I am booked for the Best of Poland tour later this year. If you have taken it before, did you feel you would have liked more time at the beginning or end? I’m booking air flight and deciding on extra days. We will go to another city in Europe, still debating on which, for a few days prior to get accustomed to time change and see a little more as long as we are doing the long flight from California. I’m wondering if we would want/need more time at Gdansk or Krakow which begins and ends our tour. Thanks!
Posted by
Upstate New York
132 posts
I took this tour this past summer, 2025. It was my first time in Poland. Not being of Polish extraction, other than what I learned in world history class, I knew little of Poland. So the tour was a totally new adventure. And to put it in the simplest term, it delivered as promised and was an absolute wonderful tour. You will certainly enjoy it. If you get Agnieszka as your guide, you will have an even better time - she was delightful, knowledgeable and attentive to each person in the group.
To your questions, added days? I arrived in Gdansk in the evening of the day prior to the tour’s start. In retrospect, I wish I had another day or two. Gdansk is a delightful city. In my opinion, a “must see” is the new World War II museum. I spent several hours at it and even then felt as though I didn’t have enough time. I highly recommend it. There were several other sights I would like to have visited, such as Westerplatte, the northern coastal cities of Gdynia and Sopot, just to mention a few. Yes, you need at least two additional days in Gdansk, IMHO.
At the other end of trip, when it concludes in Krakow, you need another day there, It may be somber and heavy, but a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau is something you really should consider. Heavy but powerful. It isn’t included on the tour. Easy to get to from Krakow, about an hour away.
Finally, I added three more days to visit Wroclaw. Easy to reach by train, and equally as easy to get back to Warsaw for a flight home. A wonderful city. Smaller than either Krakow or Warsaw. Something of a college town. Beautiful architecture, eateries. A great walking city. I would recommend it.
So yes, the tour is a great one. But I think a few days added on both ends would be worth your consideration.
Questions, etc, please feel free to ask via the forum or PM.
JimD
Posted by
86 posts
We did the RS Poland tour last summer and thought it was amazing. On the way, we flew into Amsterdam so we could stay in the Netherlands for four nights to get over jet lag and check out somewhere else on our way to Poland. We stayed in Leiden and that was a great choice. Then when we flew to Gdansk we had one extra night there before the tour started, which actually gave us a couple of days to explore Gdansk ahead of time, since we arrived from Amsterdam fairly early on the short flight. Definitely check out the WWII Museum if you can since that isn’t on the tour. Keep in mind that museums are closed on Mondays and are free on Tuesdays. We went on a Tuesday and it was very crowded and we had to wait to get in for awhile. Lots of school kids since it was the free day. I recommend getting there early if you go on a Tuesday. Get the audio guide headset as well. It was very good. At the end of the tour we stayed 2 extra nights in Krakow which worked out well. We went to Auschwitz one day and the salt mine the next day. I am really glad we had the extra time at both the beginning and end of the tour. I highly recommend doing that. Enjoy the tour it’s fantastic!