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Castle Square in Warsaw at dusk

The Length of Poland

Gdańsk, Gietrzwałd, Święta Lipka, Olsztyn, Płock, Warsaw, Łódź, Licheń, Częstochowa, Wrocław and Kraków

Fourteen days from the Baltic to the Tatras. This is the only route that reaches northern Poland, taking in Gietrzwałd, the country’s one approved Marian apparition, and Płock, where the Divine Mercy image was first asked for.

Departures

Current Tours to Poland

Upcoming departures to Poland. Each group has its own host, dates, and itinerary. The route below is our standard.

All current pilgrimages
The Route

Fifteen stops the length of Poland

Gdańsk, Gietrzwałd, Święta Lipka, Głotowo, Olsztyn, Płock, Niepokalanów, Warsaw, Łódź, Świnice Warckie, Licheń, Częstochowa, Wrocław, Kraków and Wadowice.

Itinerary · EU_PL-14D-01

The Length of Poland Itinerary

Fourteen days arriving at Gdańsk on the Baltic coast and departing from Kraków, travelling the whole country by motorcoach with no internal flights. Your group travels on its own dates, and the itinerary can be adjusted to fit the time you have and the places that matter most to your pilgrims.

DAYS 1–3

The Baltic Coast

The Old Town of Warsaw seen from above, rebuilt after the war
The Old Town of Warsaw, rebuilt stone by stone after the war.
Day 1

Depart the United States

We depart on our overnight flight to Gdańsk. Dinner and breakfast are served on board.
Day 2

Arrival in Gdańsk

Our English-speaking tour escort meets us at Gdańsk’s Lech Wałęsa Airport and accompanies us by motorcoach to the hotel, remaining with us throughout the pilgrimage. This evening we gather for a welcome dinner.Overnight in Gdańsk.
Day 3

Gdańsk

A half-day guided tour takes in St. Mary’s Church, the largest brick church in the world, the Jailing Tower, and the Royal Route through the Golden Gate past the German and Dutch townhouses to the Neptune Fountain. We walk Mariacka Street and finish along Długie Pobrzeże beside the Motława Canal, with time set aside for the Rosary and personal devotion.Mass is celebrated at a local church in Gdańsk. Dinner and overnight in Gdańsk.
DAYS 4–7

Warmia, Płock and the Faustina Country

The Market Square at Kraków with the monument to Mickiewicz
The Market Square at Kraków, where the journey down the country ends.
Day 4

Gietrzwałd, Święta Lipka, Głotowo & Olsztyn

We depart for Gietrzwałd, where in 1877 Our Lady appeared to two young girls and called for prayer, conversion and the daily Rosary, the only Marian apparitions in Poland approved by the Church. We continue to Święta Lipka, entrusted for centuries to the Jesuits, and to the village of Głotowo, whose Sanctuary of the Blessed Sacrament and Warmia Calvary are walked station by station.Mass is celebrated at the sanctuary of Święta Lipka. Dinner and overnight in Olsztyn.
Day 5

Płock, Niepokalanów & Warsaw

At Płock we visit the convent and sanctuary where, in 1931, Our Lord appeared to St. Faustina clothed in white and asked her to paint the image she saw, bearing the words “Jesus, I trust in You.” We drive on to Niepokalanów, the City of the Immaculate founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, to see his living quarters and pray before his relics.Mass is celebrated at the Divine Mercy sanctuary in Płock. Dinner and overnight in Warsaw.
Day 6

Warsaw and Łódź

We tour Warsaw, a city rebuilt stone by stone after its near total destruction in the war, seeing the Old Town, the Barbican, Market Square, St. John’s Cathedral, Castle Square and the Royal Castle, the Presidential Palace, St. Anne’s and Holy Cross Church, and the pedestrian street of Nowy Świat. After lunch we depart for Łódź.Mass is celebrated at the Żytnia Street convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, where St. Faustina entered religious life in 1925. Dinner and overnight in Łódź.
Day 7

Świnice Warckie, Głogowiec & Licheń

We travel to Świnice Warckie and the parish church of St. Casimir, where St. Faustina was baptized and made her First Communion, then to the village of Głogowiec and the simple cottage where she grew up, a home that speaks plainly of the poverty and piety that formed her. Continuing to Licheń, we venerate the miraculous image of Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland.Mass is celebrated in the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń, the largest church in Poland. Dinner and overnight in Łódź.
DAYS 8–10

