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Krakow: Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine Day Trip

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/19

Duration10h–12h

GroupUp to 40

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Two Polish memorials in a single morning-to-evening loop

You're picked up early from your hotel, guided through Auschwitz I and II by a museum specialist for three hours total, eat a prepared lunch between sites, then descend 378 stairs into Wieliczka Salt Mine for a 2.5-hour underground walk through 700-year-old chambers. Guaranteed entry tickets and hotel return are included; the whole day runs from before dawn until early evening.

10h–12h

Step-by-step itinerary

Pickup from accommodation early morning
Watch documentary on Nazi camps
Join English tour at Auschwitz I
Tour Auschwitz II-Birkenau with guide
Eat provided lunchbox
Transfer to Wieliczka Salt Mine
Attend English guided tour underground
Return to Krakow accommodation or city center

The Experience

A van pulls up outside your hotel between 5:30 and 7:30 — the exact time confirmed by text the night before — and you climb in with up to 29 other travelers. The ride to Auschwitz-Birkenau takes about ninety minutes, and most of it you're watching a documentary about the camps on a small screen mounted in front. It's not comfortable viewing, but it frames what you're about to walk through. The museum's own guide meets you at Auschwitz I and leads the group for roughly two hours through the barracks, the records office, the crematorium. Then you transfer the short distance to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, where the same guide spends another hour walking you through the ruins of the gas chambers and the prisoner barracks. It's heavy work, emotionally and physically.

Between the two camps, you eat lunch — a lunchbox prepared that morning with chicken pasta salad, a sandwich, fruit, water, and a sweet bar. The operator handles dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free) if you flag them during booking. By early afternoon you're back in the van, heading south toward Wieliczka. The salt mine has been working for over 700 years, and your English-language tour starts at either 4pm or 5pm depending on traffic. You descend 378 wooden stairs to reach the first level, 64 meters down, and from there the route winds through chambers carved entirely from salt — some with statues, some with chandeliers, all of it pale and strange. The whole underground walk is about 2.5 kilometers and takes two and a half hours. It's cold down there, around 14 degrees Celsius, so the layers you wore matter. At the end, a lift carries you back to the surface.

Drop-off is back at your hotel or at a meeting point in Krakow's city center — Old Town or the Jewish Quarter if that's where you're staying. You're usually back by early evening, which means dinner in Krakow is still possible. The tickets to both sites are booked and guaranteed in advance, which is the whole point: you're not hunting for entry slots or worrying about sold-out days. The operator doesn't cancel these tours. Names on the tickets must match your ID exactly, so get that detail right during booking.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup within Krakow city limits, door-to-door transportation, guaranteed entry tickets to both Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine booked in advance, an English-speaking museum guide for Auschwitz I and II, an English-speaking guide for the salt mine tour, a prepared lunch with dietary options, and a documentary film about the camps during the drive. Drop-off is at your hotel or a central Krakow location.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelInfant seats availableNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Mr.Shuttle

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see both sites in one day without arranging separate tickets, transport, or timing yourself — the fixed schedule and guaranteed entry mean you're not spending the morning hunting for availability or worrying about sold-out slots.