Guided tour – do not waste your time on vacation.
Guided tour – do not waste your time on vacation.
The title may seem quite perverse. Throughout the year, we have to manage our time very wisely to bring together work, daily home logistics, family responsibilities – and on vacation again the same thing? And again we cannot plan anything, do nothing without purpose, without remorse? We can, of course. However, it may happen that we will squander our time and that we will spend our precious holiday time still at the same places, we will not get anything closer, there will not be something to remember or miss.
If we are going to Zakopane, we know little about the city, its history, we do not have access to publications about the culture of the region (and there are many, but most have not been translated from Polish into other languages) – we can go right next to something very interesting and just overlook it . Or spend the next rainy day walking up and down Krupowki instead of going to sunny Slovakia and see the castles there.
Therefore, we will warmly invite you to take advantage of the offer of guides. There are a lot of people in Zakopane who have a Tatra guide license, which allows them to lead even large groups for trips to the mountains. With them, we can go on ordinary trekking, but also try climbing, or learn about the secrets of winter tourism. There is also a smaller group of guides that will be happy to take as around the city. We want to get to know the culture, folk instruments, regional costumes – the guide will bring the whole chest of folk pipes or violin, will demonstrate playing and let you try to get some sound yourself. We would like to learn more about the Zakopane temples or well-known figures buried in the cemetery at Peksowy Brzyzek? There will be someone who will gladly tell us about it. Or maybe we need the care of someone who will bring us to Slovakia, organize transport, show objects worth visiting – this will not be a problem either. Or maybe we want to experience a real highlander mood, sit in a hut, listen to folk legends, ride a dog sled, go through the hills rarely frequented paths? We can ask for it.
We can rent the guide for a few hours, but also arrange appointments during a few days. Everything is a matter of reservation the date. It is known that the most crowded dates of winter and summer holidays, long weekends – we have to book in advance, if we want to be sure of the best quality service, the fact that our guide will actually be an expert in his field and will speak our language. For example, already in March, it is worth booking summer guided tours on Gerlach, because those guides who go regularly and the route know by heart have the last dates in calendar. But think earlier also about city tours, because guides often have the competence to show around museums and alleys, and at the same time lead tourists to the mountains for many hours. In the summer – they will be more likely to choose the second option and their calendar may no longer accommodate all orders, although they do not like to refuse. Guiding is not only a job for them, a way to earn money, but also chance of meeting people, sometimes form distant corners of the world.
The guides emphasize that they are not afraid of any subject of conversation. During the trip, apart from issues related to the objects being visited, we can also count on a friendly talk about contemporary Zakopane. The guides share their travel stories and even belief in the aliens if the conversation goes in that direction. Although in one office they claim that there is a taboo subject, the politics – they do not allow to talk about it during trekking in the mountains. It is very right to set boundaries, we can understand it and forgive it – it is for our own good that our mind also needs rest.
Let’s prepare ourselves that in the guide office we will be asked about our preferences – whether we are more interested in history or folk rituals, or getting to know nature, or maybe spending time on sports. If we do not know, we need hints, do not be afraid to ask for a recommendation – there are quite a lot of tour options. The more we set in advance, the greater the chance that we will be satisfied and our stay will be more attractive.
Below are the contacts to several selected guide offices. The list may be expanding, after all, there is more and more such services – as if in response to a wider range of entertainment not very sophisticated, not particularly associated with Zakopane, for which it is not very clear why you have to drive hundreds of kilometers to Podhale, like slot machines, amusement parks, or next and next places where you can drink a beer. It is easy to drown in the floods of such attractions, it is easy to believe that it is Zakopane, that we can spend time here as in Mielno, Kolobrzeg or Szczyrk (other popular holidays destinations in Poland), and the only difference will be the sloping roofs of our guesthouse and from time to time the mountains jutting from among the buildings. However, it is not so, in Zakopane and its surroundings there is much to discover. On this site, we try to prepare you before coming, which attraction are worth to devote your time. However, investing in memories is a good option. And just let this guide, usually a native Zakopane resident, show you what is the most interesting here.
Anna Markiewicz
High Away
https://highaway.pl/ – website only in Polish, but the office cooperates with guides who know different foreign languages. Both trips to the Tatras and around the city are organized, as well as joint trips abroad. With this team, we will definitely be in good hands.
Contact: high.away.travel@gmail.com
Hubert Jarzebowski: 500 044 198
Przemek Murzyn: 503 783 902
Tatra Group
Contact: http://www.tatragroup.pl/kontakt/,
Michal Lazarczyk +48 504 607 271, zbojetatry@gmail.com
The office is distinguished by the organization of not only trips to the Tatras, but also integration events, weddings – in highlander climates.
