Your tour begins with transportation from Krakow (hotel you specified or a meeting point you choose from). Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum is located in the town Oswiecim, about 1h15min in one way (65km). Every driver we cooperate with has all required by EU permissions for passenger transport. An English speaking and friendly leader of the group will assist you at any time you need. After arriving in Oswiecim, have a short break to grab a coffee or keep an eye on outdoor exhibitions.Then be kindly introduced to your local and professional guide who is licensed by Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.
Start your tour by walking through the gate to the first camp - Auschwitz I - originally conceived as a concentration camp, to be used as a detention centre for the many Polish citizens arrested after Germany annexed the country in 1939, with the most recognizable sign Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Makes You Free).This part usually takes 2 hours and you will be using a headset to hear your guide clearly. The group according to the Museum’s rule counts up to 30 people making the visit comfortable and accessible for every participant. Visit the original wooden buildings, fortified walls, barbed wires, gas chambers and crematoria - all of those leave a shocking impression allowing to imagine the scale of Holocaust.
After the 1st camp short break up to 15 minutes is planned. You will be taken by us to visit the second part of the tour - Birkenau (Auschwitz II), only 3 minutes away, which is the largest camp built and operated for the specific purpose of making Europe ''Judenrein'' (free of Jews). The same guide continues a poignant lecture about the camp in the village Brzezinka (Birkenau) which was constructed in 1941 on the order of Heinrich Himmler (SS commander) and could hold some 90 000 prisoners.You will be told about terrible stories of unimaginable living conditions as well as cruel selection and pseudo-scientific medical experiments made by prominent Nazi doctors including Josef Mengele. A history about soldiers of the 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front opened the gates of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, which meant the final liberation, ends your tour with a feeling, both this genocide should never have happened and it can not happen again.
When the tour ends, you are not rushed by us. There is at least a 20 minutes break which you can spend in a bookstore, grocery store or just rest. After another 1h15min on the way, you will be taken to a predetermined address in Krakow.
This experience allowed me to be fully immersed in Auschwitz-Birkenau without having to worry about any details. The pickup at the hotel was flawless and I met a lot of great people in my van. Visiting the sites was heartbreaking and somber, and so very important. The English speaking tour guide was very knowledgeable and stayed with us at both sites.
Very well organised and excellent communication from the team. We really enjoyed our trip and the driver was very helpful and polite
Wear warm clothing. Take lunch with you. The tour is a little rushed with the tour guide rushing on ahead so the headset cut out in a couple of places. He didn’t give any opportunity to ask questions. Didn’t consider health and safety ie provide flash light inside the women’s barracks when it was dusk. Toilets were closed at the end of our tour.
‘Hello Cracow’ let us down badly. Arranged to meet at pickup point at time given. We arrived exactly at that time and the bus was leaving. Tried the tour guide’s phone but he didn’t answer. We missed the Auschwitz tour. No apology from company, and no offer of refund. No explanation as to why subsequent calls to the guide were not answered. We paid again for another trip with a different company two days later. Tour company should make it clear that the rendezvous time is the same as the departure time, or show a time ten minutes before departure.
Very disappointing experience with Hello Cracow. We booked our Auschwitz tour through Viator with a 09:30 AM start time, only to be told afterwards that our collection would be at 05:35 AM. The small print about approximate timings was only brought to our attention after booking. What made matters worse was the absolutely terrible customer service on WhatsApp. The attitude was rude, dismissive and completely unprofessional. Rather than trying to understand our concerns or offer a reasonable solution, we were made to feel like we were the problem. Plans can change, but the way a company treats its customers when something goes wrong says everything. Unfortunately, Hello Cracow showed very little understanding, professionalism or customer care. I would not recommend them.
The driver was promptly on time, picked us up. Had great humor and gave us a brief run down on what the day was going to look like. Our tour guide was incredible and you can tell just how passionate she was. We felt like we were able to learn so much about the experience. I was extremely impressed by the entire process.
This is a one time visit. Our guide was really professional. He said he only did this a couple of times a week as it was draining. I can understand this. Auschwitz looks exactly as it is in pictures. It is a harrowing experience but one I wanted to do. It was the exact amount of time for the tour. I am still thinking of it days after.
