Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Poland: Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakow
9 days from Warsaw to Krakow: two nights in Warsaw, the train to Wroclaw for two nights, then four nights in Krakow with Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Wieliczka Salt Mine and a day in Zakopane.
9 days · Warsaw to Krakow · up to 12 guests
The Jesuit convent on Sienna Street in Krakow's Old Town Photo: Igor123121, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Convent_of_the_Jesuits,_8a_Sienna_Street,_Old_Town,_Krak%C3%B3w,_Poland_(5).jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 9 days, 8 nights
- Start and end
- Warsaw to Krakow
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Town walks of 5 to 8 km on cobbles most days, about 3.5 hours on foot at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and about 800 steps in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, most of them down a staircase at the start, with a lift back up. In Zakopane the funicular does the climbing; a valley walk of about 2 hours is optional. Any walk can be shortened.
- Meals included
- 8 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 560 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- The Royal Route into Warsaw's rebuilt Old Town at dusk on the first evening
- The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, with your guide, after lunch in Muranow
- The train to Wroclaw, then the lamplighter on Ostrow Tumski at dusk
- The Panorama of Raclawice, a painting 114 m long, on its first slot of the day
- Auschwitz-Birkenau with a certified Memorial educator, and a quiet afternoon after
- The Wieliczka Salt Mine early, then Kazimierz and Podgorze on foot
- Zakopane and the Gubalowka funicular for the view of the Tatras
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 560 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Warsaw
Warsaw Chopin Airport to your hotel, then the Royal Route to the Old Town
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Warsaw
- Drive about 30 min
Fly into Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), about 10 km from the centre, where a driver meets you for the short ride to the hotel.
Evening
Plan to land by about 3 pm to join the evening walk (the exact time is confirmed with your final itinerary). At about 5 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing, then we set off on foot from beside the Palace of Culture and Science on Marszalkowska Street, the Soviet-era tower that still dominates the skyline. From there we follow the Royal Route along Nowy Swiat and Krakowskie Przedmiescie, past the university and the church that holds Chopin's heart, to Castle Square as the lamps come on. Warsaw's Old Town was almost completely destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt from paintings, drawings and photographs after the war, which is why UNESCO listed it in 1980. We end the walk with a welcome dinner of Polish dishes in the Old Town.
Included
- Pick-up at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Evening walk along the Royal Route to Castle Square
- Welcome dinner in the Old Town
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: About 3 km on foot, flat, mostly on pavements and cobbles.
Warsaw: the Old Town and POLIN
Warsaw Old Town and the Royal Castle, then Muranow and the POLIN Museum
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Warsaw
Morning
In the morning a local guide joins us in the Old Town, now quiet before the day visitors arrive: Sigismund's Column, the Market Square with its mermaid, the Barbican and the walls. We go inside the Royal Castle on a timed entry; it was blown up in 1944 and rebuilt in the 1970s and 1980s, partly with furnishings hidden by staff during the war.
Afternoon
Lunch is a sit-down meal in Muranow, the district built over the rubble of the wartime ghetto. Then we spend the early afternoon in the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, whose core exhibition follows a thousand years of Jewish life in Poland, not only its destruction. Outside stands the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, where Willy Brandt knelt in 1970. The late afternoon is free. On summer Sundays, free Chopin piano recitals are played at the Chopin Monument in Lazienki Park, a short taxi ride away.
Included
- Warsaw Old Town with a local guide: Castle Square, Sigismund's Column, the Market Square and the Barbican
- The Royal Castle on a timed entry
- Sit-down lunch in Muranow
- The POLIN Museum core exhibition with your guide
- The Monument to the Ghetto Heroes
Optional experiences
- Chopin recital at the Chopin Monument in Lazienki Park (summer Sundays, free)
Easier option: Skip the POLIN Museum and spend the afternoon in Lazienki Park or at the hotel.
