Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum Trip from Krakow
Description
Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau is a solemn and morbid journey, but one worth the price. The unassuming towns of Oświęcim and Brzezinka, only an hour from Kraków, are the site of a horrifying tragedy. The Auschwitz-Birkenau complex embodies the grim objective of the Holocaust - gathering and exterminating masses of people in inhuman ways and conditions. Initially planned to serve primarily as a concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau was transformed into a factory of death. The cold and ruthless industrial design of this genocide camp murdered around 1,5 million people. Every year, countless visitors from across the entire world come to Auschwitz to commemorate these victims and never forget what took place there. For those doing it for the first time, a guide-assisted trip is the best choice. No amount of reading about it can compare to seeing the gas chambers and crematoria with your own eyes. This experience will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The pickups are provided between 5:300 and 7:30, depending on the entry time, your accommodation, and our schedules. The pickup time is always confirmed by text and email the day before the tour. The tour is operated in a group of a maximum of 30 people. During the trip, you will watch a documentary movie about the history of the Nazi concentration camps (subject to availability).
Guaranteed entry tickets! Visit the most well-known former concentration camp and the place of the biggest and most tragic genocide in the world history – The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum that has witnessed death of around 1.5 million people committed by the Nazis. During your trip, you will visit Auschwitz I, which was the first and main part of the camp but also served as administrative headquarters for the whole complex and Birkenau, which was initially designed as a concentration camp and quickly turned into the main place of the genocide with gas chambers and crematoria. Birkenau was also the place where women’s camp was located. It definitely is a must-see place in Poland, but also in Europe altogether.
After the tour, you will be dropped off at your accommodation or in the Krakow city center. If your hotel is located within the Old Town or Jewish Quarter, we will drop you off at the closest meeting point.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
The pickups are provided between 5:30 and 7:30, depending on your accommodation and our schedules. The pickup time is always confirmed by text and email the day before the tour. If your hotel is not listed, please add a remark, and we will pick you up from any accommodation (also Airbnb) located within Krakow City limits. You can also choose one of our pickup points. Failing to provide the pickup location 24 hours prior to the service will result in assigning the meeting point, which might not be close to the customer's accommodation. Please note that if your hotel is located in the city center or Jewish Quarter, the pickup will be directly from the accommodation, but after the tour, you might be dropped off at the closest dropoff point. If your accommodation is located outside Krakow city limits, it is possible to be picked up at an additional charge. For example pickup from Krakow airport is 33€. The price always depends on the distance from Krakow and a number of people.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Please note that the maximum size of bags and backpacks allowed on the museum grounds is 30 x 20 x 10 centimeters (roughly 12 x 8 x 4 inches). You can always leave your belongings inside the bus which will be parked nearby
- The Museum is not recommended for visitors under the age of 14. The final decision depends on parents or legal guardians.
Reviews(295)
Booked with Mr Shuttle as recommended by a friend. Pick up and driver were fine but tour was poor. Guide rushed us through with no time to stop and read information boards. He just continued the tour irrespective of whether everyone was with him. The Auchwitz tour was just a conveyor belt of groups again no time for reflection and at one point we joined the wrong group because our guide had disappeared. Tour of Birkenau was a waste of time. Very long walk to look at one barrack building. Did not visit the memorial etc even though we could see other groups there. My companion has done the trip before and thought that his earlier experience had been much better. I would have learned more if I had been able to move at my own pace with time to read and to reflect.
We are extremely satisfied with our visit to Auschwitz organized by Mr. Shuttle. Everything was perfectly arranged from start to finish. Our driver picked us up exactly on time, and the journey was comfortable and pleasant. The guide was also excellent – knowledgeable, professional, and very engaging throughout the tour. The entire experience was incredibly well organized, which allowed us to focus fully on this important and moving visit. We highly recommend Mr. Shuttle to anyone planning a trip to Auschwitz. Thank you for the outstanding service and flawless organization!
Absolutely fantastic company from start to finish the communication with this company has been brilliant. I cannot fault them at all. I booked them for both hotel pickup and Apple transfers and Auschwitz and they were on time. Very informative and always keeping in touch. Highly recommend them 100%. Can't fault them at all. The tour itself was brilliant. Heartbreaking but worth going the drive. I was lovely. I have nothing bad to say about this company
Excellent trip with amazing guide at Aushwitz. Thomas our driver was brilliant. On time and very organized and helpful. Would highly recommend.
Well organised trip. Travel timings as advertised. Time at Auschwitz thought provoking.
