Join Solos as we take a tour of Northern Poland to discover a fascinating region steeped in history, mystery and age-old traditions. We invite you on this unforgettable journey from the medieval to the modern, to explore some of the most symbolic places and historic moments of the Baltic state. From visiting medieval towns and looming fortresses of the crusaders, we’ll follow in the footsteps of a great renaissance astronomer, with his earth shattering revelations about our place in the cosmos. Our group tour of Northern Poland will start and finish in Gdansk, and includes a memorable visit to the ‘St. Dominic’s Fair’, a wondrous celebration dating back to 1260.
Welcome to Gdansk, where our Polish adventure begins! We transfer to our centrally located hotel and enjoy a welcome drink at the hotel bar. After settling into our rooms, we’re free to spend the rest of our first day exploring the surrounding streets or just relax at the hotel.
In the evening, we gather to enjoy a welcome dinner in a local restaurant.
Today we transfer to the Solidarity Square, where we’ll find the gate of the Gdańsk Shipyard, a place communism was overthrown. We continue to the Old Town of Gdansk, onto the St. Brygida church, the Solidarity Movement church. We walk through the main street of Dlugi Targ (Long Market), lined with beautiful houses rebuilt after the war, including the one known as the Court of Artus, a former meeting place of the noble citizens of Gdansk. We enter the Court to see its rich interiors, and admire the Fountain of Neptune with its rich 17th century Rococo ornaments. This has now become a symbol of the city. We visit the historic Town Hall, a gothic-renaissance building with a characteristic tower and clock. This dominates the panorama of the Royal Route, the most representative route of this part of the city.
This is our chance to see the the unique style of the city of Gdynia, a young city that developed with extraordinary panache and admirable dynamism. We walk around the Gdynia Port to see the characteristic breakwaters and the facade of the old sea station from where thousands of locals left their country in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Nowadays the building houses the Emigration Museum.
Between Gdynia and Gdansk, we’ll find the resort of Sopot. This city was founded in the mid-nineteenth century and was also known as the Monte Carlo of the North, with the character of SPA and recreation place. It is the summer capital of Poland, full of tourists who stroll along the boulevard of Heroes of Monte Cassino, the most recognized street in the city. Here you will find many restaurants, cafes and clubs, and the city’s main attraction – the Sopot Pier. The 150 year old pier, is built of wood and plunges more than five hundred meters into the sea. Walking along the pier, we will admire the wide beaches and the picturesque panorama of the city.
After breakfast, we can enjoy some free time to either relax in our hotel or head out to explore historic Gdansk. Why not sample the amazing St. Dominic’s Fair – one of oldest and most famous cultural and trading events in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe.
With over 1000 stalls, it attracts millions of visitors. From the stands of craftsmen, artists and dealers, visitors can buy Baltic amber and jewellery, works of art, antiquities and antiques. And trade is, of course, accompanied by entertainment. The fair has a rich and varied cultural programme that includes concerts, firework displays, fashion shows, parades, art projects, theatre productions, events and competitions.
Wake up to breakfast at the hotel before we transfer to Frombork, a small and quiet town located on the Vistula Lagoon. During your visit, we learn about its fascinating history. The city was one of the most popular religious and cultural centres of the region and attracted many important personalities, such as Nicolaus Copernicus, who spent over 30 years here and wrote his most important work ‘On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres’. The famous astronomer died in Frombork and was buried in the Cathedral.
Today we vist Toruń – the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus – a fascinating place with a history of nearly 800 years. Its principles are related to the construction of the Teutonic Castle in the 13th Century. Thanks to the large number of well-preserved Gothic buildings – public and private buildings of the 14th and 15th Century – Toruń is considered the World Heritage by UNESCO. The city is famous mostly for being the birthplace of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, as the Gothic city and for the gingerbread that has been produced here for centuries.
Today we start with a trip to the Castle in Malbork, built in 13th to mid 15th Century as the seat of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order. The fortified castle and the city located next to it named Marienburg (Mary’s Castle), it is a classic example of a medieval fortress, and on its completion in 1406, was the largest brick Gothic castle in the world. Nowadays, the Castle is on on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
During our visit, we take the Historic Route, which includes all parts of the Castle. The route starts from the outer ward, followed by the courtyard of the Middle Castle. We can admire the interiors of the Great Refectory and the Palace of the Grand Masters. Built at the peak of the development of the Teutonic state, we visit rooms such as the King’s Hall, the Summer and Winter Refectory, the High and Low Halls and the Bedroom.
After breakfast, we’ll transfer to the Gdansk airport for our return flight home.
We stay in comfortable hotels throughout as details below (or similar):
Frequently Asked Questions
Gdansk airport to the Hotel Number One in Gdansk is approximately 25 minutes.
The dress code for during the day is casual. In the evenings the dress code is smart casual. Comfortable shoes for walking and sightseeing are recommended.
Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat and mosquito repellent can be very useful during your stay.
There is often confusion on the question of gratuities, since it frequently depends on the type of holiday, location and, of course, your attitude towards tipping, as to what is normally expected. In order to give you a rough idea, we have given appropriate guidance below. Your Tour Leader will be on hand to offer advice or suggestions if required but gratuities are offered entirely at the sole discretion of the individual. We suggest a group collection to cover drivers, porters and hotel staff of €40.00. Your Tour Leader will collect this on your behalf and distribute it accordingly, thus relieving you of the burden of who, when and how much to tip. The tipping of housekeeping will be left to your individual discretion (a small amount left in your room on departure should cover this and would be much appreciated). As is customary, ‘the hat’ will be passed around for the driver and guide on all optional excursions. For any meals that are not included in your itinerary, or taxi fares, your Tour Leader can advise of an appropriate add on.
Polish złoty
To enter Poland your passport must meet 2 requirements. It must be:
Check both the issue date and the expiry date in your passport. If you renewed your passport early, extra months may have been added to its expiry date. This could affect the requirement for your passport to be less than 10 years old.
A visa is not required by holders of passports endorsed “British Citizen” for stays of upto 90 days in any 180-day period. Please note that stays in other EU countries counts towards this 90 day period.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct visa, a valid passport and any other travel documents for your holiday. All information provided relates to British citizens who hold or are entitled to apply for a British passport. For the most up-to-date visa information please visit; Poland Foreign Advice
If you are not a British citizen and do not hold a British passport, you must make your own enquiries as to the applicable requirements
Compulsory vaccinations: None.
Please note that the order of the parts of the visit may change.
The churches that we visit are functioning religious objects, in the case of celebrations, it may happen that we will have to wait or change the schedule.
A reasonable level of fitness/mobility is required.
Average Temperatures
| Month(s) | Highest temperature | Lowest temperature |
|---|---|---|
| July | 24 °C | 15 °C |
“I’m sure you will enjoy it, I have been on three solos holidays to date and the people I’ve met have been great.”
“I’ve been travelling with Solos for nearly 20 years, on and off. The reason is for exactly what you want – you meet like minded people… and have loads of fun!”
“I’ve been on loads of trips with Solos over the years and can honestly say you will not regret booking your 1st one!”
“The feeling you have once you go away on your own is worth all the nerves before! I was so very anxious the first time but now having done it 4 times, I love it!”
