Rotary WeCARe Trip to Poland & Romania
October 14 – 26, 2024
Join Rotary International World Citizen Alliance of Springfield, Illinois (Rotary WeCARe) for a sweeping journey through Eastern Europe. Take in the complex history, striking architecture, and dramatic landscapes as you travel through Poland, Romania, or both, all while visiting Rotary projects and meeting with local experts to deepen your understanding of these destinations.
Begin in Poland, whose geographic landscapes are breathtaking and whose political landscapes have shaped its borders and culture throughout its history. See the modern, Communist-influenced Warsaw 80 years after most of the old city was destroyed in World War II. Then travel to the beautifully preserved Kraków, a culturally unique city centered around its medieval core and Jewish quarter that were spared during the war.
Next head to Romania, beginning in the capital city of Bucharest and ending in Transylvania, the mountainous home of Gothic fortresses including Dracula’s Bran Castle. Meet the Roma community to discuss their treatment and forge human connections in the area before you return home.
Please note: The details of this itinerary are subject to change and will be updated throughout the trip-planning process.
![](https://elevatedestinations.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Poland-Warsaw-1-768x1024.jpg)
Itinerary
Day 1: Monday, October 14
Welcome to Poland
Welcome to Poland, a destination with vibrant history whose geography has influenced its historical dilemmas. Arrive at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) and take a private transfer to your hotel. Please plan to arrive by 4:00 PM to have time to settle in before this evening’s Welcome Dinner.
Take some time to settle in and, if time allows, enjoy a Welcome Dinner this evening.
Overnight: PURO Hotel Warszawa Centrum
Day 2: Tuesday, October 15
Warsaw Old Town & Ghetto
After breakfast, set out for a possible briefing at the U.S. Embassy, followed by a full day of touring in Warsaw.
Start your tour in Warsaw Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was almost entirely destroyed in WWII and has been rebuilt in a style inspired by classicist paintings of Italian artist Canaletto. Activities may include a visit to Lazienkowski Park or attending a Chopin concert.
Enjoy lunch at a local café in Castle Square and continue on to the Warsaw Ghetto, one of the largest Nazi ghettos during the war.
This evening, you may meet with local Rotarians for dinner in Warsaw.
Overnight: PURO Hotel Warszawa Centrum
Day 3: Wednesday, October 16
Travel to Kraków
After breakfast, check out of your hotel and enjoy your final morning in Warsaw. With your local guide and visits to the Warsaw Uprising Museum or POLIN Jewish Museum, begin to unpack the horrors of the Nazi occupation, the devastating loss of lives, how Poland fared under Communism, and the rise of the Solidarity Movement which led Poland to become a member of NATO.
Enjoy lunch either in Warsaw or during the drive to your next destination, Kraków (about 4.5 hours driving). Once you arrive in Kraków, check in to your hotel and re-group for dinner this evening.
Overnight: Hotel Stary
Day 4: Thursday, October 17
Kraków Sightseeing
Enjoy breakfast at your hotel, followed by a day of sightseeing in Kraków. Known as the cultural capital of Poland, Kraków has grown from a Stone Age settlement first built in the 7th century that was then spared from major destruction during the war.
Your private walking tour of the city will center in Old Town, where you will also eat lunch. The tour may include stops at St. Mary’s Church and Wawel Royal Castle, a centerpiece of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture.
This evening, enjoy dinner with a briefing by a Polish historian. Dinner will be arranged in Old Town.
Overnight: Hotel Stary
Day 5: Friday, October 18
Black Madonna or Auschwitz-Birkenau
After breakfast, choose to travel to either Jasna Góra Monastery, home to the Black Madonna icon, or the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum to visit the concentration camp memorial.
The Jasna Góra Monastery is a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary and home to the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, a painting that is widely venerated and credited for miracles, including saving the monastery from a 17th century Swedish invasion. The icon has made this monastery a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years.
Auschwitz-Birkenau was the largest concentration camp in the Third Reich. Historical investigation shows that over 1.1 million people, predominantly Jewish, were systematically starved, tortured, and murdered in this camp. Today, the site has been preserved as a museum to honor lost lives and educate its visitors.
Either option will include lunch, and there may be a Rotary project visit in Kraków upon your return this afternoon.
Dinner plans for this evening will be at a local restaurant in Kraków.
Overnight: Hotel Stary
Day 6: Saturday, October 19
Kraków Jewish District & Museums
After breakfast, take a private tour of Kraków’s Jewish District, with visits to the Schindler Museum and Remah Synagogue.
Enjoy lunch in Kazimierz, one of Kraków’s most exciting districts with a bustling, bohemian neighborhood packed with historical sites, atmospheric cafés, and art galleries. If desired, you may visit a vodka tasting room in a hidden bar.
This afternoon, visit a Rotary project site and engage in a lecture and discussion on Poland’s support for Ukrainian refugees. Then re-group for dinner at a local restaurant this evening.
