Wadowice, Kalwaria, Łagiewniki

The history of Poland is strongly connected with catholic faith and the Catholic Church. This became even more significant in the late 1970s, when Polish cardinal Karol the Wojtyła was chosen to be the next Pope. For Poland, a country behind the iron curtain, it seemed to be a miracle.

During this tour you are going to visit three places that are strongly connected with St. John Paul II in the vicinity of Kraków. The first stop is Kalwaria Zebrzydowska – a large Bernardine monastery with its famous Via Dolorosa (Stations of the Cross), dated for the 17th century. Miracles connected to the country’s best- known calvary made it grow to become one of the most popular sites of pilgrimage.

Wadowice is the town where St. John Paul II was born. You are going to pay a visit to the Museum of The Pope’s Birthplace, packed with pictures illustrating his early life. While in Wadowice you need to taste the famous ‘kremówka’, a delicious slice of creamy pie.

Łagiewniki is the main center of the cult of Divine Mercy. The Sanctuary includes the new basilica, where the miraculous painting of Jesus Christ with red and white shafts emanating from his heart is located. The complex also includes the convent of St. Faustyna Kowalska, the nun who painted Christ after she had a vision.

What's included in the price:

My father and I recently returned from our Ultimate Poland tour and we really cannot express how impressed we were with the RealPoland coordination, staff, accommodations, food, local guides and transportation. The itinerary was filled with visits to key historic and cultural sites along with some fun activities like making our own Polish pottery and a pierogi workshop - admittedly, my father and I still need to work on these skills. The accommodations were top class European standard hotels. Breakfast each day was provided in the hotels and dinners were pre-planned at various interesting restaurants in whichever city or town we happened to be staying. Lunch was on us, this may seem daunting but the tours are arranged so that a convenient lunch break happens in a square or Old Town area with an ample choice of cafes and restaurants. As for the Polish cuisine, don’t expect kielbasa and pierogis for every meal - they like to mix it up for you.

Our original intent for taking the tour was to learn more about our Polish heritage. We asked to add an extra day on the end so that we could visit my great grandparents village - the Real Poland staff took care of everything for us, an extended itinerary with hotel, transportation and a local guide.

I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed the beautiful county of Poland. It's clean, safe and very affordable. Additionally, the staff at RealPoland are amazing - especially all of the "Magdas". If you are considering a trip to Poland and are worried about getting around or finding the right tour I would highly recommend RealPoland they are first class.

Natalia' and Magda's quick responsiveness was tremendous! Overall, my total xperience with Real Poland was excellent. They were helpful during setting up my tour plans, and also very helpful when we had to cancel. Natalia researched my grandfather and found lots of information about him that I did not know. I am satisfied with the work she did and I look forward to traveling to Poland in the future. I hope to visit the area where he was from and maybe meet some of my relatives.