Highlights of Krakow, Lviv and Kiev

Arrive in Krakow. Our adventure begins in the charming city of Krakow, which was Poland's capital up until 1596.

For those arriving on time today our Leader plans to meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for the welcome meeting and to take us on a walking tour to familiarise us with the main sights. We'll discover Rynek Glowny, Europe's largest medieval square, and see the grand architecture that the city is known for. We will wander down the narrow cobbled streets of the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and see its best-known landmarks - the fairy-tale Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral, which watch over the city. If we have time, then we will also visit the second UNESCO World Heritage Site of the day, the Jewish Podgorze District. This was the Jewish Ghetto area during World War II and was the setting for the film 'Schindler's List'. You may choose to stop off here for dinner this evening in one of the traditional restaurants or grab a 'zapiekanka', an open-faced toasted baguette sandwich, which is a popular local fast food option.

If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into John Paul II Krakow-Balice International Airport (KRK), which is about 30 minutes' drive.

Please note that if you wish to join the walking tour this afternoon, you must arrive at the hotel by 7pm at the latest. If you are booking your own flights, we recommend giving yourself at least one and a half hours to clear the airport. From the airport to the hotel is around 30 minutes' drive, so therefore the latest your flight can arrive is 5pm. Should you miss the welcome meeting, your Leader will inform you of any essential information as soon as you catch up.

In the city centre you will find numerous good Polish restaurants and the 'pierogi', Polish dumplings, are especially tasty. There are also many bars selling a range of local beers and of course a wide range of vodkas.

Today is free for you to explore more of Krakow. You may like to return to Wawel Castle and go inside to see the exquisite treasures collected by the monarchy of Poland over the years or perhaps you'll want to return to the Jewish District to visit the Old Synagogue, Schindler's Factory or Museum of Jewish Life, which provides a fascinating insight into the Krakow Jews and the war years. A more unusual attraction in the city is the Rynek Underground, here you can go beneath the market square and explore the labyrinth of long forgotten chambers from the Middle Ages.

For something else that is a bit out of the ordinary you may like to take a walk to Liban Quarry, which is one of the least visited spots around the city centre. Here you'll find an abandoned replica of the Nazi's Plaszow Labour Camp that was built for Steven Spielberg's film 'Schindler's List' in 1992. It was constructed from the original blueprints from the actual camp and the quarry is just a few hundred metres from where it was located. The inmates of Plaszow worked in this quarry and were sadly also murdered here. It's a 25 minute walk from Krakow's Jewish District to Podgorski Nowy Cemetery and from there you follow the south eastern wall of the graveyard and there is a walkway down to the site.

Outside of the city you have the opportunity to join an excursion by train to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mines, which is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site. At up to 300 metres underground you will see a 400 year old chapel, a subterranean salt lake and chambers large enough to hold the Eiffel Tower! The Chapel of Saint Kinga is the mines most spectacular feature and you'll no doubt be amazed by what can be sculpted from salt. Please note that there are 350 steps down into the mine at the beginning of the tour and then a further 450 on the route through the various corridors and 20 chambers visited. The temperature underground can be much cooler than on the surface, so be sure to bring a jumper.

Alternatively you may choose to take the option to join a coach excursion to Oswiecim, the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp; an eerie and haunting place that drives home the terrible atrocities, which took place here during World War II.

This morning we depart our hotel at about 6.40am to transfer to the bus station to board our public bus for Lviv which departs at 7.30am and arrives in Lviv at 2.50pm. The public bus is modern and comfortable and there will be two restroom/refreshment stops made along the way and we'll also be given a packed breakfast to have on the bus. After being transferred to our hotel to check-in we will go on a guided walking tour. We discover the history and stunning architecture of the old quarter and along the way we will see the old market square of Ploshcha Rynok, the ornately carved exterior of Boyim Chapel, the Dominican Church and Monastery and the Citadel Inn. The inn was originally built in 1850 as a circular red fort that during World War II became a Nazi concentration camp and was known as the 'Tower of Death', but today it is now remarkably been turned into a five star hotel! We'll also see the Old Rus Quarter of the city and the High Castle, which affords great views over the city below. Lviv is home to not just one, but three different cathedrals; there's the Latin Cathedral, Armenian Cathedral and Saint George's Cathedral and they all vary greatly in style.

Lviv is the perfect spot for relaxing. In amongst the cobbled streets with their pretty red roofed buildings and tucked away courtyards you will find a variety of good cafes, bars and restaurants. Ukraine also is well known for its dumplings, which are called 'varenyky' and come with a range of different fillings such as cabbage or cheese or sweeter varieties like cherry. One dining option is the Dim Legend Restaurant that is spread over seven small floors and a roof terrace and each floor is decorated with a different theme telling the city's history through the ages. Whilst in Ukraine you should try 'nastoyanka', which is a local liqueur made from honey and herbs and comes in a selection of fruit flavours and even horse radish!

Today is free for you to further explore this picturesque city. Lviv is well known for both its beer and chocolate, so today you may choose to visit the Brewery Museum or join a chocolate making masterclass.

