trips to visit auschwitz

Basic information

•  Admission  to the grounds of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial is free of charge. The entry cards should be reserved on visit.auschwitz.org . For better understanding the history of Auschwitz we suggest a visit with an guide-educator

• The fees are charged for guided tours. Visitors in groups are required to engage an Auschwitz Memorial guide.  There is also possibility  for individual visitors to join a guided tour . 

• The Museum also organizes  online guided tours   for groups and individual visitors.

• While on the grounds of the Museum, you are required to observe the appropriate solemnity and respect. Before the visit please read " the rules for visiting ".

• Due to overwhelming demand, please book in advance and arrive at the Memorial at least 30 minutes before the start of the tour due to security checks. The main car park and entrance to the Museum is located at  55 Więźniów Oświęcimia Street .

• The grounds and buildings of the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau camps are open to visitors. The duration of a visit is determined solely by the individual interests and needs of the visitors. As a minimum, however, at least three-and-a-half hours should be reserved.

• The maximum size of backpacks or handbags brought into the Museum does not exceed dimensions: 35x25x15 cm.

• Visitors may leave their luggage in paid luggage storage. The dimensions of the luggage storages expressed in centimeters are 90x50x22, 60x50x22 and 85x65x42, internal dimensions are: 90x50x30, 60x50x30 and 90x65x50, and their maximum load is 30 kg.

Taking pictures  on the grounds of the State Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oświęcim for own purposes, without use of a flash and stands, is allowed for exceptions to a room with the hair of Victims (Block 4) and the basements of Block 11. Material may be used only in undertakings and projects that do not violate the good name of the Victims of Auschwitz. Photography and filming on the Museum grounds for commercial purposes, at spaces closed to visitors or with a drone , require prior approval by the Museum.

• Guides . Visitors in groups are required to engage an Auschwitz Memorial guide; individual visitors may also  engage a guide-educator . For them we offer  organized tours .
• Groups of more than 10 people  are required to hire a headphone guiding system.
• Disabled . Because of the need to preserve the historical authenticity of the site of the Memorial it may be difficult for dissabled persons to move around the grounds and buildings. In order to help visitors with disabilities wheelchairs are available free of charge at the Visitor Service Centre. More information...
• It is not recommended  that children under 14 visit the Memorial

While on the grounds of the Museum,  you are required to observe  the appropriate solemnity  and respect.

• via @auschwitzmuseum" aria-label="Udostępnij na Twitter">

Images from www.auschwitz.org may be used only in publications relating to the history of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau or the activities of the Auschwitz Memorial. Their use must not tarnish the good reputation of the victims of KL Auschwitz. Any interference in the integrity of the images – including cropping or graphic processing – is prohibited. The use of the images for commercial purposes requires the Museum’s approval and information about the publication. Publishers undertake to indicate the authors and origin of the images: www.auschwitz.org, as well as to inform the Museum of the use of the images ([email protected]).

Select the type of the visit

Due to conservation reasons, some grounds of the Museum may be closed to visitors.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The only official website with entry cards to visit the Auschwitz Museum is visit.auschwitz.org. The Museum is not responsible for bookings made on any other sites

In order to enter the Auschwitz Memorial all visitors, also those coming in organized groups, must have their personalized entry pass and ID with them. All guided tours start at former camp Auschwitz I.

Copyright © 2014 Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau. All rights reserved

What to expect on your visit to Auschwitz

A couple of years ago, my girlfriend and I were hostelling our way through central Europe. We’d made it to Berlin, which is a little like those crossroads in movies, the ones with a dozen signs pointing in every possible direction.

There were too many choices as to what to do next. We could head north into Denmark, west to the Netherlands and Belgium, or south into the Czech Republic.

“What about Poland?” my girlfriend said. “We could see Auschwitz.”

The drive from Krakow

A couple of days later I was bouncing along in a small bus through the green lanes of southern Poland, just outside Krakow. The driver didn’t speak any English, nor did the other four sullen Poles on board. When we mentioned the word Auschwitz the driver just grunted and gestured to the seats.

The drive from Krakow to the old camp doesn’t take long. After thirty minutes we stopped on a road like any other road. A few of us got off and the bus rumbled away. Opposite was a shady boulevard lined with birch and oak trees. Glance up and you could just make out the red bricks and roofs of Auschwitz I, the original camp built by Polish political prisoners in the early 1940s.

Auschwitz I. Image Thomas Hee, Flickr

Auschwitz I

On busy days, over 30,000 tourists will walk through the grounds of Auschwitz. Dozens and dozens of tours run simultaneously through the old camp and Birkenau, a few minutes down the road. As such, they run a pretty efficient ship. When you arrive you sign up for a tour time and are equipped with a pass, headset and radio. Your guide has a microphone and a transmitter, so all you need to do is tune in to their frequency. You begin where so many prisoners once did, beneath the rusted metal words “Arbeit macht frei” (work makes you free).

