Auschwitz-Birkenau: How to plan your visit

72 hours in Krakow Poland

Day 2: Visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau

On day 2, we visited Auschwitz-Birkenau. I will not be talking about its history or background as there are many other better and credible sources for it. This post is a practical guide to visiting Auschwitz memorial. I will be explaining how we booked a ticket, how we got there from Krakow city centre etc… 

Ticket booking

There are many tours that include transport to/from Krakow and a guide. Have a look at websites like Get Your Guide and see which one is most suitable for your budget and needs. Read the descriptions carefully as some of those ‘tours’ are transportation only.

You can also book a guided tour directly with the official Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial website. There are 3.5hours general tour (85zł, £15) and 6hours study tour (125zł, £23). In this case you obviously need to organise your own transport to the memorial site. 

Entry to the memorial site without a guide is free of charge, and this is the option we chose as we wanted to go around at our own pace. Bear in mind that you still do need to book your entry pass ticket with the official website. On the booking page, choose your date and the next page will show you all available time slots for your chosen day. First ones are tours with a guide. Scroll down to find ‘Tour for individuals without an educator’ and proceed with booking. 

Getting to Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow by bus

There seem to be a few bus companies that go to the town of Oswiecim from Krakow. However, as far as I’m aware, currently LAJKONIK is the only carrier that goes directly to the memorial site. The ticket will cost *15zł (£2.80) each way, but you will get a small discount if you book online (13.5zł). You can pay the driver on the bus also, but I highly recommend booking in advance as this appears to be a busy route. We booked our tickets on the LAJKONIK website directly.

The website looks slightly dated, but the payment was smooth and I received the online ticket in my e-mail inbox instantly. Also, here is a website I found helpful when I was researching for this bus journey. 

*At the time of writing, the ticket seems to be 16zł

Our visit

In Krakow, on our way to the coach station we went to Wesola cafe which is right by the coach station (which is very much the same location as the main train station) and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee. 

We had a 1:30pm entry pass booked for the memorial. We took the 11:10am bus from Krakow and arrived at the memorial on time at 12:35pm.

Our bus stopped right in front of the memorial entrance/car park. This bus stop is called ‘Muzeum Auschwitz’. The returning bus to Krakow also leaves from the same stop.

There is a book store, a tiny kiosk, toilets and a cafeteria in the entrance building.

You should not be eating at the memorial site. The cafeteria in the entrance building seemed a little overpriced and/or you may not be in the mood for it, so I recommend bringing some bread or snacks and eating before your visit, or after your visit to Auschwitz before moving onto Birkenau. You will be coming out to the same entrance building/car park in order to take a free shuttle bus to Birkenau anyway. Make sure to bring a bottle of water as long bus journeys and walking will make you thirsty. The toilet in the entrance building is not the only one, so don’t worry. There is a toilet within the memorial sites both in Auschwitz and Birkenau. 

The website says the maximum size of bags brought into the memorial should not be more than 30x20x10cm, but many visitors had normal 20-25l small backpacks with them. I think if you have a large bag or a suitcase, you will be asked to put it in a locker.

There was a line at the entrance. We could join the line 15 minutes before our booked time. You will go through security, a bit like at the airport, scan your ticket and enter the site. 

At around 3pm, we slowly made our way back towards the entrance building and took a shuttle bus to Birkenau. This bus journey takes less than 5 minutes.

We had 5:10pm LAJKONIK bus booked back to Krakow, but we were ready to leave early, so we returned to the bus stop in time for the 4:10pm bus to Krakow (which, we probably would have had to pay as they would not have accepted our 5:10pm ticket). At the time of our visit, the shuttle bus and LAJKONIK bus shared the same bus stop and it was really convenient. 

We have no idea what happened, but the 4:10pm bus never arrived. People in front of us had a ticket for the 4:10, so it must have been scheduled… At around 4:45, the 5:10pm bus arrived and it was chaos! By that time there were many people waiting for this bus and people were crowding towards the bus driver, pushing and shoving. The bus driver shouted in Polish ‘ticket holders first!’ (I don’t know Polish, but you hear the word ‘ticket’ and it was clear from the context) and let us and people with the 4:10 tickets on. So, yes, I recommend booking your tickets in advance, just in case… The bus arrived back in Krakow, again right on time at 6:30pm.

Afterthoughts

If you’re organising your visit independently like we did, time management is very important. Expect to spend a total of at least 6 hours for the visit. Travelling from/to Krakow takes about 1+1/2 hours each way. You should set aside a minimum of 3-4 hours to see both Auschwitz and Birkenau. It is a huge site and an overwhelming and emotional place to be – it is so easy to lose track of time. Before entering Auschwitz, check the shuttle bus timetable to and from Birkenau to ensure you have enough time at Birkenau and can return in time for your Krakow bound bus.

Finally, please bring sensible clothes, sensible shoes and sensible behaviour. 

72 hours in Krakow Poland

Day 1

Day 2 Evening + Day 3