Krakow-Prague - Pearls of Central Europe

Krakow – Prague
Highlights of Eastern Europe

Day 1st
Your arrival in Cracow, transfer to a centrally located hotel. Time to relax and an overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 2nd
Breakfast, guided tour of Cracow: the Main Market Square, St. Marys Basilica and historical trade pavilions of the Cloth Hall, the Royal Route, Collegium Maius, Wawel Hill with its renaissance Royal Castle and Cathedral; a walk round the Old Jewish Quarter - Kazimierz. Dinner in a regional restaurant with live folk music, overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 3rd
Breakfast, departure for a one of two optional tours to chose from for that day:
- Wieliczka Royal Salt Mine - a visit to the famous Royal Salt Mine with a numerous underground chambers, chapels and salt sculptures. That place is inscribed in UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as Auschwitz – Birkenau Museum;
or
- Auschwitz – Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim - the biggest German Nazi concentration camp from the II World War. Next, return drive to Cracow and an overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 4th
Breakfast, transfer to the Cracow train station and departure by express train to Prague, where you will be welcomed by our driver. Transfer to a centrally located hotel. Time to relax and an overnight at a hotel.

Day 5th
Breakfast, and half-day tour of Prague, with English speaking guide. You will visit the Old Town, the New Town and the Little Quarter including a 70 minute excursion of the Prague Castle with entry to the St. Vitus Cathedral. The tour includes a visit to the area of the Prague Castle and the ancient Jewish Quarter Josefov (from the outside). The tour ends at the top of the Old Town Square Tower with a fantastic view of the city. Afternoon time for a private walks, gift shopping. An overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 6th
Breakfast, and whole day tour to Karlovy Vary, the world-famous spa, founded in 1358 by Charles IV. After a 2 hour drive west from Prague, you stop at the Moser glass factory, where you can read about the history of Moser and view (or purchase) the wonderful objects they make. On arrival at the Old City Center, lunch in the restaurant of hotel Termal. Afterwards you will have time for a walk around the city. You will come to Prague later that day. Time to relax and firewall walk. An overnight stay at a hotel.

Day 7th
Breakfast, transfer to the Prague airport or train station. Departure.


Tour dates: any between March 1st and October 31st of 2024 on your request.

Price: 1590 $ / person
(min 2 person group)


Price includes:
- all necessary airport / hotel / train station transfers upon arrivals and departures;
- accommodation at 3* - 4* centrally located hotels in Cracow and Prague, in a double or twin bed room;
- breakfasts at the hotels, lunch in Karlove Vary, dinner in Cracow;
- guided in English tours mentioned in the tour program above, with transfers and entrance tickets;
- train ticket for Cracow-Prague journey by express train;
- VAT (tax).

Price excludes:
- meals not mentioned in the program,
- personal expenses,
- single bed room with extra fee, on request.
 
Another Central Europe tours offer - Crossing Southern Border and Along the Baltic coast

Cracow- an ancient magic city.
Cracow offers a wide spectrum of museums, art galleries full of exhibitions, theatres, historic cellars, clubs, cafes & restaurants with live music, is an exciting destination for the travelers on the world map!
The city’s cultural heritage is mirrored in its intellectual achievements – the Jagiellonian University is the oldest in Poland. The student population of the city numbers almost 100,000 and this large student population fires a lively nightlife scene that burns brightly in the atmospheric cellar bars away from the tourists above. Cracow has sharply contrasting seasons with cold, snowy winters and fresh springs and autumns. Visitors should beware of the locals’ use of the word fresh – an optimistic reference to blatantly cold weather. The labyrinthine cellars of the Old Town are an ideal place to escape the winter chill. However, come summer, the quintessential Cracow experience is relaxing in a pavement café on the main square enjoying one of the long and balmy nights.

Cracow (Krakow) is now well established as a major tourist destination. At the height of summer, Poland’s fourth largest city throngs with tour groups, all manner of tourist tack and countless pavement cafés that seem to occupy every cobble of the main square. Out of season, late at night or even in the first slivers of morning light, it is clear why so many people flock to visit. This magical city, situated in the southeast of the country, between the Jura uplands and the Tatra Mountains, on the banks of the Wisla (Vistula) River, has one of the best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe. Dozens of churches cover almost every architectural period and are surrounded by monasteries and abbeys – walking through the Old Town streets is like drifting back through the musty pages of a historical novel.

Cracow – a tourist horn of plenty
Cracow, Poland's former royal capital, is one of the most attractive spots on the tourist map of Europe. This is a place where legends, history and modernity intertwine. The city, which lies on the banks of the Vistula River, is famous for its priceless historical monuments of culture and art.

general info:
spa: lowland spa
climate: lowland climate, moderately stimulating
height: 250 m above sea level
postal code: 32-020 Wieliczka
telephone area code: +48-12

Main treatment areas:
respiratory system diseases, particularly bronchial asthma, and rheumatic disorders.

Natural therapeutic features:
therapeutic microclimate in a salt excavation site with salt particles in the air, in the salt mine at a depth of 200 m.

Location:
Wieliczka lies on the border between Sandomierska Valley and Wielickie Upland, 15 km from Cracow. The town centre is in a hollow surrounded by hills. The development of the spa, famous for its historical salt mine, began in 1964, when the world's first underground anti-allergy sanatorium was established in the mine's chambers.

Treatment facilities:
spa hospitals with 153 beds.

Attractions and cultural events:
It is worth visiting the historical Salt Mine, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After 700 years of exploitation, the mine forms an extensive subterranean town. Sights include wonderful salt lakes, unique chapels with salt sculptures, and mining machinery and equipment. Banquets, concerts and seminars are held in the mine's underground rooms. In the town above ground, interesting sights include historical military stables with characteristic arcades similar to Cracow's Cloth Hall, and the architecture of Wieliczka's town centre.

Tourism and sports:
indoor swimming pool, 3 tennis courts, numerous hiking and biking routes in the area. It is not far to Ojcowski National Park, which has a lot of unusual rock formations and old trees.
Wieliczka is famous for one of the world's oldest salt mines, which is open to sightseers. The valley of the Pradnik River, part of the Ojcowski National Park, is a unique nature reserve with a fairy-tale landscape carved from limestone. The ruined Gothic castle in Ojców and the beautifully preserved Renaissance castle in Pieskowa Skała are two more reasons to visit the park. Just 35 km south of Cracow is the Beskidy mountain range and 100 km away in the Tatra Mountains lies Zakopane the winter capital of Poland.

Auschwitz-Birkenau (Oświęcim-Brzezinka in Polish)
All over the world, Auschwitz has become a symbol of terror, genocide, and the Holocaust. It was established by the Nazis in the suburbs of the city of Oswiecim which, like other parts of Poland, was occupied by the Germans during the Second World War. The name of the city of Oswiecim was changed to Auschwitz, which became the name of the camp as well. June 14, 1940, when the first transport of Polish political prisoner deportees arrived in Auschwitz, is regarded as the date when it began to function. Since 1940 it was the location of a concentration and later of the extermination camp. By January 1945 around 2 million people had been killed here, mostly Jews but also Gypsies, as well as political and war prisoners. The camp was designed to be an organized death factory. Everything was thoroughly put into accounts. On leaving the camp, the SS blew up part of the facilities. The barracks once crammed with prisoners, the torture and execution sites and the rail-tracks leading straight to the camp remained on place to stand witness to this appalling cruelty. Tourists can watch the movie made by the Soviet troops during the camp’s liberation. This memorial site can be visited every day. It was added to UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.