Auschwitz Birkenau Museum or Historical Guided Tour from Krakow
Description
Join a respectful, professionally organized day trip from Krakow to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum – a powerful and unforgettable experience that offers deep insight into one of history’s darkest chapters. This all-inclusive tour includes round-trip transportation from Krakow, skip-the-line entry tickets, and a licensed museum guide who will lead you through the most important areas of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camps. You’ll visit both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, exploring preserved barracks, memorial sites, original structures, and exhibits that tell the story of the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Throughout the journey, a dedicated tour leader ensures everything runs smoothly, allowing you to focus on reflection and learning. The tour is conducted with the utmost respect, historical accuracy, and sensitivity.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your trip starts with a ride from Krakow, either from your hotel or a meeting spot you pick. It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to Auschwitz. When you arrive in Oswiecim, take a quick break for coffee or to look around outside. Then, a friendly local guide, licensed by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, will meet you and lead your tour.
When you arrive at your destination, you will be met by your professional guide and enter the site at Auschwitz I, walking through the gate to the camp that bears the inscription Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Sets You Free). The Auschwitz-Birkenau complex was established in 1940 in place of old polish army barracks. Originally to hold Polish POW`s political prisoners, and operated until its liberation by advancing soviets in 1945. During its operation, more than 1.5 million Jewish, Polish, Italian and French prisoners were brought here ,of which 1.1m. was exterminated as part of largest genocide in human history. Leaving survivors terribly scared for live. The Auschwitz complex comprises of original buildings and you can see the original roads, fences, watchtowers and railway ramps, and death wall. Visit some of the barracks on the Auschwitz I complex, which now house a collection of original exhibitions and documents, as well as articles stolen from prisoners upon camp arrival.
The second part of the tour - Birkenau (Auschwitz II) - the largest camp from over 40 camps and sub-camps from Auschwitz complex. Originally planned as a camp for Soviet prisoners of war, it eventually became a concentration camp for prisoners of various nationalities and a center of the extermination of Jews. Its construction began in October 1941 by hands of slave labourers, in a place of displaced and mostly demolished village of Brzezinka and three kilometres from Auschwitz I. It was design to hold 125 000 prisoners at one time. Who was from the start destined to die from cold, hunger, diseases and of exhaustion. Prisoners was treated as redundant and easily replaceable work force. You will sea unimaginable living condition, prisoners have to adapt. You can walk to preserved camp barracks. You will see rail ramp, when infamous Dr. Mengele oversaw selection process of new arrivals, when split second decided of you life or death in gas chambers. Which were only 200m away.
After the tour, we don't hurry you. You'll have at least 20 minutes to stop at a bookstore, grocery store, or just take a break. Then, after another 1 hour and 15 minutes on the road, we'll take you back to a set place in Krakow.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
If you've chosen the hotel pick-up option, please provide the address from which you'd like to be picked up during purchase. If you select the meeting point option, you will be picked up from Pawia 18b. Please contact the supplier to confirm your exact departure time the day before the tour. If you do not specify your hotel address we will be waiting for you on our pick-up place: Pawia 18b, kiss and ride stop, next tothe Mercure hotel.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- VISIT️️: During the tour, we kindly ask for solemnity and respect due to the tragic nature of this place. Smoking, eating, and loud behavior are prohibited in the Museum.Not recommended for children aged 14 and under
- PICKUP : Some hotels in Krakow are located in a restricted traffic zone. In such cases, your pickup will be arranged from the nearest available location. You will be informed about this one day before the tour.
- BREAKS ⌛️: Breaks during the tour are no longer than 10 minutes. We encourage you to wear comfortable footwear as there will be a lot of walking during the tour .
- DEPARTURE TIME ️: The start time of the tour may change due to the limited number of guides available at the Auschwitz Museum. Please contact the supplier to confirm your exact departure time the day before the tour. If you not specify your hotel adress we will be waiting for you on our pick-up place: Pawia 18b, kiss and ride stop, next to Mercure hotel.
- DOCUMENTS : Please make sure to bring with you ID or passoprt. Because before the entrance seciurity will ask about it.
- LUNCH : We encourage you to bring food and drinks as we do not plan a lunch break during the excursion. You can also choose the option of a tour with lunch included in the price
- WEATHER CONDITIONS⛅: Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately. The tour mostly takes place outdoors, so we encourage you to bring an umbrella or a raincoat in case of bad weather.
- REFUND: You'll receive a FULL REFUND, if for any reason, the guide or transportation is not provided.
- IMPORTANT: Choose Your Option Carefully Please review the available tour types. Note that "AB Perimeter & Monowitz Tour" is a specialized historical tour that takes place ENTIRELY OUTSIDE the museum fences.
