Auschwitz & Birkenau Tour from Krakow
Auschwitz & Birkenau Tour from Krakow
Trip Itinerary
- 1
Hotel pickup
We will pick you up early from your hotel. It's usually around 6.00 - 8.00 a.m.
- 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 professional english speaking 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.
Book a tour from Krakow to visit the place of the most tragic genocide in world history – the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps. If you are looking for the best organized and guided tours in Poland, we are the answer! Our company has been operating trips since 2003 and we can guarantee the most professional and comfortable service – including door-to-door transportation, English-speaking driver and guide, with no need to wait in line.
What is Auschwitz & Birkenau Tour?
Auschwitz & Birkenau Tour is a one-day guided tour from Krakow city. By participating in this tour, you will explore the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum, experiencing the memory of one of the greatest tragedies in the history of humankind. An English-speaking tour guide will show you around the Auschwitz I Museum and Auschwitz II Birkenau Camp, providing historical context and an explanation of the exhibitions and memorials you will witness. The whole guided tour takes around 7 hours, including transfer.
What is Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum?
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is an institution dedicated to preserving the memory of the victims who suffered genocide at the hands of Nazi Germany in World War II. The goal of this international project is to honor the memory of the dead and promote awareness of Holocaust atrocities. The exhibits and sites that constitute Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum have witnessed around 1.1 million senseless and horrible deaths. As part of your Auschwitz Tour, you will take a trip around the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and learn about the history it was created to safeguard and teach.
When visiting Auschwitz, you will see the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria used for mass extermination, prisoner barracks, railway ramps, as well as personal belongings of the people, mostly Jews, who died in the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps.
Auschwitz – the darkest UNESCO World Heritage Site
There are 16 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Poland, many of which you can visit by taking some of our other tours. All of them were chosen for different reasons, but all of them embody something positive, beautiful, unique, and worth preserving.
The sole exception is the former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Why is it listed along with the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork, Wieliczka and Bochnia Salt Mines or the historic center of Krakow?
The answer is simple. While all these places are worth celebrating and preserving, Auschwitz Birkenau cannot be forgotten. It has to be preserved as evidence of how far humanity can go in its hatred.
Why visit Auschwitz?
Embarking on an Auschwitz tour is a harrowing experience. It is not a happy day trip. Not a tour to take pictures of yourself smiling. It is a heavy, dark, and unpleasant tour.
And yet, it remains one of the most popular and important historical landmarks in the world, with countless visitors arriving each year to pay their respects. It might be quite possibly the most popular tour from Krakow. Why do people come to see the place where more than a million people were annihilated? Why wander around the former Nazi concentration camp and learn about gas chambers? What brings people to Auschwitz Birkenau Museum?
Why is it important to visit Auschwitz?
Why should you visit Auschwitz Birkenau Concentration Camp? Because it is important to remember and honor the victims. As time passes and fewer and fewer Auschwitz survivors remain, the memory of Auschwitz dims. Some research shows that the awareness of the crimes that took place at the Auschwitz concentration camp drastically dropped in age groups under 40, especially in the United States. People forget. Those who know about it often can’t imagine what it really meant and see it just as a distant historical fact, a bunch of numbers detached from human lives. In less than 25 years, Auschwitz will be something that happened 100 years ago. There will not be a single person who remembers the horrors of World War II from personal experience.
Those who forget history are bound to repeat it. To visit and take the Auschwitz Tour is to keep the memory alive. To see it with your own eyes makes you understand it in a way that no textbook or documentary can. Everybody should consider seeing the Auschwitz Memorial at least once in their life. You should come and visit. Keep the memory of the Holocaust alive and help humanity never repeat that mistake again.
Why book the Auschwitz Tour with MrShuttle?
- You save time. Our drivers take a direct, and the fastest route between your hotel location and the Auschwitz Birkenau Museum. There are no unnecessary bus stops, and the smaller car is able to navigate the traffic easier.
- Your round-trip transport 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.
- Ease of communication. Our drivers and staff speak fluent English, and some speak other languages too. Getting the language barrier out of the way helps.
- The comfort of air-conditioned cars. While a bus can take you to your destination, you can’t sit back and relax in it as you can in our minivan.
- No hassle. We pick you up, and we drive you back. You don’t have to look up public transport schedules, locate the bus stops, and work around bus arrivals and departures.
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off. We can pick you up from anywhere in Krakow and drop you off anywhere in Krakow as well. This includes the airport in Balice.
- You get to start your Auschwitz tour earlier than others – because you can start watching an introductory documentary in the car that will make everything much easier to process.
- No standing in lines. You don't need to buy entrance tickets or stand in line. We guide you directly to where you need to be, affording you the leisure to focus on your tour rather than all the unnecessary hassle.
- Free cancellation. We understand that sometimes things go wrong. No worries – you can cancel your booking free of charge by giving at least 24 hours' notice.
A range of Auschwitz Tours
Another reason to consider visiting the Auschwitz site with MrShuttle is the variety of Auschwitz tours we have on offer. We understand that not everyone wishes to see places in the same way. You may prefer a private tour to share the experience only with your close ones or you may not be interested in a guided tour and need only private transport. To offer you more flexibility and control over the way you visit the Auschwitz Museum, we propose some tour variations. Apart from this general guided tour which you can join among other tourists, you can choose our Auschwitz Birkenau Private Tour or opt for an Auschwitz tour that includes only transportation both ways. We can also assist you with a one-way transfer between Krakow and Auschwitz or the other way if that's the only thing you need.
How to prepare for the Auschwitz Birkenau Guided Tour?
Here are some quick tips that will help you prepare for the tour:
- It is tempting to schedule something else for the day. After all, it is just 7 hours, right? You could probably fit something in the evening? However, we recommend against it. The tour is draining and exhausting, both physically, mentally, and emotionally. Give yourself space to rest after the experience.
- The maximum size of bags and backpacks on the museum grounds is 30 x 20 x 10 cm. So prepare smartly – take an extra jacket, an umbrella, maybe an extra jumper or different shoes. And if in the end, you don’t need them, don’t bring them along – just leave them in the car. They will be awaiting your return safely.
- Talking about shoes – make sure to wear comfortable ones! You are going to spend more than 3 hours walking around. Choose shoes that will serve you well, regardless of how they look. In Auschwitz, nobody will have time or energy to think about fashion.
- The weather in Poland is tricky and finicky. Unless it's summer, you can experience snow in the morning only to then have a nice, sunny and warm afternoon. It is better to take an extra jacket than to regret it.
What else is available around Auschwitz?
If you want to look for more interesting tours and trips, check out our Krakow page. We have been operating from Krakow since 2003 and trust us – there is more to see than you can fit in a single visit! The best opportunity near Auschwitz-Birkenau camp to visit is Wieliczka Salt Mine. In fact, they go so great together, that we have a combo day trip that makes you visit both on the same day! So if Auschwitz & Birkenau Tour is for you but you want to see Wieliczka too, go and book that tour!
Auschwitz & Birkenau Tour from Krakow - Travellers recommend this tour:
Check opinions about this trip
Very sobering day, everyone should visit this site. Guide was excellent and obviously very passionate about the place. Very good tour, well organised and value for money. Would not hesitate to recommend.
Very well organised tour. The video on the minibus gave an excellent insight into what happened in the concentration camps and then the tour guide provided more details. Everything ran exactly to time, the minibus was comfortable and clean. Highly recommended.
The tour operator was very good and spoke brilliant English. The bus driver picked us up on time. Easy booked and confirmed with an email. Highly recommend!
One of those bucket list trips was Auschwitz if ever in Poland! Really enjoyed it and despite being prepared it’s still incredible how pitiful man is to his fellow beings
This was an amazing experience. The transport ran like clockwork and Tomas our driver was brilliant. Picked up outside our Airbnb and dropped off at end of the day right outside. You will need to be ready for pick up at around 6am but it’s so worth the early rise. A harrowing but unforgettable day
Can’t recommend enough! As a solo female traveler also they couldn’t have been more helpful/ made me feel included. Lunch was so filling I took some back for dinner! Would definitely book again!
Of course I have read the stories, watched the documentaries and saw the photographs but to actually be there was chilling. It was a beautiful winters day but you could only imagine horror on a freezing Winter’s day or a blistering Summer’s day for the unfortunate inmates of these camps. The guide was very informative and respectful and we visited various barracks and torture cells where the suffering of those poor people could barely be imagined. Man’s potential for cruelty and depravity never ceases to amaze. Very well organised and conducted trip. I would highly recommend it.
Excellent trip that we would recommend anyone travelling to Krakow to do. We were picked up on time and everything went smoothly.
Very good guide, not only covered the history of both locations but also the questions about human behaviour and psychology the the acts carried out their raise. As the guide was polish and had family history linked with the location and activity that occurred their he spoke with passion and also highlighted that even once the Germans were removed by the Russians Poland was still not liberated as it lived under the yoke of soviet oppression and some unfortunate individuals went from Auswitz to the GULAG. Let us not forget most of Europe was not liberated after WW2, the just moved from one totalitarian dictatorship run through fear to another!
Absolutely never write reviews but feel I should this time. Mr Shuttle proved to be an exceptionally good choice, everything from the airport transfers to the tour were done to the highest level. Topped off with very friendly and helpful drivers and a great level of punctuality which made our trip so much more stress free, especially when dealing with a group of 12 of us. Very highly recommend this company
Really well looked after, very well organised. Our driver Krystian was amazing so friendly and really put us at ease . Would definitely recommend
A very informative and educational tour, I booked this at 6 pm Friday evening, it was confirmed by 7.30 pm and we were picked up from our hotel the next morning. 100% recommended! Thank you.
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More details about this tour
Here is a break down of all the activities in the tour:Participation in an English tour at Auschwitz I Museum, conducted by the Museum’s guide, is scheduled for approximately 2 hours.
Subsequently, you will be transported to Auschwitz II – Birkenau, located approximately 2 km away, where you will spend an additional hour with the same guide.
Ensure you have your ID or passport with you for entry onto the Museum’s grounds.
Please note that this tour is not available on the 25th of December, 1st of January, Liberation Anniversary, Easter Saturday afternoon, Easter Sunday, and March of the Living Day.
Auschwitz-Birkenau stands as the most infamous Nazi concentration camp, serving as a pivotal epicenter in the history of similar facilities. Operational from 1940 to 1945, it emerged as a site of unprecedented mass extermination. This dark chapter witnessed the tragic demise of one million Jewish individuals, establishing it as the primary location of the Holocaust.
Comprising roughly 40 sub-camps, Auschwitz’s most harrowing events unfolded in Auschwitz I, the administrative headquarters with Crematorium I, and Birkenau (Auschwitz II) with crematoria II-V. The initial influx in June 1940 included around 700 political prisoners, primarily Poles. However, following the Wannsee Conference in 1942, a systematic transportation of Jews from across Europe commenced. While Auschwitz initially wasn’t designed as a death camp, the paradigm shifted with the first gas chamber operation in September 1941, involving Soviet soldiers and severely ill prisoners.
The strategic location of Oswiecim, where the camp was situated, facilitated the organized transportation of Jews, Roma, Russians, and individuals from diverse nationalities due to the convergence of railroad tracks from various European regions. Auschwitz-Birkenau uniquely implemented a systematic numbering and tattooing system, contributing to a nearly precise estimation of the total number of inmates and casualties. Over its five-year existence, approximately 1.3 million individuals were incarcerated in Auschwitz-Birkenau, with about 1.1 million, predominantly Jews, meeting a tragic end.
We employ a modern fleet of Mercedes-Benz Vans and Minibuses for our transportation services. Our drivers are extensively trained and possess full licenses for ground transportation. Enjoy the convenience of our door-to-door service, where you’ll be picked up directly from your hotel and returned to the same location after the tour, all at no additional cost.
Our guides are certified local experts endorsed by the museum. The maximum group size is limited to 30 people. To enhance your experience in crowded areas, you will be provided with headphones to better hear the guide.
During the journey, indulge in our delectable packed lunch set, freshly prepared each day. The set includes a chicken salad, chocolate wafer, and a bottle of water. For those with specific dietary preferences such as vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free options, kindly make a note in your booking form to ensure we cater to your needs.
More reasons why you should use our services:
We have invented this tour on the market and we are the best in it.Regular daily tour
Every day, all year round.
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.
Lunch available
If you want to order a launch package during the tour please select this option during booking.
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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. Your whole tour is operated by the same driver so you don’t need to worry about your bag being left behind.
Please note that this activity does not take place on: 25th of December, 1st of January, Liberation Anniversary, Easter Saturday afternoon, Easter Sunday and March of the Living Day. If you have any doubts about availability on any particular day, please do not hesitate to ask our staff about it!
Please note that for Balice airport/hotels near the airport pickup the additional fee is 129/159 PLN per booking.
Please note that you must present your ID at the entrance to the Museum. Otherwise you might be not allowed to enter and no refund will be given
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