Częstochowa, Silesia and Auschwitz

The monastery of Jasna Góra at Częstochowa seen from the air
The monastery of Jasna Góra at Częstochowa, Poland’s foremost place of pilgrimage.
Day 8

Pabianice and Częstochowa

At Pabianice we visit the Church of St. Matthew, where St. Maximilian Kolbe made his First Communion and where Our Lady is said to have offered him two crowns, one white for purity and one red for martyrdom; he chose both. We continue to Częstochowa and the monastery of Jasna Góra, walking the new Via Dolorosa and venerating the Black Madonna, Queen of Poland.Mass at Jasna Góra is subject to confirmation against the scheduled public liturgies. Dinner and overnight in Częstochowa.
Day 9

Wambierzyce and Wrocław

We depart for Wambierzyce, long known as the Jerusalem of Silesia, where the surrounding landscape was shaped over centuries into a rendering of the Holy Land so that the faithful who could never reach Jerusalem might walk it here. We visit the sanctuary and its Calvary paths before continuing to Wrocław.Mass is celebrated at the sanctuary of Wambierzyce. Dinner and overnight in Wrocław.
Day 10

Auschwitz and Kraków

We depart for Oświęcim and the site of the camp at Auschwitz, walking prayerfully through a place of immense suffering. We visit the starvation cell of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who died there on 14 August 1941 in place of a fellow prisoner, and drive by Birkenau, where St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, the Carmelite philosopher born Edith Stein, was martyred in 1942. We continue to Kraków.Mass is celebrated at a local church in Kraków. Dinner and overnight in Kraków.
DAYS 11–14

Kraków and the South

St. Faustina Kowalska
St. Faustina, whose tomb and relics are kept at Łagiewniki.
Day 11

Kraków, Wadowice & Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

We ascend Wawel Hill to the Royal Castle and the cathedral, where Karol Wojtyła celebrated his first Mass in the crypt of St. Leonard in 1946, then walk the Old Town, Kanonicza Street where he lived and the Collegium Maius where he studied. We continue to Wadowice for his childhood home, and end the day at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, the Passion and Marian sanctuary he returned to all his life.Mass is celebrated at the Basilica of the Presentation in Wadowice, where he was baptized. Dinner and overnight in Kraków.
Day 12

Zakopane

We depart for Zakopane, the mountain town where St. Maximilian Kolbe once served as a chaplain at a sanatorium, and visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima at Krzeptówki, raised in thanksgiving for the recovery of St. John Paul II after the attempt on his life in 1981. There is time at the wooden Jaszczurówka Chapel and along Krupówki Street, and, weather permitting, the funicular up to Gubałówka.Mass is celebrated at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima in Krzeptówki. Dinner and overnight in Kraków.
Day 13

Łagiewniki and Wieliczka

At Łagiewniki we visit the Divine Mercy Sanctuary to see the image of the Merciful Jesus, the convent chapel where St. Faustina prayed, and her tomb and relics. In the afternoon we travel to Wieliczka and walk an underground world of chapels, sculptures and chambers carved entirely from salt, among them the remarkable Chapel of St. Kinga.Mass is celebrated in one of the chapels at Łagiewniki. Farewell dinner with folklore entertainment and overnight in Kraków.
Day 14

Return Home

After breakfast we transfer to Kraków International Airport for our return flight home, with hearts renewed by the mercy of Christ and the intercession of St. Faustina, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. John Paul II.

Why leaders choose Canterbury

“Canterbury treats you like family! They handle everything, from creating exciting itineraries to managing calls, registrations, and payments.”

Patrick MadridPatrick Madrid
Catholic Speaker, Author & Host of The Patrick Madrid Show on Relevant Radio®
St. John Paul II with his arms outstretched before a crowd
St. John Paul IIThe pope who came out of Wadowice, before a crowd of the faithful.
Dates

Your group travels on its own dates.

Tell us the window you have in mind and we will build the itinerary around it: the time you have, and the places that matter most to your pilgrims.

Your pilgrimage includes

Tour Package Includes

These inclusions can be easily tailored to the individual needs of your group

  • Daily Mass at the churches we visit
  • Round-trip group airfare
  • Airport transfers on arrival & departure
  • 4-Star hotel accommodations
  • Private motorcoach transportation
  • Breakfast & dinner served daily
  • Wine served with some dinners
  • Dedicated tour manager
  • Licensed guiding & admission fees
  • Porterage service at hotels
  • Whisper headsets when touring
  • Tips for hotel & restaurant staff
  • 9 – 5 PM (EST) reservation support
  • 24/7 travel emergency support
  • Canterbury Mobile App
For the group leader

What you get as the group leader

You travel free.

