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Poland - 16 night Itinerary

Posted by (Wisconsin) on

We are planning a 16 night trip to Poland in mid-May 2024. I have visited Warsaw and Krakow before but my three friends have not.

We love history and culture so intend to spend a good deal of time in Warsaw and Krakow....and will hire private guides whenever possible. We are flying into Warsaw from Chicago....and out of Krakow. So far, my itinerary looks like this:

Warsaw 4 nights (Thursday - Monday). With 4 nights, we really only have two full days.
Torun 2 nights (Monday - Wednesday)
Gdansk 3 nights (Wednesday - Saturday)
Wroclaw 2 nights (Saturday - Monday)
Krakow 5 nights (Monday - Saturday)

I am uncertain about the 2 nights in Wroclaw. While I am sure it is a lovey city, I am wondering if instead we should add one night to Torun and spend one night in Zakopane since we are already spending 9 nights in large cities. Originally, we were going to do a day trip to Zakopane during our stay in Krakow but it would be nice to slow things down. What about the order of the cities? Is there a way that makes more sense? We will not have a rental car. One note....we prefer not to have layovers and for that reason are starting our trip in Warsaw as we learned we can fly direct from Chicago. Thank you so much for your input.

Posted by
4085 posts

There is nothing wrong with your itinerary as is. After I bump this, someone else may come along with more help. :)

However, if it were me (and it was), I would go all the way up to Gdansk upon arrival and then work my way south. But if you already have your flights, this works.

Again - just me, but if you are looking to cut a city, I might cut Torun instead of Wroclaw. Look at lots of pictures and see which speaks to you. But if you are cutting a stop, I would not add a night to either Wroclaw or Torun. I would add one to Warsaw and one to Gdansk- and keep the day trip to Zakopane (or not) to keep from having to pack up for just one night. I can’t really see how an extra quick one night stop will feel relaxing.

I know they ARE big cities, but neither Gdansk nor Krakow really feel that way to me. And I was surprised by Warsaw, despite what everyone here says - my 4 nights (done somewhat slowly) barely scratched the surface.

Posted by
4624 posts

Having visited 3 of your 4 cities, I would stay 5N in Warsaw and 4N in Krakow. But since you've been to both, perhaps you've got a good vision of how you want to split your time.

Tomorrow will be my 7th full day in Warsaw and I still feel like I'm having to be very selective.

Posted by
31 posts

Thanks you for your input. I think I will leave things as they are. My next task is to find lodging in each city. When I was in Poland a few years ago we stayed at the Best Western Plus in Krakow which was right on the edge of Planty Park. It was a great lication so i am thinking of staying here again...for the location and convenience of being in a hotel for the last 5 days of our trip. Any recommendations for Warsaw or Gdansk? Thanks again.

Posted by
4085 posts

I stayed in apartments in those 2 cities, so I am no help. All I would say is that if you find an apartment (I found mine on booking.com) for extra space and less money, both were a good experience as far as getting in (sometimes not the case).

I took a group to Poland in June and we stayed at the Wyndham Wroclaw Old Town and in Krakow at the Radisson Blu on Floriana Straszewskiego (there are 2). Both were great locations and very nice. By myself I tend to stay in “quirky”. Lol.

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