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Visiting Auschwitz – How to Plan the Auschwitz Tour

Last Updated on 26/04/2024 by kami

Visiting Auschwitz, albeit a very somber experience, is one of the must things to do in Poland. The largest Nazi Germany concentration and extermination camp during World War II, where over 1,3 million people lost their lives, needs no introduction. Conveniently located near Krakow , Auschwitz can be an easy addition to your Poland itinerary.

It took me almost 37 years to finally visit Auschwitz (although I’ve been to other Nazi Germany camps in Poland), and even if I knew very well what to expect, the place still overwhelmed me with its cruelty and tragedy. And I think everyone should plan a trip to Auschwitz to understand history better and see what people are capable of when the ideology brainwashes them. And, of course, to pay respect to all the unnecessary victims. It’s important to visit places like Auschwitz so we can do our best to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.

If you are visiting Poland (especially Krakow , Warsaw , Katowice , or Wroclaw ), I prepared this guide to help you plan your Auschwitz tour without too much hassle. There are different ways to visit Auschwitz, but no matter which one you choose, be prepared for one of the most difficult yet necessary travel experiences of your life.

Table of Contents

Where is Auschwitz

The former Nazi Germany Concentration Camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, is located in a town of around 37.000 inhabitants called Oświęcim in southern Poland. Krakow is less than 70 km away, and Katowice is 35 km away. Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is around 330 km away from Oświęcim.

A brief history of Auschwitz

Even if Auschwitz is known mainly as the extermination camp, it was established as a concentration camp in mid-1940. It was one of over 40 camps in Poland that were supposed to be a solution to the problem of overflowing prisons full of arrested locals. The first people were brought to Auschwitz on June 14th, 1940, from the prison in Tarnow.

Since 1942 Auschwitz has also been used as the extermination camp where Nazis implemented their plan to murder Jewish people from all over Europe. At the peak of its operation, in 1944, Auschwitz was divided into three parts: Auschwitz I (the oldest one, in the old Polish military barracks), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (the largest one, founded in 1941, the majority of victims were killed here), and Auschwitz III (this was a group of over 40 sub-camps created near industrial plants, made for work prisoners).

Numerous Polish villages were demolished, and locals were evicted to develop such a large institution. The camps were isolated from the outside world. The total area was around 40 square kilometers, including all three Auschwitz camps and the so-called “interest zone” used for the technical or supply background, offices, and barracks for Nazis.

Since Auschwitz had a strategic location on the front line, in August 1944, the camp’s liquidation began – the prisoners were taken to Germany, and the evidence of the crimes was covered up. The liberation of Auschwitz took place on January 27th, 1945, when around 7,5 thousand prisoners were still held there.

Altogether, in the almost four years of operation, over 1,3 million people lost their lives in Auschwitz; the majority were Jewish (around 1,1 million), but also Polish (about 150 hundred thousand), Roma people (23 thousand), and other nations.

In 1979 Auschwitz was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List – it is the only former Nazi concentration camp with that title in the world.

How to visit Auschwitz

You can visit Auschwitz two ways: with a tour from where you are staying in Poland (most likely Krakow, Katowice, Warsaw, or Wroclaw) or independently, reaching the site by car or using public transport. Both options are doable; however, the tour is a slightly better one as everything will be taken care of for you.

There is a wide selection of tours to choose from that depart from Krakow as well as other mentioned cities. Most of them cover more or less the same things: pick-up from your accommodation, transportation to/from Auschwitz and back, the entrance ticket to the concentration camp, and the guided tour on-site.

When I visited Auschwitz, I arrived by train from Warsaw, with the change in Katowice. I was at the museum almost an hour before my guided tour of the site was supposed to start, and despite the poor weather (it was raining on that day), there was no place to hide and wait for the tour. Visitors were not allowed to enter the museum until a few minutes before the tour was about to start. Me and a few other unlucky visitors just stood near the trees, hiding under the umbrella and waiting for our time to enter the site. I can’t say it was a comfortable situation (but at least the weather worked perfectly well for such a sad place to visit). Recently, a new visitors center was opened so hopefully the situation is better.

When using public transport, you need to rely on the schedule of trains/buses and, just in case, plan to be at the site with some extra time ahead; hence a tour is a better option. Still, visiting Auschwitz is doable independently – I did it, and once the tour of the site started, it was really good.

Visiting Auschwitz – practical information

Visiting Auschwitz memorial site is free of charge; however, I recommend joining the tour with the educator provided by the museum. They have a huge knowledge of the place and the tragedy that occurred here and can answer all the questions visitors always have. Tours are available in various languages: Polish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, and Slovak.

Even if you decide to visit the site independently, you still need to book the entry pass – those with free entrance start in the afternoon. You can buy/reserve your ticket online at the website of Auschwitz Museum here.

Currently, the price for the tour with the educator is 80 PLN for Polish and 90 PLN for other languages. When booking the ticket, you must state your full name and surname – this will be checked later.

Since tickets can sell out quickly, booking one at least a month in advance is recommended. If there are no tickets left for the day you want to visit Auschwitz, you can join the organized tour from Krakow or other cities, as tour operators usually have tickets booked in advance. Due to the sensitive nature of the place, children under 14 years old should not visit Auschwitz Museum.

Once you have your ticket, you need to arrive at the Auschwitz visitors center 30 minutes before your tour starts to go through the security check (it’s rather thorough, similar to the airport), have your ticket inspected (remember to have the ID or passport with you), get the headset for the tour and meet your group. You are allowed to have a bag or backpack with a maximum dimension of 30x20x10 cm; any larger luggage must be left in the paid lockers.

Auschwitz Museum is open every day except January 1st, December 25th, and Easter Sunday. Opening hours vary depending on the month and are as follows:

• 7:30-14:00 in December
• 7:30-15:00 in January and November
• 7:30-16:00 in February
• 7:30-17:00 in March and October
• 7:30-18:00 in April, May, and September
• 7:30-19:00 in June, July, and August

The closing time means the last entrance – after that, you are allowed to stay on-site for an hour and a half. However, if you want to see Auschwitz Museum properly, you need at least 3,5 hours for that – that’s also how long the standard tour with the educator lasts. It is usually divided equally between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau. A free shuttle bus runs between the two sites every few minutes.

