odysseia

I will be flying into Warsaw and leaving from Krakow. Can anyone comment on my itinerary?
Day 1: fly in, Warsaw
Day 2: Warsaw, travel to Krakow in evening
Day 3: Krakow
Day 4: half day Auschwitz, half day Krakow
Day 5: Wieliczka salt mine
Day 6: fly out

kja

IMO, Krakow deserves FAR more time that you are giving it. Have you plotted what you want to see on a calendar?

odysseia

I haven't looked into the details of my itinerary. However, I do know my interests quite well. Many of the major destinations in Europe don't keep me entertained for too long, as I no longer spend too much time visiting museums and going inside of cathedrals.

Of course, I do believe that Poland will offer a charm different from its major European counterparts. For example, Prague was quite enjoyable for me when I visited the city a few years ago (I believe it has become a much more popular destinations in the past couple of years). On the other hand, a city like Paris got tiring pretty quickly with the 4 days I spent there.

kja

To each his/her own!

As I understand it, most tours of Auschwitz / Birkenau take a full day. I thought the two parts of the camp sufficiently different to warrant visiting both. YMMV.

While in Krakow, consider visiting the Lady with an Ermine. She is very special.

Andrew

Krakow is wonderful city, but three nights should be adequate. I spent three nights there, too. You can do Auschwitz in a (long) half of a day - I did it myself by taking a mini-bus from Krakow up to Oświęcim (Polish name for Auschwitz) early enough to get in to the camp without a tour guide. I even crammed in a visit to the salt mine on the same day - something most people wouldn't do. (All done by public transportation.)

Do keep in mind that the Wieliczka salt mine requires a lot of walking. I enjoyed my visit but it involves a lot of time getting there, waiting, and walking. I'm not sure if I would do this again if I had a limited amount of time in Krakow (whereas Auschwitz is pretty much a must-do, of course). Krakow is a great city to walk around and explore on its own, and of course the Rynek/main square is terrific, especially at night.

I'm generally not a museum person, but I did enjoy the "Historical Museum of Kraków" at the former Schindler's Factory - the section on the Nazi occupation of Krakow was fascinating (I am a World War II history buff). I'm usually yawning after 30 minutes in any museum, but this one held my attention longer, one of the better World War II museums I've visited.

I skipped Warsaw.

Viajero2

Krakow is a gem. I walked hours, very easy city to walk around. I walked from the Jewish neighborhood to the Schindler's Factory, the museum on site is very interesting. There are plenty of "taxi-carts" that can take you there. The square is a definite MUST do, the views from the Castle are gorgeous. Just plan well your sightseeing. I am planning my third trip to Poland, still have not made it to Warsaw, but sure looking forward to get back to Krakow.

cdnyul

Day4: Auschwitz/Birkenau.

It is further from Krakow, and not something you can really rush through. It affects different people in different ways, so YMMW (your mileage may wary)

Day5: half day Wieliczka, half day Krakow.

Get to Wieliczka early enough (taxi?)to catch the first English language tour and you will be back on the surface around 11:00.

Day5.1: Skip Wieliczka, Krakow.

Mark

jjjlski

kja, is Lady with an Ermine on display at the castle?

kja

@ jjlski -- that's the latest word I have. You might want to check with the tourist information office, or perhaps your hotel, to confirm.
http://www.krakow-info.com/dama.htm

And here's a recent news report about her that I thought fascinating:
https://news.artnet.com/art-world/se...evealed-117891

Enjoy!

HappyTrvlr

We visited The Lady with Ermine at Wawel Castle last week. We only bought a ticket to see the painting but walked through the castle and it's courtyard and up two or three flights of stairs to see this masterpiece. It is so beautiful!
We booked a tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau. We were picked up at 8:30am and returned to hotel at 4:45. The camps were quite crowded the day we visited thus the long day, waiting to enter the various buildings.
We loved Krakow and filled four days easily. There is a lot of Pope John Paul II history as he spent his adult life in the city. We did not visit the salt mines.