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Birds & Mammals of Southern Poland

9 days in the undiscovered land of Great Grey Owl, Brown Bear, the endangered Souslik and a lot more

Birds & Mammals of Southern Poland

9 days in the undiscovered land of Great Grey Owl, Brown Bear, the endangered Souslik and a lot more

Birds & Mammals of Southern Poland

9 days in the undiscovered land of Great Grey Owl, Brown Bear, the endangered Souslik and a lot more

Explore the wildest parts of undiscovered south-eastern Poland with its vast mountain ranges and a huge variety of rare birds and mammals.

The tour starts in Warsaw, a vibrant and modern capital of Poland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site – worth a visit in itself. In the next 9 days our comfortable minibus will take you through the backroads of south-eastern Poland.

You will visit five National Parks, four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and three other World Heritage Sites. Here is a short list of what is waiting for you to discover:

  • Explore Polesie National Park aiming to see the elusive Great Grey Owl, Aquatic Warblers, Elk (Moose), Ferruginous Duck, Marsh Terns and a lot more water birds.
  • Discover Roztocze National Park with Tarpan Horses (Polish Konik) and Spotted Souslik, a critically endangered (Speckled) Ground Squirrel or birds of prey like Short-toed Eagle.
  • Spend a night in Zamość – Polish pearl of renaissance (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and watch birds like Syrian Woodpecker and colourful Bee-eaters.
  • Go hiking in the Bieszczady Mts – Poland’s wildest National Park with its strong population of Brown Bears, Wolves, Lynx, Wildcat and European Bison.
  • Visit Slovakia and experience rafting in the breathtaking Dunajec River Gorge, Pieniny National Park.
  • Spend three nights in Zakopane, the famous Tatra National Park and go trekking at 2000 m looking for Brown Bear, Chamois, Marmot or Wall-creeper.

But this is not the end! You will finish in Kraków – Poland’s best preserved old town included on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is also a perfect base for visiting Auschwitz or Wieliczka Salt Mines.

Our local guides are experienced, have access to the best areas and all the recent sightings. Our customers say they are a wealth of knowledge and even fun but best to check it out yourselves. What is more, the Polish traditional landscape with small, wooden houses and locally grown, gorgeous food as well as visiting several old towns and cities will add a unique and unforgettable taste to this tour.

Duration

9 days, 8 nights
Start: Warszawa | Finish: Kraków

Countries visited

Poland | Slovakia

Board & lodging

8 nights comfortable hotels
All meals included

Transport

Minibus

Activities

Walking | Trekking up to 2000 m a.s.l.
Rafting

Small groups

6-12 persons
Minimum age: 15 yrs

Price

9750 PLN (€2330) per person
Deposit: 1000 PLN
Single room: +550 PLN

See real wildlife in a respectful way

What our customers say

Day by day itinerary

click to expand

Day 1: Pickup at Warsaw, transfer to Sobibór Forest

13:00 (at the latest) pick up from Warsaw F. Chopin Airport Okecie (WAW) or your hotel in Warsaw and transfer to Sobibór Forest*. We will stop for lunch en route as well as have our first birding stop with chances of spotting some Grebes, Marsh Terns or even a White-tailed Eagle. After ca. 4 hrs drive we will check in at a comfortable hotel in the Okuninka village.

After a hearty Polish dinner the guide will introduce you to the area and talk about the plans over a map.

In the evening, just before sunset, we will set off for a walk in search of the elusive Great Grey Owl. There are a few pairs of them here and we have access to the best sites. Other nocturnal birds like Woodcock, Nightjar or even Pygmy Owl are also likely.

Hotel Sanvit or similar

Meals included: lunch en route, dinner

* In the time of WWII there was a German Nazi extermination camp located in this forest. It was the fourth deadliest German camp. The Germans demolished the camp after the 1943 prisoner revolt. The story was dramatized in the 1987 British TV film ‘Escape from Sobibor’.

Day 2: Birdwatching in Polesie National Park

Polesie National Park is famous for its numerous small lakes, ponds, wetlands and peat-bogs now protected under Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance as well as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

You will spend this day visiting all the best sites with our guide in search of species like Aquatic or Barred Warbler, Little Bitterns, Red-necked and Black-necked Grebes, White-winged and Whiskered Marsh terns, Ferruginous Duck and a lot more!

Birds of prey of this area include Montagu’s Harrier, Lesser Spotted Eagle, White-tailed Eagle or even a Short-toed or Greater Spotted Eagle if we are lucky.

We will have packed lunch overlooking one of the lakes and continue birding afterwards, until dinner. We will transfer in our minibus and walk short distances on foot.

In the evening, we will come back looking for Owls or Nightjars, depending on the previous night’s success.

Hotel Sanvit or similar

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 3: Roztocze National Park + Zamość

This morning we will transfer to the Roztocze National Park (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) and try to spot one of Europe’s rarest and most endangered mammals – the Spotted Souslik also known as Speckled Ground Squirrel. This beautiful species is now critically endangered, due to a 99% decline in the global population over the past 30 years and we will visit Poland’s relict enclave population.

We will also stop to look for colourful Bee-eaters on the way and after lunch, we will spend some time looking for the rare woodpeckers and flycatchers in the natural old growth forest of the Roztocze National Park. There is also a chance to spot a wild herd of Polish Konik – the descendants of Tarpan, the now extinct Eurasian wild horse.

The area is hilly and a good introduction to the slightly more demanding trekking coming up in the next days.

We shall arrive at our hotel in Zamość late afternoon and you will have a few hours free for your personal exploration. You may wander around the beautiful old town – UNESCO World Heritage Site, visit the nearby Rotunda – the site of WWII Nazi German Gestapo camp – a prison, holding camp and a place off mass executions of Polish people. The nearby town parks are also a good idea to visit as they hold many interesting bird species like Short-toed Treecreeper, Icterine Warbler or Syrian Woodpecker.

Tonight we will meet up for dinner at one of the restaurants in the Zamość old town.

Hotel Zamojski or similar

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 4: Birdwatching, transfer to Bieszczady National Park

Today we will travel through the unscathed Polish countryside and you will see the best of colourful fields, lush meadows and verdant forests of south-eastern Poland. We will stop just outside the Roztocze National Park and have a few hrs break at one of the best sites to spot the Short-toed and Lesser Spotted Eagles – to experience the silence, tranquillity and abundance of wildflowers and birds. Other likely birds include Red-backed Shrike, Scarlet Rosefinch or Golden Oriole and a lot more.

We will visit Przemyśl, one of Poland’s oldest towns dating back to 8th c. and stop in Arłamów – one of the sites where Lech Wałęsa was incarcerated at by the Polish communist government in 1982.

We shall arrive at our hotel in the Bieszczady Mts on time for an earlier dinner and go out afterwards. You will experience an unforgettable evening out in the wilderness with chances of spotting some of the rare large mammals that thrive here. The area is also abundant in Ural Owls and we often see them at night.

Bieszczady belong to the lowest mountain ranges of Carpathians (max. 1346 m/4416 feet). Scarcely populated and largely forested these mountains are now teeming with wildlife and have become the most important Polish refuge for Brown Bears, Wolves, Lynx and even Wildcats. Moreover, there is a large herd of wild European Bison living here as well as plenty of Beavers. In the next 2 days we will visit the Bieszczady National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve) and surrounding areas in search of these elusive mammals.

Hotel Chreptiów or similar

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 5: Mammal and birdwatching in Bieszczady National Park

We will spend this morning looking for birds and mammal tracks in the lush river valleys. We will take a good 10 km walk in the Bieszczady National Park where species like Black Stork, Lesser Spotted Eagle or Nutcracker are common overhead while the meadows are buzzing with River Warblers, Corncrakes and Pipits. We will also spend some time in the forest where White-backed, Three-toed or Grey-headed Woodpeckers are likely. It is here where the signs of Beavers, Bears, Wolves and sometimes – Lynx can be found.

Your guide will help you find and interpret these signs and make good plans for this evening trip which will be focussed on finding large mammals.

In the evening, after an earlier dinner we will once again go out to a carefully selected vantage point. The trip can be short or quite long – depending on the current wildlife situation. Our guides are in touch with NP mammal trackers and have access to the best sites – all to provide you with a genuine wildlife experience. We will be back at the hotel well after dark.

Please note we do not use hides where animals are baited and habituated. The chances to spot large predators on our tours are low but very rewarding when we do see them and we actually do on many of the tours!

Hotel Chreptiów or similar

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 6: Slovakia, rafting in Pieniny Mts, Tatra Mts

This early morning your guide will take you up one last time in search of the Bison, Wolves, Bears and Lynx of the Bieszczady Mts, onto one of the best vantage points in the area. It will be a short night indeed, but well worth the effort and in fact – quite necessary if you wish to have a chance of spotting these elusive mammals when they are actually most active.

After breakfast, we will set off for a scenic journey through the Polish and Slovakian Carpathian range and via a few other National Parks, small villages and unscathed countryside. We should arrive in Pieniny National Park (Slovakia) for a traditional Slovakian lunch at a 14th c. monastery just by the Dunajec River Gorge.

Filled with Slovakian knedliki we will board the traditional wooden rafts accompanied by the Gorals boatmen (Pl: Górale – local ethnic group) for about an hour long cruise down the river through the most picturesque stretch of the Dunajec River Gorge. The breathtaking forested rocky walls here are 300m tall and it is not rare to spot a Black Stork or a Peregrine Falcon on the way.

We will finish our visit with a short walk in the Pieniny National Park (Slovakia) with chances to spot one of the rarest and Europe’s most spectacular butterflies – the Apollo.

Afterwards, we will continue our journey through the Carpathians that are getting higher and steeper as we go west, to finish in the Poland’s highest mountain range – the famous Tatra Mts. For the next three nights we will stay in Zakopane – nicknamed the Poland’s winter capital.

Hotel Biały Potok or similar

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Days 7-8: Trekking and birdwatching in the Tatra National Park

We will take the cable car up to Kasprowy Wierch (1987 m (6519 ft) above sea level) and go on a full day trek along the Poland-Slovakia border ridge through the Tatra National Park – the last UNESCO Biosphere Reserve on this tour. We may walk between 13 and 19 km (total ascents 700 m, total descents 1750 m), depending on weather and exact route chosen at a given time for best wildlife viewing.

The views are breathtaking but we also come here for the spectacular wildlife of this area: Brown Bears, Chamois and Marmots that can be spotted along the way together with birds: Nutcracker, Crossbills, Alpine Accentor, Three-toed woodpecker or Water Pipit.

On our second day here we will aim to visit one of the valleys for a shorter trail in search of bird rarities like the Wallcreeper or Golden Eagle. The flora of this area is especially unique with dozens of endemic species and if you’re into amphibians, we usually see many rarities like the Fire Salamander, Yellow-bellied Toad or one of the four species of newts.

The two full days planned to visit the Tatra Mts will allow us to see the best of this area and provides most chances of finding the rare birds and mammals with a possibility to alter our plans in case of adverse weather conditions.

We will also have enough time to take a walk in Zakopane and enjoy the town’s numerous cafe’s and souvenir shops.

Hotel Biały Potok or similar

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch, dinner

Day 9: Birdwatching in Spytkowice, transfer to Kraków

This morning, after our usual substantial breakfast (don’t worry, you will get used to it by the end of the holiday) we will set off for the journey back to Kraków, however, this will be a very special trip because we will spend the whole morning at Spytkowice fish ponds – undeniably one of the best birdwatching sites in Poland.

We will spend a good 3 hrs or more watching birds like Little Bittern, Ferruginous Dusk, Night Heron but there is so much more to see – from Bearded and Penduline Tits, Whiskered Terns or Little Crake to White-tailed Eagle and Black Stork. Unbelievably, this place has actually became the highlight of the whole tour for many of our previous customers with some even visiting there again on the next day!

We will have our packed lunch there and transfer to Krakow early afternoon. You can expect to be dropped off at the Kraków Balice Airport (KRK) by 16.00 or your hotel in Kraków around 17:00.

The tour ends when we arrive in Kraków Airport and the city. Participants book a hotel there and flights home at their own expense.

Hotel: none

Meals included: breakfast, packed lunch

Key information

Board & lodging

We will spend 8 nights at comfortable hotels. All accommodation is based on twin-share, with private facilities. Additional single room suplement rate applies if you travel alone. We do not offer twin rooms to share for single travellers.

All the venues serve gorgeous traditional Polish food. Breakfasts are a hearty continental treat that can set you up for the day. We will take packed lunches to eat in the field or take a midday break at a local cafe. In the evenings we will once again dine at our hotel or take a walk into town to eat at a restaurant where possible.

Transport

Our professional driver and tour leader will pick you up at the airport or a hotel in Warsaw with a comfortable minibus that will accompany us for the rest of the tour until drop off at Krakow airport or your hotel in the city.

Fitness level - is this tour for me?

This tour can be intensive and challenging because of trekking in the rocky mountains. On most days it requires basic fitness to walk for several hours a day. On average, we will walk between 4–12 km a day, divided between 2–3 walks, at a moderate speed of 3–4 km/h. When in the mountains, we may walk up to 7-8 hrs and 19 km in a day at an altitude of about 2000 m (6500 ft) above sea level, with total ascent of about 700 m and total descent of 1750 m – this part can be challenging if you haven’t done something like this recently.

