Experience the world your ancestors had to leave.
10 – day tour through the historical western Galicia, today’s southern and south-eastern Poland, in the 19th century occupied by the Austrian Habsburg empire .
Based on our many years of experience in providing Genealogy Tours and other historical and cultural tailor-made tours in Poland we present you for another year in a row the offer of the PolishOrigins Galicia Tour.
We want to show you traces of the old life which have survived the centuries and tell you stories about the life of your ancestors. We will also show you the present-day life in Poland in which you can still notice many signs of the older times, in authentic architecture and traditional customs, cherished by warm and open people in their everyday life. We were born and grew up in Galicia and we will be proud to tell you all we know about life, now and in the past, in our land.
Our goal is to enrich your understanding of your forefathers’ life. So many of these brave people had to leave their small villages in hope of ensuring a better life for themselves and their offspring. You probably know already a lot about them. You may have managed to collect copies of church records of your grandparents. Perhaps you have read a history book about your grandfather’s village. Or maybe you even remember family stories told by your grandma when you were a child.
But visiting their Old Country gives you something more meaningful and moving.
This is experiencing it deeply by being here, seeing, touching, tasting, breathing and talking about all of it.
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/JZYJQuNnjB52
Itinerary of PO Galicia Tour
Day 1. Meeting Day
Arrival at the Krakow Airport before noon or a day before. We will meet you and provide airport or hotel pickup. We can organize pickup from the Rzeszow Airport (or other), it will require additional fee. Read more about how you can fly directly to Krakow or to Rzeszow.
Check in at the hotel and some time to rest after the journey. We will be accommodated in comfort class hotel in Krosno (about 3h drive from Kraków and 1h drive from Rzeszów).
After meeting our guide and your travel companions, we will invite you for welcome dinner.
Accommodation: 4* Hotel in Krosno
Day 2. Your Ancestors Life Day.
We will visit a famous ethnographic open-air museum where you will see the rural architecture of the region and the representation of a 19th century Galicia town. In the evening be prepared for the country party in the old Galicia style! Read and see more…
Accommodation: 4* Hotel in Krosno
Day 3. The Polish Nobility Day.
First, we will visit Łańcut Castle constructed in the style of a grand aristocratic palace-residence. Next, we will go to a museum of nobility culture located in an old manor house. Read and see more…
Accommodation: 4* Hotel in Krosno
Day 4. Journey in time and space through Carpathian Mountains.
This day will visit Carpathian Troy, an open air archaeological exhibition . Our route to Podhale region will lead through picturesque landscapes of Beskid Niski which is today is one of the wildest areas in the Carpathians, but its history is very rich and its traces of can be seen at every turn. If only the weather permits us, we will not miss the picturesque landscapes of Beskidy Mountains, with the views of Tatra Mountains.
Read and see more about the Carpathian Troy.
In the evening we will arrive in podhale and check in at the hotel near Zakopane.
Accommodation: Comfort class hotel near Zakopane
Day 5. Tatra Mountains and Zakopane.
Sightseeing in the oldest part of Zakopane, visit in the old cemetery in which almost all tombs are unique works of art, made of wood, metal or stone and the oldest wooden church Matki Boskiej Czestochowskiej. You will see some notable examples of Zakopane architecture, such as the Koliba Willa and Jaszczurówka chapel.
You will have free time and a great opportunity to do shopping in the outdoor market.
In the afternoon we will take you to Chocholow village which is comprised almost exclusively of the original Polish Góral highlanders’ wooden houses. Visiting there a folk sculptor and his private folk art museum.
We will have dinner in one of the Zakopane restaurants with live Gorals band music. Read and listen to more…
Accommodation: Comfort class hotel near Zakopane
Day 6. Niedzica Castle, Czorsztyn Lake, and Pieniny Mountains.
