8-day private tour around Poland

Warsaw – Czestochowa – Auschwitz – Krakow – Wieliczka – Zakopane – Warsaw 

Day 1

Arrival at Warsaw Chopin Airport or Warsaw Central Railway Station. Transfer to your hotel. In the evening, a Chopin piano concert performed by one of the most talented Polish musicians. During the piano recital, you will be served a glass of champagne/wine or a soft drink. After the concert, a traditional Polish food tasting in one of the best restaurants in the Old Town. An optional Polish folk dance show. Overnight in Warsaw.

Day 2

After breakfast, a half-day private Warsaw city tour. You will explore the modern capital of Poland rebuilt after World War II, the seat of the Polish government since the 16th century, the business, the political and cultural heart of Poland. The tour includes all the must-sees of Warsaw: the Old Town with the Royal Castle and the Warsaw Mermaid, the Royal Route with the Presidential Palace and the University of Warsaw, the Lazienki Royal Park with the Chopin Monument. You will see also the former Jewish district with remains of the ghetto wall, the Monument of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, and the Palace of Culture and Science. In the afternoon you will have free time at your disposal. Overnight in Warsaw.

Day 3

After breakfast, a departure from Warsaw. Transfer to Czestochowa and a visit at the famous Pauline Monastery of Jasna Gora. It is the main Catholic center in Poland. Every August, thousands of people join walking pilgrimages to Jasna Gora to pray in front of the famous Black Madonna painting – one of the most recognizable sacred images in Poland. The monastery is also home to votive objects connected to Saint John Paul II, e.g. a part of the cassock stained with blood with a hole after the assassination attempt in 1981. The Pope himself visited this sacred place many times. In 1991, Jasna Gora was the venue for World Youth Day.

Afterward, transfer to Auschwitz Nazi Camp –  a primary symbol of the Holocaust. It was a concentration and extermination camp built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany. The museum exhibition contains original documents, suitcases, shoes and other belongings of murdered prisoners. Then, a ride to Birkenau camp, which functioned as a war camp, extermination camp and place from which people were sent to labor in Nazi Germany. More than 90 percent of prisoners, mostly Jews, were killed there. Birkenau was mainly destroyed by the retreating Germans. Both camps are inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

After the visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau, transfer to Krakow. Overnight in Krakow.

Day 4

After breakfast, a half-day private Krakow city tour. Krakow is the most popular tourist destination in Poland. It was the capital of Poland until the 16th century, now it is called “the city of kings”. The program includes the Main Market Square, Saint Mary’s Basilica, Krakow Barbican, Collegium Maius courtyard (the oldest part of the Jagiellonian University) and shopping time in Sukiennice (Krakow Cloth Hall) – once a major center of international trade. Afterward, a visit at the Wawel Hill with the Cathedral, the Royal Castle and the famous Wawel Dragon. Then, you will walk in the former Jewish district – Kazimierz, where you will see the most important places connected with Jewish history and culture, for example, the historic synagogues.

After the city tour, a horse carriage ride around Krakow. An optional dinner with Jewish Klezmer music in a restaurant in Kazimierz. Overnight in Krakow.

Day 5

After breakfast, a departure from Krakow and transfer to Wieliczka Salt Mine, a world-famous UNESCO site. It is visited by more than 1 million tourists each year. It was built in the 13th century and produced table salt continuously until 1996. In the depth of 135 meters underground and during a trip through almost 3 kilometers of meandering corridors you will see chambers chiseled out in rock salt, saline lakes inside, timber constructions, and unique salt sculptures. You will also enter the only underground church in Europe.

After the visit to Wieliczka Salt Mine, transfer to Zakopane. Overnight in Zakopane.

Day 6

After breakfast, a private Zakopane city tour. You will visit the main sights of “the winter capital of Poland” located at the foothill of the Tatra Mountains. You will see Wielka Krokiew Ski Jump, the best examples of wooden architecture characteristic of the Zakopane region, the oldest cemetery in Zakopane and others. After the guided tour, you will have a free afternoon for shopping in the famous Krupowki street and for trying out the local cuisine, including the regional oscypek cheese made of salted sheep milk. Overnight in Zakopane.

Day 7

After breakfast, ride to Gubalowka Hill by funicular railway. From this popular viewing point, you will admire the breathtaking panorama of the High Tatras. 

Afterward, transfer to Krakow. In the evening, a traditional Polish food tasting in one of the best restaurants in Krakow. Overnight in Krakow.

Day 8

Transfer to Warsaw. Departure from Warsaw Chopin airport.