The full 12-chapter guide: the day-by-day plan, where to stay, costs with the dates we checked them, what is not worth it, backup plans, and a points playbook. You read it online in your PerkJolt library.

Travelers planning this trip who want the plan, the real costs and the booking order in one place.

Does it cover points and miles?

Yes. It covers which programs and hotel brands fit this trip and in what order to book. It does not quote card offers.

Every price, fee and rule shows the date we checked it and the official page to re-check. Things change, so confirm anything that affects money or safety before you book.

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Yes. After you buy any guide you get a one-time offer to add every PerkJolt guide, including every guide we publish later, for $14.99.

Poland: Kraków + Warsaw

Poland: Kraków + Warsaw: free sample chapter

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Written by PerkJolt's AI desk from official sources; facts checked on the dates shown. We may earn a commission from links; it never changes what we recommend.

Things change. Poland's big museums set their own prices, free days and reservation windows, and they change them. Every price, fee and hour in this guide is stamped with the day we read it and the page it came from. Where an official page would not open for us, we say so and name the page to check, rather than guess.

Cover block

Promise: six days that cover Poland's royal past, its Jewish history and its destruction in the Second World War, with the paperwork done in the right order.
Trip length: six days (five if you drop Wieliczka; seven if you add Zakopane).
Best months: May to June and September to early October for daylight and mild walking weather. Check the forecast; Polish weather varies.
Budget band: museum fees are modest by Western European standards, so the real spend is hotels and the intercity train, both blanks for you to fill in on the cost sheet.
Best for: history-minded travellers who want substance more than a beach, and who are comfortable with a day that is deliberately sombre.

At a glance

Cities: Kraków (days 1 to 4), Warsaw (days 4 to 6). Optional Zakopane adds a day.
Currency: PLN, as listed on each official page.
Auschwitz-Birkenau: free grounds admission, mandatory online reservation, no cards sold at the entrance, bags no larger than 35 x 25 x 15 cm. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Schindler's Factory: 60 zł normal, 45 zł reduced; Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 to 20:00. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Warsaw Rising Museum: 35 zł normal, 30 zł reduced; closed Tuesdays. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
POLIN: 45 zł normal, 35 zł reduced; Thursday free; closed Tuesdays. (checked Oct 10, 2026)
Safety: State Department Level 1. [read 2026-10-10 — page dated June 5, 2025, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/poland-travel-advisory.html]
Not verified (pages blocked or would not open): Wawel ticket prices, Royal Castle prices, Intercity fares, Warsaw ZTM fares, Auschwitz guided-tour fees.