The next few hours are hard to describe. Your guide leads you through the avenues and neat brick houses of Auschwitz I. There are bare dormitories, old corridors, chilly parade grounds and – everywhere – double lines of razor wire poles, each equally spaced from its neighbour, and arched in a candy cane curve.

Image c/o Monica Kelly, Flickr

In every room, rows and rows of faces stare out from the walls: old prisoner profiles in black and white. Most look blank and empty; they portray nothing. But studying them is worth the price of admission alone. You could look at the eyes for hours, searching for a glimmer of hope, a pang of fear or a hint of determination. You can’t help but wonder what they were thinking.

Your guide says, “Three weeks after these were taken, all these people were dead.”

Every piece of the place has a story attached. Here a room, three feet by three feet, where four men were made to stand in the dark until they died. There the square outside notorious Block 11, the prison within a prison, where inmates were routinely executed against a brick wall. The house of the camp commandant, Rudolf Hoss, and the gallows where he was executed by the Allies in 1947. The gas chambers, the piles of hair, glasses, shoes… children’s toys.

The fields of Birkenau. Image Mattia Panciroli, Flickr

Tourism in Auschwitz has attracted some criticism in recent years (the alleged ‘death tourism’) but I don’t really buy into it. You can criticise the actions of individuals, sure, but I think educating and illuminating future generations on one of the darkest times in human history can only be a good thing. Just like Winston Churchill said: “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

After the original camp, the tour moves to Birkenau, which is an experience in itself. The close streets and heaviness of Auschwitz I are replaced by acres of grass, clear skies and two parallel railway tracks that come to an ominous, and very final, stop. There’s a warped tranquillity in Birkenau. Yellow wildflowers grow beneath the guard towers. You can see nearby villages and rolling hills. There’s the warble of distant birdsong. It’s hard to imagine that up to 20,000 people per day were killed and burned here. Apparently the nearby residents, the ones who hadn’t been rounded up in the first few years of Nazi occupation, could see and smell the smoke for miles. They slept with the distant glow of the ovens outside their window.

Image c/o Nick Perrone, Flickr

A visit to Auchwitz is the difference between reading the music and hearing it played. You can read about the horrors that happened there, watch documentaries that give you all the facts, but until you stand in the gas chambers, hear the eerie silence around the ash pools of Birkenau and see the dusty wooden bunks where prisoners would huddle together – you won’t understand it.

At the end of the tour you’re left standing outside the red brick main entrance to Birkenau. I remember thinking how quiet the place was. Even with so many people in it. there was so much silence in that place.

Travellers can visit Auschwitz on some of our trips through Poland . All entry fees to the World Heritage Site go towards preserving the camp for future generations. 

Feature image c/o Matti Panciroli, Flickr 

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I was born in 1987 and aged from there. I like the sound of pop-rocks and dislike the sound of styrofoam. The length of my forearm is approximately the same as the length of my shin. My favourite Beatle is Ringo. I believe that junk food tastes so good because it’s bad for you and that your parents did the best job they knew how to do. If Johnny Cash wrote a song about my travels it would be called ‘I’ve been to several places but still have many other destinations on my to-do list, man’. Sometimes I have trouble finishing sen

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Visiting Auschwitz – How to Plan the Auschwitz Tour

Visiting Auschwitz, albeit a very somber experience, is one of the must things to do in Poland. The largest Nazi Germany concentration and extermination camp during World War II, where over 1,3 million people lost their lives, needs no introduction. Conveniently located near Krakow , Auschwitz can be an easy addition to your Poland itinerary.

It took me almost 37 years to finally visit Auschwitz (although I’ve been to other Nazi Germany camps in Poland), and even if I knew very well what to expect, the place still overwhelmed me with its cruelty and tragedy. And I think everyone should plan a trip to Auschwitz to understand history better and see what people are capable of when the ideology brainwashes them. And, of course, to pay respect to all the unnecessary victims. It’s important to visit places like Auschwitz so we can do our best to prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.

If you are visiting Poland (especially Krakow , Warsaw , Katowice , or Wroclaw ), I prepared this guide to help you plan your Auschwitz tour without too much hassle. There are different ways to visit Auschwitz, but no matter which one you choose, be prepared for one of the most difficult yet necessary travel experiences of your life.

Table of Contents

Where is Auschwitz

The former Nazi Germany Concentration Camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, is located in a town of around 37.000 inhabitants called Oświęcim in southern Poland. Krakow is less than 70 km away, and Katowice is 35 km away. Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is around 330 km away from Oświęcim.

A brief history of Auschwitz

Even if Auschwitz is known mainly as the extermination camp, it was established as a concentration camp in mid-1940. It was one of over 40 camps in Poland that were supposed to be a solution to the problem of overflowing prisons full of arrested locals. The first people were brought to Auschwitz on June 14th, 1940, from the prison in Tarnow.

Since 1942 Auschwitz has also been used as the extermination camp where Nazis implemented their plan to murder Jewish people from all over Europe. At the peak of its operation, in 1944, Auschwitz was divided into three parts: Auschwitz I (the oldest one, in the old Polish military barracks), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (the largest one, founded in 1941, the majority of victims were killed here), and Auschwitz III (this was a group of over 40 sub-camps created near industrial plants, made for work prisoners).

