Auschwitz & Birkenau Private Tour
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Auschwitz & Birkenau Private Tour
Trip Itinerary
- 1
Hotel Pickup
We will pick you up from your hotel. The final pick-up time is always confirmed on the day before the tour. Pick-up time depends on guide availability. We will do our best to adjust it to your needs. Please remember, that the preferable time is only a suggestion. The starting time of this tour my vary between 6:00 and 13:00. The final time is always confirmed upon the confirmation from the Auschwitz State Museum.
- 2
Transfer
First we will go to Auschwitz during the ride you will watch the documentary about the Camp.
- 3
Auschwitz I Museum
You will have 2-hour long tour in the camp which was the administrative headquarters of the complex.
- 4
Auschwitz II Birkenau
After first part we will go to Birkenau camp where you will spend another 1-hour with a guide.
- 5
Transfer and Hotel Drop off
Our service covers door-to-door transportation. That means You will be taken back to the hotel.
Please note that all times are approximate and depend on traffic conditions and guides availability.
What is Auschwitz Birkenau Private Tour?
- Auschwitz Birkenau Private Tour is a private guided tour that will give you a chance to experience the biggest and most important memorial of the Holocaust in the world.
- Located 66 km from Krakow, Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum offers you an opportunity to respect the victims of the horrible tragedies and atrocities of World War II.
- With the help of an English-speaking private guide, you will be able to explore and experience the history of the most horrifying death camp in Europe. You will spend a total of 3 hours in the Museum and Birkenau.
- Combined with the transport time, it totals up to 7-hour long experience. The trip back to your hotel is included in the transport.
What is Auschwitz - Birkenau State Museum?
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is an institution whose mission is to preserve the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust. This international institution is determined to help humanity never forget past mistakes and avoid their repetition in the future. It consists of an Auschwitz I Museum, exhibits, and Birkenau sites. As part of the tour, you will explore all of them and be given a chance to pay your respects, honour the dead, and see the horrors and terrors Nazis subjected 1,5 million innocent humans to.
Auschwitz - the Unesco World Heritage Site
In Poland, there is a total of 16 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Many of them can be seen as part of our other tours. A good example of that is Wieliczka Salt Mine. Each of them was made a Heritage Site for a different reason, but they all share one quality - they make the world a better, happier place. To be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there must be something unique and beautiful about it, worth preserving and protecting. Auschwitz is an exception to this rule. There is nothing beautiful and positive about it. Humanity would be better off if it never happened. It is a dark, depressing, and scarred place that makes visitors weep and cry.
It remains possibly the most important Heritage Site in Poland, Europe, and possibly the world. It cannot be allowed to be forgotten. While other Sites remind us what is the best about humanity, Auschwitz reminds us about the worst. It is a memorial to how far humans can go in their hatred. A reminder that true evil really exists. A warning against what we are capable of.
Why should you visit Auschwitz?
Visiting Auschwitz is a sad, unpleasant, and haunting experience. It is not a pleasant day trip. You will not leave the place with happy memories and excitement. It is a grim, dark, and harrowing tour.
Auschwitz is also one of the most visited and important historical landmarks in Poland and the world. Each year, countless visitors from countries around the globe pay their respects and honour the dead.
Why is it so important to visit Auschwitz? Why should you visit?
- Because the victims deserve justice and honouring their memory.
- Because as World War 2 and Holocaust survivors die, we are approaching a moment where nobody who saw the terrors of Nazis remains alive.
- Because awareness of the Holocaust in people younger than 40ty is dramatically disappearing.
- Because in only 25 years, Auschwitz will be 100 years old. It will be a bookmark in history books, not recent, living memory. Something from the previous age and century.
By visiting, you help keep the memory alive. You help give justice to those who were wronged. And you help humanity remember what it is capable of at its very worst. Those who do not remember history cannot avoid making mistakes of the past. Spread the Holocaust awareness. Take your friends and family to Auschwitz. Help to make sure that genocide of this scale will never be allowed to happen again.
Why should you visit Auschwitz with MrShuttle?