More active option: Go with your guide to the Warsaw Rising Museum in the late afternoon, about 2 hours on the 63 days of the 1944 uprising (entry included).
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 6 km on foot across the day, with standing time in two museums.
By train to Wroclaw
Warszawa Centralna to Wroclaw Glowny by express train
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Wroclaw
- By train
Morning
After breakfast we take the express train from Warszawa Centralna to Wroclaw, about three and a half to four hours in reserved seats, with your guide handling the luggage and catering on most trains.
Afternoon
We arrive in time for a late sit-down lunch near the Market Square. Wroclaw has belonged to Bohemia, the Habsburgs, Prussia and Germany, and became Polish only in 1945, when its German population was expelled and Poles displaced from Lviv moved in. In the afternoon a local guide walks us round the Market Square and the Gothic Town Hall, the flower stalls of Salt Square and the bronze dwarfs, hundreds of them, which began as a nod to the anti-communist Orange Alternative movement. We cross the Oder by Sand Island to Ostrow Tumski, the cathedral island, and take the lift up the cathedral tower.
Evening
At dusk the lamplighter makes his round of the gas lamps on Cathedral Street.
Included
- Express train from Warsaw to Wroclaw with reserved seats
- Sit-down lunch in Wroclaw
- Old Town walk with a local guide: the Market Square, the Town Hall, Salt Square and the dwarfs
- Ostrow Tumski and the cathedral tower
- The lamplighter on Cathedral Street at dusk
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 5 km on foot in the afternoon, flat, on cobbles.
Wroclaw: the Panorama and Centennial Hall
Wroclaw Old Town to the Panorama of Raclawice and Centennial Hall
- Breakfast
- Stay in Wroclaw
We are at the Panorama of Raclawice for its first slot of the day. The painting, about 114 m long and 15 m high, was made in 1894 by Jan Styka and Wojciech Kossak to show the 1794 battle in which Kosciuszko's peasant scythemen beat a Russian army. You stand in the middle of the rotunda, and the foreground of real earth and props runs into the canvas so it is hard to see where one ends. Then a short tram or van ride east to Centennial Hall, Max Berg's reinforced-concrete dome of 1913 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006, with its pergola and, from April to October, the Japanese Garden beside it.
Morning
Your guide brings you back to the centre by late morning.
Afternoon
The rest of the day is free: the university's Baroque buildings, the market hall, a river cruise on the Oder, or a long lunch in one of the squares.
Included
- The Panorama of Raclawice on a timed entry
- Centennial Hall, the pergola and the Japanese Garden (April to October)
Optional experiences
- Half-day trip to the Church of Peace in Swidnica, a timber church built in the 1650s and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, about an hour each way (priced at booking)
Free time: Afternoon and evening free. For dinner, your guide can suggest a milk bar (bar mleczny) for pierogi and soup at canteen prices, or a cellar restaurant on the Market Square, and book a table for anyone who wants company.
Activity: An easy morning, about 3 km on foot.
By train to Krakow, the Old Town and Wawel
Wroclaw Glowny to Krakow Glowny by train, then the Old Town to Wawel Hill
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Krakow
- By train
Morning
A mid-morning express train takes us through Opole and Katowice to Krakow Glowny, about three to three and a half hours, and our hotel near the Old Town is a short walk or ride from the station.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch a local guide leads us through the Florian Gate and down Florianska Street to the Main Market Square, laid out in 1257 and still one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, with the Cloth Hall in the middle. Inside St Mary's Basilica we see Veit Stoss's carved wooden altarpiece, finished in 1489, and on the hour the trumpet call from the tower that stops mid-note. Krakow's Old Town was among the first sites UNESCO listed, in 1978. We walk down Grodzka Street, past its Romanesque and Baroque churches, to Wawel Hill, and visit the cathedral where Polish kings were crowned and buried before its last entry of the afternoon, which we time when we confirm your dates.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- Express train from Wroclaw to Krakow with reserved seats
- Sit-down lunch in Krakow
- Old Town walk with a local guide: the Florian Gate, the Main Market Square and the Cloth Hall
- St Mary's Basilica and the Veit Stoss altarpiece
- Grodzka Street and Wawel Cathedral
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 5 km on foot in the afternoon, with a short climb up Wawel Hill.