Numerous Polish villages were demolished, and locals were evicted to develop such a large institution. The camps were isolated from the outside world. The total area was around 40 square kilometers, including all three Auschwitz camps and the so-called “interest zone” used for the technical or supply background, offices, and barracks for Nazis.

Since Auschwitz had a strategic location on the front line, in August 1944, the camp’s liquidation began – the prisoners were taken to Germany, and the evidence of the crimes was covered up. The liberation of Auschwitz took place on January 27th, 1945, when around 7,5 thousand prisoners were still held there.

Altogether, in the almost four years of operation, over 1,3 million people lost their lives in Auschwitz; the majority were Jewish (around 1,1 million), but also Polish (about 150 hundred thousand), Roma people (23 thousand), and other nations.

In 1979 Auschwitz was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List – it is the only former Nazi concentration camp with that title in the world.

How to visit Auschwitz

You can visit Auschwitz two ways: with a tour from where you are staying in Poland (most likely Krakow, Katowice, Warsaw, or Wroclaw) or independently, reaching the site by car or using public transport. Both options are doable; however, the tour is a slightly better one as everything will be taken care of for you.

There is a wide selection of tours to choose from that depart from Krakow as well as other mentioned cities. Most of them cover more or less the same things: pick-up from your accommodation, transportation to/from Auschwitz and back, the entrance ticket to the concentration camp, and the guided tour on-site.

When I visited Auschwitz, I arrived by train from Warsaw, with the change in Katowice. I was at the museum almost an hour before my guided tour of the site was supposed to start, and despite the poor weather (it was raining on that day), there was no place to hide and wait for the tour. Visitors were not allowed to enter the museum until a few minutes before the tour was about to start. Me and a few other unlucky visitors just stood near the trees, hiding under the umbrella and waiting for our time to enter the site. I can’t say it was a comfortable situation (but at least the weather worked perfectly well for such a sad place to visit). Recently, a new visitors center was opened so hopefully the situation is better.

When using public transport, you need to rely on the schedule of trains/buses and, just in case, plan to be at the site with some extra time ahead; hence a tour is a better option. Still, visiting Auschwitz is doable independently – I did it, and once the tour of the site started, it was really good.

Visiting Auschwitz – practical information

Visiting Auschwitz memorial site is free of charge; however, I recommend joining the tour with the educator provided by the museum. They have a huge knowledge of the place and the tragedy that occurred here and can answer all the questions visitors always have. Tours are available in various languages: Polish, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Czech, and Slovak.

Even if you decide to visit the site independently, you still need to book the entry pass – those with free entrance start in the afternoon. You can buy/reserve your ticket online at the website of Auschwitz Museum here.

Currently, the price for the tour with the educator is 80 PLN for Polish and 90 PLN for other languages. When booking the ticket, you must state your full name and surname – this will be checked later.

Since tickets can sell out quickly, booking one at least a month in advance is recommended. If there are no tickets left for the day you want to visit Auschwitz, you can join the organized tour from Krakow or other cities, as tour operators usually have tickets booked in advance. Due to the sensitive nature of the place, children under 14 years old should not visit Auschwitz Museum.

Once you have your ticket, you need to arrive at the Auschwitz visitors center 30 minutes before your tour starts to go through the security check (it’s rather thorough, similar to the airport), have your ticket inspected (remember to have the ID or passport with you), get the headset for the tour and meet your group. You are allowed to have a bag or backpack with a maximum dimension of 30x20x10 cm; any larger luggage must be left in the paid lockers.

Auschwitz Museum is open every day except January 1st, December 25th, and Easter Sunday. Opening hours vary depending on the month and are as follows:

• 7:30-14:00 in December
• 7:30-15:00 in January and November
• 7:30-16:00 in February
• 7:30-17:00 in March and October
• 7:30-18:00 in April, May, and September
• 7:30-19:00 in June, July, and August

The closing time means the last entrance – after that, you are allowed to stay on-site for an hour and a half. However, if you want to see Auschwitz Museum properly, you need at least 3,5 hours for that – that’s also how long the standard tour with the educator lasts. It is usually divided equally between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau. A free shuttle bus runs between the two sites every few minutes.

Taking pictures and making videos is allowed in Auschwitz, for individual use, except in two places: the hall with the hair of Victims (block nr 4) and the basements of Block 11. Your educator will remind you not to take pictures there.

Remember what sort of place you are visiting and behave there with respect. It might be obvious for most, but I can’t count how many times I’ve read news about inappropriate behavior in Auschwitz and other similar sites in Poland, so I think it’s worth reminding this is not your typical tourist attraction but a place of one of the greatest tragedy that ever happened in the world.

Getting to Auschwitz independently

If you decide to visit Auschwitz on your own, you must get to the visitors’ center, where your tour will start. The new visitors center, which opened just recently, is located at 55 Więźniów Oświęcimia Street in Oświęcim ( here is the exact location ). If you drive there, there is a large parking lot where you can leave your car before visiting the museum.