Most of the time we will walk on decent tracks but we may walk short distances off trails on uneven terrain where you are likely to get your boots wet and muddy.

Tour leader - an experienced local guide

You will be accompanied by an English speaking Wild Poland guide, an experienced naturalist, birder and mammal tracker throughout this tour. We may take on additional local guides for visits in the National Parks (entrance tickets also included).

Joining & departure

The tour starts in Warsaw. Participants arrive in Warsaw at their own expense. We will pick you up at the WAW airport or your hotel in Warsaw on day 1, no later than 13:00. If you fly into Warszawa Modlin (WMI), you should account for ca. 2 hrs to get to WAW airport.

The tour ends on day 9 when we arrive at Kraków airport or our hotel in the city. Participants book a hotel in Kraków and flights home at their own expense. If you fly back on this day, your plane home should not leave earlier than 18:00 from KRK. Please make sure with us you will be on time for your flight back.

What to bring - essential luggage & clothing

It is particularly important that your outer clothing is in dark colours: green, brown, black etc. Please avoid bright colours like white, yellow, blue but also bright green or pale sand brown. This includes a hat and gloves as well! A pale hat sticks out and can be seen in a long distance.

You should bring the following necessary items:

  • above-ankle waterproof trekking boots,
  • waterproof jacket & trousers,
  • sunhat (summer),
  • warm layers, hat & gloves,
  • binoculars.

You may consider bringing the following useful items:

  • gaiters,
  • walking stick,
  • scope on a sturdy tripod,
  • thermo flask/cup,
  • small torch/headlamp.

Common questions

Eating & drinking

Polish food is very good, usually made from fresh produce. We are certainly meat eaters, not shunning from the fatty cuts. Pork and poultry are most popular. Soups are also a very Polish dish and while we do like our broth and borsch, many other soups are a full meal in itself.

Breakfasts tend to be hearty and often consist of fried or scrambled eggs, boiled or fried sausage, cold cuts, cheese, tomatoes and bread. A sweet version consisting of cheese/jam filled pancakes or racuchy (pancakes with apples) is also quite common.

For lunches we will take packed sets (two sandwiches, piece of fruit, chocolate bar, water) to eat in the field or stop at a local cafe where possible.

Dinners are a substantial 3-course meal served back at our hotel. We may go out to eat in the town at times, where possible.

Vegetarians & vegans

These days vegetarians are usually well catered for, but please let us know at the time of booking.

However, it can be difficult for vegans, as dairy produce and eggs occur in the vast majority of meals. Therefore we recommend that you bring some supplementary items.

Travel & medical insurance

We (Wild Poland) are fully insured tour operator as required by Polish and European law. However, all participants must additionally be covered by personal travel and medical insurance, preferably from the time of booking. This should cover you fully against the cost of cancellation by you, lost baggage, medical care and repatriation.

We do not provide or check personal travel insurance policies. See our booking conditions › for more details.

How is my money protected?

First of all, we are a registered tour operator in Poland. All holidays by Wild Poland are protected by the Mazovian Province and our tour operator insurance. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the Province executives guarantee to refund any money you have paid to us for any future booking.

Secondly – you get 100% money back guarantee with Wild Poland. By booking, you will be asked to pay a small deposit to confirm your place. It allows us to book the hotels etc. in your name. In a rare case that we have to cancel the departure because of insufficient number of participants, you will be refunded the full deposit amount. If your card is held in EUR or GBP small differences in the refunded amount may occur because of varying exchange rates.

Finally, we use Poland’s leading online payments gateways. Any critical credit card details are only entered at their secure pages and we have no access to, nor do we withhold any credit card details.

Dates, prices & booking

100% Money Back Guarantee with Wild Poland

By booking, you will be asked to pay a small deposit to confirm your place. In a rare case that we have to cancel the departure because of insufficient number of participants, you will be refunded the full deposit amount.

When booking a guaranteed tour within 30 days of departure you will be asked for a full payment instead of just the deposit.

5 – 13 Jun 2025

SPACES
available

PRICE
9750 PLN

SINGLE
+550 PLN

3 – 11 Jul 2025

SPACES
available

PRICE
9750 PLN

SINGLE
+550 PLN

7 – 15 Aug 2025

SPACES
available

PRICE
9750 PLN

SINGLE
+550 PLN

4 – 12 Sep 2025

SPACES
available

PRICE
9750 PLN

SINGLE
+550 PLN

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