2026 Jewish Journey to Eastern Europe
May 16–26, 2026
The Workers Circle Jewish Journey to Lithuania and Poland is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Yiddishkayt culture in the places where it all began. Led by a team of historians and scholars, this trip takes participants on a guided tour of dozens of historic landmarks and cities that once were centers of Jewish life. Presented in partnership with Taube Jewish Heritage Tours based out of Warsaw, we are joined daily by local tour guides, educators, scholars, and special guests.
Questions about the trip? Read our Frequently Asked Questions.
Cost: $7,500* per person (double occupancy; +$1,300 for single)
Group Size: Limited to 20 participants for a more intimate experience
*The pricing is approximate, as exact costs from our travel partners won’t be available until summer 2025. A $1,000 per-person deposit is refundable until October 1, with full payment due by February 1, 2026. Trip insurance is mandatory for all trip participants.
The Program Fee Includes:
11 days/10 nights
5-star hotels
Most meals (as indicated in itinerary), including all breakfasts and lunches
Ground transportation via deluxe coach
Full-time scholar-in-residence, Dr. Tomasz Cebulski and private sessions with educators
Private guides and tours with the group
Full-time tour manager
Entrance fees, passes, and tickets
Professor Dovid Katz, special guest scholar in Lithuania
Airport transfers: on first and last day of the tour
The fee does not include:
Airfare
Taxis
Any additional International health/travel insurance (mandatory)
Personal expenses
Tour staff gratuities
Optional excursions and/or private tours
Pre- and post-tour accommodations
2026 Jewish Journey to Eastern Europe Itinerary
We have planned an ambitious and active itinerary for this trip to take our delegation on a once-in-a lifetime Jewish heritage experience. We include many special guests and local experiences in addition to the many historic sites to provide our group with unique access to local foods, Judaic artisans, and historic marketplaces. Each day’s journey will be framed by our Scholar-in-Residence, Tomasz Cebulski, Ph.D., along with local guides.
*Most days participants will walk from 3-5 miles along uneven and unpaved terrain. Please note that we are unable to accommodate those who are unable to keep the walking pace of the group.
The following is an itinerary for the Jewish Journey. Please note, it is subject to change.
DAY 1: (Saturday, May 16)
ARRIVALS AT THE VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (VNO)
VILNIUS: JERUSALEM OF THE NORTH
Welcome to Vilnius!
Arrival at Vilnius International Airport (VNO). Taube Jewish Heritage Tours (TJHT) will provide transfers from the airport to the hotel for tour participants arriving on May 15 or 16.
Welcome and orientation with Workers Circle staff, Dr. Tomasz Cebulski, scholar-in-residence, Dr. Dovid Katz, scholar-in-residence in Vilnius, and tour staff.
Guided introductory walking tour of Vilnius with a private guide.
Welcome dinner in the Old Town.
Overnight in Vilnius
Accommodation in Vilnius:
Grand Hotel Vilnius, Curio Collection by Hilton
Universiteto g. 14
Tel: +370 5 220 1100
DAY 2: (Sunday, May 17)
VILNIUS: FOLLOWING THE BUND
Framing-the-day session with Dr. Tomasz Cebulski, scholar-in-residence, and Dr. Dovid Katz in the hotel.
Guided walking tour of Vilnius continues with Jerulita's guide.
Visit the Vilnius Jewish Community Center with Michail Segal, Executive Director of the Lithuanian Jewish Community.
Session at Dr. Dovid Katz’s home museum.
Optional walking tours:
Option A) Walking tour with Dr. Katz of the secular Yiddishist (including Bundist) neighborhood, including Kletskin's publishing house, Sofia Gurevich's gymnasium, various addresses of YIVO, and of Tsemakh Shabad, Zalmen Reyzen and Max Weinreich.
Option B) Visit Museum of the Identity and Culture of Lithuanian Jews.
Visit the Holocaust Exhibition (The Green House), where you will learn why Vilnius was once considered the Jerusalem of Lithuania.
Visit the Samuel Bak Museum (formally known as The Tolerance Center).
Overnight in Vilnius
DAY 3: (Monday, May 18)
VILNIUS - PANERIAI: THE HOLOCAUST IN LITHUANIA
Breakfast at the hotel
Visit Ponary Forest, a mass killing site of Vilna Jewry, and the Ponary Memorial with Dr. Tomasz Cebulski, Scholar-in-residence.