If you use public transport, there are both trains and buses you can take to reach Oświęcim. I recommend trains as they are slightly faster and more comfortable; however, some buses stop next to the museum, so that’s convenient. You can check all the connections on this website , where you can also find the location of the bus stop in Oświęcim (there can be three different ones).

The train station in Oświęcim is located at Powstańców Śląskich Street, some 20 minutes walking from the Auschwitz museum. It’s a straightforward way; you can check the map with the directions here . I recommend catching the train that gives you at least an hour between arriving at Oświęcim and when your tour starts.

Auschwitz tour from Krakow

Numerous Auschwitz tours depart from Krakow, so you will easily find the one that suits your itinerary and needs. Here are some recommended ones:

• Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial Guided Tour from Krakow
• Auschwitz & Birkenau – Fully Guided Tour from Krakow
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Tour with Private Transport from Kraków
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Tour by Private Transport from Krakow

You can also combine visiting Auschwitz with Wieliczka Salt Mine , another UNESCO-listed site near Krakow and a must-visit place in Poland. Here are the tours that go to both places in one day:

• Day Trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine from Krakow including Lunch
• Full-Day Tour of Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine from Krakow
• Auschwitz-Birkenau and Salt Mine Tour with private transport from Krakow
• Combined: Auschwitz Birkenau and Salt Mine private chauffeur from Krakow

If you decide to go to Auschwitz from Krakow on your own, you can take the train from the main train station to Oświęcim. They are rather frequent, more or less every hour, and the journey takes a bit over an hour (depending on the connection, the longest one is 1h20min).

If you want to take the bus, they depart from the MDA bus station, next to the main train station. The price for trains and buses is similar, between 15 and 20 PLN, although trains tend to be cheaper and faster. You can check all the connections and buy a ticket here .

Auschwitz tour from Warsaw

Even if Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is located over 300 km away from Oświęcim, it is possible to go for a one-day Auschwitz tour. However, you can expect a long day, and a large part of it will be spent traveling. But if you are visiting Warsaw only, Auschwitz can be a good addition to your Poland itinerary, so you can better understand the country’s complex history.

Here are some of the recommended Auschwitz tours from Warsaw:

• From Warsaw Auschwitz and Krakow one day tour by train with pick up and drop off
• One day tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau from Warsaw with private transport

Going for the day trip from Warsaw to Auschwitz independently is also possible using trains. You can take the 6 am train to Katowice and then change for the train to Oświęcim, arriving in the town around 10:30. If you decide to do that, you can book your Auschwitz tour for 11:30 or 12:00. On the way back, you can catch the train after 16:00 from Oświęcim to Katowice, and after changing for the train to Warsaw, you will be in the capital after 20:00.

Auschwitz tour from Katowice

Since Katowice is less than 40 km from Auschwitz, it’s easy to go for a day trip. You need to take the local train to Oświęcim, it takes less than 50 minutes, and the connections are more or less every hour.

Or you can go for a tour, here are the Auschwitz tours from Katowice:

• Auschwitz – Birkenau from Katowice
• Auschwitz & Birkenau English guided tour by private transport from Katowice
• Auschwitz tour from Wroclaw

Wroclaw is another popular place to visit in Poland, and since it’s located around 230 km from Oświęcim, you can go for an Auschwitz tour from Wroclaw too. If you decide to do it independently, you can take the train to Katowice and then change for the local train to Oświęcim. A one-way trip should take you less than 4 hours.

Or you can go for a tour; here are the recommended ones from Wroclaw:

• Auschwitz-Birkenau Tour from Wrocław
• Private Full-Day Tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau from Wroclaw

Auschwitz Museum Tour

As for the museum itself, here is what you can expect.

You will start in the oldest part of the concentration camp – Auschwitz I, where the infamous gate with the sign “Arbeit macht frei” (meaning “Work Sets You Free”) is located. Here, you will visit numerous barracks where inmates were kept – now you can see different exhibitions there, showing the reality of Auschwitz and halls with personal belongings taken from arriving prisoners – luggage, shoes, glasses, etc., or hair of Victims. You will learn all about cruel practices here, including medical experiments or torture.

Visiting this part of Auschwitz museum is a very somber experience, and it’s really difficult to comprehend the tragedy that happened in this very place.

Besides the barracks in Auschwitz I, you will also see where the camp commander lived or the first crematorium where Nazis started their experiments with killing using gas. In this part of the Auschwitz tour, you can take pictures everywhere except the two places in Blocks 4 and 11 – they will be clearly marked, and your educator will remind you about this restriction.

The visit to Auschwitz I takes around 1,5 hours. Afterward, together with your group and educator, you will take the shuttle bus to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, located some 3 km away.

Auschwitz II-Birkenau is where around 90% of victims died. It is a huge area that worked kind of like the killing factory, with four gas chambers and crematoriums. This is also where most prisoners arrived – you most likely know the view of the railway tracks and brick gate – that’s Auschwitz II-Birkenau. This part of the visit is mostly outdoors.

