Thinking about a 7-8 day trip to Poland in September. Krakow for sure; Warsaw if it could be worked out. Interested in an all-inclusive escorted or semi-escorted tour. Any suggestions on getting me started? Many, many thanks in advance. From Chicago.

What are your interests?
Budget?
etc

We are booked on a one-week "Scenic Poland" tour in September. You might want to take a look:

http://www.europetraveltours.net/pol...nic-poland.htm

We normally don't do tours, but decided this was the best use of our time for Poland. We also plan to visit Austria.

Yuck, that tour betty refers to is a whole lot of Warsaw, a bare bit of Krakow (which is a city that deserves a few nights) and really nothing else. Poland is a big country and the Poland tour Betty mentions doesn't touch Gdansk, Poznan, Wroclaw or other points of interest and leaves so much of Krakow untouched you would wonder if you visited. The other tours that same company runs would give you more time around Krakow, but not so much IN Krakow.

From Chicago, you can do Gdansk/Warsaw/Krakow easily on your own, especially if LOT is still running the Krakow-Chicago route. Fly to Gdansk through Warsaw, stay 2-3 nights (Gdansk crane, Post Office where essentially the opening shots of WWII were fired, the shipyards where Lech Walesa and Solidarity reshaped Polish politics, Malbork Castle just 30 minutes away by train); train or fly to Warsaw for a couple of nights (it is NOT the best city in Poland from a tourist perspective) and then take the express train to Krakow for another 3-4 nights. Very easy. You can book side trips out of Krakow (Oswiecim, Salt Mines) from your hotel without problem.

If LOT no longer runs the Krakow-Chicago route (I don't know why it wouldn't, Chicago has more Polish people than any city in the world other than Warsaw), it's easy enough to go from Krakow to Warsaw on the day for your flight home -- take the express train, sleep a bit, grab a cab from Warsaw station and you're good.

I spent a few days in Krakow last spring and loved it and wasn't there nearly enough time. I'm going back to Poland this September (maybe we can have a GTG with the September Poland folks) to see more of that wonderful country, especially Krakow.

Eagerly looking for input from others on Poland. So far we have Warsaw (flying in and out), Poznan, Wroclaw, and Krakow with a side trip to Zakopane. I also plan to get a private guide for a day to see the wooden churches south of Krakow.

I'm planning on 5 days in Krakow - it's a wonderful place!!

Depending upon your preferences generally, if you're not necessarily tour people, you really don't need a tour for Poland. It is a wonderful, friendly, easy country to get around and you see So SO much more than if you do the tour thing. You can really walk around the city -- Warsaw is fascinating! Krakow is fascinating -- and get a feel for it rather than just watching monuments go by.

On the other hand, if tours are the way you feel most comfortable, there are a number of tour agencies in Chicago and I'd look at the various reviews on Trip Advisor, etc. for references.

You make me wish I could give you a specially guided tour myself. (But I'm not there.) Feel free to write back with specific questions, parts of Warsaw to stay, likewise Krakow. Other cities I'm not so familiar with. But Warsaw, I can tell you almost anything.

I agree with Lulealady that Poland is a friendly & easy country to travel in without going on a tour, unless you feel more comfortable with a tour. If you decide to go on your own, I recommend staying at Hotel Saski in Old Town, it's about 1/2 block from the Main Square. Great location, & excellent hot & cold buffet breakfast.

Lulealady - do you have a link to bus schedules for Krakow? Specifically the schedule from Krakow to Zakopane.

Thanks!

www.szwagropol.eu www.inyourpocket.com

P.S. adrienne; Consider starting another tread so we don't get off topic on this persons interests.

Hi Dick - did you notice the OP hasn't been back in 10 days?

No, but I must admit, I'm a little slow. However, I did give you a bus schedule. LOL Richarda--where are you??

Thanks Dick. It did take a bit of wandering around to find the bus schedule from your link but I did find it.

Organized tour in Poland?
Never tried it.
So here I won't be much helpful.
But if you have any questions on what to see and do, you can always write to me (poland-travelguide.blogspot.com - it's my new, still under construction website, but there is my mail)
I know Poland quite well and I love wandering...

adrienne; We have only been to Poland twice, once a driving trip, but I don't pretend to be an expert. So, if I were flying in and out of Warsaw, this is what I would do. Arriving in Warsaw, I would take a fast train to Krakow [3 hours and sleep as much as possible]. Krakow is indeed wonderful. When leaving Krakow, hire a car and head to Wroclaw, with a stop in Czestochowa to visit the shrine of the Black Madonna. Then on to Poznan. For me , I would then consider Torun, a lovely city. Finally, on to a stop in Warsaw. Amazing how the Polish people rebuilt the old town. We found driving in Poland very easy, as the roads were well marked. Richard www.poland.travel/en-us www.staypoland.com www.experiencepoland.com www.in-poland.co.uk

Thanks again, Dick. We're pretty much set on the itinerary above, in that order. I'm just looking for any insights in each city. We will not rent a car as we'll be mostly in cities.

I did consider Torun but we ran out of time and won't be able to go there this trip.

I am interested in traveling to Poland also but was wondering about the language. I don't speak Polish (other than a few phrases) and was wondering if that will be an issue.

I don't speak Polish either and did fine last year in Krakow. I'm sure everyone dealing with tourists will speak English.

Even if no one speaks English I have never had a problem making my needs known.

heh, that's right... everyone SEEMS to speak English there...-(if in trouble check on wwww.poland-direct-guides.com -We found them really helpful last year in Krakow

What Russ wrote is an opinion betty - you just didn't like it because it didn't validate your choice.

I note, especially, that he didn't make it personal and you did.

Since when is calling someone a foul name allowed in the Forums?