Our customer's satisfaction and comfort have been our first and foremost priority for more than a decade. Thanks to this, MrShuttle has consistently received TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice Award and TripAdvisor's Certificate Of Excellence. The best way to judge us is to either try out our services yourself or check the reviews of your fellow travellers.
Why should you choose MrShuttle over a bus during your Auschwitz Birkenau Private Tour?
- You save time. Our drivers take a direct, fastest route between your hotel pick-up and the Auschwitz Museum. There are no unnecessary bus stops, and a smaller car can navigate the traffic easier.
- Your return trip is covered. Because we offer Door-to-Door services, you don’t have to be afraid that by the time you finish the tour, you don’t have the strength, will, or means to return to Krakow.
- No language barrier. Our drivers and staff speak fluent English, and some speak other languages too. Getting the language barrier out of way helps.
- The comfort of air-conditioned cars. A bus might take you to your destination, but you can’t sit back and relax in it as you can in our minivan.
- No hassle. We can work around your schedule and try our best to find a way to adapt to your plans. We pick you up, and we drive you back. No need to stress about public transport, departures and tickets.
- We can pick you up from anywhere in Krakow and drop you off anywhere in Krakow as well. This includes the airport Balice.
- Thanks to the documentary movie you can watch during the car ride to Auschwitz, you can start learning about Auschwitz 2 hours earlier than other tourists.
- Skip the ticket lines. Since you are not buying tickets, you don't have to get in line. You will get directly where you need to be and skip straight into exploring the Museum and concentration camp.
How to prepare for the Auschwitz Birkenau Private Tour?
Here are some quick tips that will help you prepare for the tour:
- Don't overload your schedule. Do not plan anything immediately after finishing the tour. The tour is only 7 hours long, so many visitors feel like they have 4 or 5 hours left in Krakow that day for fun. And while that is true, remember that the tour is very draining and emotionally straining. There is a real chance that you will not want to do whatever you planned for the rest of the day. Give yourself the freedom to just rest once you are done.
- Make sure to eat and stay hydrated. Do not skip breakfast. Hunger and thirst will make your experience worse. Loss of concentration, poor focus, and diminished mood will make the already hard experience even more unpleasant. Many visitors can't even think about eating after finishing the tour - so better eat before coming to visit.
- The maximum size of bags and backpacks on the museum grounds is 30 x 20 x 10 cm. Don't let that stop you from taking an extra pair of shoes or changing clothes with you. You can leave them in the car - they will await your return. Better to have an unnecessary umbrella stay in the car than to regret not bringing it along.
- Make sure to wear comfortable shoes. This is a walking tour. You will spend 3 hours walking around. Choose footwear that will be practical and easy to move around.
- The weather in Poland can surprise you. Sometimes, it takes less than two days to go from sunny and pleasant to 20cm of snow. Make sure to take an extra jacket and be ready just in case.
What else is available around Auschwitz?
There is a lot of interesting options available in Poland near Auschwitz. We recommend giving Krakow a good long look. Krakow is our home city and we love it dearly. We offer many private tours in Krakow, both inside the city and outside of it. Give Nowa Huta, Wawel Castle and many other places a chance!
If you never have seen Wieliczka Salt Mine, consider visiting it too! You can visit Wieliczka as a standalone tour, or you visit it as a combo package with Auschwitz. You can find it and many other great Krakow-based options in our offer!
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Auschwitz & Birkenau Private Tour - Travellers recommend this tour:
Check opinions about this trip
This trip makes for a long day, but after touring the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the beauty and wonder of the salt mine was perfect. The purifying nature of salt was also much appreciated.
This was a very moving trip, we were very lucky to have a very knowledgeable and empathetic tour guide. I would recommend this trip and we learned a lot but it is a deeply thought-provoking and emotional experience
Tour was as organized as it stated on the website. Auschwitz - Birkenau is an absolute must-visit for any human being if you can as it is essential to see, pay your respects, and educate yourself. The guide was fantastic and honest!
More details about this tour
Here is a break down of all the activities in the tour:
The tour is a two-parter and takes about 7 hours to complete. You will spend 4 hours on the way, and 3 hours in the museum.