Very harrowing experience everyone should visit just to see for themselves. Would highly recommend mr shuttle good communication from start to finish, tour length what spot on
Hmm. I won't comment on the tour operator. Picked us up on time etc. Our issue was that you are herded at great speed through Auchwitz 1 with no time to stop and take in what you are seeing. The exhibits whizz by. The guide was very perfunctory and professional. Her accent was extremely difficult to understand and we missed a lot. I'd say that we left the site with far less emotional damage than we expected. There are no personal stories, no grim sights(sorry but it is necessary) and very little to indicate that hundreds of thousands or millions of people died. It seems very antiseptic and bland. Luckily I have good knowledge of what went on as I am old, but I'm sure that lots of younger folk leave there thinking "so what?". Such a shame. We've ticked it off now, but I really didn't think they do the victims justice. Sorry.
Good morning, Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are pleased to hear that the transportation and organization aspects of your tour met your expectations. Regarding the guided visit itself, we would like to clarify that all guides conducting tours at Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum are official museum guides who are fully licensed, professionally trained, and employed directly by the Museum. Tour operators, including ourselves, are not permitted to select guides or influence the content, pace, or structure of the guided tours. These standards are established and managed exclusively by the Museum authorities. For this reason, we believe that the overall rating of the tour operator should primarily reflect the quality of the services provided by the operator, such as transportation, organization, communication, and customer service. Feedback regarding a specific guide's performance, presentation style, language clarity, or tour delivery is most appropriately directed to the Museum, as they are responsible for guide recruitment, training, and supervision. We take all comments seriously and would be happy to forward your concerns to the Museum's reservation department. To do so, please provide your booking number, and we will ensure that your feedback reaches the appropriate team for review. Regards, Zuzanna MrShuttle
I am deeply disappointed and frustrated by the tour cancellation with only 12 hours' notice. I planned my trip, including air travel, specifically to participate in this experience. Such a last-minute cancellation not only caused enormous inconvenience but also negated my efforts and travel expenses. I expect a professional tour operator to manage their bookings with greater responsibility and offer appropriate solutions in such situations. This experience has ruined part of my vacation, and I cannot recommend your services. We understand that tour operators always do this; they sell packages they don't have.
Hello, Please verify your booking, and place this review on the correct account. We do not cancel the tours, we do not have overbookings, and this review is not true. It is probably posted to the wrong account, so please verify the information you have. It is not ok to post a harmful review of the incorrect tour provider. Regards, Mr. Shuttle
Wear shoes you can walk in comfortably for several miles over the course of the tour. Especially if your tour includes Birkenau. The tour itself brings it home. It’s a hit of reality that is shocking. It’s such a rude awakening to hear and see how much the Auschwitz prisoners actually suffered. It makes you realize how fortunate we all are to be alive today and hopefully no one will ever have to relive their tragedy. I highly recommend this tour to bring to light our history and how so many countries were impacted by one insane man. If you’re going to do any tour while visiting Krakow make it this tour. You won’t regret it.
Auschwitz is extremely well kept, well maintained, Entrance - no issues with entrance. We were straight in, assigned our tour guide, received our headsets. 1st camp - this is probably the most emotionally draining. However, we were rushed through it all. Convinced we missed some (wait. The tour guide said we would be skipping bits...). Couldn't keep up with the tour guide, Charles, and what he was talking about. What I'm really disappointed about was that we went down to the cells and he decided it was appropriate to try and bring in some humour about torturous ways. Whether it is his way or dealing with the emotions, we don't know. But we were quite disgraced by it. All of the things we wanted to stop and take in, we were just rushed through. Barely any stopping, just a walk by. When I say rushed, it's a quick glance at the death wall, quick look at the shoes/cases/prosthetics, cells, etc. But you'll spend more time looking at photos. That part of the tour came to an end. We were told to meet again at 1.10pm, others thought 1.20pm. Where were we meeting to go to the 2nd camp? What was the time? No one really knew. So we decided to get the shuttle bus and head to the 2nd camp. We never saw anyone from our group again other than 2 people who must've done the same as us - just went our own way. Camp 2 - we explored this camp on our own. And I'm glad we did as it looked like the tour groups weren't seeing as much as us. I've read reviews that people visited there and left within an hour. We saw so much way beyond the main area that it took us 3 hours to do just take camp. So, top tip, when you get to the huge memorial, follow the path to the right. There's so much more to see! More has chambers, more buildings and stories. We spent 2 hours at the first camp, 3 hours at the 2nd. 1 hour break for lunch. And we don't walk slowly! We're quite fit people. So definitely take walking shoes. Restaurant - grabbed a spinach and feta roll and some strawberries. Came to £12. So we didn't go back in - so expensive! Shop - nice selection of books in all languages. Picked one up that isn't sold in England too. Looking online, it seems hard to get hold of. Overall, it was an educational visit. Just a shame that the tour guide wanted to rush through everything at the 1st camp. So extremely grateful that no one knew what was going on so we went our own way.
