Poland Holidays and Escorted Tours
Poland rewards unhurried travel. Its old towns were rebuilt with extraordinary care after 1945, its countryside runs from the Baltic dunes to the granite peaks of the Tatras, and its museums do not flinch from the twentieth century. Kraków, which escaped the worst of the wartime destruction, is where most British visitors start.
Our Poland programme centres on Kraków, travelling by air with UK and overseas transfers arranged, a private coach for every excursion and a tour manager throughout. That means no hire car, no station platforms and no working out which entrance ticket you need.
Frequently Asked Questions About Our Poland Tours
Late May to late September suits most travellers, with September often the pick of it. Spring brings long light evenings and mild days in the mountains; high summer is warm and busy in Kraków's square; September and early October bring settled weather and autumn colour in the Tatra valleys. Departure months vary, so ask us what is currently scheduled.
No. Poland's currency is the złoty, and euros are not generally accepted outside a few tourist-facing businesses. Card payment is widespread, including in cafés, museums and taxis, and contactless is normal. Cash machines are easy to find in the city centre. It is worth carrying a small amount of złoty for market stalls, church donations and tipping.
A fair amount, though nothing strenuous. Kraków's old town is cobbled and covered on foot, the Auschwitz-Birkenau visit involves a couple of hours outdoors on uneven ground, and the guided route at Wieliczka begins with a long staircase descent before a lift returns you to the surface. Coaches drop off as close as city regulations allow. If you have concerns about mobility or stairs, ask us before booking.
Not for a short holiday. Poland is in the Schengen area, and UK passport holders may currently visit for up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. Your passport should have sufficient validity remaining beyond your return date. Entry requirements do change, so check the current Foreign Office advice before you travel, and ask us if anything is unclear.
Old towns and market squares
Kraków's Rynek Główny is the largest medieval market square in Europe, and the trumpeter still sounds the hour from the tower of St Mary's, breaking off mid-note as tradition demands. Wawel Hill above the Vistula holds the royal castle and the cathedral where Polish kings were crowned and buried.
Elsewhere the story is one of reconstruction. Warsaw's Old Town was rebuilt brick by brick after 1944, partly from eighteenth-century paintings by Bernardo Bellotto, and now carries UNESCO listing for exactly that reason. Gdańsk restored its tall merchant houses along the Long Market. Toruń, Copernicus's birthplace, kept its Gothic streets intact and its gingerbread bakers in business.
What strikes most first-time visitors is how much sits within walking distance. Polish city centres are compact, largely pedestrianised and full of cafés with outdoor tables from spring onwards.
Remembrance and the twentieth century
Poland lost around six million people between 1939 and 1945, and the evidence is not tucked away. Auschwitz-Birkenau, about 40 miles west of Kraków, is now a state memorial and museum, visited on foot with a museum-trained guide across the two sites.
It is a sober morning rather than a sightseeing stop. Visitors are asked to keep quiet, groups move at a steady pace, and much of the walking at Birkenau is outdoors on rough ground with little shelter. Most people find it worth doing and are glad of a lighter afternoon afterwards.
Kraków's own Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, tells a longer story: synagogues dating back to the fifteenth century, the old cemetery, and a district that has come back to life over the past thirty years with bookshops, bars and Friday evening services.
Mountains, salt and forest
The Tatras form the highest section of the Carpathians and mark the border with Slovakia. Zakopane, the resort at their foot, has wooden villas with carved eaves, a highland dialect of its own and a cable car up Gubałówka for the full ridge panorama across the valley. You do not need to be a walker to enjoy it.
Underground, the salt mine at Wieliczka has been worked since the thirteenth century and now runs a guided route through chapels, chambers and lakes carved out of rock salt, including a chapel with an altar and chandeliers cut from the same material.
Further afield lie the Mazurian lakes, the Baltic coast around Sopot with its long wooden pier, and Białowieża, the last stretch of primeval lowland forest in Europe and home to wild bison.
