Travel with Temple Emanu-El

ITINERARY (SUBJECT TO CHANGE, FINAL DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED):

Wednesday, June 24, 2026: Arrival
- Make your own way to Krakow. Must arrive by the afternoon of June 24.
- Check in at hotel.
- Ride for the Living opening ceremony.
- Mandatory safety briefing.

Thursday, June 25, 2026: Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Private tours of Auschwitz-Birkenau (transportation included).
- Memorial ceremony at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- Meeting with a Holocaust survivor.

Friday, June 26, 2026: Ride for the Living
- Ride for the Living: cycle from Auschwitz-Birkenau to JCC Krakow on a meaningful (and mostly flat) 60-mile bike ride or along the 14-mile itinerary.
- Non-rider program: for those who do not wish to bike, the JCC offers alternative educational, historical, and community programming, which includes the 5K (3-mile) Walk for the Living from Płaszów Concentration Camp to JCC Krakow.
- Celebratory Shabbat dinner with hundreds of participants, including community members and local Holocaust survivors.

Saturday, June 27, 2026: Supplemental Activities
- Choose from a variety of supplemental events and programs including: tours of Krakow, the Jewish Quarter, the former Krakow Ghetto, and/or the local food scene; educational lectures and workshops hosted by JCC Krakow; and/or a private cocktail party.

Sunday, June 28, 2026: From Krakow to Warsaw
- Ride for the Living closing celebration, brunch in JCC Krakow's garden, and goodbyes.
- Choose to make your own way home, continue your travels independently, or join the Temple Emanu-El community in Israel (click here for more information about attending both trips).
- Group transfer with assistance from your Krakow hotel to Krakow Station in time to board your 1st class train bound for Warsaw.
- On arrival at Warsaw Station, you will be personally met by your guide to start touring.
- Tour the Warsaw Jewish Historical Institute, a research and cultural institution founded in 1947, it preserves and documents the history of Polish Jews through a vast collection of archives, manuscripts, and artworks. The visit will include a dialogue with a conservation specialist, and an inside look at the Oneg Shabbat Archives, where the Jews of the Ghetto documented the life in Poland during the Holocaust.
- Enjoy lunch at a kosher restaurant in Warsaw joined by the Head Rabbi of Warsaw, Rabbi Shudrich. (Pending availability)
- After lunch, visit the Warsaw Zoo, where during WWII, hundreds of Jews were hidden at the Zabinski Villa.
- Learn how zookeeper Jan Zabinski smuggled Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the zoo and see the cellar and abandoned animal enclosures where they hid. You’ll also view the piano on which Jan's wife, Antonina Zabinski, would play a special tune to warn that Germans were approaching Honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, the story of the Zabinskis inspired by the book and film, The Zookeeper's Wife.
- After your visit, you will be transferred to your hotel for check-in and an evening free at leisure.
- Overnight: Warsaw

Monday, June 29, 2026: Depart Warsaw
- Breakfast at the hotel.
- Check-out from your hotel.
- Visit the Warsaw Ghetto. See the remnants of the Ghetto Wall, the Nathan Rapoport Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, and retrace the Path of Remembrance (the steps taken in 1943 by heroic fighters during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising).
- Commemorate the doomed uprising at the Mila 18 memorial before going to Umschlagplatz, the holding area used before transportation to the Treblinka death camp.
- Visit Nozyk Synagogue, the only stand-alone synagogue remaining. Damaged during the war, it was eventually returned to the Jewish community, restored, and is now an active synagogue.
-  Lunch on own.
- Tour the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, located in the center of what once was the Warsaw Ghetto. This massive museum explores the history of Poland’s Jews from their arrival one thousand years ago until today. Your visit will begin with a discussion on the richness and variety of Jewish life in Poland and an introduction to key features and highlights of the museum.
- Tour the Jewish Cemetery of Warsaw (Gensha), a resting place for great figures of Polish Jewry since 1806. One of the world’s largest Jewish cemeteries, it has been restored by volunteers since the 1990s, working to preserve its history and trace lost names. Meet with Vitek, the non-Jewish volunteer who leads the cemetery preservation project, to hear about his journey and participate in a restoration project.
- Group transfer to Warsaw’s Chopin International Airport in time for your departure flight to Tel Aviv.

COST (PRICES SHOWN PER PERSON):
Ride for the Living: ranges from $3,208 - $3,684, dependent on accommodation selection.  
Kenes Tours Warsaw Package: $1,415  
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Total: $5,099-$4,623 (dependent on accommodation selection)  

Final pricing will be confirmed once the number of participants is known. The amount listed reflects an estimated cost and does not include fundraising requirements or airfare. If cost is a barrier, please reach out to Rabbi Fel, as scholarships are available.

NEXT STEPS:
- Click HERE to learn more about Ride for the Living. 
- Fill out the form below if you're interested in attending!