Very good trip with good organisation. Excellent communication throughtout and our guides were amazing
Very interesting and informative. Would have just liked a bit of time to look at some areas independently after the guide had finished speaking. Felt a little bit rushed at times & unable to read all the information displayed.
Booked with ‘Hello Krakow.’ Patricia kept us regularly up to date via WhatsApp. The guides Hubert at the venues and Ermir on the coach were excellent.
The tour was amazing and the guides very helpful and knowledgeable. The pick-up was easy and on point as well as the drive towards the camp and back.
Booked through trip advisor and the company was called hello krakow, amazing experience our guide I believe he was called Thomas was very knowledgeable & respectful told us some incredible story’s of Individual prisoners. He made the experience for us, coach pick up was bang on time to the minuet. Would highly recommend booking through trip advisor to friends and family price was also very reasonable £84 for 2 of us and that included the transfer that was 1 hour 30 mins there and back
Very busy/rushed. Fee is ok. Very poignant place. Staff were very nice. However felt the security staff were abrupt and rude.
A great company, who provided a great trip. Well organised. Excellent communication throughout from booking until we came home. All staff are extremely kind, polite and knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend 👌
Very moving, greatly knowledgeable guide.
Well organised trip From booking to pick up the communication was exceptional Pick up point very easy to find It’s a full day out so wear good shoes and prepare for the weather as part of the camps are outside Pick up was 09.30 and we arrived back in Krakow at 18.00 Guide was clear in his instructions on what to do when we got to Auschwitz I Toilets and vending/cafe at both camps although Birkenau charged 😩 Camp guide was very informative so hats off to Syzmon. On the camps themselves it’s horrific that humans can be so evil to each other
Well organised trip. From the booking to the pick up communication was excellent and thorough. Pick up point was easy to find Once at the camp the arrangements were clear and organised. Tour of both camps was very informative. Price paid was really good for two people Pick up was 09.30 and arrival back in Krakow was around 18.00 so it’s a full on day With regards to the camps it’s awe inspiring that humans can be so evil to each other.
Really informative and insightful. The guide was good.
The tour was well organised and the company-Hello Crakow were excellent at keeping in touch leading up to the tour. The experience of being at Auschwitz is both terrifying and humbling- seeing up close the worst of humanity- was very touching and sobering
A truly moving and unforgettable experience visiting Auschwitz in Poland. Very well organised, with a knowledgeable and respectful guide. An emotional and eye-opening visit that will stay with me forever. A must-visit to understand and remember history.
Very long day but well worth the money, very interesting and informative tour, guide was very friendly and polite with a vast experience and knowledge of Auschwitz/Birkenau. Would recommend to anyone who is thinking of booking this.
From start to finish was fantastic .Found pick up point easily,very comfotrable coach and careful driver.Guide Symon was freat very knowlegeable and told history of camps with compassion .A harrowing but excellent experience at the same time.Seeing hits home what was endured by thousands .A lot of walking and quite fast paced at times but nothing to bad.
From the start Adam K our driver and aide was great, friendly and so helpful. He really did ensure we were looked after and felt confident in our trip. In addition ‘Lucas’ our guide was amazing too. The whole experience was truly emotional, informative and a very engaging experience.
Very well organized tour from purchase, info prior to tour date to the tour itself. Our guide on the bus Ermir was great and our guide in the museumgrounds Pawel was very informative and respective of what he was telling us. The concentration camps are horrifying but so important to see and to remember as it was not long ago when all these atrocities happened.
This experience is extremely well organised, from the prompt pick up with our very informative driver, Norbert, who looked after us and made sure we were at the right areas at the right time. The tour of Auschwitz & Birkenau was just so well run, our guide was so informative ensuring we were giving the facts, of course it’s sobering but it’s also interesting and we’re glad we went. Our guide you can see despite probably doing thousand's of these tours, showed empathy, respect and emotion. There are many people visiting but it’s so well run it doesn’t feel that way.
Excellent trip with Hello Cracow. Good.communication ahead of time.and with the driver. Had the offer to order a packed lunch. The driver stopped both ways for toilet breaks. The guide at Auschwitz was excellent, very knowledgeable and had a personal.connection through her own family. Everyone should visit here at least once and learn from it.