Taking pictures and making videos is allowed in Auschwitz, for individual use, except in two places: the hall with the hair of Victims (block nr 4) and the basements of Block 11. Your educator will remind you not to take pictures there.

Remember what sort of place you are visiting and behave there with respect. It might be obvious for most, but I can’t count how many times I’ve read news about inappropriate behavior in Auschwitz and other similar sites in Poland, so I think it’s worth reminding this is not your typical tourist attraction but a place of one of the greatest tragedy that ever happened in the world.

Getting to Auschwitz independently

If you decide to visit Auschwitz on your own, you must get to the visitors’ center, where your tour will start. The new visitors center, which opened just recently, is located at 55 Więźniów Oświęcimia Street in Oświęcim ( here is the exact location ). If you drive there, there is a large parking lot where you can leave your car before visiting the museum.

If you use public transport, there are both trains and buses you can take to reach Oświęcim. I recommend trains as they are slightly faster and more comfortable; however, some buses stop next to the museum, so that’s convenient. You can check all the connections on this website , where you can also find the location of the bus stop in Oświęcim (there can be three different ones).

The train station in Oświęcim is located at Powstańców Śląskich Street, some 20 minutes walking from the Auschwitz museum. It’s a straightforward way; you can check the map with the directions here . I recommend catching the train that gives you at least an hour between arriving at Oświęcim and when your tour starts.

Auschwitz tour from Krakow

Numerous Auschwitz tours depart from Krakow, so you will easily find the one that suits your itinerary and needs. Here are some recommended ones:

• Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial Guided Tour from Krakow
• Auschwitz & Birkenau – Fully Guided Tour from Krakow
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Tour with Private Transport from Kraków
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Tour by Private Transport from Krakow

You can also combine visiting Auschwitz with Wieliczka Salt Mine , another UNESCO-listed site near Krakow and a must-visit place in Poland. Here are the tours that go to both places in one day:

• Day Trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine from Krakow including Lunch
• Full-Day Tour of Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine from Krakow
• Auschwitz-Birkenau and Salt Mine Tour with private transport from Krakow
• Combined: Auschwitz Birkenau and Salt Mine private chauffeur from Krakow

If you decide to go to Auschwitz from Krakow on your own, you can take the train from the main train station to Oświęcim. They are rather frequent, more or less every hour, and the journey takes a bit over an hour (depending on the connection, the longest one is 1h20min).

If you want to take the bus, they depart from the MDA bus station, next to the main train station. The price for trains and buses is similar, between 15 and 20 PLN, although trains tend to be cheaper and faster. You can check all the connections and buy a ticket here .

Auschwitz tour from Warsaw

Even if Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is located over 300 km away from Oświęcim, it is possible to go for a one-day Auschwitz tour. However, you can expect a long day, and a large part of it will be spent traveling. But if you are visiting Warsaw only, Auschwitz can be a good addition to your Poland itinerary, so you can better understand the country’s complex history.

Here are some of the recommended Auschwitz tours from Warsaw:

• From Warsaw Auschwitz and Krakow one day tour by train with pick up and drop off
• One day tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau from Warsaw with private transport

Going for the day trip from Warsaw to Auschwitz independently is also possible using trains. You can take the 6 am train to Katowice and then change for the train to Oświęcim, arriving in the town around 10:30. If you decide to do that, you can book your Auschwitz tour for 11:30 or 12:00. On the way back, you can catch the train after 16:00 from Oświęcim to Katowice, and after changing for the train to Warsaw, you will be in the capital after 20:00.

Auschwitz tour from Katowice

Since Katowice is less than 40 km from Auschwitz, it’s easy to go for a day trip. You need to take the local train to Oświęcim, it takes less than 50 minutes, and the connections are more or less every hour.

Or you can go for a tour, here are the Auschwitz tours from Katowice:

• Auschwitz – Birkenau from Katowice
• Auschwitz & Birkenau English guided tour by private transport from Katowice
• Auschwitz tour from Wroclaw

Wroclaw is another popular place to visit in Poland, and since it’s located around 230 km from Oświęcim, you can go for an Auschwitz tour from Wroclaw too. If you decide to do it independently, you can take the train to Katowice and then change for the local train to Oświęcim. A one-way trip should take you less than 4 hours.

Or you can go for a tour; here are the recommended ones from Wroclaw:

• Auschwitz-Birkenau Tour from Wrocław
• Private Full-Day Tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau from Wroclaw

Auschwitz Museum Tour

As for the museum itself, here is what you can expect.

You will start in the oldest part of the concentration camp – Auschwitz I, where the infamous gate with the sign “Arbeit macht frei” (meaning “Work Sets You Free”) is located. Here, you will visit numerous barracks where inmates were kept – now you can see different exhibitions there, showing the reality of Auschwitz and halls with personal belongings taken from arriving prisoners – luggage, shoes, glasses, etc., or hair of Victims. You will learn all about cruel practices here, including medical experiments or torture.

Visiting this part of Auschwitz museum is a very somber experience, and it’s really difficult to comprehend the tragedy that happened in this very place.

Besides the barracks in Auschwitz I, you will also see where the camp commander lived or the first crematorium where Nazis started their experiments with killing using gas. In this part of the Auschwitz tour, you can take pictures everywhere except the two places in Blocks 4 and 11 – they will be clearly marked, and your educator will remind you about this restriction.

The visit to Auschwitz I takes around 1,5 hours. Afterward, together with your group and educator, you will take the shuttle bus to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, located some 3 km away.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau is where around 90% of victims died. It is a huge area that worked kind of like the killing factory, with four gas chambers and crematoriums. This is also where most prisoners arrived – you most likely know the view of the railway tracks and brick gate – that’s Auschwitz II-Birkenau. This part of the visit is mostly outdoors.

You will walk around the area, see the remnants of the camp, visit some barracks inside, and learn all about the horrific tragedy that happened here. When Auschwitz I has a more intimate, even claustrophobic feeling, Auschwitz II-Birkenau can overwhelm you with its scale and enormity.

