Day 1. Zhytomyr-Lviv
Morning departure from Zhytomyr, travel to Lviv.
Check-in at the hostel in Lviv and a short break to rest after the journey. In the afternoon you will meet a local guide and have a walking city tour.
Lviv has been a place where Polish and Ukrainian history and culture have coexisted and intertwined for centuries. The history of Lviv dates back to 1256 when it was founded by King Danylo Halytskyi of Galicia-Volhynia. Throughout its history, Lviv has experienced numerous wars that have changed its political affiliation several times, but it has always remained culturally diverse due to the influx of different ethnicities.
The city itself is full of architectural wonders that reflect both Polish and Ukrainian influences from various eras throughout its long existence. Architecture, cuisine or entertainment options available here are a fascinating mix created by Poles and Ukrainians over hundreds of years ago yet still relevant today.
Dinner.
Accommodation: Hostel in Lviv.
Day 2. Lviv-Sanok
Breakfast at the hotel.
Leaving Lviv for Poland.
Crossing the Polish-Ukrainian border and arrival in Sanok.
After the dinner you will meet Polish peers and have organized, active time together.
Accommodation: Hotel in Sanok.
Day 3. Bieszczady Mountains
Breakfast at the hotel.
Departure for a full day mountain excursion. Hike with your Polish peers in the Bieszczady Mountains. Learn about the history and current life of the region, once inhabited mostly by Ruthenians (an ethnic group speaking a language similar to Ukrainian, who were resettled from Ukraine to western Poland in the 1940s), while visiting historical sites and current attractions: the dam on Lake Solina, the bison enclosure, and more.
In the late afternoon coming back to Sanok, dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel in Sanok.
Day 4. Sanok
Breakfast at the hotel.
Entrance to the largest open-air ethnographic museum in Poland. Skansen is a unique museum in the Polish-Ruthenian region, preserving and exhibiting artifacts from both cultures. It is hard to find a better way to learn history than by entering original houses and listening to the stories of their former inhabitants.
Time on your own in the town of Sanok.
Lunch (Optionally. The cost of lunch is covered for all who wish to have it before dinner).
In the afternoon visit in the Sanok Castle (a seat of a museum with exhibitions).
Dinner.
Accommodation: Hotel in Sanok.
Day 5. Sanok-Kraków
Today we are leaving the region where since the beginning of written history (more than a thousand years ago) the populations of Rus (Ruthenians) and Poles have been intertwined. It is only since the 1940s that the situation has changed due to the politics and forced deportations from and to this region.
The second part of the tour in the Krakow region
Breakfast at the hotel.
Check-out from the hotel and departure towards Kraków along the Carpathian Mountains Chain.
Accommodation: Hostel in the center of Kraków.
Day 6. Kraków
Guided tour in Kraków Old Town with a local English speaking guide.
Entrance to Wawel castle.
Lunch (Optionally, the cost will be covered).
Time on your own.
Dinner (2 course menu).
Accommodation: Hostel in Kraków.
Day 7. Kraków Academies
Breakfast at the hotel.
Visiting one or more of Kraków universities to learn more about their offer and possibility of studying in Kraków.
In the evening party in folk style.
Accommodation: Hostel in Kraków.
Day 8. Kraków-Wieliczka-Przemyśl
Breakfast at the hotel and departure.
Stop in Wieliczka. Entrance to Salt Mine; underground world of salt chambers and sculptures.
Lunch in Wieliczka or on the way to Przemyśl (Optionally, the cost will be covered).
Arrival in Przemyśl, dinner .
Guided tour in Przemyśl.
Przemyśl was one of the two largest towns of the Cherven Gords (Red Fortresses). Cherven Gords played a central role in the history of the early medieval Polish-Ruthenian borderlands. The area is first mentioned in 981, when Vladimir the Great conquered it during his campaign of expansion to the West.
Accommodation: Hotel in Przemyśl
Day 9. Przemyśl-Zhytomyr
Breakfast at the hotel and travel towards Zhytomyr.
