Poland Group Tours

Krakow is a beautiful city with a rich history and culture to explore. The Carpathian Mountains are just as good for walking as The Alps but not yet as visited.

Poland is a lovely country to visit great food, transport, views, accommodation, very reasonable prices for taxis, museum tickets etc. The coutryside is not very busy with other visitors or hikers until you come to the mountain hsuts were the service is generally very efficient.

Hiking the Polish Carpathians was a very good experience. The only downside was the extreme temperatures (36 degrees) and humidity, both of which were outside the control of Explore. Gabi the tour leader was very good and gave great insight into Polish culture and history. The leader had to make a judgement call on the first hiking day when it was clear that some of the group would struggle to make the summit of the first hike, due to high temperatures and exposed approach to the summit, the leader opted for a lower elevation and shaded route. Some of the group were not happy with decision, but it was the right call and showed good leadership skills. I would recommend either arriving a few days early or staying on at the end of the tour to experience more of what Krakow have to offer. E.g excursions to Auschwitz, Schindler's Factory and Salt Mines.

The knowledge and viewing of Scandinavia and Nordic capitols was amazing. Although very concentrated over 10 days we were able to see the importance of each country. Tour director and driver were outstanding. P

This was a very well-organized and memorable tour with a wonderful On-Road Team, beautiful scenery, good weather overall, and a great group of fellow travelers. Helpful things to know before this tour: be prepared to pack an overnight bag for the overnight cruise between Helsinki and Stockholm (it helps with easier movement and the more compact cruise cabins), and bring charging cords for devices on the longer coach rides, as the buses have charging outlets. The rotating seat assignments were also a nice feature, allowing opportunities to meet different fellow travelers and enjoy varied viewpoints during the drives. The movies shown during the longer transit days were enjoyable and helped make the travel time more relaxing. The WhatsApp group set up before the trip made it possible to contact the Travel Director directly when a flight delay and tight connection led to a missed flight the day before the tour started. He quickly coordinated a later pickup time for the prepaid airport transfer after the flight was rebooked. The Insight tour driver was also excellent at navigating narrow city streets shared with heavy bicycle traffic. Overall, the tour was well organized, with comfortable Scandinavian-style hotels, a full but well-balanced itinerary, and plenty of memorable experiences. The group was punctual and easy to travel with, and the recap video shared by the Tour Director at the end was a nice way to reflect on the journey.

I particularly enjoyed visiting and learning about the history in each town center. Each town, large or small, provided its own unique window into how it helped to develop the country of Poland as it is now.