Day 1: Czestochowa 

Arrival into Krakow BALICE Airport. Meet and greet with your tour guide. 

Directly from the airport transfer to Czestochowa 

Visit to Jasna Góra Monastery. Czestochowa is one of the most important places of religious worship in the Christian World. In recent years 4-5 million pilgrims have visited this place annually, including 100 thousand from abroad. Only Lourdes and Fatima host more pilgrims. The tradition of pilgrimages to Jasna Gora dates back to 1382 when the high hill was handed over to the Pauline Monks from  Hungary and a monastery was founded. There are two versions of the history of the pictures from Jasna Gora. The traditional and legendary one says that Luke the  Evangelist painted it on the plank of the table on which the Holy Family prayed and dined. However, art critics say it was a  Byzantine icon dating between the 6th and 9th centuries.  

Visit Library of Jasna Góra Monastery in Czestochowa. Jasna Gora Monastery has a celebrated library - rich in volumes. The most valuable include ancient Polish and foreign prints  (about 8000), as well as unique examples and priceless manuscripts. They feature hand-painted illustrations, some from the  Jagiellonian’s collection donated to the monastery. 

Dinner will be served at the local restaurant or at the hotel in Czestochowa. At 9:00 PM group may join Jasna Gora Appeal at the Chapel of the Miraculous Image

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Day 2: Spichlerz - Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. In the morning spend some time on your own at Jasna Gora Monastery.We may arrange early morning Holy Mass at the Monastery. Lunch at SPICHLERZ restaurant located in Olsztyn near Czestochowa The historic wooden Spichlerz granary comes from Borowno and was built in 1783. This is a great example of Polish wooden folk architecture. Following transfer to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Visit to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Sanctuary. Kalwaria Zebrzydowska lies among the colorful hills around 40 km’s west of Krakow. From far away you may see the monastery complex of the Bernardine Fathers with the early Baroque church of the Angelic Mother of God. As early as 1658 the picture of the Mother of God with Child (also called the  Weeping Madonna) was recognized by Church authorities as "famous for miracles".  As the Pope John Paul II was born in Wadowice close to the Kalwaria, he often walked the Calvary paths and prayed before the marvelous picture of the Zebrzydowska Mother of God. 

Dinner in hotel in Auschwitz.

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Day 3: Wadowice - Auschwitz

Transfer to Wadowice. Visit to Family Home of John Paul II – Museum in Wadowice. The Family Home of John Paul II in Wadowice located on Koscielna Street is the place, where Karol Wojtyla had lived before II  World War and where the Papal Museum started in 1984.  Today, this is modern, multimedia narrative place allows you to discover or rediscover the life, activity, and teaching of the Man, who changed the face of the modern world, but also takes visitors on a journey through Polish history. The Museum is divided into several exhibitions showing Karol Wojtyla’s youth life, presenting exhibits related to the Monastery of Carmelites on Gorka and the Sanctuary of Our Lady in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – two important places, that had a great influence on John Paul II future, showing “Wojtyla’s Apartment” – actually the place on the 1st floor, where Wojtyla’s Family lived from 1919 to 1938. The following rooms present a different aspect of Karol Wojtyla’s life: Student, Actor, and Poet, Priest, Bishop and Cardinal, up till the time, when we heard Cardinal Pericle Felici announcing in Latin to the gathered crowd:  Habemus Papam ... 

Lunch at Dworek Mikolaj restaurant in Wadowice. Dworek Mikolaj restaurant in Wadowice - - for the dessert we recommend the famous Pope’s Cream Cake It was during the 1999 visit to His hometown in Wadowice, that Pope John Paul II summoned the memories of His young days. Together with His friends, He was buying the cream cake after school in the market.

Following lunch transfer to Oswiecim. Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, a former Nazis Concentration Camp 

Considered the biggest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau was established on June 14, 1940, and liberated in  January 1945. About 1.5 million people of 28 nationalities lost their lives here, mostly Jews. Prisoners were unloaded onto the specially designed ramps, poisoned with Zyclon B or exhaust fumes, and burned in piles or crematories.  Today the site is a museum and is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Following the visit transfer back to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 

Dinner in hotel in Auschwitz.

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Day 4: Zakopane

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. 

In the morning transfer to Zakopane. On the way to Zakopane we stop in Ludzmierz Sanctuary. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ludźmierz is known as the Shepherdess of Podhale and it is strongly identified with Highlanders’ people who are living in surrounding Tatra Mountains. Ludźmierz is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Podhale with history going back to 13th century when Teodor Gryfita began  raising a simple wooden church. Pope John Paul II visited the sanctuary in 1997  and in 2001 the church was declared a Minor Basilica. Lunch will be served at the local restaurant – inn in Zakopane. City tour of Zakopane 

Zakopane is the most famous mountain resort in Poland and the winter sports capital.  The sightseeing tour usually starts at Krupowki - the central mall lined with restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and souvenir shops, as well as  famous Sanctuary of the Holy Virgin of Fatima built as a votive offering of saving our Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981. Take funicular to Gubalowka Mountain to admire the excellent panorama of the Tatra Mountains (subject to confirm on the spot, service depends on the weather and funicular technical conditions).  Dinner will be served at Karczma Przy Mlynie restaurant – Zakopane Inn

