Tour detail
This Amber Trail version is a bit shorter and less demanding than our Amber Trail I Budapest to Krakow. This hiking tour is connecting Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. Following ancient amber trading routes you will day by day get acquainted with the hillier terrain as you walk from the world’s largest designed landscape in South Moravia, through steep-sided Moravian Karst valley riddled with caves to lush Beskydy mountains rewarding you with nice forest trails and fine vistas. The city of Olomouc, second only to Prague in terms of impressive architecture, imposing Helfstyn Castle, Teplice nad Becvou spa with the world’s deepest abyss, legendary Tatra cars museum in Koprivnice or Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp are just some of major sights on your way to the royal city of Krakow.
Itinerary
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Day 1
Vienna – Valtice – Lednice – Mikulov (11 km / 7 miles, elevation gain 50 m)Arrive by train from Vienna to Breclav. On the platform meet our representative/guide who will drive you to Valtice where you get the tour briefing, information materials and navigation tools. Start your tour in the world’s largest designed landscape protected as UNESCO World Heritage Site walking from Baroque Valtice Chateau past the romantic follies through the forest and by the centuries old fishponds to Neo-Gothic Lednice Chateau, one of the most ornate examples of this historical architectural style.
Afternoon car transfer from Lednice to Mikulov with its imposing castle and the Jewish cemetery where the oldest tombstones date back to 1605.Overnight in Mikulov.
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Day 2
Mikulov – Moravian Karst – Sloup (9 km / 6 miles, elevation gain 180 m)After a car transfer from Mikulov you will get to the Moravian Karst Protected Landscape Area. Walk mildly ascending along Vienna-Moravia-Krakow Greenway through the charming limestone canyon famous for its caves and abysses, amongst which Punkevni Caves with the underground Punkva River are the best known. The Macocha Abyss, 138 m / 453 ft deep, it is the deepest of its kind in Central Europe. Equally interesting Sloupsko-Sosuvske Caves can be visited just before you reach your hotel in Sloup.
Overnight in Sloup.
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Day 3
Sloup – Svaty Kopecek – Olomouc (15 km / 9 miles, elevation gain 30 m)Start the day with a car transfer through picturesque Hana plain to Svaty Kopecek (Holy Hill), the site of magnificent pilgrimage Baroque Church, a landmark for the whole region, giving a fine view of the countryside. Then walk down a trail in the woods to reach the Bystrice River and a memorial to the US airmen. Continue along Vienna-Moravia-Krakow Greenway to Olomouc, the most famous town for historic monuments in Moravia. Your route will take you to the Premyslid palace, St. Wenceslas Cathedral as well as the ornate Trinity Column in the square, enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Overnight in Olomouc.
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Day 4
Olomouc – Lipnik – Teplice (15 km / 9 miles, elevation gain 310 m)After a car transfer to the Becva River valley start walking from Lipnik nad Becvou along its old town walls and the Jewish cemetery. Then go up to imposing Helfstyn Castle, one of the largest castle ruins in Europe, and continue along the forested hill range to the spa town of Teplice nad Becvou. There you have the opportunity to stroll the spa grounds and sip the invigorating waters, or to see the Zbrasovska aragonite cave and nearby Hranicka Abyss, with estimated depth over 1,000 m / 3,280 ft the world’s deepest flodded cave.
Overnight in Teplice nad Becvou.
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Day 5
Teplice – Hukvaldy – Stramberk (19 km / 12 miles, elevation gain 520 m)Get a car transfer to Hukvaldy, the birthplace of the composer Leos Janacek, a lovely small town famous for its ruined castle. Then stop in Koprivnice, home of automobile works featuring a technical museum displaying unique Tatra cars of revolutionary design, including the world’s first mass-produced streamlined cars and unstoppable off-road trucks. Arriving to Stramberk, a small town famed for its spectacular castle tower, you can try local culinary speciality “Stramberk Ears“, commemorating a bloody incursion by the Tatars in 1241. The local museum presents the work of Zdenek Burian, whose paintings depicting the Stone Age are commonly found in textbooks and museums around the world. The nearby Sipka Cave is a world-known Neanderthal site.
Overnight in Stramberk.