Auschwitz-Birkenau
Krakow to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Oswiecim and back
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Krakow
- Drive about 2.5 h
We leave Krakow at 8 am for the drive of about an hour and a quarter to Oswiecim. At the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum a certified Memorial educator guides the group, as the Museum requires for all groups. The visit takes about three and a half hours: first Auschwitz I, the former army barracks where the blocks now hold the evidence, then a short shuttle of about 3 km to Birkenau, where most of the roughly 1.1 million people murdered here, the great majority of them Jews, were killed. Walking the railway ramp and the length of the camp gives a sense of its scale that no exhibition can. Photographs are not allowed in a few rooms, which the educator points out.
Afternoon
We drive back to Krakow for a quiet, late sit-down lunch, about 2 pm, and the afternoon is deliberately left free. Your guide stays nearby for anyone who wants to talk it over.
Included
- Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau with a certified Memorial educator, about 3.5 hours
- Shuttle between Auschwitz I and Birkenau
- Sit-down lunch back in Krakow
Easier option: Birkenau is large and open: the educator can shorten the walk there, and the van can wait at the gate.
Free time: Afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 3.5 hours on foot, much of it standing, with uneven ground at Birkenau. Bags no larger than about 30 x 20 x 10 cm; the Memorial does not recommend the visit for children under 14.
Wieliczka, Kazimierz and Podgorze
Krakow to the Wieliczka Salt Mine and back, then Kazimierz and Podgorze on foot
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Krakow
- Drive about 1 h
A short drive south-east takes us to Wieliczka for an early English-language tour of the salt mine, worked from the 13th century until 1996 and listed by UNESCO in 1978. The Tourist Route goes down a wooden staircase of about 380 steps and on through chambers and galleries to about 135 m below ground, where the air is cool all year, about 14 to 16 C. Miners carved the Chapel of St Kinga entirely from salt, chandeliers included. A lift brings us back up.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch in Kazimierz, the old Jewish town, your guide walks us along Szeroka Street to the Remuh Synagogue and its old cemetery, then past the Old Synagogue and the market at Plac Nowy. We cross the Vistula footbridge to Podgorze, where the wartime ghetto was, to see the empty chairs on Ghetto Heroes Square and the Eagle Pharmacy.
Evening
The evening is free in Kazimierz's cafes.
Included
- Wieliczka Salt Mine Tourist Route with a mine guide
- Sit-down lunch in Kazimierz
- Kazimierz walk with your guide: Szeroka Street, the Remuh Synagogue and cemetery, the Old Synagogue and Plac Nowy
- Podgorze: Ghetto Heroes Square and the Eagle Pharmacy
Optional experiences
- Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory museum in Podgorze, timed entry (priced at booking)
Easier option: After lunch, rest at the hotel instead of the Kazimierz and Podgorze walk.
More active option: Add Schindler's Factory museum at the end of the Podgorze walk, about 2 hours.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 3 km and 800 steps in the mine, most of them going down at the start, then about 4 km on foot in Kazimierz and Podgorze.
Zakopane and the Tatras
Krakow to Zakopane and back
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Krakow
- Drive about 4.5 h
Today's drive is the longest of the trip: about two hours each way on the road south to Zakopane, between four and four and a half hours in all, which is over our usual four-hour cap.
