One of the greatest pluses Poland has as it fights for its place in the competitive global tourist market is the variety of holidays it can offer the leisure traveller. Thanks in part to its history and in part to its under-development in the 20th century, Poland can offer many varied and interesting places to visit as well as areas of unspoiled natural beauty. It is true to say that you have not seen Poland by just visiting one place in the country and you will come to understand this if you ever have the chance to compare the history and atmosphere of the main cities such as Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Wrocław and Łódź with each other and with the breathtaking countryside, lakes and mountains to be found in places such as Zakopane, the Mazurian lake district or the Bialoweza national park.

In Your Pocket has always tried to bring Poland closer to people visiting from abroad and tried to help visitors get the most out of Poland. One way to find out more of the country is to tour while you are here. One company who organize this kind of thing and who we are happy to recommend is Staypoland.com which offers a couple of tours that will give you an insight into this fascinating country. The first, named ‘Poland in one go’ takes you from Warsaw to the holy shrine of Czestochowa and then onto Krakow. From Krakow the friendly and well trained tour leaders will take you onto Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp built on Polish territory before contrasting the positive and negative capabilities of man with a visit to the breathtaking salt mines at Wieliczka. After dining 100 metres below ground your trip will continue the in the last few days through Krakow and up into the mountains at Zakopane. A second tour entitled ‘Grand Tour of Poland’ allows you to head in the opposite direction from Warsaw taking in Malbork castle, the seat of the Teutonic Knights and the largest brick fortress in the world to Gdansk and the Baltic coast. Having visited the home of the Solidarity movement, Johann Hevelius and Gunter Grass to name a few, your trip takes you onto the beautiful city of Torun, where Copernicus studied and then Lodz, the home of the Polish Industrial Revolution, the Polish Film School and birthplace of Max Factor. From here the trip moves onto Czestochowa and then Krakow stopping to taste the beer of the Tyskie brewery at Tychy.

More details about these two tours along with a number of other tailored tours can be found by contacting staypoland.com at www.staypoland.com or by phoning their very helpful and English speaking staff on + 48 22 351 22 35