You will walk around the area, see the remnants of the camp, visit some barracks inside, and learn all about the horrific tragedy that happened here. When Auschwitz I has a more intimate, even claustrophobic feeling, Auschwitz II-Birkenau can overwhelm you with its scale and enormity.

You will spend around 1,5 hours here, too; afterward, you can take the shuttle bus back to the visitors center when you started your tour.

Final thoughts on visiting Auschwitz

Even though I’ve lived in Poland almost my whole life, and Auschwitz has been a familiar topic since I remember, it took me nearly 37 years to finally visit the place. Before I was in different Nazi Germany sites in Poland, mostly in Majdanek in Lublin, so I didn’t feel the need to visit Auschwitz too. But I don’t regret the decision to go there eventually.

You can read and learn about the place, but nothing can prepare you for visiting Auschwitz. Some areas look familiar (after all, pictures of the “Arbeit macht frei” sign or Birkenau gate are present everywhere), but you will still be overwhelmed by the place and seeing it in real life. It’s hard to comprehend the cruelty and tragedy that happened here, and dealing with all the thoughts invading your mind afterward can take a while. It can be one of the most difficult-to-understand places you will ever visit.

Still, despite it all, I think everyone should go to Auschwitz to see where fanaticism and totalitarianism can lead and why we should avoid them at all costs.

Travel Resources

You can find the best accommodation options at Booking . They have many discounts and excellent customer service. Click here to look for the place to stay in Poland

Never travel without travel insurance , you never know what might happen and better safe than sorry. You can check the insurance policy for Poland here.

I recommend joining organized tours to get to know the place better and to visit more places during your trip. You can find a great selection of tours at Get Your Guide – click here .

For the end I left a few announcements that might interest you:

• Sign up to my newsletter or follow me on Bloglovin to get updates about the new posts
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• I’ve included a few handy links of services and products I personally like and use so you can plan your own trip to Poland too. They are often affiliate links. This means I will get a small commission if you book/purchase anything through my links, at no extra costs for you. Thank you!

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Tours & Trips including Auschwitz 2024/2025

Find the right tour for you through Auschwitz. We've got 106 adventures going to Auschwitz, starting from just 3 days in length, and the longest tour is 28 days. The most popular month to go is August, which has the largest number of tour departures.

106 Auschwitz tour packages with 1,109 reviews

• In-depth Cultural

Krakow & Auschwitz

Did their Krakow, Poland trip in December during the Christmas markets. Really a great trip and experience. Everything was very organized, had really good hotel near the square/old town (I booked the 3-star hotel, private room option with my husband), guides were very good & knowledgeable and the excursions/tours were very good. We also received a lot of extra information and recommendations for things to do and places to go (food and drink too) in our free time which was really nice and helpful. I was a bit nervous reading a few of the reviews here on Yelp but our experience was fantastic and nothing like what some others wrote in their reviews. Krakow was an amazing city and one of the most beautiful in Europe. Definitely recommend this trip and company.

• Christmas & New Year

Krakow, Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine - 4 Days

Highly recommend this tour.

Krakow, Auschwitz, Enamel Factory & Wieliczka Salt Mine - 4 Days

It was a pretty good experience and started with excellent tour guide Seweryn Osowski (Krakow Tour Guide) he is a local and speak English so we are kosher with communication. Visiting Auschwitz is astounding and educational seeing the exact concentration camp is mind-blowing. Schindler's factory and artifacts are remarkable. I recommended these areas to be visited by younger generation to learn from history, and avoid the same mistakes Nazi made. By the way St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow square Gothic altarpice is mesmerizing.

• Coach / Bus

Highlights of Southern Poland

The Poland tour was excellent! The group leader Beata was awesome and all guidance, planning and itinerary was wonderful. Totally recommended!!

• Sightseeing

Pearls of Poland (for couples)

Kuba was extremely knowledgeable and contributed considerably to our understanding and enjoyment of the spots we saw. He was sensitive to my mother's special needs and programmed stops in the tour so she could rest. He also showed up on our final day with special Polish donuts for us to enjoy -- a thoughtful and very sweet gesture. We recommend Kuba highly!

6 days in Krakow and Szczawnica- private exclusive tour for 2 people

7 days in Krakow and Szczawnica- private exclusive tour for 2 people

Highlights of Poland (Classic, 10 Days)

Poland was an amazing country. The people are resilient and welcoming. The itinerary was packed and it might be nice to have a few late mornings. All local experts were knowledgeable, approachable and honest about their country. We were surprised initially that the tour had 40 people, we anticipated “ small group” to mean 10 - 15, however we have made several new friends.

Highlights of Poland

I had a fantastic time on this tour. Our guide Alexandria was wonderful. This tour was absolutely great. Everything was smooth sailing. Well organized.

• 10% deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

Tailor-Made Private Trip to Southern Poland with Daily Departure

• Book With Flexibility This operator allows you to rebook your dates or tours with them for free, waiving change fees.