We will take you to Dunajec river rafting. We will have dinner in the hotel. Next, we will visit Dunajec Castle, an important center of Polish-Hungarian relations since the 14th century. Read and see more…
Accommodation: Comfort class hotel near Zakopane
Day 7. Zakopane – Kraków.
Krakow. After breakfast, we will leave for Krakow. As you know, there are plenty of magnificent, historic places to see in Krakow. You will have guided tour through the Old Town, Wawel Castle, and many other places. Read and see more…
Accommodation: 3* Hotel in the center of Kraków
Day 8. Kraków and Wieliczka Salt Mines
In the morning we will take you for a walk in Kazimierz Jewish district of Kraków. Immerse in its artistic ambience with cafes, galleries and antique shops. We will enter The Remuh synagogue and cemetery on Szeroka street.
In the heart of Kazimierz there is also the Ethnographic Museum. Its exhibition will be a great summary of what you have seen before, and the collection extends the area beyond Galicia.
In the afternoon we will travel to Wieliczka Salt Mines. This day you will see the wonderful underground world of salt chambers and sculptures. Dinner in one of the charming old town restaurants in Krakow.
Read and see more about Wieliczka
Accommodation: 3* Hotel in the center of Kraków
Day 9. Kraków and Auschwitz museum.
In the morning we will visit the Rynek Underground museum with its archeological exhibition.
After some free time for lunch, travel to Oswięcim and entrance to the Concentration Camp Museum in Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Accommodation: 3* Hotel in the center of Kraków
Day 10. The Communist Day.
Today we would like to explain you the newest history of Kraków and show you the industrial part – Nowa Huta. You will have the opportunity to hear stories and to feel the atmosphere of the communism years in Poland. Read and see more…
Accommodation: 3* Hotel in the center of Kraków
Day 11. Kraków – departure.
After last common breakfast in the hotel, we will transfer you to the Krakow Airport. For people interested in flying back from Rzeszow we can organize travel to the Rzeszow Airport. More…
Download the detailed itinerary with description, photos and costs (in pdf)
Blogs from previous Galicia Tour
Cost
Contact us for tailor-made Galicia Tours at [email protected]
Please be aware that we accept payments in Polish zlotys and this amount expressed in US$ is only for information purposes, valid on the date mentioned above. The current Polish zlotys (PLN) / US Dollars (USD) exchange rate you will find here: current average currency exchange rate between US Dollar and Polish zloty USD/PLN. This is an average currency exchange rate and it is usually distorted by commissions charged by all the financial intermediary institutions (so-called spread between currency buy and sell rates). We operate in Poland as a licensed tour operator and Polish business entity and we accept payments in Polish zlotys (PLN)).
If you are returning PolishOrigins Tours client or want to combine Galicia Tour with tailor-made Genealogy Tour or Family & Friends Tour then you are entitled to a 600 PLN discount. Discounts do not combine.
Tour cost includes: accommodations in comfort class hotels in TWN/DBL rooms with private bath or shower, two meals daily: breakfast, lunch or dinner, transportation between cities by air-conditioned, comfortable mini bus, sightseeing tours as specified in the tour itinerary, baggage allowance of one large suitcase per person, services of an English-speaking guide throughout the whole Tour, hotel taxes, transfers on arrival and departure from and to the airports or hotels.
Not included in the tour cost are items of personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, mini-bar, gratuity to guides and drivers, air transportation to and from Poland.
If you would like to have Private Galicia Tour organized especially for you and your family & friends in any term, please contact us. Also, visit our Genealogy Tours and Family & Friends Tours offer here: http://tours.polishorigins.com
We invite you to contact us by email: [email protected] or by phone: 0048 664 407 089 (6.00 AM – 4.00 PM EST).
If you are interested in the area of former Galicia and you are planning to travel there (in the nearest future or just some day), we invite you to join our Facebook Group, where you can meet our former guests, exchange experiences and ask questions to our team members. From time to time, we will publish there some articles about Galicia and photos from south-eastern Poland.