Auschwitz/Auschwitz-Birkenau tours

[CissOff]

We are looking to take a trip to Krakow and would like to take a decent tour of the above.

I’d be grateful for recommendations- there seems to be a lot online, both official and unofficial tours and I don’t want to end up with a dud.

Any advice would be appreciated! We are looking for half a day or so (at the camps - appreciate there’s travelling time either end)

It makes me feel really uncomfortable reading about a trip to Auschwitz as though it is any other tourist attraction, to be fitted in around museum visits.

It is a museum. It's officially categorised as a memorial and museum.

I don’t think I could see the camp and then trot off happily the next day round something cheerful.

And why not? Polish school trips go to Auschwitz and then the next day they "trot off" to school in the normal way. In the same way, people who go to Kraków and then take trips to the surrounding area. It doesn't make you catatonic. I think your friend's DD's reaction is - more extreme than typical. That is, it's not that people leave there feeling upbeat and happy, but neither is it so normal to be shocked and upset for long afterwards, if you know anything about the Holocaust.

Although I wouldn't do Auschwitz and Wieliczka on the same day, as both are big trips.

My husband and son went about 5 years ago. I felt it was a really odd decision to go, but the guide (Polish, but spoke excellent English) put the whole 'attraction' controversy in context, in that she said it was a very poor area of Poland, and would have remained a backwater. But with the 'tourist dollar' it produced employment and funded development in the region, which would not have happened had the atrocities not happened. Same sort of thing in notable battle sites (but very different, I realise). I expect there will, in future years be tours of Srebeniza etc. Human interest can take strange paths.

It's the sinister aspect of monetary gains from an atrocity that doesn't sit well with me.

I would do Auschwitz alone, drive there and just do that in a day. Its a shocking, thought provoking and upsetting place so you need to take the time that you need to see it at your own pace.

What we did. Was some time ago tho.

Personally I wouldn't do both Auschwitz and the salt mines in the same day, both places have SO much to see.

The tour of Auschwitz was fantastic. Very moving (take tissues, I'm not usually the emotional type and had plenty of tears!), we had headphones so we could always hear the guide despite how busy it was.

The salt mines were utterly MIND-BLOWING, a lot of stairs though so comfortable shoes are a must.

I booked all our tours through Viator and had no complaints.

Have an amazing time, it's a fantastic city and I'd love to go back (although it probably won't happen despite my OH being Polish - he seems to hate it there)

We've always used taxis. They pick you up early, get you there before the coaches arrive so you can go at a pace that suits you. Then take you to Birkenau, again you get there earlier than the coaches.

Not that much more expensive than the coaches.

Everyone knows what went on there and if you don’t then there’s plenty of film footage, accounts from survivors and eye witness statements that will tell you more than you ever need to know without going there to spectate.

Believe me, standing there, seeing the actual shoes, is very, very, very different from reading about it or seeing films, or news footage.
If you don't want to go, then obviously don't. No-one is forcing you.
But don't buy into the idea it is a 'tourist attraction'. It is a museum. A record of something we must never forget.

Don't bother with the salt mines, a total tourist trap.
Auschwitz on the other hand is one of the most import historical sites of the 20th century, somewhere where you really feel the weight of history, and I feel is somewhere everyone should visit at some point.
Personally I would hate any kind of organised tour with some guide blabbing at me the whole time. There are many regular direct buses from Krakow to Auschwitz, that's what we did and just walked around at our own pace, took the time to take everything in. Really just being quiet and alone felt most appropriate. There is a shuttle bus between the two sites, and at the end of the day we got a bus back to Krakow.
That's what I would recommend for such an important and highly emotional day.

I liked the salt mines, I'd recommend them!

Is it possible to get a tour to see just the salt mines ?

Going to Krakow with some friends later in the year and I simply do not want to visit Auschwitz.

Don't bother with the salt mines, a total tourist trap.

Wow, I thought they were totally stunning.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to go - I get a bit claustrophobic and was put off by the word 'mine', but I was stunned by them.

Is it possible to get a tour to see just the salt mines ?

Going to Krakow with some friends later in the year and I simply do not want to visit Auschwitz.

Yes, they are two completely separate places, not even that close to one another. Just that most people who go to Krakow will visit both of them

You can get a bus there and back really easily. Buses are regular and it was cheap. You can go in without a guide but only at the start or later in the day. The middle part is tours only. You do have to book directly with them though, tickets are free. If you turn up you are unlikely to get in.

How you do it depends how you view the place. I saw the end of the tour guides and they do quickly move around the whole site summarising what is in the information boards. So if you want to make sure you see every single thing they are a good choice.

Personally I knew I might find it very hard going - I did - so wanted to be able to leave whenever I felt like it. There are lots of information boards. They also have a lot about resistance and fight back. I did not plan to see absolutely everything while there and I didn't.

I don't see how you can combine it with the salt mines. The camps are a big site. You would have to do an incredibly quick tour with very basic information.

On the auschwitz site they call it tours without an educator. You have to click the button for individual tours. It is not clear on the website, but you know you will have the right option because the ticket is free. And just looking on some days they do have options for this during the day as well.