Portrait of Poland

I would prefer better meals and better WiFi service on the bus

• Walking Adventure

Best of Poland (11 Days)

Kacha the tour leader is amazing. Very well organized, knowledgeable and accommodating. I loved the tour

• €100 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

Best of the East

It was good we enjoyed

Tailor-Made Private Poland Tour with Daily Departure

Highlights of Poland (Small Groups, 10 Days)

What people love about auschwitz tours.

Did their Krakow, Poland trip in December during the Christmas markets. Really a great trip and experience. Everything was very organized, had really good hotel near the square/old town (I booked the 3-star hotel, private room option with my husband), guides were very good & knowledgeable and the excursions/tours were very good. We also received a lot of extra information and recommendations for things to do and places to go (food and drink too) in our free time which was really nice and helpful. I was a bit nervous reading a few of the reviews here on Yelp but our experience was fantastic and nothing like what some others wrote in their reviews. Krakow was an amazing city and one of the most beautiful in Europe. Definitely recommend this trip and company.

Seweryn was a fantastic tour guide and very knowledgeable about Krakow's history. I enjoyed learning about the many historical and religious details we saw around Krakow. He also went above and beyond to help me when I had trouble purchasing train tickets, and when I got sick offered to reschedule one of the tour days. I really enjoyed his tour and would highly recommend it.

I had a great first time experience of Krakow through this tour. My tour guide Seweryn was very friendly, flexible, organised and helpful and made the whole process very smooth. The trips to the mine, factory and camps were well laid out and gave me plenty of time for independent sightseeing and fun. If you want to come to Krakow I would highly recommend you do a trip this way!

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Auschwitz and Birkenau self-guided tour with transfer from Krakow

Self-guided tour to UNESCO museums Auschwitz and Birkenau including guidebook in 19 languages and transport to the museums from Krakow city center.

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Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial guided tour from Krakow

Book a guided tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial from Krakow. Follow a licensed guide and visit the concentration camp.

Auschwitz-Birkenau skip-the-line entrance ticket and official guided tour

See the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau and attend the fully guided tour at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau.

Auschwitz-Birkenau tour from Krakow with hotel pickup

Learn about the enormity of the human tragedy and the lives of prisoners in the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp. Take part in a guided tour and organized transport from Krakow.

Auschwitz - Birkenau guided Memorial tour from Krakow

Book your tour from Krakow and visit Auschwitz Birkenau, a former concentration camp with a professional English-speaking guide.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Skip-the-Line Entry Tickets

Visit Auschwitz Birkenau, a former concentration, camp with an official museum guide-educator. Book your tour from Krakow.

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Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum guided tour

Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau complex, the largest of the Nazi concentration camps, and learn more about the everyday life of prisoners from a licensed guide.

Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour with transport

Book the guided tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau with a transport service from Krakow. See the Holocaust memorial and learn about the story of WWII.

Auschwitz-Birkenau fast-track entry pass and guided tour

Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. Save time at the entrance thanks to the fast-track entry and visit the venue with a professional guide.

Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day tour

Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day! Make most of your time with this fully organized day trip from Krakow.

Auschwitz Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day from Krakow

Visit Auschwitz Birkenau, a former concentration camp with a professional English speaking guide and Wieliczka Salt Mine registered on the UNESCO list.

Auschwitz Shuttle

Use a convenient shuttle bus and visit Auschwitz - Birkenau Concentration Camp by yourself. It is the fastest and the most comfortable way to get there from Krakow,

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Krakow Auschwitz-Birkenau self-guided tour

Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and follow a self-guided audio tour through the camp.

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Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour

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Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum tour from Kraków

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Guided Krakow self-balancing scooter tour of the old town

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The inside story

The Auschwitz-Birkenau complex has left its inglorious mark on human history. A symbol of the Holocaust, during its five years of operation over a million Jews, along with Poles, Romani and other groups, were systematically killed by German Occupiers in WWII. Confronting and emotionally charged, a visit to the complex is an essential part of the human experience.

Composed of two sections, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, together they convey the magnitude of the compound. Auschwitz I was the main site opened in 1940 with the now infamous sign on its gate Arbeit macht frei (‘Work sets you free’). It held the first camps, the offices of the SS and was where criminal medical experiments and the first gassings using Zyklon B took place. Auschwitz II-Birkenau came later and for all intents and purposes became an extermination camp. The remains of its gas chambers and crematorium, along with primitive barracks, can still be seen.

Since 1947 this site has become a memorial and museum dedicated to the many victims of Auschwitz. Both camps require at least 90 minutes each to gain a comprehensive understanding of the events that took place here. With over two million visitors per year, it’s well advised to book in advance.

How to get there

Watch CBS News

Victims of Nazi concentration camps built in British Channel Islands finally being counted

By Holly Williams

April 21, 2024 / 7:00 PM EDT / CBS News

The names Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen and Buchenwald are infamous as the scene of atrocities -- concentration camps, run by Adolf Hitler's notorious SS.

