Caramia

Hello fellow Fodorites! We are in the very early stages of planning a fantasitc trip to Poland! I will be traveling with my Mother-in-law and my Polish Grandparent in-laws. Background: my grandparents have been to Poland several times, are fluent in Polish and will be in Warsaw the first few days in September. This will be my MIL and my first trip to Poland. We would like to do some traveling before we finish up our trip in Warsaw. Some places that interest us are Austria, Hungary, Prague, and of course other areas of Poland. We are planning on spending about 2 weeks in these areas (including the 3-4 days in Warsaw). We think maybe a tour would make sense for the 4 of us? But, the difficulty we may encounter would be finding a tour of all these places that matches up for our specific dates. Maybe looking at tours in a couple of these areas, and trying to do others on our own? Although, I have never done a tour for my European trips, it may make sense for this trip because of the convenience factor for the 4 of us? Can we do all this in 2 weeks? Has anyone done a similar itinerary to this one?! I will certainly spend some time reading other posts - but, any thoughts are greatly appreciated - please help me in getting started! Thanks!!

Christina

I think you would have trouble finding a tour to fit what you want to do, and there aren't as many in that area as some other countries to begin with. ONe of the best is not in business any more (Laifer tours). Tatra Travel has some, but I just don't think you'll find anything to suit your trip.

You can do that in two weeks but you won't be spending much time in each place, of course. I would limit it to maybe Poland and Czech Republic, you could throw in Budapest maybe. But four countries? a bit much.

So all I can say is I like Poland very much and recommend Krakow, of course, one of my favorite cities and I really liked Wroclaw, also.

iris1745

Hi; Christina gave you some good suggestions. Another suggestion would be to fly into Warsaw [4 days]. Train to Krakow [3 days]. Train to Vienna from Krakow, takes seven hours. [3 days] Train to Budapest, takes about three hours. [3 days] Fly home from Budapest. When leaving Warsaw, you could also consider a train to Wroclaw, before going on to Krakow. [1 day] See this web site for information/downloads on Warsaw, Wroclaw and Krakow. www.inyourpocket.com/ Dick

Caramia

Thanks for your responses, I'll look into it further and get back to you with any questions!

maitaitom

Hi Caramia,

We spent five days in Prague, one day in Cesky Krumlov, one day in Olomouc and four days in Kraków last year. Click on my name and go to my central Europe trip report, Those are the first 11 days. Enjoy!

Caramia

Wow - Tom - great trip report, thanks for directing me to it! I'm still working on reading all of it - but, so far I am really enjoying it!

I have some additional thoughts on my trip. Thank you for your comments. As I suspected, the original idea that we could do Vienna, Prague and Budapest and see a lot of Poland would be too much for 2 weeks. We need to fly in and out of Poland (either Warsaw or Krakow). We definately want to visit at least Warsaw, Krakow, and Gdansk. If we had to choose only one (maybe 2) side trip outside of Poland, what should it be? (Vienna, Prague, or Budapest)Based on the above, I understand a train from Krakow to Vienna, is about 7 hours. I think the train from Krakow to Prague is about 8 hours. (I didn't realize Vienna and Budapest are only 3 hours apart via train, that may be an interesting option) But, I heard there are only overight trains between Krakow and Budapest, is this true? How long is Prague from Budapest, via train? I think we would like to avoid overnight trains, and want to choose the most convenient and safest route between cities.

Caramia

Okay - so, I think we have 2 options with regard to the flights. Option A: Fly direct to Krakow, drive to Gdansk, fly to Warsaw, depart Warsaw. Option B: Fly into Gdansk, drive to Krakow, travel to Warssaw, depart Warsaw. Any thoughts on which one of these options makes more sense? If we were to add a side trip (Austria, Vienna, or Prague) would that be possible, and with which itinerary would it work best and how?

Caramia

Also, what are people's thoughts on driving, flying or train from Krakow to Gdansk? Is it a pretty train ride? Would it be an easy ot a difficult drive? What are the roads like? Thanks!

Kwoo

HI Caramia,
How are you coming along with your trip planning? I would add Prague to your itinerary. It is doable from Krakow. In 2003 we visited both Prague & Krakow for a 10-day vacation and it worked out very well. We took the day train from Prague to Krakow and the overnight train from Krakow to Prague. Have you made hotel reservations for Krakow yet? We stayed at the Saski Hotel, very nice, about 1/2 block from the Main Square. Breakfast was included, which consister of a decent buffet and eggs cooked to order. We visited the Salt Mines, Aushwitz, Wawel Cathedral & Palace, St. Mary's Church & Kazimierz.

When are you leaving?
Karen

Ozarksbill

Wonderful! Great you can travel with family and some of them speaking Polish too. I think a tour would save you alot of grief with travel details. You might check my brief trip report of June 25, 2005 "Back from Central Europe." So I do think there might be merit in a reasonably priced tour and would recommend Grand Circle since some of your party is older. This is a more leisurely approach to travel with fewer moves than some commercial tours, also an emphasis on the culture and learning experiences.

As you will see we arrived in Warsaw for some sightseeing (also Chopin recital etc) and then on to Krakow for some time (Czestochova shrine en route) with trip to Auschwitz, also Zakopane in the mountains and village of Olomouc. Next stop was Prague with touring in Old Town, castle, Musha museum, side trips to Dvorak country home with concert, Nosolov village with dinner and polka party.

On to Budapest and Heroes Sq., Palace, Parliament bldg, river trip to Szentendre, music festival. Final leg to Vienna with tours of Schoenbrunn and Hofburg castles, trip out in Vienna Woods to Baden, Strauss and opera concerts.

This is a brief run down. You can take in or opt out of various tours and also there is free time.

Ozarksbill [email protected]

Fadoinka

I would suggest flying into Warsaw and immediately taking the train to Gdansk. Yes, it's a fairly long trip...about 4 1/2 to 5 hrs...but you can rest on the train and fight possible jet lag. After Gdansk, head back to Warsaw and spend some time there; although I would only recommend 2 nights in Warsaw.

From Warsaw, you can get cheap flights into Prague/Vienna/Budapest or take a train. Since you stated you must fly out of Poland (Krakow preferably and using Krakow as your city for departure home), there's no way getting around some long train/bus rides or flights, for your "out of Poland" and "back into Poland for departure" segment(s). Personally, I would go with the Budapest recommendation. It's a fabulous city...not that Prague and Vienna aren't.

Two weeks might sound like a lot of time, but it really isn't, considering the territory you're trying to cover. No matter what itinerary you choose, I'm sure you will have a great time!

Ozarksbill

I'm posting this in several forum places. Today marks the 70th anniversary of the German invasion of Poland leading to so much destruction and suffering. You wouldn't believe the total leveling of Warsaw as you stand today in Old Town Square. My friend Harvey then a 10 year old living in Frankfort (and same age as Ann Frank also there but soon to move away to safer Amsterdam) remembers his father's comment: "Now I know where Hitler will put the Jews." It was thought at the time that relocation would be a Nazi goal...
not realizing it would be much, much worse. Harvey BTW is a Holocaust survivor whose constant thought for years was one thing: food. I could tell stories!

Ozarksbill [email protected]

GSteed

Please re-consider your plans. Get a map and chart the countries you mention. Use a spread sheet and plot the travel times. I estimate that you will spend a week travelling. Use Fodor's Poland and read the tours that they have worked out.

GSteed

Addendum. Consider hiring a minivan and driver.