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Day 5: Dunajec River

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. On the way to Krakow we suggest stop in Sromowce and enjoy the spectacular rafting down Dunajec River Rafting down the Dunajec River through the Pieniny Gorge on highlanders' rafts is believed to be one of the greatest attractions of Poland. Lunch at the local restaurant en route Following arrival Krakow time at leisure. Welcome Dinner in Krakow will be served at the local restaurant in Krakow. We suggest a welcome Dinner to be served at the local restaurant to feel the magic atmosphere of Krakow city. Our suggestions – TRADYCYJA restaurant located at Krakow’s Market Square.

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Day 6: JP II's Krakow

Breakfast buffet at hotel

Full day city tour of Krakow including entrances to Wawel Royal Castle, Wawel Royal Cathedral, St. Mary Basilica, and places important for the life of John Paul II We will admire the Wawel Cathedral, one of the finest churches in Poland and an astonishing example of medieval architecture, and Sigismund's Chapel, which is also known as the “Pearl of the Renaissance.” Next to the Cathedral admire and visit to Wawel Castle – the royal residence and the seat of Polish kings. Walk through the Main Market Square – one of the largest town squares in Mediaeval Europe, surrounded by palaces and old townhouses. The square includes the double row of 13th-century merchants’ stalls later converted into the Renaissance Cloth Halls and the Gothic Church of St. Mary’s – from which the “hejnal” bugler daily heralds the arrival of the midday and which houses the masterpiece of European Gothic art – the 15th-century wooden altar by Wit Stwosz. Enjoy the highlights – the sites connected to John Paul’s II life in Krakow. Admire St. Florian’s Church, which was the first church in Krakow where Pope John Paul II was a curate, see the Collegium Novum of the Jagiellonian University, where he lectured in theology after World War II. Walk through Kanonicza Street, where Father Wojtyla resided at Number 19 and the adjacent Number 21 until 1963, when he became the Krakow Archbishop. Finally stop at Franciszkanska Street with the famous Pope’s window, where John Paul II used to show up to talk with Cracovians during His pilgrimages to Poland. During one, very long meetings there, he said: ”We will chat again shortly, just after I will have my supper” and came back to the awaiting people of Krakow after an hour to continue the meeting. Visit to Czartoryski Museum. The Czartoryski Museum was started by Princess Izabela Czartoryska in 1796 in the family palace in Pulawy. Dinner will be served at the local restaurant or at the hotel in Krakow.

Overnight at the hotel in KRAKOW

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Day 7: Divine Mercy Shrine - St. John Paul II Center

Visit to Lagiewniki – Blessed Sister Faustina Convent & Shrine of Divine Mercy. The Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy has become more widely known in recent years because of one of its members - Sister Faustina Kowalska - the most "faithful daughter" of the Order. Visit the Shrine, St. Faustina’s convent chapel, and her Tomb. Upon arrival in Lagiewniki meet with the Sister from the Convent, who will present the history of this place and Saint Faustina  Kowalska. 

Visit to John Paul II Center „Have No Fear.” Everything began in June 1995 in Krakow when Cardinal Franciszek Macharski founded John Paul II Institute. Two years later it was moved to Kanonicza Street and blessed by the Pope during His pilgrimage to his homeland.“Have No Fear!” was used to make a reference to the memorable words said by the Pope in October 1978  during the inauguration of his pontificate: “Have no fear! Open wide the doors for Jesus Christ and His saving power. Open the borders between countries, economic systems, regimes, and civilization directions. Have no fear!” Today the visitors may admire the Sanctuary of Blessed John Paul II, a chapel with relics of the former Pope, including a vial of his blood and more.  

Lunch will be served in a restaurant in Krakow.  In the afternoon drive to Tyniec Enjoy visiting the Tyniec Abbey, listen to the Organs Concert and finally enjoy the excellent meal – ‘Feast of the Monks’. Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec, nowadays on the western outskirts of Krakow, used to command the approach to Poland's capital city through the Vistula River valley.

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Day 8: Wieliczka Salt Mine

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Time for shopping in Krakow. Lunch will be served at the local restaurant in Krakow

Visit Wieliczka Salt Mine – the oldest salt mine in Europe, operating since the 13th century – an impressive and unique underground world full of saline lakes, majestic timber constructions, great chambers, galleries, and unique Salt Works created by many generations of Polish miners. The tour starts through almost 3 km of meandering corridors, at the depth of 135 meters – the part which has been worked in the 17th-19th centuries. If the group has its own Priest, we may arrange Holy Mass at John Paul II Salt Chapel of Wieliczka Salt Mine. Dinner will be served at Karczma Pod Wielką Solą restaurant – inn in Wieliczka including Folklore Show. As a farewell gift for the group, we may arrange a small punch of Wieliczka rock salt.

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Day 9: Depart

Breakfast in hotel

Transfer to Krakow airport and flight home.