The Best 9 days Itinerary in Poland Post Berlin Marathon

Do you think I should visit Gdansk as well by removing Wroclaw for the 9 day trip?

When I planned my trip for April 2024 I ended up dropping Wroclaw to extend my stays in Gdansk, Warsaw and Krakow, and I also thought that Wroclaw might have been similar to Krakow. And I know that Wroclaw has its fans on the forum, and many say it's charming. It may also be a better fit for your travel route, if you're locked into departing from Warsaw.

Gdansk was my favorite of the three cities I visited, due to the architecture [albeit rebuilt], setting right on the water and the giant crane, and the fact that my grandfather worked in the shipyards before emigrating to the States in 1910. If you like history and museums, both the Museum of the 2nd World War and the Solidarity Center are definitely worth seeing [as is the Warsaw Uprising museum in Warsaw]. So you should weigh your priorities - you only have nine days and you may want three nights in Gdansk.

If you intend to visit Auschwitz, than Zakopane may be taking valuable time from Krakow.

As for hotels, the Chopin Boutique B&B in Warsaw - be sure to attend one of the Chopin Soirees [booked direct], Wawel Hotel in Krakow - great breakfast in the Black Duck restaurant, and make a reservation for dinner [direct], Hotel Admiral in Gdansk - RS tours stay here, and excellent buffet breakfast [booked on Amex Travel to get the Skymiles Gold Card travel credit].

Be sure to download the Jakdojade app for public transportation; I'm guessing you already have Bolt.

Berlin + Poland should be an amazing trip.

Hi Dear Markcw,
This is really helpful! I really appreciate all the info and you taking the time to write to me. I'm not aware of those two apps and it will be very helpful for my Poland trip.
Yes my departure from Poland has been set to from Warsaw. I check on the route and it seems more challenging to add Gdansk by removing Wroclaw. what do you think if I do Berlin → Gdansk ( 3 nights) → Krakow (3 nights) → Warsaw (3 nights) vs the original itinerary? Would this cut too short on Krakow and I would spend too much time on the transition given Gdansk is far away from other cities? I would like others to chime in as well. Thank you all.
Your hotel recommendations are really helpful. I will book those hotels.
All the best.

I think your route makes sense given your start and end constraints. I really liked Gdansk but I don't think it makes sense with the travel time from Gdansk to Krakow. I would skip Zakopane if you are doing Auschwitz and the Salt Mines. I could have used more time in Krakow.

Here is my trip report if you are interested:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/poland-christmas-season-december-2024

There is a direct train from Berlin to Gdansk and a direct train from Gdansk to Krakow. As far as how many nights to spend in each city, I suggest you make a list of things you want to see and do in each city, figure out how long each of those takes and decide from there. The train from Berlin to Gdansk takes about six hours and arrives late in the evening, so that day is given over to travel.
I very much enjoyed Gdansk, especially the Solidarity museum.

Berlin → Gdansk ( 3 nights) → Krakow (3 nights) → Warsaw (3 nights)

If you want to do Gdansk, given the short amount of time you have, you might want to consider flying - and I know it would be more expensive than the train. LOT has flights to Gdansk via Warsaw throughout the day, so if you left right after the marathon you'd have more time overall. Long train trips between Berlin =>Gdansk and then Gdansk=>Krakow would really eat into your time on the ground, so try to eliminate one of them. And as much as I liked Warsaw, if you need to pick up a night, I'd subtract from Warsaw and then add to Gdansk or Krakow - where you would need one day for Auschwitz and the better part of a second day if you want to see the salt mines (which I skipped and don't feel deprived). If you want to do both museums in Gdansk, and you're traveling the day of the marathon, then I might do Gdansk 4, Krakow 3 and Warsaw 2. The high-speed train from Krakow to Warsaw is frequent and under three hours.

The Berlin-Wroclaw is on a direct train line making it a much easier connection than Gdansk. Gdansk is beautiful but given your time, Wroclaw makes much more sense logistically. Eat on the train after you cross into Poland. It’s cheap and surprisingly good. Wroclaw is a delight. Maybe my favorite city to wander in Poland. Krakow has sooooo much to offer. It could fill a month. What do you want to see/do/be in Zakopane? Thermal spas, mountain hiking, highland architecture and culture? I’ve visited twice and each time wanted more. Still, your timeline is really short. Maybe on a sunny day with definite plans of what you’re going to do once there.
Come to our Portland travel group meet up this weekend. I sent you a dm with more info. Love Poland..

Thanks everyone for your great feedback and suggestions. I think I will stick with my current plan and give me another reason to come back to visit Poland next time. I will finalize the hotel booking following advices from this thread.
I look forward to visiting Poland in September.
Thanks again for your great help.
All the best,
Bing

A follow up question: By reading on the forum, it seems that Warsaw might be less attractive than other Polish Cities, should I just do two nights at Warsaw before departure from Poland? Should I do this a) Berlin → Wroclaw (3 nights) → Krakow (4 nights) → Warsaw (2 nights) or b) Berlin → Wroclaw (2 nights) → Krakow ( 5 nights) → Warsaw (2 nights).
What do you think option a, b, or stick with my original itinerary?
Thank you.
Bing

As with all cities, how many days you stay should be based on what your interests are, not necessarily what the majority might say. I, for one, am guilty of not doing just that. Originally, I planned to spend a few days in Warsaw, but after reading the forum, I figured based on our interests, we'd need 5 full days. Looking more deeply into it, I discovered that ideally, it would not. An extra day or even two would have been a good idea. But too late for me as I've already jammed quite a bit into our timeframe, reservations were made and tickets elsewhere we already purchased. We have the luxury of spending a good bit of time there, but we're still missing things we'd like to see. So, don't make my mistake. Carefully consider what's most important for you, then allocate your days accordingly. Have a great trip!

Thanks so much Wanderlust58. So you spent 5 days in Warsaw and you think you could use one or two additional days in Warsaw? It seems that I need to keep 3 nights in Warsaw and just do two nights in Wroclaw. I totally understand it's personal preference. thanks a lot for your feedback.
Bing