Poland Tour

This will be a fantastic tour, I hope to do it next year.

Hubby won’t do this tour but I want to. I hope you give us a bit of what you are experiencing while you are on the tour.

We're thinking about it for next year. Stan wants to do either Poland or Eastern Europe; I don't care, as long as we go to Italy as well.

Judy and Diane, I will absolutely do a trip report. If you have read my other reports, you know it will be frank and specific. 😂
Jane, have you done Prague/ Budapest? I think doing that tour back- to- back with Poland would work well. After doing Prague/ Budapest we have returned to Central Europe several times on our own. Lots of great music, which is how we piece together our independent travel.
Having said that- we are actually doing Poland, recovering in Vienna, and then joining the Tuscany tour.
So there is always that. 😏

TravelingMom, Poland and Tuscany is what I’m thinking, too.

the tour does not take us near their villages on the border with Lithuania, but should be a good introduction. The goal is to become familiar with transportation etc and make an independent trip to those villages later.

That area of north-east Poland is quite interesting, a lot of territorial movement in the last 100 years, pre WWII Poland encompassed what is now eastern Lithuanian and western Belarus. Now those territories are lost, but Poland gained what used to be the southern part of the German province of East Prussia.

The Masurian Lakes District is well worth some time if in the area, the region consists of over 2,000 lakes interconnected by rivers and canals, dotted with red-bricked medieval Teutonic towns. It's a popular destination for local Polish families who enjoy fishing, kayaking, hiking, and cycling. IMO the Masurian Lakes District is an undiscovered gem for those seeking tranquility and a connection with Polish nature and history.

TravelingMom,
I think I will spend 4-5 days pre- tour in Berlin and then get myself to Gdańsk a couple days before the tour begins. I want to see Auschwitz after the tour ends.

Your plan of doing the Tuscany tour will be so totally different!
I like the idea of doing the Prague Budapest tour as well. All good tours to consider.

We’ve been to Poland and would love to return one day. We think it is the most overlooked country in Europe by Americans. We have no Polish background at all, but I became obsessed with going after meeting some Polish families at the school where I worked. We used a driver once, from krakow to Wrocław via Częstochowa, otherwise we took the train everywhere - Wrocław to Gdańsk to Warsaw with a day trip to Marlbork. We were two couples.

TravelingMom,

We’re you able to read my full Poland trip review from Sept 2022?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/best-of-poland-tour-review-extras-sept-2022

I tried to be super specific about all aspects of the tour for the next crop of 2023 Poland tour members.
I’m sure you will have a great time as we did!

Travelling Mom

The World War 2 and Solidarity Museums are both excellent, if you are looking for something to do pre-tour.

Galliegirl, I have read your excellent report several times. I frequently check for updates as well. It is so useful to have specifics and tips. Thank you for taking the time to do it.
Traveler99, the WW2 museum is definitely on our list for our free time. I believe the Solidarity Museum is part of the tour.