Poland - Here I Come!
 

Finally I almost made up my mind. Will be taking a tour either the first or third week in September. My question is: Which tour group should I hook up with? I have brochures from Cosmos, Orbis, PAT, etc., etc. Has anyone either had good or bad experiences with any particular group? Will you share them with me so I can make a rapid decision? Thanks!

Hi Judy, I can't recommend tours in Poland, but I hope you have a great time. We'll have to compare notes when you return. I know that the folks on Lonely Planet are more into backpacking then tours, but there is some good information on Poland there. <BR>Regards, <BR>Art <BR>

I'm afraid that I don't use organised tours. But I can say that you'll have better care from a company that knows the country, as Orbis does but Cosmos does not. I'm stuck over PAT: is it Polish ? <BR> <BR>I read the Lonely Planet forum daily: there's plenty on Poland but nothing on packaged tours there, I'm afraid. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR> <BR>

Ben - I looked up PAT. It is: Polish-American Tourist (Turystyka Do Polski) - a division of Worldwide Travel, 1285 Riverdale Street, West Springfield, MA 01089-4617. Tel: (413) 747-7702. E-mail: [email protected] <BR>Web site: www.pattours.com <BR>JUDY

other Polish-American travel agencies that have good flight prices and tours are: <BR>http://www.amta.com/ <BR>http://www.jantary.com <BR>but best is to do it yourself since many hotels have english speaking people that can assist with trains, sightseeing directions or booking tours from hotels.

I agree with Peter. It's easy to go not in a package, there are plenty of hotel people (and city tourist offices) to help, you don't spend time sitting in immobile busses waiting for late-comers, and you have a clearer and more direct view of the country. You can still have guided tours of given city centres, museums, cadstles, and so on: hotel staff know who runs them to each place. <BR> <BR>Sorry: I should have said this earlier. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines

Dear Ben, <BR>Returned from my 14 day tour of Poland with Poland American Travel (PAT.) The tour was good because there were only 10 people and we were in a Mercedes minivan <BR>The young guide spoke good English and was flexible when we wanted to do or see other things (within reason.) I redcommend this tour for people who do not feel confident to do it alone. <BR>Judy