Following in the footsteps of the Polish Saints – Maximilian Kolbe and Faustina Kowalska. The programme includes the following places: Warsaw, Niepokalanow, Plock, Glogowiec, Swinice Warckie, Czestochowa, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Krakow, Kazimierz – the former Jewish district in Krakow, Wieliczka – the Salt Mine, Lagiewniki, Wadowice – the hometown of Pope John Paul II, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
Following in the footsteps of Polish Saints
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Zakopane
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Czestochowa
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Wieliczka Salt Mine
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Wieliczka Sant Mine
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Auschwitz
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Warsaw
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Warsaw
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Warsaw
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Day 1 Arrival in Warsaw
x Arrival in Warsaw by plane or coach. Meeting with the tour leader from Ernesto Travel and transfer by coach to the hotel in Krakow. Check-in at the hotel. Dinner at the hotel reataurant or at a restaurant in the centre of Warsaw (depending on the arrival time). [This program can begin in Krakow, Katowice or another city according to the flight schedule]. Overnight stay in Warsaw. 14:00 Lunch at the hotel. 15:00 Guided tour of Warsaw: Lazienkowski Park with the Frederic Chopin monument, The Warsaw Ghetto and Umschlagplatz – thousands of Jews were deported to the concentration camps from here – the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Palace of Culture and Science, Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street, the Old Town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The Castle (without going inside) and St. John’s Cathedral. The Old Town was completely destroyed during World War II and reconstructed thanks to the commitment of the Polish nation. 18:00 Free time in the Old Town. 20:00 Dinner combined with a music concert in one of the local restaurants (optional). 22:00 Return to the hotel. The last night in Warsaw. -
Day 2 Warsaw – Niepokalanow – Plock – Warsaw
8:00 Breakfast at the hotel. 9:00 Visiting Saint Stanislaw Kostka's Church. It's the burial site of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, who was kidnapped and brutally murdered by communist militia officers in 1984. ( There will be a mass to attend there.) The theme of this part of the journey is: "The Church during Communism". 11:00 Departure for Niepokalanow. 12:00 Sightseeing in the Sanctuary of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which was founded by Father Maximilian Kolbe. 13:30 Lunch in Sochaczew near Niepokalanow. 14:30 Departure for Plock. 16:00 Arrival in Plock and sightseeing in the 17th century Cathedral Basilica, 10th century Benedictine Abbey and the Congregation House (where Faustina worked and experienced her first revelation of Divine Mercy in 1931). 18:30 Departure for Warsaw. 20:00 Arrival in Warsaw. Dinner at the hotel or restaurant in the city center. Overnight stay in Warsaw. -
Day 3 Warsaw – Glogowiec – Swinice Warckie – Czestochowa
7:00 Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out from the hotel. 8:00 Departure for Glogowiec. 10:00 Visiting Glogowiec and Swinice Warckie: two places important to St. Faustina Kowalska. Glogowiec was where she was born, and Swinice Warckie was where she was baptized. 13:00 Lunch in Swinice Warckie. 14:30 Departure for Czestochowa. 18:30 Arrival in Czestochowa, check-in at the hotel. 19:30 Dinner at the hotel. 20:30 An evening walk to Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa and prayer in front of the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary called the Black Madonna. 22:00 Return to the hotel. Overnight stay in Czestochowa. -
Day 4 Czestochowa – Auschwitz – Birkenau – Krakow
8:00 Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out from the hotel. 9:00 Guided tour of the most important pilgrimage place in Poland – the monastery in Czestochowa: Jasna Gora with the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary – the Black Madonna. 13:00 Lunch at a traditional restaurant in Czestochowa. 14:00 Departure for Auschwitz-Birkenau. 16:00 Guided tour of the area of the former concentration camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau. The camp was built by Nazis during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Today this place is a World Heritage Site of UNESCO. 19:00 Departure from Oswiecim (Auschwitz) for Krakow. 20:00 Arrival in Krakow. Check-in at the hotel. 20:30 Dinner with typical Polish food at the hotel or at a restaurant, combined with a Jewish music (Klezmer) concert in Krakow. -
Day 5 Krakow – the heart of Poland, Kazimierz – Jewish district and Wieliczka – The Salt Mine
8:00 Breakfast at the hotel. 9:00 Guided tour of Krakow. The Wawel Hill with the castle (optional sightseeing inside), its beautiful courtyard and the Cathedral (sightseeing inside). Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture of the Old Town (Stare Miasto), the biggest market square in Europe (Rynek Glowny), the Town Hall, Collegium Maius – an ancient building belonging to the Jagiellonian University, the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), Saint Mary’s Church (Kosciol Mariacki – sightseeing inside) with Veit Stoss's famous altar. Walking to the antique walls of the Old Town through Florianska Gate and to the Barbican. The Czartoryski Museum with Leonardo Da Vinci's famous painting called “Lady with an Ermine”. Sightseeing will include a multimedia presentation about the story of amber called “Polish Gold”. In 1978, Krakow was put on UNESCO's World Heritage List. 13:30 Lunch at a restaurant in Krakow. 15:00 Visiting the former Jewish district – Kazimierz. This part of Krakow was the centre of the Jewish community's religious and social life until the deportations during the Nazi occupation (sightseeing inside 1 or 2 synagogues). A short stop in front of Schindler's Factory on the way to the Salt Mine in Wieliczka. 17:00 Transfer to Wieliczka (10 km from Krakow). 17:30 Guided tour in the Wieliczka Salt Mine – one of the oldest salt mines in the world. Many famous people have visited this place, such as Mikolaj Kopernik, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Dmitrij Mendeleev, Boleslaw Prus, Ignacy Paderewski, Karol Wojtyla, etc. In 1978, Wieliczka Salt Mine was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. 20:00 Dinner at a traditional Polish restaurant in Wieliczka combined with a folk music concert. Return to the hotel and the night is spent in Krakow. -
Day 6 Krakow – Lagiewniki – Wadowice – Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – Krakow
8:00 Breakfast at the hotel. 8:30 Departure for the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki (a district in Krakow) – after breakfast. 9:00 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy". Visiting the monastery in Lagiewniki. The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy is where Saint Faustina Kowalska lived and died. This Monastery was proclaimed "The center of Divine Mercy" by Pope John Paul II during his stay in Poland in 2002. On Divine Mercy Sunday (a week after Easter), thousands of people come there to participate in masses and pray in the antique church where Saint Faustina Kowalska (founder of the cult of Divine Mercy) was buried. 12:00 Departure for Wadowice, where John Paul II was born in 1920. 13:30 Lunch at a restaurant in Wadowice. 15:00 Visiting the Pope's house and the church where he was baptised. 16:30 Departure for Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. 17:00 Visit at the Bernardine Monastery in Kalwaria, the 3rd most famous shrine in Poland. The whole Mannerist complex (including the sanctuary and a park) is also listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. 18:30 Return to Krakow. Free time. 20:00 Dinner with typical Polish food at a restaurant in Krakow. 22:00 Return to the hotel. The last night in Krakow. -
Day 7 Departure from Krakow and from Poland
x Breakfast at the hotel. Check-out from the hotel. y Transfer to the airport. Departure from Poland.
