From Warsaw: Auschwitz-birkenau Tour With Premium Train Transportation

It was a very long day but is absolutely worth the travel time. The tour organiser checked in the day before to confirm arrangements then arrived promptly the next morning and took us to the train platform and outlined the travel arrangements for the day. We had some free time in Krakow before meeting the bus driver at the designated spot for the tour to Auchwitz. Our tour guide at Auchwitz 1 and Auchwitz Birkenau was absolutely outstanding. She covered the history of the two sites with great knowledge, insight and compassion. On the way back, the driver dropped us in Kraków’s old town so we could have an additional experience before commencing the train journey back to Warsaw. While this tour is highly recommended, it would not be suitable for those with limited mobility as there is a great deal of walking involved. While we were lucky with the weather, a rainy day would impede exploration of the second site ( Auchwitz Birkenau) as the tour if that section is completely in the open. Probably best to buy some lunch ( to put in your bag) in Krakow as there is limited time in Auchwitz; however, sufficient toilet break times are built in and there is a cafe at Auchwitz. You need 5 zloty for the toilet at Auchwitz (coins only accepted),

The first half of the tour was great & very informative. However, at the break we were not given any information on where to meet for the rest of the tour. My friend & I went to the restroom & when we came out everyone was gone. We had no idea if they left by bus, or if they were coming back. I could not reach the tour operator to ask & had to call Viator support and spend money on the call. The gentleman who answered tried to help but never got a response from the tour operator either. Eventually after about 45 minutes the tour group came back. I have never had a tour operator leave people behind before & we have done quite a few tours through Viator.

The Auschwitz exhibition was well done. The long day from Warsaw was very tiring. We were on trains for 6 hours and buses for 3 hours. The guides throughout the day were great.

This Viator tour to Auschwitz was unforgettable. There was a fair amount of walking, but every step was part of an incredible history lesson. The guides were excellent—knowledgeable, respectful, and passionate. The experience was somber and emotional, yet so important. I highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Krakow.

Please be advised that this tour is NOT handicap accessible! An incredible amount of walking, and it is very very rushed. Let me start with a hotel pick up, that was awesome. The woman who picked us up at all the information everything ready made sure we’re on the right train in the right place that we’re getting off the right place she was great. We got off the train in Krakow and we’re waiting where we were told to wait and then we finally got a message that the bus that was picking us up was down like two blocks no big deal we walked down to it, got on and took off. Gentlemen driving the bus seem to be an excessive amount of hurry, but that may just be my opinion. We got to the pre-parking lot. He said we had five minutes to go to the bathroom and get back on the bus so we got off and back on the bus went over to Auschwitz. We were given headset and receiver so we can hear the tour guide…..it was very difficult to hear and had really really horrible reception. She seemed knowledgeable, but walked in incredibly fast. We had a group with about 30 people of those 30 people there were nine of us who were older and not moving as fast, six older women always bringing up the rear and when you get so far away from her, you can hear nothing from her microphone. We finished that tour and went to the Berkineau tour. It was a lot of walking and I mean a lot!! On a very uneven terrain. I saw some people trying to navigate a wheelchair unsuccessfully along one of the paths. At this point, 6 of the people quit the tour and went back to the beginning and just sat and waited. With the amount of money we paid for this trip, we probably could’ve done a better job on our own. I was very disappointed in this particular tour. I didn’t feel any personalized service with the exception of the very first lady we dealt with in the morning. There was no personal interaction with tour providers… the guy driving the bus or the girl giving the tour. No connections were made. It felt very impersonal and just to me didn’t seem like it was worth the time or money.

We ended up visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau from Warsaw and it was a very long day. The tour company picked us up just after 6 am and we did not return to our hotel in Warsaw until pretty close to midnight. Part of the reason is that Auschwitz-Birkenau allows only so many tour groups at a time (I think, as you are given a scheduled time for your tour group). Our particular tour group got delayed until 1 or 2 in the afternoon for our visit. To fill in this voided time after arriving in Krakow, we were giving approximately 2 hours to explore Krakow before meeting back up for the drive to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The drive from Krakow to Auschwitz is via vans and likewise going back. However, transportation between Auschwitz to Birkenau is on small buses (30-35 passengers) and they are packed. We had to make the journey 3-4 times between Auschwitz to Birkenau as there appeared to be some mix up with the tour company. The buses were so full that you literally had to sit shoulder to shoulder. A couple of the trips on the small buses were so busy that a few passengers had to stand in the isle and hold on. The buses were not clearly marked as to which one you were supposed to board so several people had to ask for clarification before boarding. Another mix up was once we arrived back at Krakow late in the evening after the tour. There were four of us that had traveled in from Warsaw and we all had the understanding that the small van at the Krakow drop-off point would be there in the evening to take us back to the train station for the trip back to Warsaw. The van was not there nor did it show up. We called the tour company and they instructed us that we had to get to the Krakow train station on our own and then we would meet up with another representative from the tour company. So, there were some challenges that we encountered. The tour itself was pretty good. Our tour guide got delayed due to his car breaking down (which might explain some of the aforementioned situations), but to his credit, he made it and was very knowledgeable of the subject matter. The tour seemed rushed due to the fact that there was always another tour group on our heels that seemed to, in a sense, push us through to the next point of the tour. This was the situation while you were inside the various buildings, but not outside as there was plenty of room outside. You were given audio guides to follow along with the tour. However, with the quick pace and wanting to take a few pictures, it was easy to get separated enough to where you would lose the reception range of the audio guide. My recommendation would be to tour Auschwitz-Birkenau on your own if at all possible. That way, you can go at your own pace and take all the time you want.

Excellent tour that was organised seamlessly. But was very long day when doing it from Warsaw - 18 hours door to door But plenty of time to see all the sites including Krakow

Prompt & timely everything was planned with great detail. Picked up at hotel & train tickets arrived Krakow with plenty of time to visit old town

This was a moving experience. The organization of the logistics was very smooth plus everyone was helpful.