AJR Heritage Tour of Poland

The AJR is pleased to expand on our recent heritage trips to now include Poland. Join us for an impactful heritage trip to what was the largest and most vibrant Jewish community in the world, home to 3.3 million Jews before the horror of the Holocaust. During this trip we will look at Jewish history in Poland from the Middle Ages to today, learning about how our ancestors lived, thrived, resisted and perished.

The Chief Rabbi of Poland will welcome us to Warsaw, the centre of Jewish life, which will be our base during the trip, and from where we will learn of 1,000 years of Jewish history culminating in contemporary life over dinner with the local Jewish community.

From Warsaw we will travel by coach west to Lodz, city with the second largest Jewish population pre-war, visiting the ghetto, the train station where the deportations took place, and centres of heritage and cultural preservation. We will also travel south to Lublin to learn of Jewish life in the Middle Ages, in the interwar years, and a visit to Madjanek death camp, as well as a theatre working to revive Jewish memory. Traveling east we will go to Treblinka death camp, learn of pre-war Jewish life in Tykocin and of the tragedy at the Lopochowa mass grave. Back in Warsaw we will follow the Path of Heroism to the POLIN Museum.

In the company of fellow descendants and led by expert educators and local guides, we will look in all directions to strengthen our knowledge of our cultural heritage to allow us to carry our legacy forwards.

Places are limited and we anticipate demand will be high. Priority will be given to those with a strong Polish family history, and those who have not yet participated in an AJR heritage trip. We will look to return to Poland in the future so please bear with us if we are not able to offer you a place this time.

Unlike our outreach trips, AJR heritage trips are for only suitable for those able to travel independently. Participants will be responsible for booking their own travel to and from Poland and arriving at the meeting point in Warsaw in time to start the tour. There will be a lot of walking involved, including on uneven ground.

Please note this tour does not include Krakow and Auschwitz. Participants are welcome to extend their trip to visit other places in Poland.

Kosher food will be available at some of the places we will visit but we are not able to guarantee kosher food for the entire tour as availability is limited in today’s Poland. Vegetarian options will always be available.

Price information:

£1,334.56 per person (double occupancy)

£1,624.56 per person (including £290 single supplement)

Travel to and from Poland is not included. Participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements to and from Warsaw.

Included:

Four-night en-suite accommodation including breakfast in a 4-star hotel in Warsaw.

Full programme including guides, educators, coach travel, entrance fees, boxed lunches, two group dinners (two evenings will be free for participants to make their own arrangements for dinner or a cultural experience such as a concert).

Itinerary (subject to change):

Participants should arrive at the hotel by 12pm on Day 1

DAY 1: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2026 WARSAW – THE PHOENIX CITY

DAY 2: MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2026 ŁÓDŹ – THE CITY OF FOUR CULTURES

DAY 3: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2026 LUBLIN – JEWISH POLAND’S EAST

DAY 4: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2026 TREBLINKA-TYKOCIN-ŁOPUCHOWO

DAY 5: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2026 WARSAW – 1,000 YEARS OF THE POLISH JEWISH EXPERIENCE

The tour will end at 2.30pm on Day 5.

If you would like to join us on this trip, please fill in the form below. Should demand be high, we will use your responses to allocate places. We will inform you as soon as possible if you have a place and how to pay the holding deposit. If you have any questions please email nextgens@ajr.org.uk