Every group earns complimentary places. The more pilgrims you bring, the more you earn. How complimentary places work

No financial risk.

If the group does not fill, deposits are returned. You owe nothing and neither do your pilgrims. What happens if a group does not fill

We produce the promotional materials.

Flyers, a registration page, and what you need to invite your people. Our guide to promoting a pilgrimage

We handle your pilgrims.

Registrations, rooming lists, payment plans and the phone calls. How leading a pilgrimage works

In your pocket

The Canterbury Mobile App

Every pilgrim in your group gets the app. Their itinerary, hotels and flights, the prayers of the day and a way to reach one another, all in one place and kept current as the pilgrimage unfolds.

  • Group chat

    Your whole group in one thread, so a change of plan reaches everyone at once.

  • Their itinerary

    The full day-by-day schedule, always current, in every pilgrim’s pocket.

  • Hotels

    Where the group is staying each night, with addresses and dates.

  • Flights

    Flight details kept alongside everything else, not in a separate email.

  • Daily prayers

    The prayers of the day, including the Liturgy of the Hours.

  • Shrine passport

    A keepsake record of the shrines your group visits along the way.

  • Live updates

    Times and meeting points pushed to everyone the moment they change.

Photographs
A chapel carved from rock salt in the mine at Wieliczka
A chapel carved from rock salt in the mine at Wieliczka.
The towers of St. Mary’s Basilica on the Market Square at Kraków
St. Mary’s Basilica at Kraków, seen from the Market Square.
St. Faustina Kowalska
St. Faustina, to whom Our Lord appeared at Płock in 1931.
Wawel Cathedral in Kraków
Wawel Cathedral, where Karol Wojtyła celebrated his first Mass in 1946.
Morskie Oko and the peaks of the Tatras
Morskie Oko and the peaks of the Tatras, above Zakopane.
The Basilica of the Presentation at Wadowice
The Basilica of the Presentation at Wadowice, where he was baptized.

What group leaders say

“They’re big enough to handle any problem that arises, and small enough to craft truly unique experiences.”

Chris StefanickChris Stefanick
Founder & President of Real Life Catholic
Before you ask

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to travel to Poland?

Groups travel from late April through to early October. This route runs the length of the country and reaches the Baltic coast, so May, June and September are the strongest months; the far north is cold and grey outside them. High summer is warm and busy, particularly at Jasna Góra and in Kraków’s Old Town.

How physically demanding is this pilgrimage?

Moderate. Most days involve two to four hours on your feet, with walking on uneven ground, ancient stone, and steps at archaeological sites. Pilgrims who can manage a full day of sightseeing at their own pace do well. If anyone in your group has mobility limitations, tell us early and we will adapt the days around them. What activity level means.

What is generally not included?

Travel insurance, lunches, drinks beyond those served with included meals, personal expenses, and gratuities for your tour manager and driver. Any of these can be built into your package on request, so tell us what you would like covered and we will arrange it. Passports and visa fees are the one exception and remain the responsibility of each pilgrim.

How does this route differ from the shorter Poland pilgrimages?

It reaches the whole country rather than the south. Gdańsk, Gietrzwałd, Święta Lipka, Głotowo, Olsztyn, Płock, Licheń, Wambierzyce and Wrocław appear on no other route we run, and Gietrzwałd in particular is Poland’s only Church-approved Marian apparition. It is also the only route that visits Płock, where Our Lord first asked St. Faustina for the image of the Divine Mercy, so the devotion is followed from its beginning in 1931 to her tomb at Łagiewniki.

Can our priest celebrate Mass at the churches?

Yes. Daily Mass is built into the itinerary, and we arrange times and locations in advance with each church. Your priest should travel with a celebret or letter of good standing from his bishop or superior. We handle the scheduling.

How many pilgrims do you need for a group?

Most of our groups are between 20 and 50 pilgrims, and we can arrange smaller tours as well. We have also organized pilgrimages for groups as large as 2,500, so whatever size your group turns out to be, we can build for it. Minimum group size for a group flight.

Enquire

Interested in Leading a Pilgrimage to Poland?

A pilgrimage consultant replies within one business day. No deposit or commitment.

    Your Information

    Your Group

    First time? You are in good company. Many of our group leaders start right here, and we guide you through every step.

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