Overnight: Hotel Stary
Day 7: Sunday, October 20
Wieliczka Salt Mine
After breakfast, explore the city on your own. You may choose to walk along Kraków’s Royal Way, the Barbican, the City Walls, Florinska Street, or take time to shop in the Market Square. Today may include a continued conversation on Poland’s support for Ukraine and Rotary’s support for Ukrainian refugees. Afterwards, you will have a group lunch before continuing on to this afternoon’s visits.
Then travel just outside the city to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a historical monument with shafts and labyrinthine passageways, displays of salt-mining technology, an underground lake, four chapels, and statues made of rock salt.
Return to Kraków and enjoy a final dinner in Poland.
Overnight: Hotel Stary
Day 8: Monday, October 21
Travel to Romania
After breakfast this morning, check out of your hotel and transfer back to Warsaw for your flight to Bucharest (OTP). Please note that this flight is not included in the trip cost, and travelers must purchase their ticket independently. The flight details are listed below and in the Pre-Departure tab.
Flight Number: Polish Airlines LO 645 (WAW to OTP)
Departure Time: 2:35pm
If you are not continuing on to Romania, a private airport transfer will be arranged for you depending on the time of your departure flight.
Upon arriving in Bucharest, enjoy a private transfer to your downtown hotel. Romania’s capital city of Bucharest is known for its architectural diversity, as Art Deco buildings like the Telephone Palace rub shoulders with richly decorated Art Nouveau homes. During your stay here, you may visit such sites as the Palace of the Parliament, one of the largest and heaviest buildings in the world, and a symbol of Romania’s Neoclassical and Communist pasts.
After dinner tonight, rest and relax at your hotel as you settle into beautiful Romania.
Overnight: Novotel
Day 9: Tuesday, October 22
Bucharest Meetings & Sightseeing
After breakfast, head out for a visit with the local Rotary group and possible briefing at the U.S. Embassy.
If time allows, visit the Ferestroika Interactive Museum of Communism. A play on the Romanian word fereastra (meaning “window”) and Perestroika (coined in the USSR in the 80s), Ferestroika is a window into the lifestyle, diet and stories of a Communist-era family. This private home-turned-museum offers visitors a unique interactive experience of the bleak 1980s period.
This evening, enjoy dinner at a traditional Romanian restaurant.
Overnight: Novotel
Day 10: Wednesday, October 23
Travel to Transylvania
Enjoy breakfast and check out from the hotel to set out for a scenic drive through the Carpathian Mountains to Transylvania. The drive is about three hours. To break up the journey, you’ll stop along the way, tentatively visiting Peles Castle, a 19th century Neo-Renaissance masterpiece known for its fairytale turrets; Sinaia, a 19th century royal resort nestled in a valley; or Becegi National Park, featuring a natural sphinx-shaped rock formation.
Along the way, you will have lunch at La Tunuri, the former Royal Guard Office of Peles Castle.
After lunch, drive to Bran Castle, built by Saxons in 1377 and known as Dracula’s Castle. The castle is an astonishing place to visit, fully equipped with towers, turrets, medieval costumes, jewelry and weapons, a chamber of horrors, and a magnificent view of the Carpathian Mountains.
Then continue the drive to your final destination, the medieval Transylvanian city of Brasov.
Upon arrival in Brasov, check in to your hotel before walking to Old Town for dinner.
Overnight: Schuster Boarding House
Day 11: Thursday, October 24
Saxon Towns of Transylvania
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast before heading out for a walking tour of Brasov, which will lead you around this medieval town through the lens of the Pied Piper legend. Tour highlights include Romania’s largest Gothic church, the local history museum, and Rope Street, the narrowest street in all of Eastern Europe.
Around midday, drive about one hour to the neighboring town of Viscri (UNESCO World Heritage site), a home to Saxons, Romanians, and Roma gypsies. You will have lunch at either a beautiful local family restaurant or a picnic lunch in the forest.
In the afternoon, drive about 45 minutes to the town of Sighisoara, known for its pastel-colored 12th century homes and as the birthplace of Dracula. Explore the town through a walking tour that may take you to such whimsical stops as a clock tower or gallery of wooden spoons. This may feel like a quaint, hillside town from a storybook, but your guide will remind you that its towers were once bristling with weapons to protect the town from Turkish raids.
Gather in the evening for a group dinner at a local restaurant inside the citadel.
Overnight: Hotel Central Park
Day 12: Friday, October 25
Travel to Cluj-Napoca
After breakfast this morning, drive about three hours to your final destination and largest city in Transylvania, Cluj-Napoca.
Check in to your hotel and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant in this quaint city filled with bohemian cafes and a pulsating nightlife.
Overnight: Radisson Blu Hotel, Cluj
Day 13: Saturday, October 26
Departures
Have one final breakfast in Romania and, if time allows, explore the 18th century Gothic architecture and artistic community of Cluj before taking your private transfer to Cluj “Avram Iancu” International Airport (CLJ) for your departure flight.
For more information about this incredible journey to Poland and Romania with Rotary WeCARe, be sure to visit the following pages:
Pricing & Registration
Pre-Departure Information
Health & Safety
Destination Information
Extend Your Travel
About Elevate Destinations