Magic of Poland                                                                                              • Warsaw - Zakopane - Krakow

7 Days / 6 Nights                                                                                     

Guaranteed Departures

Included:

° Airport arrival & departure transfers

° 3 - 4 star hotels

° English-speaking tour escort & local guides

° Private air-conditioned motorcoach or minibus (depending on the group size)

° Meals:

  breakfast daily, 3 restaurant lunches, 3 dinners  (including one with folklore show)

° Cake & coffee/tea break in Warsaw & Krakow

° Sightseeing tours as per itinerary

° Entrance fees:

    - Warsaw – Royal Castle

    - Czestochowa – Jasna Gora Monastery and the Black Madonna Shrine

    - Oswiecim/Auschwitz

    - Krakow – Royal Castle and Cathedral on the Wawel Hill, St. Mary’s Church

    - Wieliczka Salt Mine

    - Zakopane – cable car to Gubalowka Hill and a rafting trip on the Dunajec River

° Chopin concert with a glass of sparkling wine

° Luggage handling at hotels (one piece per person)

° Hotel charges and taxes

Day 1 Saturday  Warsaw

You will be met and transferred to your hotel in the heart of the city. The afternoon is free. At 6:00PM, meet your guide and the rest of the group in the hotel lobby. Drive along the beautifully renovated Royal Route with its historical monuments and residences. Stop at Castle Square for a short walk through Old Town, and then join us for welcome dinner at a local restaurant. Your dinner will include typical Polish dishes and famous Polish vodka, “Zubrowka”.

Day 2 Sunday    Warsaw

This morning, we introduce you to the highlights of Warsaw. A half-day sightseeing tour includes Old Town, beautifully rebuilt after World War II, with the impressive Royal Castle, seat of the kings of Poland. Here the Constitution of May 3rd was proclaimed in 1791, the second oldest constitution, in the world. You will admire some of its 300 rooms and see the Canaletto Room with 23 of his paintings, the Throne Room, the magnificent Knight’s Hall with six large paintings by Marcello Bacciarelli, the Marble room with its 22 portraits of Polish kings and the largest and most impressive of all the castle’s chambers, the Ballroom.

After lunch served at a local restaurant in Old Town, we continue our tour with a drive to the area of the former Warsaw Ghetto.

En route, you will see the building of the National Opera House and Town Hall. During your tour of Warsaw we invite you to taste a typical Warsaw pastry called “paczek”.

This evening enjoy the compositions of Poland's greatest composer, Frederic Chopin at a piano recital.

Day 3   Monday Warsaw – Czestochowa - Zakopane 

After breakfast, we depart for Zakopane – one of the most popular vacation resorts in the Tatra Mountains. En route, we stop in Czestochowa to visit the Jasna Gora Monastery and the Black Madonna Shrine with its miraculous icon.

Lunch will be served a local restaurant in Czestochowa.

In the evening arrive in Zakopane beautifully situated at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, in the valley between Gubalowka and Giewont. It is one of the most beautiful places in all of Poland, owing to its picturesque location. Once, a small mountain village, Zakopane became a fashionable artist’s retreat at the beginning of the 20th century.

Day 4 Tuesday Zakopane – Krakow

In the morning, you will have a sightseeing tour of Zakopane, whose wooden architecture blends with the natural landscapes and it is copied in other parts of Poland. You will visit the Jaszczurowka Chapel, a great example of the wooden architecture in Zakopane, and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima at Krzeptowki, which was built by the people of Zakopane to thank the Lady of Fatima for saving the Pope after an attempt on his life. Admire the breathtaking views of the Tatras from the top of Gubalowka Mountain and shop for souvenirs of arts and crafts of the highlanders in the local shops.

After lunch on your own you will have a free time. Before we continue on to Krakow, take a spectacular rafting trip on the Dunajec River in Pieniny National Park. Tonight’s dinner will be served at a local restaurant in Krakow’s Old Town Market Square. 

Day 5 Wednesday Krakow - Auschwitz  - Krakow

The morning sightseeing tour will feature Wawel, the Royal Castle, home to three dynasties of Poland’s monarchs. Its stately halls and exquisite chambers are filled with priceless art, valuable period furniture and rare ancient objects. The collection of monumental 16th century tapestries is matchless. You will also visit the Wawel Cathedral, the place of the cult of St. Stanislaw and St. Jadwiga, Queen of Poland.  Its 18 chapels are true architectural masterpieces. The giant bell, Zygmunt from 1520 ranks with the world’s largest. This is the place where Polish kings were crowned and buried.

Following a short break for coffee and cake, we drive to Old Town with its restored Main Square of magnificent houses and palaces. In St. Mary’s Basilica see the magnificent wooden altar. In the middle of the square is Cloth Hall built before 1349, but renovated in the 16th century with many shopping stalls inside. After lunch visit the Martyrdom Museum in Auschwitz.

Day 6 Thursday Krakow – Wieliczka – Krakow

Morning free. Afternoon drive to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, an unforgettable tourist attraction with underground chambers, grottoes, and chapels carved from salt. Dinner with folklore show in Wieliczka before the drive back to Krakow (10 kms).

Day 7 Friday Krakow

After breakfast this morning, transfer to the airport for the return flight home.