- First, you will spend 2 hours in Auschwitz I. Since this is a private guided tour, you will be provided with an English-speaking private tour guide. Once the first part of the experience is concluded, you will be transported to Auschwitz II Birkenau.
- Auschwitz II Birkenau is located about 2 km from Auschwitz I Museum. The Birkenau part of the private Auschwitz tour takes about one hour to complete. Just like in the Museum, you will be accompanied by a private guide.
You can take photos at Auschwitz. The basic rule is to be respectful and turn off the flash. However, there are two places where you cannot take any photos, even with the flash off. The hall with the hair of the victims in Block 4 and the basements of Block 11 are off-limits for taking photos.
Auschwitz-Birkenau is the most infamous, tragic nazi concentration camp in the history of World War II and the Holocaust. It is the place where countless lives were lost in a senseless, pointless crime of slaughter and genocide. Oświęcim carries a heavy burden of atrocity and crime against humanity.
Auschwitz-Birkenau approached extermination like an industry, optimizing and streamlining the process of murder and genocide. Everything was calculated and planned in the tiniest details. There was no room for humanity in that place. It was an organized, deliberate slaughter.
How long did Auschwitz operate?
The Auschwitz and Birkenau between 1940 and 1945, for five years total. However, it was during the final three years that the eradication of 1 million European Jews took place. Over the course of the Holocaust, 6 million of Jews were killed – and at least 1/6 of that was done in Auschwitz alone.
Was Auschwitz always a death camp?
Auschwitz was not always a death camp. Before it became a death factory, Auschwitz was a concentration camp and prisoner of war camp. At first, it was meant for political enemies of Nazis, such as Polish and Soviet soldiers. Everything changed after Wannsee Conference in 1942. Once the Final Solution was put in motion, Auschwitz became the designated slaughterhouse of Europe. Because of its convenient position and good railroad connection, Oświęcim was chosen as the optimal place for massive transports of Jews from all corners of Europe. Then, it was turned into an industrialized factory of death.
What is the history of gas chambers in Auschwitz?
Many find it surprising, but the first gassing in Auschwitz happened before it was turned into a death camp. Before the gas chambers were built, Nazis were experimenting with Zyklon B crystals on soviet and polish soldiers in 1941. In August 1941, the first prisoners were executed in Block 11 of Auschwitz. Then, in September, 850 more Poles and Soviets were gassed. As a result of these experiments, the Nazis decided that a dedicated gas chamber is necessary to continue. experimental gassing started in August 1941, when Zyklon B crystals were used on soviet soldiers in block 11 of Auschwitz-I. After that, the method was tested again in September on 600 more soviet soldiers and 250 polish prisoners. The experiments proved a need for building a dedicated gas chamber, which paved a way for the sickening atrocities of mass extermination.
Where were the corpses of Auschwitz victims burned?
The Crematorium I was built to dispose of corpses of sick prisoners. To met the demand of the Nazi Death Factory, Crematorium I was expanded. However, it was later retired in favor of the newly built Crematoria II-V. With these expanded and improved crematoria, Auschwitz was capable of burning 8000 corpses a day.
This is just a small glimpse of the history of Auschwitz. It is impossible to respectfully convey the gravity of the tragedy that took place there within a scope of a small page like this. There is nothing that can compare to visiting the place yourself. If you want to read more about Auschwitz before your trip, look at our blog – there are some articles you might find useful there.
Is the return trip from Auschwitz II Birkenau included?
Like our other tours and day trips, the return trip is included in the Auschwitz&Birkenau Private Tour. MrShuttle specializes in door-to-door services. To explain it simply, it means that we aim to cut out any unnecessary hassle from your experience. We pick you up at the agreed starting point and then drop you at the agreed return point when the tour is over. Most of the time, our customers choose to begin and end their journey at their hotel, but it is not the only available option.
What special opportunity is available during the transport to the Auschwitz Birkenau Museum?