Bus tour with stop at Lukiškės Square, the site where the Jewish Labor Bund was founded in 1897; also the Bund address at the former Zawalna 60 St.
Reflection session in the hotel with Dr. Dovid Katz.
Overnight in Vilnius
DAY 4: (Tuesday, May 19)
VILNIUS — TYKOCIN – TREBLINKA – WARSAW
Visit Tykocin Castle, Tykocin Synagogue and Treblinka Memorial.
Visit the site of the Treblinka Death Camp, now a Memorial and Museum of Struggle and Martyrdom.
Travel to Warsaw, Poland
Overnight in Warsaw
Accommodation in Warsaw
Radisson Collection Hotel
Grzybowska 24 St.
Tel: +48 22 321 88 88
DAY 5: (Wednesday, May 20)
WARSAW: THE PHOENIX CITY
Visit Nozyk Synagogue with Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland.
Guided visit of Okopowa Jewish Cemetery with Witold Wrzosiński, Director of the Okopowa Jewish Cemetery.
Visit Umschlagplatz Memorial and walk the route of Struggle and Martyrdom, focusing on the ghetto uprising’s leaders; Mila 18; the Zygielbojm Monument; the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes Monument and the Museum Plaza.
Lunch in the POLIN Museum, followed by audio-guided tour through POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
Overnight in Warsaw
DAY 6: (Thursday, May 21)
LODZ: THE CITY OF FOUR CULTURES
Travel to Lodz and tour Industrial Lodz (the Industrial Kings and the Labor Movement around them), followed by a tour of the Lodz Jewish Cemetery.
Tour of Historic Lodz Ghetto.
Overnight in Warsaw
DAY 7: (Friday, May 22)
Warsaw Day 2
Travel to and conversation at Taube Center Headquarters: “Contemporary Poland, Memory, and Democracy.” with Journalist and Activist Konstanty Gebert.
Visit the permanent exhibition at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute: “What We Have Been Unable to Shout Out to the World.”
Coach to Praga District.
Visit the Zookeeper’s House in the Warsaw Zoo, which narrates the extraordinary story of the zookeepers who risked their lives and those of family members to save Jews during the German occupation.
Visit the Vodka Factory Museum.
SHABBOS DINNER AT WARSAW JCC
Overnight in Warsaw
DAY 8: (Saturday, May 23)
WARSAW – SZYDLOWIEC – CHECINY – KRAKOW
Travel to Krakow via Szydlowiec, a village that was a majority Jewish community in pre-war Poland:
Before the Second World War, the Jewish community in Szydłowiec formed the majority of the town’s population. In addition to the town’s Jewish tenement buildings, a Jewish House of Prayer in Garbarska Street No. 3 (also called the ‘Garbarska Synagogue’) survived the Second World War and is preserved to this day. The Jewish cemetery on Wschodnia Street is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Poland.
Drive to Chęciny. Visit the Royal Castle, synagogue, and cemetery.
Overnight in Krakow
Accommodation in Krakow
Holiday Inn Hotel
Wielopole 4 St.
Tel: +48 12 619 00 00
DAY 9: (Sunday, May 24)
AUSCHWITZ – BIRKENAU MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM
Visit the Ghetto Heroes Square and Monument and the former Plaszow concentration camp.
Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, and discussion: “How do we visit Auschwitz?”
Guided walk-through Auschwitz I Museum.
Reflections in the Yad VaShem Pavilion.
Study tour of Birkenau.
Overnight in Krakow
DAY 10: (Monday, May 25)
KRAKOW: THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF POLISH KINGS AND KROKEH - JEWISH KRAKOW: RICHNESS OF THE PAST, CHALLENGES OF THE PRESENT
Guided walking tour of Kazimierz concluding at the Galicia Jewish Museum.
Walk to the Cheder Cafe for lunch and panel discussion: “Perspectives on Jewish Krakow.”
Discussion Panelists: Janusz Makuch, Director, Jewish Culture Festival; Dr. Edyta Gawron, Jagiellonian University; Jacek Stawiski, Director, Galicia Jewish Museum; Miriam Synger, Krakow-based Jewish Influencer
Moderator: Ann Toback
Optional guided walking tour of Krakow’s Old Town.
Farewell dinner in Old Town with vodka sampling!
Overnight in Krakow
DAY 11: (Tuesday, May 26)
KRAKOW: DEPARTURES
Breakfast in the hotel and check out.
Transportation from the hotel to Krakow International Airport (KRK) will be arranged by TJHT and scheduled 3 hours before the departure time.