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Day 6
Stramberk – Nydek – Vendryne – Cieszyn (16 km / 10 miles, elevation gain 690 m)First take a car transfer through Beskydy Mountains Landscape Protected Area and start walking from the village of Nydek uphill to Velka Cantoryje Mountain on the Czech-Polish border (995 m / 3,264 ft). There is a challet with refreshments and a tower with a great view of Silesian Beskydy mountain panorama. Continue downhill through deep mountain forest to historic lime kilns in Vendryne which is the pick-up point for your car transfer to a border twin town of Tesin: Cesky Tesin on the Czech side, and Cieszyn on the Polish side.
Overnight in Cieszyn.
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Day 7
Cieszyn – Jaworze – Oswiecim (12 km / 7.5 miles, elevation gain 610 m)After a car transfer to the Polish side of Silesian Beskydy mountains start walking uphill through the woods to the top of Blatnia Mountain (917 m / 3,009 ft). After enjoying the round view continue down to Jaworze, from where you will be taken by car to Oswiecim (Auschwitz). The nearby terrible concentration and extermination Nazi camp Auschwitz-Birkenau has become UNESCO site to commemorate the sad chapters of Europe’s history.
Overnight in Oswiecim.
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Day 8
Oswiecim – KrakowBefore leaving Oswiecim you can pay visit to the Auschwitz museum and then continue by car to the magnificent city of Krakow, where you can enjoy the charms of Wawel Castle, the Old Market Square, the Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, the town walls or the Royal Way.
Gallery
Best time to go
The Central European continental climate consists of hot summers and cold winters. In summer it can get quite hot. May, June and September are generally good months taking advantage of cooler, but still warm weather. September is also the wine harvest time in Austria and South Moravia.
It must be noted that July and August are the busiest months when most people go for their holidays here. We mention this with regard to seeing cultural monuments and UNESCO sites with greater ease and less people around.
Events calendar
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Brno
The International Music Festival Spilberk
Music Festival in the grounds of Spilberk castle in Brno.
International Guitar FestivalInternational Guitar Festival which is considered to be one of the most important festivals of its genre in Central Europe.
Uprostred FestivalA programme full of wide selection of music productions, workshops, theatre performances, ballrooms, sport and multimedia events.
Concertus MoraviaeThis international music festival offers the opportunity to travel around the various châteaux and churches of South Moravia and the Highlands listening to music. The programme includes about thirty concerts.
Ignis BrunensisInternational fireworks competition – enjoy spectacular fireworks above Spilberk castle and music and dance performances.
JazzFest BrnoAn international jazz festival established in 2002 and one of the most impactfull jazz events in the Czech Republic.
Easter Festival of Sacred MusicThe very first festival dedicated solely to sacred music in the Czech Republic, a unique international project that showcases outstanding performances.
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Mikulov
Days of Jewish Culture
The festival offers the opportunity to see Jewish theatre, concerts of Jewish music or taste typical Jewish cuisine.
KampanilaAn international choir festival with a long tradition.
Mikulov Beer FestivalPopular event for beer lovers that offers tasting of various beer brands and attractive cultural programmes.
Narody Podyji The Festival of the Nations from the PodyjiThe Festival of the Nations from the Podyji presents the original cultural and culinary specialties of the nations living in the Dyje River region.
The International Guitar FestivalMaster-classes of interpretation and concerts by world-class guitarists, seminars, lectures, workshops and exhibitions.
The town of Mikulov FestivalFestival popular with locals that includes scenes from the traditional life in Mikulov, opening of sights to the public with complementary events, performances of local ensembles and schools, wine tasting and gastronomic specialities.
Mikulov Wine FarePrestigious wine tasting event with rich cultural programme and Czech championship in filling a wine pipette from a barrel.
Palava Vintage – Wine Harvest FestivalPopular festival with lots of activities and varied program with lots of stalls selling local products, parades, a fun fair, public wine tastings and music performances.
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Vienna
Jazz Fest Wien
A modern, urbane festival with an international reputation and one of the most popular Jazz festivals in the world.
Vienna PopfestMulti-day festival with open-air and indoor stages showcases the latest Austrian pop music.
The Vienna FestivalFestival is renowned for its superb international theatrical performances, it invites musical ensembles and opera companies from all over the world, in addition of staging many Austrian musical productions.
2024 Tour dates
Self-guided tours
Every day from April to the end of OctoberGuided tours
to be specifiedFor a custom guided tour in different dates, send us an e-mail.
If you have any questions, send us an email
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