You will spend around 1,5 hours here, too; afterward, you can take the shuttle bus back to the visitors center when you started your tour.

Final thoughts on visiting Auschwitz

Even though I’ve lived in Poland almost my whole life, and Auschwitz has been a familiar topic since I remember, it took me nearly 37 years to finally visit the place. Before I was in different Nazi Germany sites in Poland, mostly in Majdanek in Lublin, so I didn’t feel the need to visit Auschwitz too. But I don’t regret the decision to go there eventually.

You can read and learn about the place, but nothing can prepare you for visiting Auschwitz. Some areas look familiar (after all, pictures of the “Arbeit macht frei” sign or Birkenau gate are present everywhere), but you will still be overwhelmed by the place and seeing it in real life. It’s hard to comprehend the cruelty and tragedy that happened here, and dealing with all the thoughts invading your mind afterward can take a while. It can be one of the most difficult-to-understand places you will ever visit.

Still, despite it all, I think everyone should go to Auschwitz to see where fanaticism and totalitarianism can lead and why we should avoid them at all costs.

Further reading

I published many articles about Poland that you might find useful when planning your trip there. Here are some of them:

• 37 Amazing Things to Do in Krakow, Poland
• 20 Great Places to Visit As Day Trips from Warsaw, Poland
• 17 Amazing Things to Do in Lublin, Poland
• The Complete Guide to Visiting Slownski National Park, Poland
• Visit Grudziadz – One of the Hidden Gems of Poland
• 19 Amazing Things to Do in Gdansk, Poland
• Visit Sandomierz, Poland – One of the Prettiest Towns in the Country
• Visiting Malbork Castle, Poland – the Largest Castle in the World
• 25 Amazing Things to do in Wroclaw, Poland
• and many more!

If you are looking for articles about a specific destination – check out the map with all the articles I’ve published (and their locations). You can also join my Facebook group about traveling in Central Europe and ask your questions there.

Travel Resources

You can find the best accommodation options at Booking . They have many discounts and excellent customer service. Click here to look for the place to stay in Poland

Never travel without travel insurance , you never know what might happen and better safe than sorry. You can check the insurance policy for Poland here.

I recommend joining organized tours to get to know the place better and to visit more places during your trip. You can find a great selection of tours at Get Your Guide – click here .

For the end I left a few announcements that might interest you:

• Sign up to my newsletter or follow me on Bloglovin to get updates about the new posts
• Join my Facebook group about Eastern Europe, the Balkans and former USSR and connect with fellow travellers and enthusiasts of these regions – just click here!
• I’ve included a few handy links of services and products I personally like and use so you can plan your own trip to Poland too. They are often affiliate links. This means I will get a small commission if you book/purchase anything through my links, at no extra costs for you. Thank you!

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I am thinking of visiting Auschwitz in a couple of months, when I’m transiting Poland. I’ve been recently to France and saw Camp des Milles, an interment camp from September 1939, from where thousands of people were sent to Auschwitz. It was an emotional experience and it can’t even be compared to what horrors happened in Auschwitz. I’m not sure if I’m ready for Auschwitz. I need to decide soon considering that I need to buy tickets so far in advance. Thank you for your informative post.

I think everyone should visit Auschwitz. It’s definitely a difficult place to see but it’s part of history and these places are a reminder that we should do everything to prevent the history from repeating itself.

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Home » Travel Guides » Poland » 12 Best Auschwitz Tours

12 Best Auschwitz Tours

In April of 1940, Auschwitz was established as an extermination camp for Jews shipped in from all over Europe.

Arguably one of the most historically significant and poignant attractions in the world, for most visitors, it ends up being one of the most shocking and memorable experiences of their lives.

A variety of tours are offered, and most originate from the nearby city of Krakow.

The facility includes hundreds of buildings, watchtowers, and gas chambers, and fascinating first-hand accounts of soldiers and prisoners who stayed at the camp during World War II.

Below are 12 of the best tours of Auschwitz.

1. Auschwitz and Birkenau Tour with Licensed Guide

Auschwitz and Birkenau were ground zero for many atrocities committed during the Second World War, and previous visitors agree that they’re both heartbreaking and memorable places.

This full-day tour lasts between six and seven hours and includes the services of a licensed guide.

The tour includes stops at prisoner barracks, the gas chambers, crematoriums, and soldiers’ quarters, all of which contain informative signs so you’ll learn about the things you’re seeing.

Tours end at the memorial, where it’s common for visitors to relax and take a few moments to contemplate the magnitude of events that took place more than 80 years ago.

2. Guided Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour from Krakow

Though pretty much everyone is relatively familiar with the basic history of Auschwitz, the salt mines at Wieliczka aren’t so well-known.

This 11-hour guided tour from Krakow is a bit on the long side, but it offers guests a look into the area’s macabre history that’s more in-depth than typically found on shorter tours.

You’ll see all the main attractions in the camp, as well as the underground labyrinth of salt mines, where forced laborers toiled in abominable conditions.

The tour includes both guided portions as well as free time for personal exploration and quiet contemplation.

Transportation, park entry fees, and headphones are included in the tour.

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3. Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum & Camp Guided Tour

For some visitors, spending a full-day in Auschwitz and Birkenau is too much.

The site is brimming with horrors that can be overwhelming to many; for those, it’s wise to consider a brief half-day tour to start.

If, on the other hand, you’re ready for full immersion, this eight-hour tour might be a great fit.

You’ll get to see the camp’s main attractions, as well as learn about its status as the Third Reich’s largest extermination center that wasn’t liberated until January of 1945.

The tour includes round-trip transportation from Krakow, entrance fees, the services of a local professional guide, and the use of headsets while in the museum.

4. Self-Guided Tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow

For quiet, reflective types, spending a full-day with a talkative guide may not be the best way to spend time at Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Self-guided tours are popular options for many travelers; though you may miss some unique insights, the facility is packed with exhibits, historical plaques, and first-hand accounts.

Due to their location, Auschwitz and Birkenau were primarily filled with Poles, but nearly one million Jews from all over the continent would eventually be sent there for work and extermination.

This seven-hour tour includes transportation to and from Krakow, an English-speaking driver, and all entrance fees.

Food and drinks are available, but they aren’t included in the cost of the tour.

5. Auschwitz-Birkenau Tour with 4 Guests

During much of World War II, Poland was occupied by Nazi troops; the city of Oświęcim was where they built the facilities to hasten their plan for genocide.

This small-group tour is limited to just four guests, so it’s perfect for those who’d rather get a more intimate experience than they would in larger groups.

Guests will get up-close-and-personal with the camp’s most heinous and historic attractions. Due to its small size, this tour is much more customizable than most others.

It’s open to those of most ages and levels of physical ability, but it’s not accessible for those who use a wheelchair.

6. Auschwitz-Birkenau Day Trip from Katowice

For those who want all the details of their trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau handled by professionals, this full-day tour would be a wise choice.

Transportation to and from Katowice is provided in a car, minivan, or bus, depending on the number of guests.

Guests will walk past the crowds with their skip-the-line tickets. Once on-site, they will have 3 ½ hours to explore with their English speaking guide.

Expect to be shocked, educated, and emotionally exhausted as you walk amongst the recreated ruins of the worst Nazi death camps of World War II before heading back to your hotel in Katowice.

7. One-Way Bus Direct between Auschwitz-Birkenau and Krakow

Round-trip transportation is a big selling point for many international travelers visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau, but for those who prefer to fly by the seat of their pants, one-way transfers are often the way to go.

The trip from Krakow to the camps takes about 1 ½ hours. Once on-location, guests will have the option of exploring the facilities on their own or hooking up with a guided group.

You’ll learn about the harsh and deadly lives the prisoners endured and see the camp’s facilities as well as the museum and memorial to the dead.

There are multiple departures daily, and return trips are available too.

8. Auschwitz Tour from Wroclaw

Wroclaw is a bit farther from the camps than Krakow, but it’s still a relatively easy day trip for those who’ve got an entire day to dedicate to one of the world’s most significant attractions.

Plan on being worn-out physically and emotionally after touring the camp and learning about the unspeakable atrocities committed.

For those traveling with kids, infant seats are available, but due to space restrictions, it’s not open to those using a wheelchair.

This tour is limited to eight guests, making it a good fit for families. From beginning to end, the day usually lasts between nine and ten hours.

9. Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow with Private Car

For history buffs and those whose lives were personally changed by the atrocities committed during the Second World War, Auschwitz and Birkenau are definitely must-visit attractions.

They’re the perfect places to get caught up on historical events, pay your respects to the fallen, and get shocking insight into the dark side of humanity.

This private car tour begins and ends in Krakow and includes entrance fees, round-trip transportation, and the services of a guide if that option is chosen at booking.

It’s typically a six or seven-hour day, which means guests are back in Krakow by late afternoon.

10. Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Tour from Krakow

Tours with options are big hits these days, especially with savvy travelers looking to stretch their travel dollars and spend their time seeing the things that interest them.

If you fall into this category, this memorial tour from Krakow is worth a look.

Guests will have the option of exploring the two sites on their own or signing up for a guide to show them around.

Whichever option is chosen, you’ll have ample time to see everything for which the camps are known.

Transportation via air-conditioned vehicle is included, but food, drinks, and tips are the responsibility of the participants.

11. Private Tour of Auschwitz from Prague

The distance from Prague to Auschwitz is nearly 280 miles, but there’s a doable day-trip tour option for those with boundless energy.

It’s about five hours of driving each way, but once at the camp, guests will have about four hours to explore on their own or hook-up with a professional guide if they choose that option.

Most guests agree that four hours is sufficient to see the camp’s sights, and hotel pickup and drop-off are included.

Though food and drinks aren’t included, there will be the opportunity to stop en route at restaurants and cafes in both Poland and the Czech Republic.

12. Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Minivan Tour from Krakow

Auschwitz’s most revolting features include gas chambers, gallows, and barracks, where overworked inmates spent long nights fighting against hunger, frigid weather, and physical exhaustion.

Needless to say, the site tends to bring a host of emotions to the forefront. During the war years, it was where the lives of more than a million poor souls were taken.

These days, much of the facility has been constructed to near-original condition, and this guided minivan tour from Krakow allows guests a few hours to explore the grounds.

The tour also includes a side excursion to nearby Birkenau, where guests will have about 1 ½ hours before loading up and heading back to Krakow.

Round-trip transportation, entrance fees, and headsets are all included.

12 Best Auschwitz Tours:

• Auschwitz and Birkenau Tour with Licensed Guide
• Guided Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour from Krakow
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum & Camp Guided Tour
• Self-Guided Tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Tour with 4 Guests
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Day Trip from Katowice
• One-Way Bus Direct between Auschwitz-Birkenau and Krakow
• Auschwitz Tour from Wroclaw
• Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow with Private Car
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Tour from Krakow
• Private Tour of Auschwitz from Prague
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Minivan Tour from Krakow

• Destinations
• Tours in Warsaw

Auschwitz Day Tour from Warsaw

Overview of the tour in Warsaw

Auschwitz-Birkenau has become a primary symbol of the Holocaust. It was a network of concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II. The collection of the museum contains original documents, suitcases, shoes, and other belongings of murdered prisoners. There you will find original fences, wooden watchtowers, and railway ramps have been preserved. The tour also includes a short ride to Birkenau camp, which functioned as a war camp, extermination camp, and place from people were sent to labor in Nazi Germany. More than 90 percent of prisoners, mostly European Jews, were killed there.

This activity includes:

• Fundacja Auschwitz Birkenau
• Transportation by car/minibus
• Pick up from your hotel
• English speaking driver
• Tour in Auschwitz in English
• Entrance fee and tour in Auschwitz-Birkenau Museums and Camps
• Basic lunch (soup, main course, water) in regular restaurant

Meeting point

any point in Warsaw

Pickup from your hotel in Warsaw.

