Best of Gdańsk Private Shore Excursion

Private tour
Duration: 5 h
Moderate walking
Multiple languages

Overview

Gdańsk has twice been where the century turned. The first shots of the Second World War were fired at its harbour in September 1939, and forty-one years later the strike in its shipyard started the movement that unpicked communist rule in Europe. The old town you walk through was ninety per cent rubble in 1945 and was rebuilt facade by facade from old drawings. You travel with a guide and driver of your own.

The tour covers:

Oliwa Cathedral and its baroque organ
Solidarity Square and the monument to the shipyard workers
The Royal Way from the Golden Gate to the Green Gate
St Mary’s Basilica and the medieval port crane
Free time for amber shopping and coffee

Please note that the tour order and the time spent at each venue may vary.

What you will see

Five hours ashore, with transfers from the port of Gdynia
The baroque organ at Oliwa, whose carved angels move as it plays
Solidarity Square, where the strike of 1980 began
St Mary's Basilica, the largest brick church in the world
Free time among the amber shops of the rebuilt old town

Itinerary

Meeting at the port

Meeting at the port of Gdynia. The start time of the tour is given approximately and will be adjusted depending on your ship arrival time. The exact meeting time will be specified on your confirmation letter.
Oliwa Cathedral

A stop at Oliwa Cathedral on the way into Gdańsk, the Gothic church of a Cistercian abbey founded in the 12th century and, at over a hundred metres, one of the longest in Poland. Its baroque organ, completed in 1788, is the sight everyone comes for: several thousand pipes behind a white and gold case whose carved angels swing bells and raise trumpets while it plays.
Solidarity Square

A photo stop at Solidarity Square outside the shipyard gates, where the strike of August 1980 led by an electrician named Lech Wałęsa forced the communist government to accept a free trade union, the first in the eastern bloc. The three steel crosses with anchors, 42 metres tall, were raised in December 1980 for the shipyard workers shot during the protests of 1970.
Old town walking tour

A guided walk through the main town, rebuilt after 1945 from photographs and paintings when more than nine tenths of it lay in ruins. You walk the Royal Way from the Golden Gate of 1614 down the Long Market to the Green Gate on the river, past the Main Town Hall, the Neptune Fountain of 1633 and Artus Court, where the merchants met. St Mary's Basilica, begun in 1343 and finished in 1502, is the largest brick church in the world and holds twenty-five thousand people. Nearby stands the Crane of 1444, the largest port crane in medieval Europe, worked by men walking inside its wheels.
Mariacka Street

Mariacka Street, the lane of stepped terraces and gargoyles that is the heart of the amber trade. Baltic amber is fossilised pine resin some forty million years old, and the coast here has supplied it to Europe since antiquity.
Free time

Time of your own for coffee and shopping in the old town
Return to the ship

The drive back to the cruise port in Gdynia

Price includes

English speaking guide for 5 hours; other languages are available upon request
Transportation in a A/C vehicle for 5 hours
Pick up and drop off in the port
Visit to Oliwa Cathedral

Not included

Lunch
Tips (recommended tips for guide: 10% of the tour cost, for driver: 5% of the tour cost)

Meeting point

The meeting point is located outside the cruise port area. Please, make sure to read disembarkation instructions sent through email with other documentation.

Prices

People	Price per person
1	€591
2	€295
3	€213
4	€160
5	€128
6	€118
7	€109
8	€95

People	Price per person
9	€85
10	€76
11	€69
12	€64
13	€59
14	€55
15	€54
16	€52

Good to know

Visas and tour tickets

US and EU citizens need no visa or tour ticket to come ashore in Gdynia (Gdansk).

Payment

A deposit of 50% is due when you book.
The balance is due on the day of the tour, in cash (euros) or by credit card.
Full payment is due when you book a single excursion.
You receive a confirmation as soon as your online payment goes through.

Cancellation

Tell us in writing if you or anyone in your party cancels a confirmed booking.
Deposits are refunded in full up to 72 hours before the tour.
Deposits are not refunded within 72 hours of the tour.
No refund is given for a no-show.

Availability and notes

Ask us about availability at least 48 hours before your ship reaches the port.
The schedule is adjusted to the arrival time of your ship.
The tour involves walking and climbing stairs.
Wear comfortable shoes, dress for the weather and bring an umbrella just in case.
Entry to Oliwa Cathedral cannot be guaranteed, as services and private events sometimes close it.

Tips and discounts

Children aged 7 to 17 and students pay 10% less.
Tips are not included in the price.
We suggest about 15% in total, split as 10% for your guide and 5% for your driver.
Please carry some cash for this, though tipping is always your choice.