Evening
We split it into a morning leg and an evening leg, with the whole day in the mountains between, and stop for coffee if the traffic is heavy; the time depends on the single main road, the zakopianka, which is busiest on summer and winter weekends. Zakopane sits under the Tatras, the highest range of the Carpathians. We ride the Gubalowka funicular for the view across the town to the peaks, cloud permitting, then walk down to the Old Church and its cemetery at Peksowy Brzyzek, where wooden grave markers carved in the highland style stand among the trees. Lunch is highland food: soups, grilled oscypek sheep's cheese and cranberry jam. Afterwards we visit Villa Koliba, the house that launched the Zakopane Style of architecture, and walk Krupowki Street to the Tatra Museum. Back in Krakow, we sit down to a farewell dinner.
Included
- Gubalowka funicular, up and down
- The Old Church and the cemetery at Peksowy Brzyzek
- Sit-down highland lunch in Zakopane
- Villa Koliba, the Museum of Zakopane Style
- Krupowki Street and the Tatra Museum building
- Farewell dinner in Krakow
Easier option: Stay at the top of Gubalowka for a long coffee with the view, and meet the group for lunch.
More active option: In place of Villa Koliba, walk up the Strazyska Valley in the Tatra National Park to the Siklawica waterfall with your guide, about 2 hours there and back (park entry included).
Free time: An hour free on Krupowki Street
Activity: About 2 hours each way in the van, split by the day in Zakopane. Easy walking in town; the valley walk is on a rocky path with a steady climb.
Krakow and home
Krakow to Krakow John Paul II Airport or Krakow Glowny station
- Breakfast
- Drive about 30 min
Morning
The last morning is free. Have breakfast without hurrying, then go back to whatever you liked best: a coffee on the Main Market Square, the Cloth Hall stalls, the Planty gardens that ring the Old Town where the walls once stood, or a last look at the Vistula from below Wawel. If you have time, the Czartoryski Museum's Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci is a short walk from the square. The hotel can hold your bags after check-out. A driver takes you to Krakow John Paul II Airport (KRK) at Balice, about 15 km and half an hour west of the centre, at a time that fits your flight; or, if you are going on by rail, to Krakow Glowny station, from where trains also run to the airport. Your guide sees the group off and checks everyone's onward plans before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 11 am to enjoy the morning.
Included
- Drop-off at Krakow John Paul II Airport (KRK) or Krakow Glowny station
Free time: Morning free
Activity: Book a flight leaving after about 11 am.
- Warsaw2 nights
- Wroclaw2 nights
- Krakow4 nights
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Summer days in Krakow and Wroclaw can pass 30 C, so the long visits start in the morning. Zakopane is cooler and often wet, and the Tatra views depend on the cloud. Spring and early autumn are mild and quieter.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want Poland's history told properly, from the royal capitals to the Holocaust
- Auschwitz-Birkenau visited with care and time, not squeezed into a transfer day
- City walking with free afternoons and evenings to explore on your own
- Train travel between cities instead of long coach days
Not for you if you want
- Travellers who would rather skip the Second World War and the Holocaust: two days deal with them directly
- Children under 14, for whom the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial does not recommend a visit
- Serious mountain hiking: Zakopane is a day, not a trek
- Gdansk and the Baltic coast, which this route leaves out
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
8 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Warsaw2 nights
- Wroclaw2 nights
- Krakow4 nights
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 8 nights in central hotels: 2 in Warsaw, 2 in Wroclaw, 4 in Krakow
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) and drop-off at Krakow John Paul II Airport (KRK) or Krakow Glowny
- Express trains with reserved seats from Warsaw to Wroclaw and from Wroclaw to Krakow
- A private air-conditioned van and driver for the day trips to Auschwitz-Birkenau, Wieliczka and Zakopane
- Tram tickets in Warsaw and Wroclaw
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide for the whole trip
- Local guides in Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakow
- A certified Memorial educator at Auschwitz-Birkenau and a mine guide at Wieliczka
Activities
- Warsaw: the Royal Route and Old Town, the Royal Castle, the POLIN Museum, the Warsaw Rising Museum for those who choose it
- Wroclaw: the Old Town, Ostrow Tumski and the cathedral tower, the Panorama of Raclawice, Centennial Hall and the Japanese Garden (April to October)
- Krakow: the Old Town, St Mary's Basilica, Wawel Cathedral, Kazimierz and the Remuh Synagogue, Podgorze
- Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial with an educator
- Wieliczka Salt Mine
- Zakopane: the Gubalowka funicular, Villa Koliba and the Old Church
Meals
- Breakfast daily (8)
- 6 sit-down lunches (days 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8)
- Welcome dinner in Warsaw and farewell dinner in Krakow
Not included
- International flights to Warsaw and from Krakow
- Travel insurance
- Visa or ETIAS fees, if they apply to you
- Lunches on days 4 and 9, and dinners except the welcome and farewell dinners
- Drinks
- Tips
- Optional visits: the Church of Peace in Swidnica and Schindler's Factory
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 560 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
What does the price include?
