Day 1: Origin Airport – Krakow
Arrival at the origin airport to catch the flight to Krakow. Upon arrival, meet the tour guide at Krakow airport and transfer to the city center for an orientation walk through the Old Town. Lunch. Transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon, visit the Kazimierz district, the former Jewish quarter. Highlights include the Old Synagogue, housing a Jewish museum, and the Remuh Synagogue still used for religious purposes. The dramatic extermination of Krakow’s Jews was depicted in Steven Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s List,” filmed in the original setting of Kazimierz. Originally founded in the 14th century as a separate city from Krakow, it had its own Market Square and Town Hall (exterior views only). Dinner at a restaurant in the Jewish quarter. Lunch and dinner included. Overnight in Krakow.
Day 2: Krakow – Wieliczka Salt Mine – Krakow
In the morning, visit Krakow, one of Poland’s oldest and most beautiful cities. Highlights include Wawel Hill, home to the Renaissance-style Castle (exterior view, excluding Royal Chambers), the Gothic Cathedral (entrance included), the Old Town (Stare Miasto), Europe’s largest market square (Rynek Glowny), the Town Hall Tower, the former Cloth Hall, St. Mary’s Basilica (entrance included) with the altar by the brilliant sculptor Veit Stoss, a brief visit to the old city walls near St. Florian’s Gate, and the Barbican. Lunch at a local restaurant. Visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine (entrance included), an impressive labyrinth of galleries, underground lakes, chambers, and chapels carved out of rock salt over 700 years ago, reaching a depth of over 300 meters. The mine, besides its exceptional beauty, is the oldest in Europe and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Return to Krakow. Full board. Overnight in Krakow.
Day 3: Krakow – Lagiewniki – Krakow
In the morning, visit the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, where St. Faustina Kowalska lived and worked, the missionary and preacher of Divine Mercy. Here, you’ll find her tomb, relics, and a copy of the miraculous image of Jesus the Merciful, as well as the nearby Sanctuary of Saint John Paul II, which houses his relics. In the afternoon, visit the museum in the former administrative building of Oscar Schindler’s Factory (entrance included) with the exhibition: Krakow under Nazi occupation 1939-1945. The exhibition depicts the history of Krakow and its inhabitants during World War II, along with the heroic figure of Oscar Schindler, who saved the lives of over a thousand people. Free time. Full board. Overnight in Krakow.
Day 4: Krakow – Auschwitz – Wadowice – Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – Krakow
In the morning, depart for Oswiecim. Visit Auschwitz (Oswiecim) (entrance included), the former concentration camp during World War II, now converted into the Martyrdom Museum. Guided tour of the camp established by the Nazis in 1940, which along with another camp built in 1942 in Brzezinka (Birkenau) became the site of the extermination of one and a half million people. Departure to Wadowice. In the afternoon, visit Wadowice: the museum of Pope John Paul II (entrance included), and the 15th-century parish church, where you’ll see St. Peter’s Church, built in gratitude by the city for the Pope’s recovery after the 1983 assassination attempt. Departure to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (UNESCO), a pilgrimage destination of young Karol Wojtyla and his father, home to the famous Sanctuary of the Virgin Mary surrounded by a set of picturesque chapels set in the beautiful Beskidy landscape. Return to Krakow. Full board. Overnight in Krakow.
Day 5: Krakow – Sromowce Nizne – Zakopane – Krakow
In the morning, depart for Sromowce Nizne. Enjoy one of the most unique excursions of the trip: a gentle descent down the Dunajec River in wooden rafts (included), between the mountain system, enjoying a fabulous panorama. Continue to Zakopane. In the afternoon, start the visit with Krupowki, the central avenue, with restaurants, cafes, and shops; then continue along the street to the neo-Romanesque church and its chapel, a rustic wooden construction from 1847, with beautiful folk decoration, located next to the old cemetery. Take a funicular ride (included) to one of its most beautiful mountains, Gubalowka, which offers magnificent views of the mountain range. Return to Krakow. Full board. Overnight in Krakow.
Day 6: Krakow – Czestochowa – Warsaw
In the morning, depart for Czestochowa. Visit Czestochowa, a city home to the Jasna Gora Monastery-Fortress (entrance included) with its famous “Black Madonna” image, a must-see and a center of world spirituality, annually visited by over 5 million pilgrims and tourists. It is the most important Marian Monastery in Poland. The most important treasure here is the image of the Virgin. The visit includes the Chapel of the Black Madonna and the Chapel of the Last Supper. Continue to Warsaw. Full board. Overnight in Warsaw.
Day 7: Warsaw – Niepokalanow – Warsaw
In the morning, visit Warsaw. Although Warsaw was almost completely destroyed during World War II, thanks to meticulous reconstruction, the city has managed to regain its former splendor. See the most important monuments: the Royal Castle, St. John’s Cathedral, the Old Town of Warsaw with its Old Town Square, the Barbican, and remnants of the medieval city walls surrounding the city in medieval times, where you can enjoy exceptional views of the Vistula River. Also see Lazienki Park, one of the oldest parks in Europe, a garden that still retains its charm: the last king of Poland, Stanislaw August Poniatowski (exterior views only). In the afternoon, depart for Niepokalanow. Visit Niepokalanow, one of Poland’s newest sanctuaries, linked to the figure of St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan friar who was a prisoner at the Auschwitz concentration camp and volunteered to replace another prisoner sentenced to death. In 1982, he was canonized by St. John Paul II, two years before the Pope elevated the Church in Niepokalanow to the status of Minor Basilica. Return to Warsaw. Full board. Overnight in Warsaw.
Day 8: Warsaw – Origin Airport
Breakfast at the hotel. Free time until the transfer to the airport for our return flight to our origin airport.
Arrival. End of the trip and our services.
