I’m registered for a Best of Poland in 10 Days tour in September, and am wondering what timing should be safe for scheduling a visit to the Schindler factory afterwards. Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14818 posts
Do you mean what time on the departure day or on one of the days on the tour?
If it’s the day that is listed as the “last” day, there are no activities and in fact some of your group may have left before breakfast.
Posted by
OP
Maryland, USA
15 posts
Hi, Pam. I meant on the last day of the tour. I’d like to be at the farewell breakfast but not having been on a RS tour before, I don’t know what time they usually are.
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6552 posts
Malinda, there is no "farewell breakfast" as such. Whatever time the hotel serves breakfast, that's what it will be. Some tour members may plan to have breakfast together, but as Pam said, some folks - about half the group sometimes - will already have left.
Most hotels will serve breakfast from about 7:00 until about 10:30 or so; this varies, though, with weekend hours usually later.
Plan to say your goodbyes at the Farewell Dinner, which will be held the evening of the previous night. (Usually - we were on one tour where the farewell dinner was lunch, and we hadn't been told that ahead of time, but that's very rare.)
Posted by
San Diego, California
5647 posts
The last night farewell dinner is usually very special , not to be missed. Plus many folks have a great time, because there no early call the next morning......if you get my drift...
Posted by
Utah via SF Bay Area
368 posts
I’ve been on 2 tours. You can leave at anytime on the last day. It’s just like any other breakfast morning at the hotel. We’ve had our breakfast and then left.
If you are staying in the same Krakow hotel we were at, I’d suggest taking an Uber to Schindlers.. it’s about a 20 minute drive. If you book at 10:30 or 11 that will give you time to pack up, eat and get to the factory. Depending on your flight or next adventure, the hotel can probably store your luggage.
We walked back to the hotel from the factory. It was interesting to see the area where the getto once stood, now replaced with an open area memorial. Took a cool pedestrian bridge that connected to the Jewish Quarter. There you can find some local restaurants. If you are so inclined you can Google the sites where “Schindlers list” was filmed. I’m Scrapbook 23 ( last I looked) and have more pictures and recommendations.
Posted by
OP
Maryland, USA
15 posts
Thank you, Everyone. I appreciate your responses. This all has been very helpful.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23642 posts
Our pattern is to arrive two or three days early for the beginning of the time as we like to do the jet lag adjustment on our time. And we will stay at least a day and often two days after the tour. Sometimes we are tired and just want to sleep in late and take an afternoon nap. That way we are never rushed.
Posted by
OP
Maryland, USA
15 posts
Frank, that’s our plan, too. We arrive on a Sunday and the tour begins on Tuesday. I think the excitement of this being our first RS tour will energize us, as well.
Posted by
Los Angeles
96 posts
Malinda,
If you haven’t found it already, Make sure you read my RS Best of Poland trip report from Sept 2022. I made specific note about the times of activities each day and how much free time we had. I also go into detail about how to make the most of pre-tour and post-tour days.
Our Poland tour had the Schlinder’s factory tour included (non-guided), but it seems that has been excluded now. Honestly, I didn’t care so much for the museum (very crowded and exhibits not super detailed), and I’m a huge museum fan. But we greatly included the Rynek museum (under the main square) that we booked ourselves for the morning the tour ended. We spent over 3 hrs there, so might be something you want to look into.
If you have any questions about the RS Poland tour feel free to PM me.