Auschwitz & Birkenau Guided Tour from Krakow with Pickup

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/18

Duration7h

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Two camps, one guide, a full day of history you cannot absorb alone

A guided tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum from Krakow includes round-trip hotel pickup, a licensed English-speaking guide, entry to both camps, and a headset so you hear clearly in a group of up to 30 people. The tour runs in all weather and covers both Auschwitz I and Birkenau (Auschwitz II), about 65 kilometers from Krakow. Departure times may shift due to the museum's schedule, and you must bring your passport or ID—entry is not possible without it.

Step-by-step itinerary

Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour from Krakow

Pickup from Krakow hotel or address
Travel to Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in Oswiecim
Short break and view outdoor exhibitions
Meet licensed local guide
Tour Auschwitz I camp with headset
Short break after Auschwitz I visit
Visit Birkenau (Auschwitz II) camp
Return to Krakow and drop off at hotel or address

The Experience

The day starts with pickup from your Krakow hotel or address in an air-conditioned van or minibus, followed by a 1 hour 15 minute drive to Oswiecim. Once you arrive, there is a short break to grab coffee or look at outdoor exhibitions before meeting your local guide, who is licensed by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and speaks English. The guide stays with you for the entire visit, so you do not switch between different voices or lose the thread of what you are seeing.

Auschwitz I takes about 2 hours. You walk through the gate marked "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Makes You Free) and move through the original wooden buildings, fortified walls, barbed wire, gas chambers and crematoria. A headset lets you hear your guide clearly even in a group of up to 30 people—the museum's limit, which keeps the visit manageable. The scale of what you are standing in front of becomes impossible to ignore: the preserved ruins, the watchtowers, the railway line and ramp, the Death Wall strewn with flowers left by visitors. After a short break of up to 15 minutes, the driver takes you 3 minutes to Birkenau (Auschwitz II), the largest camp, built in 1941 to hold around 90,000 prisoners. Your same guide continues here, walking you through the barracks remains and explaining the camp's specific purpose and the conditions prisoners endured. The tour ends with the history of liberation on January 27, 1945, and the drive back to your hotel or address in Krakow.

Bring your passport or ID—it is mandatory and will be checked at an airport-style security screening before entry. The site is mostly outdoors, so dress for the weather and bring water on warm days. Photography is allowed except in marked areas, and flash is not permitted inside buildings. Respectful behavior and smart casual dress are required; eating, smoking and loud behavior are not allowed. Lunch is not included, and there are no food facilities on-site, so bring a snack if you need one. Some Krakow hotels sit in traffic-restricted zones, and if yours does, pickup will be arranged from the nearest accessible point and you will be informed ahead of time.

What’s included

Round-trip transportation from and to your Krakow hotel or address by air-conditioned vehicle.
a licensed, English-speaking local guide for the entire visit.
entry fees to both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau.
a headset so you hear your guide clearly in the group.
professional assistance if any issue arises.
insurance and taxes.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats available

Operated by Hello Cracow

Is this one for you?Your schedule determines your start time: book the guaranteed departure if you need to leave at a specific hour, the small-group option for a more personal experience, or the flexible time slot to keep costs down.