Highlights of Poland - Small Group

Arrive in Kraków, a former royal capital shaped by Gothic towers, merchant halls and the broad sweep of Rynek Glówny. Meet your Travel Director and join your small group for a walk through the Old Town, passing the Sukiennice Cloth Hall, long central to Kraków’s trading life, and listening out for the hejnal sounded from St. Mary’s Church. Continue across the surrounding streets before sitting down to dinner together, a chance to get to know one another and raise a glass to the start of your journey through Poland.

Spend the morning at leisure, with the option to join a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a UNESCO-listed network of chambers carved from rock salt since the Middle Ages. Later join your Local Expert to visit Kazimierz, where streets, squares and synagogues reflect the district’s long Jewish heritage. Then ascend Wawel Hill to view Wawel Castle and visit the cathedral, long associated with Poland’s monarchy, before a walk through Kraków’s atmospheric Old Town.

Travel south into the Tatra Mountains, following the rising landscape towards Zakopane, a town known for its carved timber houses and Highlander traditions. On arrival, join your Travel Director for an orientation along Krupówki Street, noting the late-19th-century Zakopane Style of wooden architecture and the market stalls selling Góralski craftwork. Spend the rest of the day getting to know the town, perhaps visit the Tatra Museum’s ethnographic displays, take the funicular up Gubalówka Hill for mountain views, or browse local craft shops. In the evening, sit down to dinner with Highlander music and dance, a Góral tradition that anchors the region’s cultural identity.

Travel north from Zakopane to Oswiecim for a moving visit to the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum with a Guide Educator. Continue through Silesia and follow the Oder River towards Wroclaw, a city shaped by shifting borders and a long academic tradition. On arrival, join your Local Expert for a walk through the Old Town to view the facades around the Rynek and the flower stalls of Plac Solny. You’ll also see Wroclaw’s cheeky bronze gnomes, a symbol of the city, positioned across the center.

Continue north to Poznan, a city shaped by trade routes and early Polish statehood. Later, join your Local Expert for a walking tour through the center, taking in the town hall, market square and the streets that define the Old Town. Along the way, you’ll see facades rebuilt after wartime damage and gain a clearer sense of how the city’s mercantile past still shapes its layout. Your evening is then free for dinner, with time to choose from the restaurants and bars around the square and adjoining streets.

Travel east to Gniezno for a visit to the cathedral, long associated with Poland’s early rulers. View the Gniezno Doors, cast in the 12th century and known for their bronze reliefs depicting the life of St. Adalbert, before continuing to Torun, a medieval town shaped by Hanseatic trade. Join your Local Expert to explore the Old Town’s brick facades and Teutonic history. Later, enjoy free time to explore at your own pace before traveling north to Gdansk, where the evening offers time to get acquainted with the city.

Spend the morning with your Local Expert exploring Gdansk, moving through the medieval center shaped by Hanseatic trade and along the Motlawa waterfront. Continue for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at the European Solidarity Center and the Gdansk Shipyards, where you’ll meet a former shipyard worker connected to the 1980 strikes and walk through original shipyard areas linked to the Solidarity movement. Later, free time allows further independent exploration, or an Optional Experience to the seaside town of Sopot.

Leave Gdansk for Malbork to visit the castle with your Local Expert, viewing the brick fortifications built by the Teutonic Order and the courtyards that outline its medieval complex. Continue across northern Poland towards Warsaw, a city rebuilt after the Second World War and shaped by its contrasting districts. The evening is free to explore the surrounding districts, whether stepping into the reconstructed Old Town, walking part of the Royal Route, or viewing the Palace of Culture and Science from its central square. You may also choose to join an Optional Experience featuring a Chopin recital in an intimate Warsaw venue.

Explore Warsaw with your Local Expert, beginning at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in the Muranów district before continuing into the Old Town. Walk through reconstructed streets around Castle Square and the market area, where post-war rebuilding restored the historic center after widespread destruction. Later, visit the Neon Museum in the iconic Palace of Culture and Science for a guided introduction to a different side of the city’s 20th-century history through signs preserved from the cold war. In the evening, join your group for a final dinner in a local restaurant, marking your last night together in Poland.

Transfer to the airport, taking time to say goodbye to your Travel Director and small group as your journey through Poland comes to an end.