To help you prepare for the Auschwitz and Birkenau experience, MrShuttle offers you a chance to watch a special documentary on your way to Auschwitz. This movie serves as an excellent introduction that will effectively start your trip two hours early. Many people consider this documentary an eye-opener that significantly improved their entire experience.
How long is the ride from Krakow to Auschwitz? How far is Auschwitz from Krakow?
Auschwitz-Birkenau is located somewhere around 66km from Kraków. It takes about 2 hours to drive from Kraków to Auschwitz. Return trip from Birkenau also takes 2 hours. You will spend 4 hours in transport in total.
What cars are used for transport to Auschwitz II Birkenau?
To travel with MrShuttle is to travel in Mercedes-Benz Vans and Minibuses. We keep our cars in top condition. They are regularly cleaned, disinfected, and held up to the highest hygienic standards. We offer the best English-speaking drivers at your service. They know Krakow and the neighborhood like the back of their hand and are happy to assist you with any problems you might have. If you have any questions, do not hold back. Ask the English speaking driver anything you want.
The Auschwitz&Birkenau Private Tour is a private guided tour. The certified English-speaking guides are provided by the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum. While some people prefer using paper or electronic guides and learning on their own, we recommend taking the chance to experience the tour with a human guide. The person who will be assigned to show you around Auschwitz and Birkenau is going to be one of the most knowledgeable people about the camp possible. For many of them, being a guide is more than a job – it is a mission. They are passionate, driven, and dedicated. Many travelers comment that the human interaction and conversation with the guide was what helped them process the whole experience. To make sure you can hear the guide properly, you will be provided with a pair of headphones.
Delicious lunch offer
We have observed that many travelers end up hungry during or after the tour to Auschwitz. Sometimes this is because they skip breakfast, sometimes it is because they are too moved by the experience to think about stopping for food afterward. To address this, we offer you an optional lunch-packed set. Prepared by hand in the morning, made with only fresh ingredients, our lunch package consists of:
- A Chicken Salad
- A One of Fruit (apple, banana etc)
- A Chocolate Wafer
- A Bottle of Water
We especially urge you to make sure you stay hydrated during the tour to Auschwitz. It is easy to forget about drinking enough. Worsened focus and concentration make the whole experience worse.
Are there vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free options available?
Yes, there are vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free alternatives and options. If you want something to be changed or customized, leave us a note. We will try our best to accommodate your needs and desires.
More reasons why you should use our services:
We have invented this tour on the market and we are the best in it.
Free Hotel Pickup
We will pick you up and drive you back to your hotel or apartment.
Professional Guide
Certified, passionate and experienced people.
Documentary Movie
On your way, you will watch a documentary introduction movie. (subject to availability)
Skip the lines
All admission fees and tickets are included so you don't have to worry about a thing and stand in the lines to buy the tickets
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FAQ
Here you can find answers for frequently asked questions.Please note that the maximum size of bags and backpacks allowed to carry on the Museum grounds is 30 x 20 x 10 cm. You can always leave your belongings inside the bus which will be parked nearby.
Yes. You need to provide your personal information when securing a ticket, and you need to bring proof of your identity when coming to visit. You will not be able to enter Auschwitz Birkenau Museum without an ID, passport, or similar document. If you fail to identify yourself, you will not be able to get in and no refund will be given to you.
Auschwitz Birkenau Museum is closed on the following days: 25th of December, 1st of January, Liberation Anniversary (27th of January), Easter Saturday afternoon (3rd of April), Easter Sunday (4th of April) and March of the Living Day.
Please note that for Balice airport/hotels near the airport pickup the additional fee is 120 PLN per booking.
Correct. Auschwitz & Birkenau Private Tour is a private guided tour. You will be placed under the care of an expert, certified English-speaking private guide who will answer any questions you might have.
Please note that 8:00 is a default time given to all reservations. The final confirmation always depends on the availability of the private guides in Auschwitz Museum. The starting time in the Museum may vary between 7:30 and 14:30. The time will be confirmed as soon as possible. Please note, that in case the private guide is not possible, we will change the booking to private transportation and shared guide with the price adjustment and refund the difference.
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