Reviews(4,029)
Having planned a visit to Krakow, Auschwitz was very much high on our agenda. We were concerned having heard about some of the disreputable companies offering these tours. Auschwitz Museum Tours seemed to be OK. As per ‘normal’ the pickup time was changed, but not for the bad, 08:00 became 13:00. Very pleasant driver collected us from hotel and waited with us at coach point until the coach arrived. Coach driver Hubert was excellent. Our guide, another Hubert was very pleasant and well organised but we had the feeling this could have been his first ever tour as a guide. He knew the route, the routine, the rules and the script and did everything according to the book, but if we had not committed to lots of research before our visit we would have missed many important features. The second part of the tour, Birkenau ( Auschwitz 2) was extremely rushed and in order to take photos we were literally running to get ahead or catch up. As everyone that has ever been here will tell, this is possibly the most moving visit you will ever make - be prepared. Be sure to have bottles of water with you, it’s quite strenuous given the high speed route march and the highly emotional content. Visit here should be compulsory for every adult on earth. Full respect to Poland, this is a vast shrine and it’s impossible to experience it any other way.
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your deeply reflective and detailed feedback with us. We are glad to hear that your initial concerns were eased and that your journey went smoothly, from the pleasant hotel pick-up to the excellent service provided by your coach driver, Hubert. We are also glad that the shift in your pick-up time worked out well for your schedule. We truly appreciate your candid insights regarding your guide, Hubert. While we are glad he was pleasant, well-organized, and adhered to all safety guidelines, we take your comments about the depth of the narrative seriously. We always aim to provide a profound and comprehensive educational experience, and we will share your feedback with our guiding team to ensure that the rich, critical historical details are consistently highlighted for all guests, regardless of their prior research. We also note your experience regarding the pacing at Birkenau. Balancing the strict time slots mandated by the Museum with the vastness of the grounds can sometimes feel rushed, and we apologize if the speed affected your ability to fully process the site and take photos. Your practical advice—especially regarding bringing water and preparing for both the emotional weight and physical nature of the walk—is incredibly valuable for future visitors. Thank you for recognizing the dedication Poland puts into preserving this vital shrine. We are honored that you chose to make this profoundly moving journey with us. Kind Regards, Discover Cracow Team
Activity that is worth doing. Activity recommended 100%. Guide who knows their subject, very clear in the explanations.
Good tour organisers. The taxi lifted us at the hotel door. The driver was very friendly courteous patient and informative. We had a very good tour. Watch 10 out of 10 by Ray Comfort on YouTube…..
Dear Traveler, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback! We are delighted to hear that you had a very good tour and a smooth experience with our transport service. It is wonderful to know that your driver was friendly, courteous, patient, and informative right from your hotel doorstep! Providing a seamless and comfortable journey is always our goal. Thank you for choosing Discover Cracow, and we hope to welcome you on another adventure in the future! Kind Regards, **Discover Cracow Team** --- #DiscoverCracow #KrakowTours #ExcellentService #TravelKrakow #GreatExperience
We felt misled by this tour. After payment it becomes clear this is an outside perimeter tour only. So NO access to the musueum and inside parts of Auschwitz. You only get to experience everything from outside the gates. This would be fine if it was made clear BEFORE booking, but the booking information makes it misleading on purpose! So be aware of what you book. Thankfully our guide John was very knowledgable and he provided us with good information, so all credits to him. He still made this trip worth the visit if you have no other options. Our poor rating reflects the booking process and the misleading information provided. The guide himself was great! Thank you John!
Wonderful experience with an amazing guide Damian👍👏🫶🏻 The tour was fantastic, it was very informative and very enjoyable I highly recommend it. The guide Damian is a highly and friendly person who explains with passion the history and the main reason why we reached the event.
Informative tour of both camps. Alexander was an excellent tour guide and explained everything clearly.
Great and informative tour. The guy was a really good translator. I wouldn’t mind doing this tour again. Highly recommend
Ticket said 8 hour and aushwits - birkenau museum or historical tour from karkow. We only toured the outside of aushwits camp.I traveled from America to see this tour,only thing good was toured our guide norbert.
My partner and l booked this tour as part of our trip to Krakow. Communication from company was great and we were given boarding instructions 24 hours before joining. Bus was clean and comfy and John and Simon (driver) were very friendly. It took about 90 minutes to get to auschwitz and tour round both camps took about 4 hours. My only complaint is that there were too many groups visiting at the same time and we couldn't always hear our guide at birkenau. It was a very sombre and thought provoking visit, which made me think about how lucky l am.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughtful review of your visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. We are very pleased to hear that our communication met your expectations and that you found the journey comfortable with John and the driver, Simon. It is always our priority to ensure the logistics of such a profound trip run as smoothly as possible. We appreciate your honest feedback regarding the crowd levels and the difficulty hearing your guide at Birkenau. Because Birkenau is a vast, open-air site, high visitor numbers and outdoor acoustics can sometimes make communication challenging. We will share this with our team to see how we can better manage group positioning to ensure a clearer audio experience for everyone. Thank you for choosing Discover Cracow for this deeply moving and important visit. Kind Regards, Discover Cracow Team
That Damian the guide has done very well but that it must be very clear before the payment. NO ACCESS TO AUSWITZ I, II OR III. Just driving around and giving an explanation.