The Brewery Museum takes you on a journey through Ukraine and the World's beer making history and explains the differences. There will of course be the chance to try an assortment of locally brewed beers too. Next to the museum is the Robert Doms Beer House, which is a large Medieval style beer hall and restaurant where you can sample more of the local brew and perhaps their speciality dish of pork ribs in beer marinade.

At the chocolate making masterclass you can learn all about how chocolate is made and try your hand at making your own chocolate master pieces with advice from a professional chocolatier. Apparently chocolate has been produced in the city since the Middle Ages and in the 19th century it was exported to aristocracy throughout Europe. Today there is a huge variety of different flavoured chocolates, ice cream, milkshakes, cakes and more to tempt you.

Alternatively you might like to go back to some of the places we saw on our tour yesterday and venture inside or perhaps to visit Lychakiv Cemetery. This burial ground is a protected historical monument and believe it or not is one of the most popular attractions to visit in the city. Established in 1786 by the Austro-Hungarians, there are grave markers here written in Ukrainian, Russian, German, Polish, Armenian and Latin, which show how the city's rulers have changed throughout its history. In amongst the elaborately carved tombs there are also communal graves for soldiers and freedom fighters and simple communist graves. Sadly during the Soviet era the graveyard was used as a dumping ground and only reopened in 2005 after being restored.

This morning we will begin our drive to our overnight stop in Zhytomyr. Along the way we visit the town of Lutsk and our Explore Leader will take us on a walking tour of the main highlights. Competing with Lviv, on the beauty front, Lutsk is definitely worth exploring. The Soviet architecture of the modern town actually works here with its large squares and wide avenues, but of course the main attraction is the town's conserved historic centre. The maze of cobbled streets are lined with carved churches and town houses showcasing Lutsk's Polish, Russian and Lithuanian architectural history. Here we'll also see Lutsk's very well preserved 14th century castle. After spending a few hours here we will drive on to Klevan to visit the 'Tunnel of Love'. Along a three kilometre stretch of railway track leading to a factory the trees have all grown up around it forming a green corridor that has gained the name of the 'Tunnel of Love' due to the lovers that come here and make a wish for their future that is said to then come true.

We drive on to Zhytomyr, where our Explore Leader will take us on an orientation tour. The city has a number of picturesque churches including the majestic Cathedral of the Transfiguration, but it is also in touch with its Soviet past with rickety old trolley buses rattling past tower blocks, war memorials and numerous parks and public gardens including Gagarin Park. The city is one of the greenest in Ukraine and lies on the banks of the Teterev River and is surrounded by rocky hills and dense ancient forests.

This morning before leaving Zhytomyr we will visit its most famous attraction, the Sergei Korolev Museum of Astronautics. Sergei Korolev was a scientist and engineer who helped founder the Soviet space and rocket programme and he was born here in Zhytomyr. The museum is in two sections, the first of which is a memorial to Sergei and tells the story of his life and work. The main section of the museum tracks the history of the cosmonautics development and it has a number of exhibits about space travel, including a capsule that was donated by NASA that has soil on it from where it landed on the moon.

We then drive to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, which is situated on the banks of the River Dnipro. This afternoon we will go on a guided walking tour of this ancient city, which has been inhabited for almost 2000 years and was once the capital of the Kyivan Rus State, from which all later Russian states were descended. Although Ukrainian nationalism is stronger than ever, you will still hear Russian spoken here today. During our tour we will see the onion domed exterior of Santa Sophia Cathedral, the Golden Gate which was once the main entrance to the city, Saint Andrews Baroque Church and Mother Motherland, an over 100 metre high statue to honour the heroes of the Soviet Union.

Today we will begin by taking the metro to Arsenalna, which is the deepest station in the world. We continue by metro to the Lavra Historical and Cultural Reserve and visit the remarkable 'Monastery of the Caves' founded in AD 1051, where the labyrinths provide all the natural conditions needed for mummification. We take a guided tour of the caves and have time in either the Museum of Miniatures or the Museum Of Historical Treasures and the Holy Trinity Church.

This afternoon is free for you to further explore Kyiv. A short distance from the Cultural Reserve you might like to visit the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, which is one of the largest museums in Ukraine and tells the story of the German-Soviet War in iconic and Brutalist style. It has over 300,000 items on display and the memorials here are spread over 25 acres.

Or for something a little lighter, you may choose to take a relaxing boat trip along the Dnieper River or visit Mezhyhirya, which consists of a very large park and houses that all formerly belonged to President Viktor Yanukovych. After the revolution this park was opened to the public, so that now you can witness how luxurious his life was when he was in power.

Outside the city you could join an excursion to Pirogov Open-Air Museum of Wooden Architecture, which is about 40 minutes' drive from the city. Set on the banks of Lake Myachino you will be able see a variety of old Ukranian village houses, chapels and churches that have been preserved to display how the Russian people used to live.

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Kyiv.

There are no activities planned today, so you are free to depart from Kyiv at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you would like to receive a complimentary airport transfer today, you need to depart from Kyiv Boryspil International Airport (KBP), which is about 35 minutes' drive.