Meet Mariana – Founder & Your Local Guide
My name is Mariana Butchak, and I'm a licensed tour guide and the founder of The Best Tour Guide. I personally lead both historical and tasting tours across Gdansk, Sopot, and Gdynia — in English, Polish, and Ukrainian.
My path into tourism began long before Poland. I graduated with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, and my family ran a restaurant business in Ukraine — an experience that shaped my love of hospitality and of creating memorable experiences. In 2015 I moved to Poland and worked as a hotel manager in Gdansk, and since 2016 I've been a full-time tour guide in Gdansk and the Tricity.
My official qualifications:
- Licensed city guide – Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia & Hel
- Licensed museum guide – Emigration Museum (Gdynia)
- Licensed museum guide – Stutthof Museum
- Graduate of Instytut Kultury Miejskiej – Metropolitan Project, specialising in Gdańsk Shipyard tours
- Nearly 2 years in the Education Department of the Stutthof Museum
Tours I Lead Myself
Because this is a small local company, you get a real local rather than a script. I personally guide historical tours — Gdansk Old Town, the Shipyard & Solidarity, Westerplatte and WWII sites, museums, and full-day trips — as well as tasting tours, which are a special passion of mine: Polish vodka, craft beer, gin (a tasting no other local guide in the Tricity offers), wine, traditional Polish food, and pierogi workshops.