Testimonials

May 2023

​PolishOrigins (PO) planned and executed the trip of my dreams. I had researched my family tree for over 26 years, and had gotten as far as I could with US records and a Polish researcher, and HAD to know more. This was my number one bucket list trip. PO knew exactly what I needed and provided it, anticipating everything. When something went wrong at one of the hotels, PO handled it to our satisfaction immediately at no additional cost. I cannot praise our trip manager, Aleksander, and our guides Daniel and Zbigniew for their patience (I hope we did not drive them totally crazy) and the services and expertise they provided to us. Both of our guides were relentless in helping us find relatives and connections. They also had a good sense of humor as we went along, Bob and I still laugh at the voice on Daniel’s GPS in Polish enthusiastically telling him to turn (something like “Sprinchlevel!” many times). After a while, we’d all repeat it and laugh. Their suggestions at places to see when we had some time away from research were spot on, especially Rumiskes in Lithuania and the skansen in Sanok, Poland. I could visualize my ancestors’ lives after seeing these places with PO’s selected extra guides. PO also arranged an superb guide, Kasia, in Warsaw, to tour the ghetto and POLIN, the Museum of Polish Jews, so my husband could get a better feel for how his Jewish relatives lived in Warsaw prior to coming to the US. My husband, a successful entrepreneur with many clients, has very high standards, and was a little skeptical at the beginning of the trip. Now he says PolishOrigins is the very best at what they do, which is exactly what I think! Y’all are the best for genealogy travel in Poland and beyond!

We would recommend PolishOrigins to anyone wishing to travel to the lands of their ancestors, to learn more about them, and to experience where they lived. PO’s planning, services, guides, etc. were all top notch.

May 2023

May 2023

It was fantastic! Found additional family still living on family property. Key to a successful tour is all the advance research beforehand. While one can still get “lucky” without this knowledge, my experience was that we were able to maximize our time on the tour knowing more precisely what information and who we were looking for.

May 2023

Zbigniew was outstanding, did an excellent job with the people we encountered, and we far exceeded our expectations in continuing to discover relatives in both families, in Poland & in Lithuania. We discovered many more family members than we would have imagined; continuing to grow the trees is ongoing. You communicated well, answered all emails (with a sense of humor :)!)

A great visit – thank you to everyone for their efforts.

March 2023

I am writing to thank you for recommending Aleksandra. We took a trip from Warsaw to Pawlowo and visited the church where my Pszczolkowski ancestors worshipped – and we later met three cousins of mine! It was incredibly moving to be able to see the area where my father’s grandfather was from; we even saw the baptismal font that he was likely baptized in. I had hoped to see the area where my ancestors were from, but to meet relatives was more than I dreamed of! Aleksandra was an amazing guide. She is super knowledgeable and was a pleasure to work with. I cannot say enough good things about her. Without her persistence and charm, we would not have been as successful as we were. I would not hesitate to work with her again. I’m going to continue with the research into my other Polish ancestors (in the Poznan area and in the Biala Woda area). I am hoping to work with you in the future to visit these places too.Thank you so much!

January 2023

Polish Origins did research for me before we went on the trip. Their research was very thorough. If we hadn’t done the research, the trip would not have been as successful.

Due to COVID, my trip was put on hold for almost 2 years. Aleksander Zawilski was unbelievably patient and helpful throughout this time. He was great to work with and played a big part in the success of my trip

My trip to Poland to discover my heritage was an amazing, once in a lifetime experience.

I couldn’t be more pleased with Polish Origins and the work they did on my behalf. They are very professional, pleasant to work with and efficient. Every aspect of the trip met and/or exceeded my expectations. Our guide, Zbigniew Stettner was excellent. He is very knowledgeable and skilled in genealogical research; and his character and demeanor are just perfect for the work that he does. He was able to establish trust very quickly with complete strangers. A very valuable trait! Not to mention his cleverness in sorting through historical records! I met approximately 15 relatives I did not previously know and they all welcomed me and my husband with open arms. It was definitely a trip worth taking and I highly recommend this group.

January 2023

I was very well informed at no charge about the process and options before starting the project. Aleksander is always willing to answer my questions in great detail, and explain a lot of things I did not know or understand about Poland and my ancestors. I would definitely enjoy working with him again, and I will definitely recommend him and the organization to all friends and family interested in genealogy. I’ve already made my fellow members of Polish Genealogical Society of New York State USA aware of polishorigins.com as well.

September 2022

I first got in contact with PolishOrigins in 2020 to seek some information on where one of my grandparents village was located. Long story short I develop a relationship with PolishOrigins and because of Covid all travel stopped so I had them research the church records from the four villages my grandparents were born. At that time all I knew from the Ellis Island records from the early 1900s my grandparents names, ages they were when they came to America and the villages they were from. PolishOrigins was able to find who my ancestors were from far back to the late 1700s. The information they found was just amazing. Birth dates, how many children were born, marriage dates, etc. This year my wife and I visited the villages using PolishOrigins as our tour guide. The tour was unreal we got to see the villages and surrounding villages, learn the local history and enjoy the Polish culture. I would strongly recommend using this genealogy tour company.

August 2022

July 2022

My guide was amazing through and through. I fully appreciate him tolerating our minor tardiness in getting ready (my wife and her friend are from Mexico and it’s a cultural thing for them to take their time, ha). He was such a great driver, patient guide as I explained things to my wife and friend in Spanish, and all in all super nice. We all learned a lot from him and I’m very thankful for this. The fact that we also drove a bit out of Zamosc just to pick up the folk traditional attire made a really big difference for me.

The genealogy research satisfied my goals and also taught me a lot of new things; I feel that I can go back to the archives myself and carry out additional research, if needed. Additionally, I know that meeting a relative of mine (on the Gil side of the family) was part of the itinerary – which was enjoyable and we’re still in touch with each other – but the fact that we stumbled across some relatively-close family members is something I will always remember, and I’m very very thankful for this.

We were very well-informed of the tour and my wife – who worked in tourism a while ago – was very impressed with the amount of information provided beforehand. We’d love to recommend this service to anyone else that may be interested.