Tour of Auschwitz

Rockman

Hello


My wife and are planning to spend a few days in Krakow this summer. We want to visit Auschwitz on one of the days.


Is it best to go on a guided tour or can you make your own way there and get a guided tour of the camps? If it is best to go with a tour company can anyone advise of a good company to book with? Is it best to book in advance or are there good deals if we wait until we arrive in Krakow to book the tour?


I heard it is possible to do the camps and salt mines in the same day. Is this an option or is that cramming in too much?


Thanks

stevenhp1987

Not sure on Auschwitz but the salt mines are only a couple of hours or so. There's a museum at the end which you may potentially spend some time at too. We spent the morning there (October 2017) and then went back into town.

We had a hire car though. How will you be travelling to them?

Auschwitz website states entry is free, but you can pay for a guide. I wouldn't bother going through an external tour company (it'll be more expensive, unless you really need the transport!!!), just get the guide direct from the museum!!!

In terms of both in one day? They are ~ 82km apart which is around 1 hour 15 min drive with no traffic. I'd say that doing both together in a day is a non-starter I'm afraid.

zagfles

Just get a bus from the main bus station - takes you direct to the site, look for the bus to "Oswiecim Museum". They were quite regular IIRC. You can buy an official tour of both sites there and transport between the sites is included. See the official site auschwitz.org/en/

I think most of the so-called "tours" are just transport there as there are restrictions on non official tours inside - so you just get a minibus taking you and picking you up and you'll have a set time there, rather than being able to spend as much (or little) time there as you want. From what I head the minibuses usually take longer than the public bus since they usually drive around for an hour or so picking people up from hotels all over town.

There are some tours that do the salt mines in the same day but there is no way I'd ever contemplate that. It'll be rushed, it's a long way to Auschwitz and believe me after seeing it you won't be in the right frame of mind to walk for miles in the salt mines and take it all in. There's a lot of walking in the salt mines.

Don't mean to patronise and you've probably thought carefully already - but don't go to Auschwitz as "something interesting to do on holiday", be prepared, think about how you'll handle it emotionally and whether and why you really want to go.

Robin9

zagfles wrote: »

Don't mean to patronise and you've probably thought carefully already - but don't go to Auschwitz as "something interesting to do on holiday", be prepared, think about how you'll handle it emotionally and whether and why you really want to go.

I endorse this.

There are English speaking guides - the lady who lead my tour must lead tours regularly and she was in tears.

AubreyMac

I went there last year.


Salt mine is great. if you look on their site there are two types of tours - a miners route and a tourist route. I did both and thoroughly loved the miners route as you dress like a miner and mine some salt that you can take home. A lot less people there and it's guided too. Later on the same day I did the tourist route which, as you can tell, has other tourists there. Both are enjoyable and different. You learn something new with each one. As the timing of each left a 3 hour gap in between (enough for a leaisurely meal) that took up most of my day.


I did a guided tour with Auschwitz, the coach picked me up from my hotel. I chose a tour company using viator and selected one that I thought was less people. However, when we got there you just join other bigger tour groups. It was overwhelmingly packed with so many tourists and groups. I spent most of the time keeping an eye on my guide so as to not lose him (easy to find yourself suddenly a part of another group given how busy it was). I didn't get as much time to look around and read the information there as I would have liked. It's a massive ground with so many different camps I think to explore it thoroughly can easily take up most of a day. So for me, my tour was disappointing. If I were to do it again, I would just make my way there and then take my time to go around and view all that I want.

Carmen

Is it possible to take/hire a wheelchair to do the tour?

mrs_lds

When is the auiestest time of year to go there?

loskie

Too much to do both in one day. Take the train to the salt mines, it's clean and modern and very cheap. The salt mines are very grand. Not tacky at all. Have a wander and a drink in the wee town too.

I must admit I went a guided tour to Auschwitz took all the hassle away the bus trip there was quite nice and I think we got in quicker than if we had gone ourselves. The queues were big.
I think it was Sept I went. A nice city, the Jewish quarter is good for wandering around as is the town on the south side of the river.
A clean, safe feeling city

prowla

I don't think I could do it.

maman

mrs_lds wrote: »

When is the quietest time of year to go there?

We went in mid November and it was busy even then so I don't think there is a quiet time.


I'd agree that doing both in one day would be too much.


I'd say it's worth buying a package that includes transport and he guide to Auschwitz.


With the salt mines, they have their own guides as part of the admission ticket so it doesn't really matter how you get there although having someone pick you up from the hotel did make life easy and it was good to chat with him on the journey about life in Poland.


We did a split centre trip with 3 days in Krakow and 3 in Warsaw with train travel between. Both are lovely but very different cities.

Gloomendoom

prowla wrote: »

I don't think I could do it.

Nor me. Each to their own, but I can't even imagine why anyone would want to visit such a place.