Things to note

Important: 1 person 365 € 2 person 265 € 3 person 150 € 4 person 120 € 5 person 105 € 6 person 96 € 7 person 87 € 8 person 80 €

Free Cancellation

Free Cancellation up to 24 hours before the activity starts. Late cancellation or your non-arrival is not refundable.

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Two hours from: the best day trips from krakow.

• Published May 17, 2022

It is without a doubt that Krakow is home to some of the best attractions in Poland. But when visiting, many visitors tend to forget about the stunning half-day and day trips from Krakow that offer a comprehensive Poland travel experience.

That is why we have written this guide on the best 2-hour trips from Krakow. We also included information on how to get there with public transportation so travelers on any budget can visit.

• Distance From Krakow: 111 kilometers
• Best For: Nature, Hiking, Winter Sports and Outdoor Activities

With its bustling city center and ecstatic nightlife, Krakow can be exhausting at times. When that happens, why not drive two hours south and visit the small town of Zakopane? Situated at the foot of the Tatra Mountain Range, Zakopane is the gateway to some of the best nature Poland has to offer.

On a day trip from Krakow, visitors can easily hike to Morskie Oko Lake, the largest lake in the Tatra Mountains. Translating to Eye of the Sea in English, Morskie Oko features clear crystal water and lush surrounding landscapes. It is one of Zakopane’s best attractions .

In the winter, visitors can enjoy a plethora of winter sports such as snowboarding and skiing. When you are tired, soak in one of the soothing thermal baths near Zakopane such as  Chochołowskie.

Stroll around the town and enjoy the iconic turn-of-the-20th-century wooden chalets. Don’t forget to sample some Oscypek, a type of smoked Polish cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra Mountains region, before returning back to Krakow.

Though it is doable as a day trip from Krakow, many visitors decide to stay a few more days in Zakopane to fully immerse themselves in the wonderful nature.

How To Get To Zakopane From Krakow?

Though at the southern tip of Poland, getting to Zakopane from Krakow is very easy, even with public transportation. You have the option of taking a bus or a train from Krakow Glowny (Krakow’s main transport hub) and it takes a little less than 2.5 hours to get there.

Driving takes about a little less than 2 hours, but why drive when public transport is so cheap and accessible?

Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau

• Distance From Krakow: 70 kilometers
• Best For: History, dark tourism

A little less than two hours away from Krakow is one of Poland’s most significant attractions – Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Museum is situated on the Auschwitz concentration camp, the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers in World War II. It is estimated that over 1.1 million men and women lost their lives there.

Though it is possible to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau without a tour, a tour guide is highly recommended. It is the best way to learn about the horrific events of the Holocaust at Auschwitz. Just remember to reserve a tour in your language a few days before. Tours are limited and they are likely to sell out, especially true during the summer peak season. 

The museum actually comprises two sites, the main concentration camp Auschwitz I and Birkenau, the largest of the 40 or so camps that make up the Auschwitz concentration camp. At Birkenau, visitors can still see the train tracks that were used to transport the Jews to the site.

Though a somber destination, it is one of the most important places to visit near Krakow. 

How to Get to the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau?

Getting to Auschwitz-Birkenau is not the most difficult with public transportation. You can take a train to Oświęcim and walk about 30 minutes to the museum. There are also bus companies that take you directly to the entrance of the Auschwitz museum. But remember you will still have to arrange your own tour inside the museum itself.

I personally like visiting attractions on my own to save some money, but taking an Auschwitz tour from Krakow is the best option here. Not only does it make visiting the museum extremely convenient as they handle transport and the tour guide, but the cost is also about the same as doing it yourself. 

• Distance from Krakow: 168 kilometers
• Best For: Architecture, historic center, dining

For something a little less touristy than Krakow but equally beautiful, head over to the city of Rzeszów, the capital of the southeastern Podkarpackie province. To start off, the city is home to one of the most stunning and well-preserved Old Towns. Similar to Krakow, it features a central square called the Market Square where the neo-gothic and renaissance revival style City Hall stand.

The Market Square is also home to some of the city’s best restaurants and cafes. I highly recommend you to stop by and enjoy some pierogies (Polish dumplings) and a refreshing Żywiec, one of Poland’s most popular beers. Enjoy the beautiful buildings that surround the Market Square as you do so.

Afterward, stroll down 3 Maja Street, the oldest and prettiest street in Rzeszów. It is now lined with beautiful boutique shops in charming old buildings. You will end up near one of Rzeszów’s biggest and most gorgeous landmarks, the Lubomirski Castle. Unfortunately, it houses the District Court so visitors cannot enter.

Rzeszów takes a few hours to explore. Combined with the 2-hour commute from Krakow, it is the perfect day trip.

How to Get to Rzeszów from Krakow

Getting from Krakow to Rzeszów is very easy, as Rzeszów is situated on a popular train route. Travelers can take a train at Krakow Glowny towards Przemyśl, a Polish city on the border of Ukraine. The train takes about 2 hours to get to Rzeszów from Krakow. The bus to Rzeszów departs from the same station in Krakow and takes about 2 hours to 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Those are some of the most popular 2-hour trips from Krakow. Make sure you include them on your Krakow itinerary the next time you visit!

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Auschwitz Travel Diary

Hello everyone, long time no see. It's been quite a while, then I'll start writing again. In May, I went on a three-day, two-night trip to Poland and visited the Auschwitz Birkenau.

Before telling

To begin with, have you ever heard of the Auschwitz? Most of you probably know about it, but for those who do not, let me explain. In the past, there existed a political party in Germany called the Nazi Party. At the root of Nazi ideology was a hatred of democracy, communism, other peoples, and the exclusive superiority of the German race, with Jews being especially oppressed as an "inferior" race. In 1933, the Nazi Party seized power in Germany and concentration camps were built throughout the country. These camps housed opponents of Nazi ideology and criminal offenders. Auschwitz Birkenau is divided into several facilities, the first of which was built in June 1940. Then came the second half of World War II, when Poland was taken over by the Nazis and the Jews who lived there were sent to Auschwitz Birkenau.

In Auschwitz Birkenau

The Jews living in Poland were suffering from the high cost of living in small settlements due to the war. The Nazis thought that they could easily bring them to Auschwitz by tricking them into believing that they would be offered a new place to live. After all, they thought their current lives would be a little better, so they readily went to Auschwitz. They took a train to Auschwitz, but they were put in a freight car for livestock, and they were all made to stand inside the freight car. They were forced to stand there for several days without a toilet or food, and many of them collapsed.

Upon arrival at Auschwitz, the Jews were first divided into two groups. The first group was the group that forced the prisoners to work. The second group was the group that was murdered for being worthless. The murdered group consisted of children, the elderly, and the handicapped. They were lied to about taking showers and killed in poison gas chambers that were made to look just like bathrooms.

Those who survived, on the other hand, had their hair cut and their numbers tattooed on their bodies. They were then subjected to inhumane forced labor. Breakfast was a mysterious black liquid that was said to be "coffee" (details are still unknown), lunch was a rotten vegetable soup, and dinner was soup, a slice of bread, and 3 grams of margarine. Since such food was not enough to fill one's stomach, many people died of starvation here.

What I saw in the museum

Nowadays, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum is located on the site of the Auschwitz, where the buildings as it was then is preserved.

After passing through the gate, you will see many buildings. There were a great number of prisoners living there. Each building had different exhibits, and there were so many that I will only introduce some of them.

Items confiscated from prisoners

Inside the camp, prisoners had all of their belongings confiscated. A small portion of what was confiscated at that time is on display here. In addition to shoes, there were glasses, bags, and prosthetic legs. And the most horrifying part was the hair of the prisoners on display. Photography was not allowed, so I cannot show you what it looked like, but it was quite graphic and disgusting. There were probably 10 times more than you can imagine. The reason why the hair was collected is that during the war, in order to increase supplies as much as possible, the hair was processed as thread and made into cloth. The Nazis considered the Jews to be like property, so they wanted to make the best use of them.

In each building, rooms for various purposes remained. The following is a description along with photos.

The Wall of Death is the wall where the prisoners were shot to death. This wall was located between the regular wings and was intended to instill fear by showing it to the other prisoners.

Poison gas chambers

At Auschwitz, children, pregnant women, the elderly, the disabled, the sick, and those who were unable to work were deemed unworthy and slaughtered in poison gas chambers. There are images of the poison gas chambers, and the walls are covered with nail marks left by people's suffering. Some people may be offended by this, so please be careful.

Incidentally, the poison used at this time was a substance called Zyklon B. There are empty cans of these spent cans in the museum.

Well, how was it? Of course there are many, many more exhibits here. Here at the Auschwitz Museum, there are audio guided tours in English, as well as guides and photo books written in English. If you are interested, please visit there.

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Former ‘Bachelor’ contestant apologizes for post about what she planned to wear to Auschwitz

Anna redman shared her outfit plans for her trip to poland - including what she would wear to the auschwitz concentration camp..

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Former ‘Bachelor’ contestant Anna Redman apologizes for ‘flippant’ post about her Auschwitz visit attire

Anna Redman, a social media influencer and former contestant on reality dating show “The Bachelor,” has apologized for posting a “flippant” Instagram story sharing her planned outfit for a visit to Auschwitz.

“I’m severely sorry for any pain I caused when sharing my packing notes story,” Redman wrote in her apology, which she posted July 12. “I understand how flippant it came off…. I understand that [sic] heaviness of visiting Auschwitz and have been planning accordingly since we added seeing it in our travel plans. Again, I’m very sorry and took it down as soon as I understood that [sic] gravity of the mistake I made. I had no ill intentions behind it AT ALL. And I hope you guys can understand that.”

In the Instagram story posted the day before, which disappeared like all such posts after 24 hours, Redman shared a screen recording of her “packing notes” and the outfits she planned to wear on an upcoming trip to Poland and other countries. It included photos of herself wearing them, with their corresponding dates and locations.

For July 16 “auschwitz am,” Redman, 28, shared to her 114,000 followers that she was set to wear a short black dress and white sandals.

The text, written in pink lettering and highlighted in pink, said: “The best packing ‘hack’,” followed by “Is somebody going to match my freak?” referring to the lyrics from “Nasty,” by Tinashe — a popular song on the charts and on TikTok.

Fans and viewers reacting to the post across Reddit, Instagram and X called it “insane,” “terrible” and “bizarre.”

“‘Is somebody gonna match my freak’ and turn a deadly concentration camp into a runway,” X user Bingeing Bravo wrote , followed by an upside-down smiling emoji and a crying emoji.

“She posted her Auschwitz outfit inspo. Like it’s [New York Fashion Week] and not a concentration camp where so many people suffered and died,” one user wrote in a channel for discussions about “The Bachelor” on Reddit. “It made her look dumb. I don’t think she had malicious intent but it’s not cool to be so ignorant. She made herself look goofy. I don’t think she meant to offend but it’s a pattern now for tourists to not respect concentration camps and people are getting sick of it.”

Others offered examples of tourists acting inappropriately at Auschwitz or Holocaust memorial site. In 2017, Israeli-German writer Shahak Shapira began compiling photos of people taking selfies at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin in a project meant to criticize the trivialization of the site.

The Auschwitz museum’s web site cautions visitors to show “the appropriate solemnity and respect” for the one million people killed there during the Holocaust.

Redman has since limited comments on her Instagram posts. She did not respond to JTA’s request for comment.

Last month, Redman shared she was heading to Poland with boyfriend Chris Bukowski (who appeared on a separate “Bachelor” franchise show) and his family, with additional plans to visit Vienna and Rome. Bukowski is of Polish descent.

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Former ‘Bachelor’ contestant Anna Redman apologizes for ‘tone-deaf’ Auschwitz outfit inspiration post

Former The Bachelor contestant Anna Redman has apologized for posting an Auschwitz outfit inspiration video.

In a post shared on Instagram Stories, the 28-year-old shared what clothes she planned on wearing for each day of her upcoming trip to Poland, including the outfit she was going to wear to the sixteenth stop on her list – the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, where an estimated 1.1 million people were killed during the Holocaust.