But what you may be surprised to learn, as we were, is that two Nazi concentration camps were established on British soil in the Channel Islands, around 80 miles from the British mainland. The islands lie just off the coast of France, became possessions of the English crown around a thousand years ago – and were occupied by Germany for nearly five years during World War II. Even in the United Kingdom many people don't know about the camps -- and as we discovered, exactly what happened there is hotly disputed.

Holly Williams: It's pretty well hidden, isn't it?

Marcus Roberts: Yeah, well, if you--

Holly Williams: It's all overgrown.

Marcus Roberts: If you didn't know how to get here, you wouldn't easily stumble across it.

Marcus Roberts: This was a sort of back entrance…

There's not much left of the Third Reich's Lager Sylt concentration camp… on the windswept island of Alderney -- about three miles long and one and a half wide – nature is gradually swallowing up its crumbling concrete walls. 

Holly Williams: And the camp's up here…--

Marcus Roberts: These take you straight into the-- the camp.

Holly Williams: Wow.

Marcus Roberts is an Oxford-educated amateur historian who runs heritage tours. He's spent years researching this forgotten chapter in British history. 

Marcus Roberts:  So undoubtedly if you wanted to put-- a pin on the map, you could say, "This is where the Holocaust happened on British sovereign territory."

When Germany invaded France in 1940, the British government calculated that the Channel Islands had no strategic value – and gave them up without a fight. Nearly all of the residents of Alderney decided to evacuate before the German troops arrived. On the empty island, the Germans set up two concentration camps – as well as labor camps. They brought in prisoners of war and forced laborers to build giant fortifications that still survive today -- part of Hitler's Atlantic wall to protect against Allied attack. A minority of them were Jewish – others were from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Spain. 

Holly Williams: I understand this was called the Tunnel of Death?

Marcus Roberts: Yes. It was notorious in the memory of prisoners. On two occasions, they were forced to cram in here in an apparent rehearsal for their own death. 

After the war, in 1945, the British military investigated the camps, and put the death toll on Alderney in the low hundreds. Some of those who lost their lives were buried under this plot of land. But Marcus Roberts and others argue that more than 10,000 must have died on the island – based on controversial calculations about the size of the labor force needed to build the fortifications. Roberts told us it's because he's Jewish that he's determined to count all of the dead. 

Marcus Roberts: There is the-- the Jewish instinct to, you know, leave no one behind

Holly Williams: You're trying to make sure that all the Jewish dead are counted?

Marcus Roberts: Remembered. If you don't remember a life, it's as if they've never lived at all. 

Most academics dispute Roberts' estimate of the death toll, but partly as a result of those disagreements, last year the British government appointed a team of researchers to comb through archives across Europe, and more accurately count the number of prisoners who died on Alderney. Dr. Gilly Carr -- an archaeologist at Cambridge University -- is coordinating the review.

Holly Williams: Why is this just a document search, not a dig?

Gilly Carr: It is likely that some of the people in mass graves were Jewish. And according to Halakha or Jewish law, you cannot disturb the dead. But the second reason is that according to prisoner statements, some people were dumped at sea or thrown off cliffs. What are we going to do? Dig up the entire island? Well, we can't do that.

The researchers are drawing on rich material. The Nazis were meticulous record keepers -- and British archives contain first hand testimonies from survivors.

Holly Williams: Look at this. "We were beaten with everything they could lay their hands on: with sticks, spades, pickaxes." 

Gilly Carr: It sounds absolutely ghastly.

Holly Williams: "On certain days, five to six, up to 10 men died."

Dr. Carr told us there's no evidence that gas chambers were used on Alderney -- but there were summary executions, and the prisoners built the Nazi fortifications on starvation rations.

Holly Williams: Were they taken to Alderney to be worked to death?

Gilly Carr: They were certainly seen as expendable. The aim was to get every ounce of work out of them. And if they died, it didn't matter, and that was kind of perhaps "expected."

Holly Williams: They were disposable human beings.

Gilly Carr: Yes. Yes.

Holly Williams: How did your father end up in Alderney?

At a pub in the Channel Islands, we met Gary Font. His father – Francisco Font – fought on the losing side in the Spanish Civil War, was arrested in France, handed over to the Germans, and sent to a concentration camp on Alderney. Francisco survived, and later married a British woman -- Gary's mother.

Gary Font: He witnessed-- the execution of a young Soviet boy who decided to leave the working detail and to change his footwear. So he started to pick up these paper bags, and wrap them 'round his feet, and then tie them with string. And a SS guard had seen him do this, and walked up to him and-- and shot him-- point-blank range.

Gary told us his father's experiences left him scarred. 

Gary Font: I saw the emotion on his face. Yeah, it's a tough one.

Holly Williams: Do you think that emotion came from-- that he had survived the War in Spain, and survived the camp here?

Gary Font: Yeah, exactly. That was the first time I realized, "Wow, you know, this man has a deep-rooted emotion inside of him that he could never get out."

The British government's effort to get the truth out – by recounting the dead – was commissioned by Lord Pickles – a former cabinet minister and now the U.K.'s envoy for post-Holocaust issues.

