2020 9D/8N - Southern Adventure

Day 1 Warsaw

Independent arrival to your hotel.. At 6:00PM, 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 a famous Polish vodka, “Zubrowka”.

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 the famous Warsaw chocolate factory “Wedel” to taste the delicious hot chocolate at the “ Wedel Old Fashioned Shop”. Late afternoon you will take an unforgettable musical journey through the world famous compositions of our greatest composer, Frederic Chopin, at a piano recital.

Day 3 Warsaw – Czestochowa – Zakopane

After breakfast, we leave 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 at a local restaurant. 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.

Day 4 Zakopane

In the morning, you will have a sightseeing tour of Zakopane, whose wooden architecture blends with the natural

landscapes. Copied in other parts of Poland, it 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. Tonight’s dinner will be served

at a typical Highlanders’ inn with a folkloric show.

Day 5 Zakopane – Krakow

After breakfast, take a spectacular rafting trip on the Dunajec River in Pieniny National Park. Lunch will be served at a local restuarant. In the afternoon, we leave for the medieval city of Krakow.

Day 6 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 Wawel Cathedral, the place of the cult of

St. Stanislaw and of St. Jadwiga, Queen of Poland. This 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. Drive to

Old Town with its restored Main Square of magnificent houses and palaces. There, you will stop at St. Mary’s Basilica 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. Following the tour have a short break for coffee and cake

at the famous Krakow cafeteria. The afternoon is at leisure. Tonight’s dinner will be served at a local restaurant in Old

Town.

Day 7 Krakow – Auschwitz – Wadowice – Krakow

After breakfast, we leave for Auschwitz, the site of the former Nazi Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, the

infamous death factory. Today, a Museum, it is a silent witness to human tragedy. In the afternoon, we return to Krakow

via Wadowice, the birthplace of John Paul II.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we will see the house where He was born and grew up. From the window of His

bedroom He used to see a clock with the sign “Time flies, eternity awaits”. In the Basilica of Wadowice, where Karol

Wojtyla, Pope John Paul II, was baptized you can still see the special plaque that commemorates this fact as well as a

stone font where the Pope prayed during His first pilgrimage to Poland in 1979. From here, we return to Krakow. Upon

arrival, you will have free time.

Day 8 Krakow – Wieliczka – Lowicz – Warsaw

This morning we drive to Wieliczka to see the underground world of the oldest salt mine in Europe. Admire the salt

chambers, monuments all carved in salt by many generation of Polish miners. You will be fascinated by the fabulous St.

Kinga Chapel with its beautiful chandeliers, a masterpiece of salt work art. After lunch on your own, we depart for

Warsaw. On the way, we will stop in Lowicz, a typical Mazovian town famous for folk art: especially noteworthy are the

colorful costumes and beautiful paper cut-outs. You will be invited for a home-hosted dinner by a local family, whose

charming cottage is located at the foot of the former Lowicz Castle. You will be welcomed in a typical Polish way, with

bread & salt, and enjoy your meal served by the young married couple in their lovely house. You will have time to talk

about their day to day life and have your dessert in a beautiful garden. After dinner, we continue your drive to Warsaw.

Day 9 Warsaw

After breakfast this morning, your tour will come to an end.

Inclusions: twin share in 4 & 5 stars, breakfast daily, 3 lunches, 4 dinners (including one dinner with folkloric show in Zakopane, and one home-hosted dinner in Lowicz), English-speaking tour escort assistance, local guides, private air-conditioned motor coach/minibus (depending on the group size), cake & coffee/tea at famous Warsaw cafeteria, cake & coffee/tea at famous Krakow cafeteria, Chopin concert, luggage handling at hotels (one piece per person), hotel charges and taxes.

Sightseeing: entrance fees for Warsaw – Royal Castle, Czestochowa – Jasna Gora Monastery and the Black Madonna Shrine, Auschwitz-Birkenau, 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.

Hotels: Warsaw- 5* Sofitel Victoria, Zakopane- 4*Radisson Blu, Krakow-4* Qubus (or similar)