She shared with her 114,000 Instagram followers a photo of her in a black dress and sneakers, her planned outfit for the outing. She captioned the photo, “The best packing “hack.” Is somebody going to match my freak?”

In her comment section, critics slammed her for sharing something so “tone-deaf.”

“You know what’s embarrassing?” one person wrote. “How tone deaf you are to post an Auschwitz outfit on your stories.”

Another added, “This is tone deaf as hell and implies she’s going to be taking ‘aesthetic’ photos at a death camp where over 1 million people were murdered. Girl. Goodbye. This is f***** up.”

“This is one of the most spiritually bankrupt things I’ve seen in a LONG time,” a third noted.

“This is f****** gross man,” someone else commented. “I never thought I’d see an outfit guide for a freaking concentration camp.”

“Also that’s a crazy inappropriate outfit to wear at Auschwitz,” a fifth person said. “You’re at a concentration camp, not brunch.”

Since receiving backlash for posting her Auschwitz outfit inspiration, the Chicago-based internet personality the influencer deleted the story and posted the same image with an apology written in overlaid text.

“Hey everyone,” she started the apology. “I’m severely sorry for any pain I caused when sharing my packing notes story. I understand how flippant it came off labeling that day with the trip we are taking.”

She continued, “I understand that heaviness of visiting Auschwitz and have been planning accordingly since we added seeing it in our travel plans. Again, I’m very sorry and took it down as soon as I understood that gravity of the mistake I made.”

“I had no ill intentions behind it AT ALL,” she added. “And I hope you guys can understand that.”

For her upcoming trip to Poland, Redman will be traveling with her boyfriend of over 2 years, fellow Bachelor franchise alum Chris Bukowski.

The 35-year-old first appeared on the eighth season of The Bachelorette in 2012 and has appeared on five different seasons across all Bachelor Nation programs, leading him to earn the contestant with the most appearances. Meanwhile, Redman last appeared on the 25th season of The Bachelor in 2021, and afterward, on the 7th season of Bachelor in Paradise .

An earlier version of this article referred to Auschwitz as a Polish concentration camp. It has been amended to clarify that Auschwitz was a Nazi concentration camp in occupied Poland.

The Independent is the world’s most free-thinking news brand, providing global news, commentary and analysis for the independently-minded. We have grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value our trusted voice and commitment to positive change. Our mission, making change happen, has never been as important as it is today.

Plan your visit

In order to take in the grounds and exhibitions in a suitable way, visitors should set aside a minimum of about 90 minutes for the Auschwitz site and the same amount of time for Auschwitz II-Birkenau. It is essential to visit both parts of the camp, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, in order to acquire a proper sense of the place that has become the symbol of the Holocaust as well as Nazi crimes againt Poles, Romas and other groups.

The grounds and most of the buildings at the sites of the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau sites are open to visitors. Some buildings are not accessible to visitors (including the blocks reserved for the Museum administration and its departments). Please familiarize yourself with " the rules for visiting ".

Auschwitz I is where the Nazis opened the first Auschwitz camps for men and women, where they carried out the first experiments at using Zyklon B to put people to death, where they murdered the first mass transports of Jews, where they conducted the first criminal experiments on prisoners, where they carried out most of the executions by shooting, where the central jail for prisoners from all over the camp complex was located in Block No. 11, and where the camp commandant's office and most of the SS offices were located. From here, the camp administration directed the further expansion of the camp complex.

Birkenau is where the Nazis erected most of the machinery of mass extermination in which they murdered approximately one million European Jews. At the same time, Birkenau was the largest concentration camp (with nearly 300 primitive barracks, most of them wooden). Over a hundred thousand prisoners were here in 1944: Jews, Poles, Roma, and others. The nearly 200 hectares of grounds include the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria and places filled with human ashes. There are primitive prisoner barracks and kilometers of fences and roads.

>>>ON-LINE LESSON "AUSCHWITZ — CONCENTRATION AND EXTERMINATION CAMP"<<<

Persons interested in a more in-depth exploration of Auschwitz may take advantage of the lectures, workshops, and seminars offered by the  International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust .

• via @auschwitzmuseum" aria-label="Udostępnij na Twitter">

Images from www.auschwitz.org may be used only in publications relating to the history of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau or the activities of the Auschwitz Memorial. Their use must not tarnish the good reputation of the victims of KL Auschwitz. Any interference in the integrity of the images – including cropping or graphic processing – is prohibited. The use of the images for commercial purposes requires the Museum’s approval and information about the publication. Publishers undertake to indicate the authors and origin of the images: www.auschwitz.org, as well as to inform the Museum of the use of the images ([email protected]).

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‘Crown Jewels of the Jewish People’: Preserving Memories of the Holocaust

With the survivor generation shrinking and antisemitism on the rise around the world, Israel’s Holocaust memorial is stepping up efforts to safeguard its vast collection of artifacts and testimony.

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By Isabel Kershner

Reporting from Jerusalem

The pictures are haunting: black-and-white prints of a snow-covered barracks and paintings bordered by wire fences and skeletal trees, grim depictions of a World War II camp in France where Jews were interned before being transported to concentration camps.

The artist, Jacques Gotko, created one picture using a background of crushed eggshells glued to a wooden board; for others he used a piece of old tire as a printing block. Those were just some of the few materials available to him at the camp where he was held before being transported to Drancy, another camp in France, then Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Poland, in 1943.

Fragile and rarely displayed, these works are part of a massive repository of Holocaust-related artifacts — among them millions of pages of documents, tens of thousands of pages of testimony, artworks and personal belongings and more than half a million photographs — collected over the years by Yad Vashem, Israel’s official Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.

Most of the artifacts had been scattered around Yad Vashem’s vast campus, but they will now be housed in a new center that will allow easier access for researchers and provide the most advanced technological conditions to safeguard them for future generations. The center was recently completed and was inaugurated Monday.

The task of preserving the artifacts has become all the more urgent as the Holocaust becomes an ever more distant episode, with the number of survivors steadily decreasing, at a time when antisemitism and extremism are resurgent around the world, Yad Vashem officials say.

