Auschwitz Tour from Katowice

Six-hour private trip from Katowice to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial: about 1 hour each way, hotel pickup, reserved tickets and a guided visit of both camps.

Tour Details

• Duration: approx. 6 hours, including up to 3.5 hours at the Memorial
• Tour type: private tour by car or minivan with an English-speaking driver
• Drive time: around 1 hour each way
• Pickup: morning pickup from your hotel in Katowice; time depends on ticket availability at the Museum
• Drop-off: in Katowice at the end of the tour
• Guide languages at the Memorial: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish
• Price: from 70 EUR per person

Description

This is a compact, six-hour trip. The Auschwitz tour from Katowice takes about an hour each way by car, which leaves most of the time for the guided visit itself. A private driver collects you from your hotel in the morning and takes your group directly to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Oświęcim. You are back in Katowice by around midday or early afternoon, depending on your visit time.

Because entry slots at the Museum are limited, the pickup time is set once your guided visit has been booked. It is confirmed by email before the tour. At the Memorial, a local guide leads you for up to three and a half hours through 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 as part of the tour.

The guide’s commentary gives each part of the site its place in the history of the camp. Auschwitz was opened by the Germans in 1940 and grew into the largest of their concentration and extermination camps until liberation on 27 January 1945. Jews made up the great majority of the victims, together with Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities. The visit follows their story through the preserved buildings and the ruins that remain.

Auschwitz Tour from Katowice Itinerary

1. Pickup from your Katowice hotel
   Your driver meets you at your hotel in the morning. The exact time depends on your guided visit slot at the Museum and is sent to you by email with the detailed itinerary.
2. Drive to Oświęcim (around 1 hour)
   The trip from Katowice to Auschwitz takes about an hour in an air-conditioned car or minivan reserved only for your group.
3. Start at the Memorial
   Your guide meets you on arrival, and your tickets are ready. Each visitor receives headphones to hear the guide throughout the visit. Tickets carry each visitor’s name, so bring your passport or ID card.
4. Auschwitz I (around 2 hours)
   The visit begins in Auschwitz I, the original camp, which the Germans set up in 1940 in former Polish army barracks. Inside the gate marked “Arbeit macht frei”, the brick blocks hold exhibitions on the deportations and on the daily lives of the prisoners. The guide also takes you to Block 11, the camp prison, and to the Death Wall in the yard beside it.
5. Transfer to Birkenau
   Auschwitz II-Birkenau is about 3 km from the main camp, and the transfer is part of the guided visit.
6. 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 wooden and brick barracks, and the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, which the SS destroyed before the camp was liberated. The visit ends at the International Monument to the Victims.
7. Return to Katowice (around 1 hour)
   After the guided visit, the driver takes you back to Katowice, about six hours after the morning pickup.

Prices

The tour is private, and its price per person depends on the size of your group: the more travellers share the car, the lower the cost for each.

What is Included

• Private car or minivan with an English-speaking driver
• Transport in a high-quality, air-conditioned minivan or minibus
• Hotel pickup and drop-off in Katowice
• 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

Before you go

• Book in advance: Guided visits to the Memorial are often booked out weeks ahead, especially from spring to autumn. Booking early gives you more choice of visit times and languages.
• Pickup time: The pickup time depends on the visit slot at the Museum, so wait for the email confirmation before finalising your morning.
• Identity documents: Tickets are issued by name; every traveller must carry a passport or ID card.
• Bag size: Bags inside the Museum must be no larger than 30 x 20 x 10 cm. Larger bags can be left in the vehicle.
• Children: The Museum does not recommend visits for children under 14.
• Clothing: Much of the visit, especially at Birkenau, is outdoors. Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions