Hiking in the Polish Carpathians

Excellent itinerary, varied and well thought out. Superb local guides in the mountains and Kraków (very informative and supportive). Unfortunately, the same could not be said about our Explore leader. She got lost in Kraków on the first night and we had to direct her. On the second day, she couldn't find the correct bus and tram. Great hiking,but inevitably on the first day the group became spread out and understandably she stayed with the slow group. The rest of us were sent inaccurate details to find our meeting point, about 3 hours away, luckily we all found it. She did not give us details of the length/ timings of ascents and descents which is vital for our motivation. On the last hike we were given some information, but we were still left on our own to negotiate some quite tricky paths. The slow group went on a different route. It was lucky that most of us were experienced walkers and could use our phones. Our leader didn't connect with us as a group or individually, she gave no information about Polish history or culture. This was our first walking trip with Explore and so we were extremely disappointed with the lack of leadership and guidance from our Explore leader.

Although I appreciate our tour leader was new to the tour and not from that part of Poland, she said she knew what she was doing. It didn't start well with her not being able to find the restaurant on our first night even though she had google maps, this set the scene for the rest of the trip. She didn't seem to know what she was doing, didn't give us any information on Poland or before the hikes (apart from the last one), and wasn't suitably dressed for hiking, as in either tracksuit bottoms or jeans. She just didn't seem interested. Great hiking (although on days 4 and 5 we had to change the iterinary due to poor weather) but poor tour leader. The guides we had on Tuesday and Wednesday (Justina and Maria), were amazing. They explained where we were going and gave us information on the area and answered questions as we went along. If most of us in the group hadn't been experienced hikers it would not have been an enjoyable trip.

Exceptionally well organised tour. The tour leader, Pawel, was professional, helpful and engaging. His local knowledge and the fact that he took time to share local history all contributed to the success of the tour. The itinerary was very good and varied, something for everyone.

Good trip . Only criticism is that the trip was based around people with access to London airports as I live in northern England I needed to arrive and leave on different days to the tour and arrange transport between airport and hotel explore did arrange extra nights at the hotel

I had a wonderful time even though I was unfit for these mountains. I overestimated my hiking ability for this range. The tour leader and group were great. I had a wonderful time with them. I’m glad I went.

A very good hiking trip to part of Europe with which I would say most are unfamiliar. Some stiff climbs up rocky paths and tricky descents, rewarded with great views. I would say grade is high end of moderate. The mountain guide on days 4 and 5 was excellent. Our tour leader was a lovely person. It was her first trip with Explore and I'm sure she will have found it to be a very useful learning experience. A few minor points: 1. the Krakow hotel is 30 min walk from old town. I would have preferred something closer. 2. it would be good to incorporate more time to explore Krakow. 3. on day 6 it would be more sensible to get a raft/boat downstream (or use bus) from start point and then walk back to start rather than effectively do journey twice as we did. 4. one or two of our party had perhaps not properly read the trip notes, being unprepared for the mountain hikes; this made the leader's job unnecessarily more difficult. 5. the group became very spread out on a number of days; we did however have access to route maps on our phones.

Excellent trip.

Great hikes with mixture of lovely forested trails and wonderful open vistas. Some challenging climbs and long descents but all worth the effort. Justina our tour leader was great and we learnt a lot about the history of Poland from her. Always cheerful with a marvellous sense of humour and the holiday was made even more enjoyable by the wonderful group of people on it.

The walk leader was knowledgeable having grown up in the area, so we had a great experience. Only downside, which was she pushed the group, not giving time for the stragglers to rest. We completed the walks with at least an hour to spare. Some trek should have been classed as difficult, rather than moderate.

An enjoyable and well-organized holiday. The hiking comprised a good selection of walks although the paths were a bit more formal and busy than I would have preferred. Three of the four hotels were good and the fourth one adequate. We got the opportunity to experience a good range of Polish cuisine. Our leader was well organized and did everything he could to ensure that we enjoyed our holiday.

This was an excellent hiking holiday which was very well run by our guide Pawel. It featured great views and lots of beautiful scenery. The 1st three days were pretty intensive. The 4th day (Dunajec Gorge) was pleasant but a bit routine so I wonder if an extra day in the wonderful Zakopane area could be substituted. Also on two occasions, we didn’t have lunch until around 3 pm when the hike was nearly over so perhaps the route could be reconfigured a bit. Poland has a rich history and doesn’t seem to have been “discovered” yet so for those arriving early or staying on, there was lots to see and do. Krakow is truly spectacular – one of my favourite cities.

Overall great holiday. Some of the walking a little challenging but this is explained fully in trip notes. Hotel accommodation and transportation good. Explore leader Pawel and mountain guides all exceptional.