“These are the crown jewels of the Jewish people,” Dani Dayan, the chairman of Yad Vashem, said of the collections. “There is no Judaism without historical remembrance.”

The new David and Fela Shapell Family Collections Center is opposite the Hall of Remembrance, which was established more than six decades ago at the core of the campus, and where an eternal flame burns above a stone crypt containing the ashes of Holocaust victims from extermination camps in Europe.

It is mostly subterranean, reaching five stories underground, blending in with the landscape and housing the artifacts in a protected space.

More than 150 staff members will be working at the site, gathering more names of victims and artifacts, and conserving and cataloging the objects. A video installation along the wall of the entrance hall runs in a 44-minute loop showing thousands of fragments of documents and objects kept in the center’s vaults.

“We are not looking for a Mona Lisa,” said Medy Shvide, the director of the Yad Vashem archives, museums and collections. “We look for things that tell the story of the people of the time — who was this family, and what happened to them.” Those remnants, or clues, could be as seemingly unremarkable as a hairbrush or a glove.

State-of-the-art labs are upgrading the process of digitizing and treating documents and other paper artifacts; textiles, such as decorative ritual garments; and oil paintings.

Many objects are not restored to their former state, intentionally. Yad Vashem’s curators say the imperfections, or damage such as charring from a fire, can often best convey the stories of the Jewish communities decimated in the Holocaust, of Jewish life before World War II or of survivors.

The art collection is housed in a vault with an oxygen-reduced atmosphere for fire prevention. Most of the works created during the Holocaust were on paper and are kept in boxes. Many are not by famous artists. “It is our duty to commemorate them,” said Eliad Moreh-Rosenberg, Yad Vashem’s art collections director; otherwise, “they will be forgotten.”

Some of the works in the art vault will go on display as part of a rotating exhibit in Yad Vashem’s gallery.

Since the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, Israelis have been wrestling with a new tragedy and questions of remembrance and commemoration. About 1,200 people were killed that day, most of them civilians, according to the Israeli authorities, making it the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

Yad Vashem’s mission is to emphasize the uniqueness of the Holocaust as a singular historical event and educate the world about it. Mr. Dayan, the chairman, takes issue with direct comparisons between the terrorism of Oct. 7 and the Nazi genocide and says a distinction must be made.

“Oct. 7 was not the Shoah,” he said, referring to the Holocaust by its Hebrew name, adding that modern Israel has a strong army that can exact a toll from its enemies.

Still, he said, for many people the associations were inescapable: Mothers muffling their infants — trying to keep them quiet while hiding in their safe rooms as gunmen hunted them down and set their homes ablaze — recalled Jews hiding from the Nazis in barns, basements or attics in Europe.

In the years before the assault of Oct. 7, antisemitic incidents had been on the rise around the world. The shooting in October 2018 at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in which 11 worshipers were killed was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history. In Europe, synagogues in Germany and France were targeted in attacks, sometimes fueled by anger over strife between Israel and the Palestinians.

After the Oct. 7 assault, Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza unleashed mass protests in foreign capitals and on college campuses, at times with antisemitic overtones.

Israel has found itself accused of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza — where more than 38,000 people have been killed in the war, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths. Israel denies committing genocide.

For Mr. Dayan, preserving the Yad Vashem collections is crucial to building a solid, authoritative foundation of evidence, data and knowledge to counter Holocaust deniers and distorters as the aging generation of Holocaust survivors dies out.

That means commemorating artists whose creations came to stand as their last wills and testaments — like Jacques Gotko, who died of typhus in Auschwitz-Birkenau, he said.

Using the scrap of tire, Gotko created a series of linocut-style prints of the barracks where Jews were kept at the Nazi transit camp at Compiègne, in France. The signed works are numbered and labeled Front Stalag 122, as the camp was designated, and dated 1942.

Born Jakow Gotkowski in Odesa, in what is now Ukraine, Gotko moved to Paris in 1905 as a child with his family. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts, and his paintings were exhibited in prestigious Parisian art salons.

He continued painting after he was taken with other Jews to the transit camp in 1941. In the camp, a still life that is being stored in the new facility was among his creations.

In a twist on the traditions of the old masters, instead of sumptuous displays of exotic fruit and vivid flowers, the still life he painted featured a crust of bread, a spoon, a tin cup and a matchbox. His backdrop was a wire fence and trees, some bare and skeletal, some with leaves, in the world beyond the camp.

Mr. Dayan has a quotation etched on the wall of his office written by Gela Seksztajn, a Polish artist who died in the Warsaw Ghetto. Knowing that she was doomed, she wrote: “My works I bequeath to the Jewish museum to be built after the war.”

Many of her works were hidden in a secret archive in the ghetto and survived the war. Most are now kept in the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. A few are in the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington and one is in Yad Vashem.

“We are approaching a watershed moment in Holocaust remembrance,” Mr. Dayan said. “We are entering the post-survivor era where we are going to be the messengers.”

Isabel Kershner, a Times correspondent in Jerusalem, has been reporting on Israeli and Palestinian affairs since 1990. More about Isabel Kershner

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

Israel and Egypt have privately discussed a possible withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from Gaza’s border with Egypt , officials said, a shift that could remove one of the main obstacles to a cease-fire deal with Hamas.

The fate of Hamas’s top military commander remained shrouded in uncertainty  after Israel targeted him in a large airstrike in the Al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza.

Gaza officials said that more than 90 people were killed  in the strike on Al-Mawasi, an area that the Israeli military had designated as a humanitarian zone .

What We Saw in Rafah:  As Israel says it is winding down its operation against Hamas in Rafah, the Israeli military invited foreign journalists into the devastated city on a supervised visit .

Displaced Gazans in Egypt:  As many as 100,000 Gazans have taken refuge in neighboring Egypt, but they are in legal limbo there, and though they feel safer, it’s not home .

A Crucial Diplomat Emerges:  Amos Hochstein, one of President Biden’s most trusted national security advisers, is playing diplomatic firefighter along the Israel-Lebanon border .