Walking vacations in Poland
Beyond Poland’s heavy hitting duo of Warsaw and Krakow is a rural world where you’ll find plenty of rambling revelations. Walking routes offer equal bounty in terms of heart-pumping exercise and natural diversity, and high alpine trails will take you through pine forests and flower-filled meadows, where bison, wolves and lynx all make their home.
Expert local guides are on hand to smooth the way and small, rural guesthouses and mountain huts provide accommodation, while snow shoeing here in winter keeps the tracks accessible all year round. From the stunning Dunajec Gorge to the peaks of the High Tatras and the cobbled streets of Krakow, walking vacations in Poland are full of adventure.
Our top trip
Poland hiking vacation
Poland walking vacation taking in the Tatras Mountains
From
US $1740
8 days
ex flights
Small group travel:
2024: 1 Jun, 15 Jun, 29 Jun, 3 Aug, 24 Aug, 7 Sep, 14 Sep
2024: 1 Jun, 15 Jun, 29 Jun, 3 Aug, 24 Aug, 7 Sep, 14 Sep
What do Poland walking vacations entail?
Our walking trips to Poland tend to be week-long small group vacations. You’ll travel with up to 16 likeminded travelers, so you’ll be able to share not only the stunning views, but also the aches and pains with your fellow walkers. You’ll also have an expert tour leader to help out in case of any mountain mishaps, and to explain the mysteries of the cultural and natural terrain.
Most trips are point-to-point, meaning that you’ll stay in a few different places during the week. This could mean spending a couple of days in each location, with transfers made by road and nights spent in comfortable locally-run hotels, or moving from place to place on foot, sleeping either in rustic hostel style accommodation or mountain huts.
Most trips are point-to-point, meaning that you’ll stay in a few different places during the week. This could mean spending a couple of days in each location, with transfers made by road and nights spent in comfortable locally-run hotels, or moving from place to place on foot, sleeping either in rustic hostel style accommodation or mountain huts.
As well as working out your thighs out on the trails, there’ll be plenty of opportunity to celebrate Poland’s traditional culture, crafts and home-grown cuisine. You’ll learn about life in the mountains as told by the local Goral people, and you’ll stop at local restaurants, inns and mountain huts to eat hearty stews, pierogi (Polish dumplings), oscypek (traditional smoked cheese) and kielbasa (sausages) washed down with traditional sliwowica lacka (plum brandy). Go to Poland in the winter and you can swap hiking boots for snowshoes with cross country skiing and horse drawn sleigh rides thrown into the mix.
How tough are the tours?
You’ll be doing some trekking at high altitude with several long days and steep climbs, so you’ll need to be fit for our Poland walking vacations. There'll be some gentle walks – along the mostly flat Pieniny Way, for example – as well as tougher uphill treks, such as scaling challenging Kozi Wierch, which will involve some intense scrambling. In terms of kit, you’ll need sturdy walking shoes, rain gear and layers for peeling off or putting on, as whatever the time of year, you could still experience daytime heat and evening chills.Hikes cover an average of 15km a day, though this will be less on winter tours, and you should also get some time off to rest or sightsee. You could join a guided walking tour taking in the narrow cobbled streets and medieval architecture of Krakow at the beginning of your tour, travel down the Dunajec River by traditional wooden raft, or take horse-drawn sleigh rides in winter.
Where to go walking in Poland
Many walking vacations in Poland focus on the rugged mountains of the High Tatras, just under two hours’ drive away from Krakow. Part of the granite Carpathian Range, they form a natural border between Poland and neighbouring Slovakia. They’re also home to a comprehensive network of trails including the tough route up Kozi Wierch (2,291m) and Mount Rysy (2,499m), which gives 360-degree views across over 100 peaks. In the winter the trails are doused with snow, attracting a gaggle of skiers and snowshoers, but come summertime meadows fill with alpine flowers and hiking takes precedence.
Other than the High Tatras, you could spend time following the Pieniny Way along the limestone Dunajec Gorge, listed by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site, or visit Babia Gora National Park in the Beskid Zywiecki, the second highest mountain range in Poland after the Tatras. Some tours also pass briefly into Slovakia and Slovenia.
Other than the High Tatras, you could spend time following the Pieniny Way along the limestone Dunajec Gorge, listed by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site, or visit Babia Gora National Park in the Beskid Zywiecki, the second highest mountain range in Poland after the Tatras. Some tours also pass briefly into Slovakia and Slovenia.
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When to go walking in Poland
In the summer the mountains offer a cooler alternative to city sightseeing, though this means that the popular trails are a lot busier. Either side of the high summer season, the months of May, June and September offer fresher temperatures. From December to February there’s usually a fair covering of snow – and plenty of magical winter scenery worth wrapping up for.
As with any outdoor adventure, it certainly pays to be prepared in the Carpathian Mountains, so pack strategically. No matter what the time of year, you can experience mist, rain, snow flurries and sun, all in one day, so layer up when you’re on the trails.
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