Auschwitz Birkenau und Salzbergwerk Wieliczka Geführte Tagestour

Check TripAdvisor and WhatsApp messages before the tour. Our guide messaged us 24h before with pickup time and location, make/model/color of vehicle and plate number. TripAdvisor quoted us an 8am start when we booked but our driver messaged us that it was going to be 9am as we were the last pickup stop for our group. The van showed up on time. Our driver was awesome. Gave us clear instructions at each stop and plenty of time before and after each tour for snacks and bathroom breaks. Comfortable ride in an air conditioned 18-seater van. The drive to Auschwitz was just under 2hrs so bring some crossword puzzles and possibly a pillow and eye mask for a nap. The optional lunch box was well worth it. Tasty sandwich, pastry, wafer, apple, banana, and water bottle, all for $10USD equivalent. As for the tours, good walking shoes are a must. We logged 7 miles/15k steps over a 12hr day. The underground cathedral in the salt mine is worth traveling to Poland to see. Auschwitz-Birkenau is very heavy stuff with the Auschwitz portion ending inside one of the gas chambers with the ovens. Photos were allowed except in two exhibits where no-photo signage was clearly posted. The guides are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Our guide at Auschwitz spoke in very calm, matter-of-fact tones and explained how she and the other guides go through extensive training internationally. My only gripe with Auschwitz is that the audio receivers only worked within 25 feet of the guide whereas the salt mine's had double the range. I got separated from our group once because of this. Additionally the over-the-head headphones at Auschwitz were neither comfortable nor of good audio quality. They were too small for my head. If I did this tour again I would have brought my own. The mono earpiece provided at the salt mine held up just fine. Overall this is a 100% must-do tour in Krakow, whether both are done same-day or separately. Special shout-out to the family in our group at Auschwitz that was holding us up taking family photos everywhere including one in the open area where prisoners were shot, an area where our guide remained silent. Please do not do this! Be respectful.

Very good trip. Pick up, guides, communication, travel and packed lunches all first class. The Salt Mines were very interesting. Auschwitz, as expected was completely mind blowing, seeing it in person and learning from the guides put what I already understood into perspective. A must do trip.

This is something we felt we had to do during our visit to Krakow. The salt mines are amazing and well worth the visit, much bigger and more interesting than expected. Auschwitz is obviously very moving and not easy to experience but also something that will stay with me for a long time. The minibus driver Peter was great and the guide Nicolas was absolutely fantastic and explained everything in great detail and with compassion. It was a shame one person on the excursion was disrespectful and personally I wish no photos were allowed so people just concentrate on the scale and sadness of the experience.Would recommend booking with choose Cracow, could not fault them.

The tour was brilliant would definitely recommend it but i will never book it through Viator again they took 2 payments from my credit card for 1 tour and won't refund me. I am now going through my bank to reverse this payment

Our driver Damian was very friendly and kept things running smoothly. Things were timed well with plenty of opportunities to use the bathroom and the boxed lunch was great.

Really well organised. It’s a long day so I would recommend the packed lunch option (or bring your own).

Prompt. Great communication and instructions. Lunch is worth the money. Well worth the price. Be prepared for a very day and lots and lots of walking uneven surfaces.

The salt mine was much more interesting than expected and our guide Miklaas (sp?) was funny and thoughtful and great. I didn't feel like our guide at Auschwitz was as good. We seemed to skip areas other groups went to and I had to ask a lot of questions to get deeper stories. Birkenau is what most people think of when they think of the camps and that was more moving.

Both sites you visit are well preserved and tell the shocking history of the concentration camp and the change to them being death camps Harrowing artifacts retained. Not a place for children to attend more because I think the shear gravity of the events won't be understood. Tour guide was exceptional - young but very well read and knew answers for all questions posted by the group. Cannot fault the tour organisation as it worked well

Booked Auschwitz/Salt mines tour well in advance of arriving in Krakow. Good communication with company leading up to trip. Took advantage of the packed lunch option. Good value and good selection of food. Sandwich was lovely. Slightly surprised when told that we were doing salt mines first but no real issue. Salt mines are well worth a visit. Fascinating how they have been developed over the centuries and stunning craftsmanship when you see the statues. Very good guide whose knowledge was excellent. Now Auschwitz. Difficult to explain. As expected it is harrowing hearing how people were treated and seeing first hand where it happened. Difficult to comprehend. However, Berta our tour guide was outstanding. Didn’t embellish unnecessarily and delivered facts concisely. She really knew her subject and was always looking out for her group and happy to answer questions. Thank you Berta was lovely to meet you. All in all a very worthwhile day and would certainly recommend to others. Also thank you to Thomas our mini bus driver.