (Wajda, Polanski, Kieslowski, Zanussi etc.). A short evening coach tour. Dinner at the nostalgic Inheritors' Club. Overnight stay in Lodz.

Day 6:

BLACK MADONNA & JURASSIC CASTLES

Morning: Having eaten breakfast, we will go further south to Czestochowa. Next to Rome, Fatima in Portugal and Lourdes in France, Jasna Gora Monastery towering over the city of Czestochowa is one of the most vivid and important pilgrimage sites of the entire Christendom. We will see not only the famous Black Madonna but also the whole monastery premises. The tour will be guided be a resident Pauline monk. Lunch time.

Afternoon: A romantic trail of Jurassic Castles starts in the vicinity of Czestochowa. Though in ruin, the castles are very scenic - we will climb up to one of the most beautiful of them - Olsztyn Castle which we will try to conquer. Later on we will go to Tychy: a city famous for its brewery in which the delicious Tyskie beer is produced. During the tour we will learn the secrets of brewing great beer, and adults will have an opportunity to
taste the beer right on the spot.

Evening: Arrival in Krakow, dinner and overnight stay in the beautiful Old Town.

Day 7:

KRAKOW - ROYAL CAPITAL

Morning: Krakow city tour: we will admire the medieval town, the largest square in Europe - the Main Town Square, the premises of the university (founded in 1364), the fascinating churches and the most interesting streets in Krakow.

Midday: At midday sharp, the world's biggest wooden altar opens its wings in the Church of the Virgin Mary. We will not miss this magical moment.

Afternoon: Free time.
Evening: In the evening we will treat you to a sumptuous dinner in the legendary Hawelka restaurant. A horse-driven cart ride around Krakow will enhance all the experiences of the passing day.

Day 8:

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JOHN PAUL II & SALT MINES

Morning: We will have a comfortable walking tour of the legendary Wawel Castle, covering the Royal Apartments and the Cathedral, the Royal Tombs and the Belfry.

Afternoon: A half-day trip to the environs of Krakow. First we will see Kalwaria Zebrzydowska with the Baroque Pilgrimage Church listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site; a short lunch break will follow. Next we will see Wadowice which is located nearby: we will have a glance at the home of John Paul II and the football pitch where he would play.

Evening: Wieliczka Salt Mines. It is a great experience to take part in an evening tour of the mediaeval galleries and halls hewn in rock and salt deposits. We have arranged for dinner 100 meters under the ground in the salt mine restaurant. Afterwards we will return to the Old Town of Krakow for overnight stay.

Day 9:

POLISH MOUNTAINS

Morning: Shortly after breakfast, we will go south towards the towering Tatra Mountains and arrive in Zakopane, the principal Polish mountain resort located at the foot of this majestic Carpathian mountain range (above 2000 meters above sea level).

Afternoon: In Zakopane, we will admire the local wooden architecture and make a cable car trip to one of the most beautiful mountain peaks in the Tatras, Mt Kasprowy, to enjoy the dramatic scenery. During the day you will also have enough time to walk down Krupowki Street and buy some nice souvenirs.

Evening: We will see a cheerful highlander show with live music and dance. You will have an opportunity to see the customs still alive in this region and get a taste of the local cuisine. Overnight stay in Zakopane.

Day 10:

AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

Morning: Travel towards a totally different, adverse experience. Oswiecim, a small Silesian town, is notorious worldwide as Auschwitz. At the border of the town there are three gruesome areas of the former Nazi death camps which now make up an impressive Holocaust Memorial. We will visit Auschwitz I as well as Birkenau, the second and less
frequently visited extermination camp. Lunch

Afternoon: We will continue west to Lower Silesia region and the marvelous mediaeval city of Wroclaw. Accommodation at a centrally located hotel.

Evening: Free time.

Day 11:

LOVELY SILESIA (WROCLAW & THE CHURCH OF PEACE)

Morning: Judging from experience of the last three seasons, we believe Wroclaw (Breslau) is a very pleasant surprise for everyone visiting Poland. Shortly after breakfast we will take a short walk through the Old Town with a local tour guide. Later we will admire the beauty of Wroclaw from the board of a river boat.

Afternoon: You can either enjoy free time (there is a lot to do) or go for a complimentary trip to Swidnica, a small town located 1 hour's drive from Wroclaw. In the town there is an enormous wooden Church of Peace listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was one of the three places in Silesia where Protestantism was allowed after the Thirty Years' War. On the way from Swidnica, we will pay a short visit to Ksiaz -an old fairy-tale-like castle.

Evening: Return to Wroclaw and a cheerful evening in the famous Piwnica Swidnicka restaurant located in the cellars of the medieval town hall - it is arguably the oldest restaurant in Europe (founded in 1274). Overnight stay in Wroclaw.

Day 12:

WROCLAW, RETURN TO WARSAW

Morning: A visit to Wroclaw's Japanese Gardens, the eclectic Peoples' Hall and the stadium in which Hitler intended to hold the Olympic Games.

Afternoon/Evening: Approx. 6 p.m.: arrival in Warsaw where we can arrange for accommodation for you in the airport hotel at a discount rate.

ACCOMMODATION
Warsaw 2 nights : ***** RADISSON SAS or *****SOFITEL VICTORIA
Gdansk 2 nights: *** PALAC W LEZNIE
Lodz 1 night: ***GRAND
Krakow 3 nights : ***+ POLSKI POD BIALYM ORLEM or ***+ CLASSIC (Old Town)
Zakopane 1 night : ***+ NOSALOWY DWOR or ***+ SKALNY
Wroclaw 2 nights: ***+ PATIO or **** ARTWHAT IS INCLUDED IN PRICE
• personal limousine airport pick-up and luggage handling
• hotel accommodations as above or similar
• transport (Isuzu (25 seats) or Mercedes Medio (25 seats)
• driver
• parkings
• professional English-speaking tour manager while on tour
• 22 diversified meals, including breakfasts and 11 three-course dinners
• city tours of Warsaw, Gdansk, Lodz, Krakow, Zakopane, and Wroclaw
(licenced guides),
• sightseeing of Malbork Castle, Jasna Gora Monastery, Wawel Castle, St
Mary’s Church, Auschwitz, Wieliczka Salt Mines, Swidnica Peace
Church, Raclawicka Panorama, the Japanese Garden
• entrance to the Palace of Culture, private piano concert in Lazienki
Palace
• organ concert in Gdansk-Oliwa
• cable car to Mt. Kasprowy
• highlander show in Zakopane
• city taxes in Krakow, Sopot, and Zakopane
• information booklet
• tour organization and travel documents
• health insurance & tour insurance, all taxes.
We allow maximum 20 participants to ensure a personal experience

Tours & ExcursionsPoland