Abbreviated itinerary for our June 13 - June 25 trip to Poland
Monday, June 13 -- Departure Day We depart from Charlotte on Lufthansa Airline flight # 429, leaving Charlotte at 6:30 PM, connecting in Munich, arriving in Gdansk 12:35 (Tuesday)
Tuesday, June 14
12:30 PM: Arrival in Gdansk (the Lech Walesa International Airport)
Transfer to our hotel; check-in; free time in the Old Town
5:30 Dinner at Gdanska Restaurant;
Our FIRST Night in Gdansk – Hanza Hotel
Wednesday, June 15
9:30 – 12:00 Our Walking Tour of the Old Town; visit some of the “highlights of Gdansk”
Free time for shopping and site seeing (there are many points of interest, museums, shops, etc. that we can just enjoy on our own)
Dinner on our own; lots of options in the city
Thursday, June 16
Free time in the morning…
Today is a Major Holiday in Poland – Corpus Christi; major procession rolling through the Old Town; it could be an experience to see it, maybe even participate a little in it (see detailed itinerary for more info)
2:00 PM: We leave for the Gdansk Ship Yard, the “Birth of Solidarity”, then we continue for Cape Westerplatte (where on September 01, 1939 the first shots of WW II were fired;
We continue on to Legowo; possible visit to St. Nicholas Church;
Dinner together in one of the local restaurants
Return to Gdansk; free time – enjoy the city at night
Friday, June 17
9:00 Leaving for The Capital City of Warsaw
On the way: we stop in Malbork – Medieval Castle of the Teutonic Knights
3:00 PM arrival in Warsaw; (possible visit to the Royal Lazienki Park)
Check-in to our Hotel
6:00 PM Dinner at Literatka Restaurant; free time to explore the Old Town of Warsaw (eat, drink, shop, explore, be merry, make friends J )
Night in Warsaw – Hotel Sofitel Victoria
Saturday, June 18
9:45 we leave the hotel for our Guided tour of Warsaw – Royal Castle, Old Town, and beyond; free time after our tour
Dinner on our own; lots of options in the city
Free time to explore, shop, socialize, rest…
Second night in Warsaw
Sunday, June 19
9:30 Departure from Warsaw; short stop by the Jewish Ghetto Memorial
Leaving for the Mountain Resort of Zakopane
On the way: Shrine of the Black Madonna in Czestochowa; Sunday Mass
5:00 Dinner at Hotel Mercure’s Restaurant
Continue on to Zakopane
Arriving Zakopane; Check-in to our hotel: Hotel Stamary
Monday, June 20
Walk through the “Krupowki Promenade” down to the cable car (rail trolley) station; optional excursion to the Hill of Gubalowka. (You may choose to simply stay on Krupowki Street or at the AWESOME flea market at the foot of Gubalowka Hill).
Free time for shopping and site seeing; enjoy local culture, arts and crafts; return to hotel
2:00 PM Leave hotel for the cable car (suspended gondola) to the Summit of Kasprowy Wierch
3:00 PM Gondola ride to the summit
Return to Zakopane;
6:00 PM Dinner at Restaurant “Sabala” (a regional Inn); free time in “downtown” Zakopane, or simply return to the hotel. The hotel has a little spa and a nice swimming pool; you may want to take advantage of it
Night in Zakopane
Tuesday, June 21
9:00 (leave hotel by bus) for our excursion on horse-drawn wagons AND 3 MILE ROUND TRIP HIKE into the Tatra Mountains National Park and Lake Morskie Oko. This is an optional tour as it involves a 1.5 mile uphill hike towards Lake Morskie Oko; and the same distance to return (but downhill now)
Some hiking options…
Return to Zakopane; free time to shop, or have a drink J
6:00 PM Dinner/regional cultural evening at “Chata Zbojnicka” regional Inn
Night in Zakopane
Wednesday, June 22
10:00 Leaving for Krakow
1:00 PM Wieliczka Salt Mine tour
Dinner in the Mine’s underground restaurant after our tour
Arrival in Krakow; Hotel Stary
Free time in Krakow; enjoy the “jewel of Poland” - one of the most beautiful cities in Poland (and the most popular tourist destination, too)
Thursday, June 23 (optional all day tour)
9:00 AM: We leave the city for Oswiecim (better known under its German name: Auschwitz
11:00 AM: Visit to the former Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz Birkenau
Visit to Wadowice – birthplace and hometown of Pope John Paul II
4:00 PM: Dinner in Wadowice; and we return to Krakow
Friday, June 24
Free time in the morning;
We have to get our covid-19 tests this morning in order to return to the US (unless the US lifts the requirement by the time of our travel); I will arrange for our testing at one of the local testing centers
Guided Tour of Historic Krakow; Wawel Castle, Main Market Square
Explore the Old Town on your own (visit the many churches, historic sites, shops, arts and crafts; walk by the river, etc.)
5:30 Dinner at Hawelka Restaurant (our “last supper” in Poland J)
Saturday, June 25
Departure for the airport in Krakow; leave for the US
WiFi is available just about everywhere; AND all our hotels DO HAVE free WiFi as well. Your phone service most likely will not work in Poland so I recommend, put your phone in airplane mode for the entire duration of the trip. WiFi will work just fine, and you will be able to connect with family at home through any of the Internet based apps that you may use. There will be plenty of group activities in each place, sightseeing, free time for shopping, sightseeing on our own, or doing absolutely nothing if anybody chooses to do so J Most of our hotels will have either a little a SPA center or swimming pool, or maybe both; if you want to take advantage of them, don’t forget to bring your bathing suit.