Lord Pickles: The figures vary, not by a few hundred, not by a few thousand, by-- by tens of thousands. 

Holly Williams: So it was the controversy that prompted you to commission the review?

Lord Pickles: Yes. It seemed to me that the sensible thing was, "Well, okay. Let's do that-- this in the open. Let's do it fully transparent.

He's also asked the researchers to put names to as many of those killed as they can.

Lord Pickles: If you remember them as individuals, then it's another blow against Hitler. Hitler wanted to eradicate the memory of people.

Holly Williams: So this is kind of an ongoing fight against Hitler and his ideas?

Lord Pickles: Hitler's evil hand still continues to affect-- to affect Europe and to affect the world.

But it's taken nearly 80 years for the British government to re-examine what happened on Alderney -- and to make its report public. The official British investigations in 1945 were classified for decades. And unlike the trials of Nazi officials in Nuremberg -- the British authorities failed to prosecute a single German officer who worked on Alderney – even though many of them ended up in British prisoner of war camps.

Holly Williams: I mean just to be clear, these are possible war criminals. The British government has gathered evidence against-- against them. And they are in British custody.

Gilly Carr: Yes, they are at this point, yes.

Holly Williams: A sort of slam-dunk case?

Gilly Carr: You'd have thought. 

That's led Marcus Roberts and others to claim that the British government tried to cover-up the extent of the atrocities on Alderney. Dr. Carr told us that could be true -- but one key document from the British War Office investigation that may explain why there were no prosecutions is missing.

Gilly Carr: It could have been shredded-- decades ago as part of, "What do we need these files for anymore?

Holly Williams: But could it also have been shredded for more nefarious purposes?

Gilly Carr: I have no idea. In order for me to say there was a cover-up, I want to see the decisions taken. I want to look through those steps and to make up my own mind.

Holly Williams: Why might the British government have tried to cover up or whitewash what happened on Alderney and-- and maybe more broadly, on the Channel Islands?

Gilly Carr: There are some things that-- that happened that might not-- that the British government might not necessarily have wanted a wider audience to know about. 

Those things – once feared too troubling for the broader public – happened on three of the other Channel Islands -- where most residents did not evacuate before the occupation. When the Germans arrived, the locals mostly cooperated – often with little choice. Hitler's portrait was hung outside this cinema on the island of Guernsey. Nazi propaganda showed the British police working for German troops. And British newspapers on the islands printed orders from Berlin.

Holly Williams: This is a British newspaper. And it's got the swastika on top.

Linda Romeril: That's right.

At the official archives on the island of Jersey, Linda Romeril showed us how British officials implemented Nazi policies -- asking Jewish residents to identify themselves, and then confiscating their assets.

Linda Romeril: There was a huge amount of requisitioning of people's houses, people's property during the occupation period.

But some resisted -- risking punishment to paint anti-nazi graffiti, and illegally listening to British news on the radio.

Jenny Lecoat: That's my great aunt Louisa. I suspect that she was probably quite steely.

One member of the resistance was Louisa Gould -- who hid an escaped Russian prisoner in her home for nearly two years. Jenny Lecoat told us when her great aunt Louisa was finally caught, she was sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany.

Holly Williams: She was killed in a Nazi gas chamber?

Jenny Lecoat: She was gassed to death, yeah.

Holly Williams: After the occupation, did the British government get in touch with your family to talk about what Louisa had done during the occupation, and about her murder by the Nazis?

Jenny Lecoat: The British government, I think, were kind of ashamed. They were horrified it had happened, and they didn't really want to get too involved in what had gone on there.

Holly Williams: Not wanting to talk about the resistance? Or not wanting to talk about the occupation at all?

Jenny Lecoat: Well, it was such a mixed picture. There were people who had resisted the Germans as much as resistance was possible within a tiny, nine-by-five-mile island. And there were also people who'd collaborated. Some people had betrayed their own country. The only possible legislation was treason, which was still a hanging offense. They didn't wanna get into that. That was the confusing, messy, dirty mixed picture of-- of the Channel Islands occupation.

We'll learn more about that messy, dirty history when the British government's review of the death toll at the camps on Alderney is published next month. But it's unlikely to satisfy everyone.

Marcus Roberts: Some kind of-- ap-- apology and, you know, moral recompense would be helpful.

Holly Williams: You-- you want the British government to apologize--

Marcus Roberts: Yeah. I'd like--

Holly Williams: --for not having prosecuted alleged war criminals?

Marcus Roberts: Yeah. So I think it would be appropriate for them to recognize what should have been done, didn't happen.

The horrors carried out on this tiny, remote island are difficult to imagine... the victims were silenced and buried… but now, nearly eight decades later, they're finally being counted.

Produced by Justine Redman and Erin Lyall. Associate producer, Matthew Riley. Broadcast associate, Eliza Costas. Edited by Peter M. Berman.

Holly Williams is a CBS News senior foreign correspondent based in the network's CBS London bureau.

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