Eight nights in central hotels, breakfast daily, six sit-down lunches, a welcome and a farewell dinner, both airport transfers, two express trains with reserved seats, a van and driver for the day trips, your See Sight Tours guide throughout, local guides, and every visit in the day plan, including Auschwitz-Birkenau with an educator, Wieliczka and the Zakopane funicular.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests. That is small enough for everyone to hear the Memorial educator at Birkenau, to stand together in front of the Veit Stoss altarpiece and to share one table at lunch. Most Poland tours run up to 16 guests, and coach tours carry far more.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from Warsaw to Krakow. Local guides join in Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakow, a mine guide leads the Wieliczka tour, and at Auschwitz-Birkenau a certified Memorial educator guides the group, as the Museum requires. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
How is the Auschwitz-Birkenau visit handled?
It has its own day. We leave Krakow at 8 am, spend about three and a half hours at Auschwitz I and Birkenau with a certified Memorial educator, then return for a quiet lunch and a free afternoon. Dress respectfully, bring only a small bag, and note that the Memorial does not recommend the visit for children under 14.
How fit do I need to be?
Moderate. Expect 5 to 8 km of town walking most days, about three and a half hours on your feet at Auschwitz-Birkenau, and about 800 steps in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, mostly going down, with a lift back up. Every demanding day has an easier option, and the Zakopane valley walk is optional.
I'm travelling solo. What is the single supplement?
A room of your own costs from CAD 560 more, shown up front before you request to book, with no surprise later. Solo travellers join every part of the trip on the same terms as everyone else. If you would like to share a room, ask when you book and we will tell you whether a match is possible on your date.
When is the best time to go?
May, June and September are the best balance of mild weather and long days. July and August are warmest, sometimes over 30 C, and busiest at Wieliczka and Auschwitz-Birkenau. April and October are cooler and quieter. Zakopane can be wet or cloudy at any time of year, which hides the Tatra peaks.
How does booking work?
Choose a date and send a request to book. We check hotels, trains and Memorial educator slots, then confirm your place within 24 hours. No payment is taken when you send the request. Prices are per person sharing a room, taxes included: the small group starts from CAD 3,295 and the private trip from CAD 5,930.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip runs as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we will quote the same hotels, trains, guides and educator for you.
Do I need a visa for Poland?
Canadian, US, UK and Australian passport holders do not need a visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180 days in the Schengen area, which includes Poland. The EU's Entry/Exit System takes your fingerprints and photo at your first border. We confirm whether ETIAS pre-travel authorisation applies when you book.
Does Poland use the euro?
No. Poland's currency is the zloty (PLN). Cards, including contactless, are accepted in almost all hotels, restaurants, museums and shops, so you need little cash: a small amount helps for market stalls in Zakopane, public toilets and tips. Your guide can point you to bank cash machines rather than the costly private ones.
Why go by train instead of coach?
The express trains from Warsaw to Wroclaw and from Wroclaw to Krakow take about three to four hours each, roughly the same as driving, but you can stand up, stretch your legs, buy a coffee on most trains and watch the country go by. You also arrive in the city centre in time for lunch and an afternoon walk.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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