Auschwitz Tour from Krakow

Regular day tour from Kraków to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial: pickup at 8:30 or 10:30 am, entry tickets and a guided visit of up to 3.5 hours, back in about 8 hours.

Tour Details

• Duration: approx. 8 hours, including up to 3.5 hours at the Memorial
• Tour type: regular group tour by air-conditioned minivan or minibus
• Drive time: around 1.5 hours each way
• Pickup: from your hotel or one of three meeting points in Kraków
• Guide languages at the Memorial: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish
• Price: 40 EUR per person
• Optional: lunchbox

Description

With Oświęcim only about an hour and a half away by road, the Auschwitz tour from Kraków takes around eight hours from pickup to return. You can choose a morning departure at 8:30 or a later one at 10:30 am. Transport collects you either from your hotel or from one of three central meeting points, including the Jewish Quarter and the Old Town.

The short drive means most of the day is spent at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum itself. A local guide leads you through both parts of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp for up to three and a half hours. That is around two hours in Auschwitz I and around an hour and a half in Birkenau. Entrance tickets are included, and an English-speaking driver or tour leader assists you throughout the trip.

The guide’s role is to explain what the place was and what happened there. Auschwitz was the largest German Nazi camp, opened in 1940 and liberated on 27 January 1945. Most of its victims were Jews; Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities were also imprisoned and killed there. With a guide, the barracks, ruins and exhibitions become part of a history you can follow from beginning to end.

Auschwitz Tour from Kraków Itinerary

1. Pickup in Kraków (8:30 or 10:30 am)
   You are collected from your hotel or from one of the meeting points below at the departure time you choose. The detailed itinerary, with your exact pickup time, is confirmed by email before the tour.
   • Jewish Quarter – Starowiślna 65 (Kiss & Ride), 31-032 Kraków
   • Old Town – Wielopole 2 (Kiss & Ride), 31-072 Kraków
   • Near Galeria Krakowska – Pawia 18a, 31-154 Kraków
2. Drive to Oświęcim
   The journey from Kraków to Auschwitz takes around an hour and a half in an air-conditioned minivan or minibus. An English-speaking driver or tour leader travels with the group and can help with any practical questions.
3. Arrival at the Memorial
   Your entrance tickets are arranged in advance, and on arrival you join a licensed local guide. Every visitor receives headphones to follow the guide during the visit. Have your passport or ID card with you, as tickets are issued in each visitor’s name.
4. Auschwitz I (around 2 hours)
   The guided route starts in the main camp, founded in 1940 in the buildings of former Polish army barracks. Past the “Arbeit macht frei” gate, rows of red-brick blocks hold exhibitions about the deportations, the prisoners and the objects taken from them. You also see Block 11, the camp prison, and the Death Wall in its enclosed courtyard.
5. Transfer to Birkenau
   The second site lies about 3 km from Auschwitz I, and the transfer is part of the visit.
6. Auschwitz II-Birkenau (around 1.5 hours)
   Birkenau was by far the largest part of the complex and the main place of the murder of European Jews. You walk from the railway unloading ramp past wooden and brick barracks to the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, which the SS blew up before the camp was liberated. The route ends at the International Monument to the Victims.
7. Free time (up to 1 hour)
   After the visit, there is up to an hour for lunch or a rest. If you have chosen the lunchbox option, you can use this time to eat.
8. Return to Kraków
   The group drives back to Kraków, around an hour and a half on the road, and the tour ends with drop-off in the city about eight hours after it began.

Prices

The tour costs 40 EUR per person, including transport, entrance tickets and the guided visit at the Memorial.

What is Included

• Transport in a high-quality, air-conditioned minivan or minibus
• Pickup from your hotel or a meeting point in Kraków
• Assistance from an English-speaking driver or tour leader
• Entrance tickets to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau
• Guided visit of up to 3.5 hours with a local guide in your chosen language
• Lunchbox, if you choose this option when booking

Before you go

• Book in good time: Guided visits to the Memorial are often booked out weeks in advance, particularly from spring to autumn. Early booking gives you a better choice of departure time and guide language.
• Bring your ID: Entrance tickets are issued by name, so each traveller needs a passport or ID card.
• Choose a small bag: Bags inside the Museum may not exceed 30 x 20 x 10 cm.
• Children: The Museum does not recommend visits for children under 14.
• Dress for outdoors: Much of the visit, especially in Birkenau, takes place in the open. Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing are recommended.
• Pick your departure: Let us know whether you are joining from your hotel or one of the meeting points.

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions