Holiday in Poland

Rockman

Hi

I am going on holday with my wife to Prague in August for 7 days. While we am there we would like to travel into Poland to visit Auschwitz concentration camp in Krakow and do some sight seeing in Warsaw.

I am thinking that the best way to do this is to travel from Prague to Krakow do a tour of the camp, stay overnight and travel to Warsaw in the morning. Then spend the day in Warsaw and travel back to Prague in the evening. Is this itinery feasible or should I do it the other way round and do Warsaw first, or should I stay over for 2 nights?

I was also wondering if it is best to do Auschwitz and see the sights of Warsaw using guided tours of both or just do it ouselves. If using a guided tour can anyone recommend a company?

Any other advise/tips will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

RedBern

Can only help out with part of your question - the trip to Auschwitz is about 90 minutes from Krakow in a car (from my recollection) and when you get there there are lots of guides outside that you can use. We were a group of 8, so we had our own guide, otherwise you just join a small group and do the tour with them. I'd say you need a guide to take you around. Whilst in Krakow it is also worth doing the salt mines (which are in Krakow) and are fantastic.

Mr_Wang

If money is less of an issue than time then a day tour can be bought in Krakow from just about everywhere. Old town is where to be and where you'll likely get the best deals.

In terms of Oswiciem there is nothing there other than Auschwitz. But it is located much closer to Katowice than Krakow and flights to/from Katowice are some of the cheapest in Poland.

Just to add about tours - You don't need to do a tour with anyone at all. I walked around alone with my son. Actually, I saw barely any tours whatsoever. Most people are happy to just walk round and imagine.

The Salt mines are worth a visit, but you must go on a tour for these. The main problem is that the tour lasts about 3 hours, which is about 2 hours longer than needed. Don;t break your back trying to get there it's a local bus from outside the mall and costs pence to get there. Worth a visit if you have the time, not a big deal if you haven't.

hxm

I agree with Mr Wang that you don't need a guide for Auschwitz.

And I agree with RedBern that the Salt mines are fantastic - I balked a bit at the cost of it and nearly didn't go, but it was definitely worth the money.

As far as the logistics of the trip are concerned, I'm afraid I can't really help but a week doesn't really seem long enough to me to see Prague, Krakow and Warsaw. Why not plan another trip?

iaps

I agree with hxm. But just in case you might like to know about "SporoTicket Poland" http://www.cd.cz/en/mezinarodni-cestovani/jizdenka/slevy-evropa/-8979/

You could consider visiting beautiful Czech/Polish mountains e.g. Giant Mountains. This is the Polish/Czech border http://mountain-snezka.czech-mountains.eu/ More info http://www.czech-mountains.eu/giant-mountains/

RyanAir starts cheap direct flights to Warsaw (Modlin), so as other suggested, it's better to plan another trip Warsaw - Krakow - Katowice, or vice versa.

jason1231972

As advised, you don't need a guide for Auschwitz, but I've used these: http://www.escape2poland.co.uk/auschwitz_tour.html

They were bloody excellent. It was about £20 per person for a thorough and 'intimate' tour in a small Transit-type van as part of a small group, including door-to-door transport.

We booked and paid for it whilst still in the UK (they're UK-based), and got email vouchers a few days before departure. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and informative, though there was also plenty of opportunity to go off and do your own thing for a bit.

We're experienced travellers (and have travelled Poland extensively), but we used a guide because we're a bit lazy, and it being our first time in Krakow (and to date our only time in Auschwitz), we wanted to be sure that everything would be organised properly.

So, totally do-able without a guide, but if you choose one, I can't recommend escape2poland enough.

Rockman

hxm wrote: »

I agree with Mr Wang that you don't need a guide for Auschwitz.

And I agree with RedBern that the Salt mines are fantastic - I balked a bit at the cost of it and nearly didn't go, but it was definitely worth the money.

As far as the logistics of the trip are concerned, I'm afraid I can't really help but a week doesn't really seem long enough to me to see Prague, Krakow and Warsaw. Why not plan another trip?

Thanks for that-i may decide to extend the holiday to 10 days.

Rockman

iaps wrote: »

I agree with hxm. But just in case you might like to know about "SporoTicket Poland" http://www.cd.cz/en/mezinarodni-cestovani/jizdenka/slevy-evropa/-8979/

You could consider visiting beautiful Czech/Polish mountains e.g. Giant Mountains. This is the Polish/Czech border http://mountain-snezka.czech-mountains.eu/ More info http://www.czech-mountains.eu/giant-mountains/

RyanAir starts cheap direct flights to Warsaw (Modlin), so as other suggested, it's better to plan another trip Warsaw - Krakow - Katowice, or vice versa.

Hi-thanks for the SporoTicket tip.

Rockman

Rockman wrote: »

Hi-thanks for the SporoTicket tip.

Can anyone suggest other places of interest in Poland?

Thanks

Voyager2002

Any reason why you plan to spend a day in Warsaw?

While it is the national capital, it was effectively wiped off the map during the war and rebuilt afterwards, so lacks the beauty and history of Krakow. Personally I would spend more time in Krakow (and in Prague, come to that) and give Warsaw a miss.

Remember that Auschwitz is a scene of mass-murder rather than a conventional tourist attraction. Be prepared to feel upset and angry after your visit; don't plan other entertainments or a nice lunch afterwards. Since several members of my family were killed there, I think it great that the history is remembered and commemorated, but the idea of seeing it as a nice outing among others is somewhat tacky.

Hobsons_Choice

If you're in Prague (or Krakow) take a trip to the Tatra Mountains. Zakopane is lovely, and an antidote to Auschwitz and all its horrors. Spend a fair bit of your time in Krakow, the whole city is compact, beautiful and walkable and was spared the ravages of WW11.