Auschwitz Tour from Berlin

Two-day private trip from Berlin with a guided tour of Kraków and an overnight stay, followed by a guided visit to Auschwitz I and Birkenau and the return to Berlin.

Tour Details

• Duration: 2 days, with an overnight stay in Kraków
• Tour type: private tour by car or minivan with an English-speaking driver
• Distance: around 600 km from Berlin to Auschwitz
• Drive time: around 7 hours from Berlin to Kraków on day 1; around 1.5 hours from Kraków to the Memorial on day 2
• Pickup: early morning from your hotel in Berlin; drop-off at your hotel in Berlin at the end of day 2
• Guided visits: guided tour of Kraków on day 1; guided visit of up to 3.5 hours at the Memorial on day 2
• Guide languages at the Memorial: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish
• Price: from 230 EUR per person (accommodation not included)

Description

Around 600 km separate Berlin from Auschwitz, so this tour is planned over two days rather than one. The Auschwitz tour from Berlin begins with a full day on the road to Kraków, where a licensed local guide shows you the city before you check in for the night. The next morning, you continue to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, and after the visit the driver takes you back to your hotel in Berlin.

Splitting the trip means you arrive at the Memorial rested, after a short morning drive of about an hour and a half from Kraków. The guided visit there lasts up to three and a half hours and covers both parts of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp: around two hours in Auschwitz I and around an hour and a half in Birkenau. Entrance tickets are reserved in advance. The same private vehicle and English-speaking driver stay with your group for both days.

At the Memorial, a guide explains the history of each place you visit. Auschwitz was the largest German Nazi camp, set up in 1940 and liberated on 27 January 1945. The great majority of those murdered there were Jews; Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities were also among the victims. A guided visit places what you see in this wider history.

Auschwitz Tour from Berlin Itinerary

Day 1 – Berlin to Kraków

1. Early pickup in Berlin
   Your driver collects you from your hotel in Berlin early in the morning. The detailed itinerary, including the exact pickup time, is confirmed by email before the tour.
2. Drive to Kraków (around 7 hours)
   The journey to Kraków takes around seven hours in an air-conditioned car or minivan. The vehicle is reserved for your group alone throughout the trip.
3. Guided tour of Kraków
   In Kraków, you meet a licensed local guide for a guided tour of the city. It is a chance to see the city that serves as your base for the night before the visit to the Memorial.
4. Hotel check-in and overnight
   After the tour, you check in at a hotel in Kraków city centre and spend the night there. Accommodation is not included in the price, but we can help you book a hotel on request.

Day 2 – Auschwitz-Birkenau and return to Berlin

5. Morning pickup in Kraków
   The driver picks you up from your hotel in Kraków in the morning.
6. Drive to Oświęcim (around 1.5 hours)
   The drive from Kraków to the Memorial takes around an hour and a half.
7. Arrival at the Memorial
   You meet your guide on arrival, and your reserved tickets are ready. Each visitor receives headphones to follow the guide during the visit. Bring your passport or ID card, as tickets are issued by name.
8. Auschwitz I (around 2 hours)
   The visit starts in Auschwitz I, established in 1940 in former Polish army barracks on the outskirts of Oświęcim. You walk through the gate inscribed “Arbeit macht frei” and into the preserved brick blocks, where exhibitions tell the story of the people deported to the camp. The route includes Block 11, the camp prison, and the Death Wall in the courtyard beside it.
9. Transfer to Birkenau
   Auschwitz II-Birkenau lies about 3 km from the main camp. The transfer is part of the guided visit.
10. Auschwitz II-Birkenau (around 1.5 hours)
    Birkenau was the largest part of the Auschwitz complex and the main site of the murder of European Jews. You see the railway unloading ramp, the remaining wooden and brick barracks, and the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria blown up by the SS before liberation. The visit ends at the International Monument to the Victims.
11. Free time for lunch
    After the guided visit, there is free time for lunch before the long drive back.
12. Return to Berlin
    The driver takes you back to Berlin and drops you off at your hotel, which completes the tour.

Prices

The tour is private, so the price per person depends on group size: the vehicle and driver costs are shared, and the more people travel together, the lower the price for each.

What is Included

• Private car or minivan with an English-speaking driver for both days
• Transport in a high-quality, air-conditioned minivan or minibus
• Pickup and drop-off at your hotel in Berlin
• Guided tour of Kraków
• Reserved entrance tickets to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau
• Guided visit of up to 3.5 hours at the Memorial in your chosen language

Not included:

• Accommodation in Kraków (we can help with hotel booking on request)

Before you go

• Plan well ahead: Guided visits to the Memorial are often booked out weeks in advance, particularly from spring to autumn. Booking early also leaves time to arrange your hotel in Kraków.
• Hotel in Kraków: The overnight stay is not included in the price. Let us know when booking if you would like help reserving a hotel in the city centre.
• Passport or ID card: Tickets are issued by name, so each traveller needs an identity document at the Memorial.
• Bags at the Museum: Bags inside the Museum must not exceed 30 x 20 x 10 cm. Overnight luggage can stay in the vehicle during the visit.
• Children: The Museum does not recommend visits for children under 14.
• Clothing: Large parts of the visit, especially at Birkenau, are outdoors. Pack comfortable shoes and clothes for the season.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions