7 days / 6 nights  from £935 per person

Warsaw - Zakopane - Krakow - Warsaw

The Scenic Poland Tour takes you on a journey across Poland, providing you with the opportunity to visit historical points of interest, taste local cuisine, and experience contemporary culture and art. This guided tour will introduce you to the home of Frederic Chopin, Krzysztof Penderecki, Lech Walesa and Holy Father John Paul II.

2012 departure dates:

Package price is from £935 per person based on availability and sharing a twin or double room. Single supplement is £170.

Package includes:

• Direct flights from London to Warsaw and return from Krakow (we can arrange flights from other airports upon request)
• Airport transfers in Warsaw and Krakow
  
• 2 nights in Warsaw at the Novotel Centrum  4*
• 1 night in  Zakopane at Mercure Kasprowy 3* 
• 3 nights in Krakow at the Novotel Bronowice 4*
• English-speaking tour escort
  
• Obligatory English speaking local guides
• Private air-conditioned motor coach/minibus (depending on the group size)
• Meals as per itinerary:
  - Breakfast daily
  - 3 x lunch served at a local restaurants
  - 3 x dinner (including one dinner with folkloric show in Wieliczka) served at a local restaurants
• Cake & coffee/tea at famous Warsaw caféteria
• Cake & coffee/tea at famous Krakow caféteria
• 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: WARSAW
Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel in the heart of the city. The afternoon is free. At 18:00, 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 meal will include typical Polish dishes and famous Polish vodka, “Zubrowka”. Accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Centrum Warsaw or simillar.

DAY 2: 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, after the US 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 a famous Warsaw café to taste a typical Warsaw pastry called “paczek”. This evening you will take an unforgettable musical journey through the world famous compositions of our greatest composer, Frederic Chopin, at a piano recital. A glass of sparkling wine will be served during intermission. Accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Centrum Warsaw or simillar.

DAY 3: 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 we arrive in Zakopane beautifully situated at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, in the valley between Gubalowka and Giewont. It is the most popular resort in Poland and 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. Accommodation at the Hotel Mercure Kasprowy or simillar.

DAY 4: 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 and is known as Zakopianski Style. 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 (Gorale) 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. Accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Bronowice or simillar.

DAY 5: 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 at the famous Krakow café and drive to Old Town with its restored Main Square of magnificent houses and palaces. There, you stop at St. Mary’s Basilica where to see the magnificent wooden altar by Wit Stwosz. 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 we drive to Auschwitz to visit the Martyrdom Museum of the former Nazi concentration camp, the infamous factory of death. Accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Bronowice or simillar.

DAY 6: KRAKOW - WIELICZKA - KRAKOW
In the morning time on your own. Afternoon drive to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, an unforgettable tourist attraction with underground chambers, grottoes, and chapels carved from salt. Dinner with a folkloric show will be served at a local restaurant in Wieliczka, before we drive back to Krakow. Accommodation at the Hotel Novotel Bronowice or simillar.

DAY 7: DEPARTURE FROM KRAKOW
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to airport for your departure flight.