This was an absolute experience you cannot pass up. The tour guide was absolutely amazing, knowledgable, passionate, and you could feel the emotion surrounding the history. This tour is the reason why people travel to other countries. I would go as far to say this tour alone is worth traveling to Krakow.
Very organized experience with pickup in Krakow and guide to Auschwitz I and II. Would recommend for anyone!
Independent driver didn’t pick us up, so the tour operator had a taxi take us to a meeting place where we caught a ride with another group en route. It took a few panicked messages, but they found a way to ensure we still got to go. Extraordinary customer service. If we had missed this tour that day, there wasn’t another one available during our visit. The tour guide was knowledgeable and informative. The tour itself was profoundly emotional, informative, and heart wrenching. A truly once in a lifetime experience.
Awesome and of course, impactful tour of Auschwitz’s and Bierkenau’s concentration and death camps with “Hello Cracow” as the local tour company. The local company employees were very professional, helpful and experienced. They were extremely kind to switch me to an English speaking guide (they had one open spot) as my first tour with Viator cancelled and so I booked a Dutch one with TripAdvisor because that was all that was left! I feel this tour was one of the best values and educational I have experienced.
Krakow is a beautiful city, we were blown away by the stunning buildings in the square, so many restaurants, cafes and bars to choose from. We enjoy taking in the atmosphere and vibe (friendly but not too busy). We went to Auschwitz and Birkenau on the guided tour. Again we were very impressed with the organisation of the whole trip. We had messages explaining the itinerary and what to take/expect. (Even down to suggestions about what to wear). Hello Cracow have certainly got it right and we would recommend them without any problem.
From the moment we booked the communication was excellent. We were given clear instructions via what’s app and told where and what time to meet (we were provided with a map). The tour guide that met us when we boarded the bus was great and again provided us with clear, concise yet detailed information about what would be happening that day including timings, meeting points etc. The tour guide that took us around was informative and Knowledgeable. I am looking forward to visiting Poland again in the future and would definitely use Hello Cracow for any future excursions.
Great trip.Well organised . Very educational and good value for money
This was the most disappointing guided tour I have EVER been on. First of all the guide moved far too fast around the exhibitions meaning that what he was talking about bore no resemblence to what we were looking at. Secondly his microphone didn't work half of the time and we were always missing what he was saying. We complained several times about not being able to hear/understand what was being said but it made no difference.
This tour was great. We didn’t have to worry about driving ourselves. The guides were well educated and shared great knowledge. Pick up was just outside of old town Krakow. Highly recommend. Oh. And we took the Dutch tour because we tried to book our own tickets direct with Auschwitz too late - and although we don’t speak Dutch, we managed to use a translator on our phone to understand some things. And of course read all the signs.
Our guided tour was first class. Communication was very good, explaining pick up location and times. The group itself wasn’t too big and the guide was very knowledgeable. The drive from krakow was around 1.5 hours. We left at 9am and got back to krakow around 5pm so expect a full day .
Excellent tour guide with hello crakow. Worth a visit although very emotional. Lots of walking so need comfy shoes. Also alot of waiting around so be prepared fof that.
Was a bit sceptical booking at first as it was for 8 people and a fair bit of money to be out of something went wrong however I was 100% wrong on this. Hello Cracow were amazing from the beginning ensuring that everything was booked correctly and noted down our preferences on times etc which they were able to stick to. We opted to book now pay later and this was a great feature when booking. Patrycja from Hello Cracow was fab! Couldn’t help enough and even recommended other things to do during our stay. The tour itself was well organised. Our transport collected from the door and again back. Our tour guide on the day was amazing and very knowledgable. This is a must do tour when visiting Krakow. Overall everything was perfect and would 100% recommend to everyone
From pick up to drop of was a fantastic trip.Kept well informed prior and also throughout our visit.Our guide Symon was amazing and told us history at each stage of tour.Highly recommend harrowing and humbling too.
Our guide Augie was very knowledgeable, engaging and passionate.
Very moving experience - a lot of walking though to both Auschwitz & Berkanou. Don’t do what I did & book the Salt Mines the day after, I can hardly walk today, that too is a lot of walking
Fantastic visit to both camps. Bit of a drive (90 mins) but the bus was very comfortable. Guide(s) were fantastic help and a wealth of knowledge. Plenty of other tours on site but very well managed.
Great trip for the whole family. Would highly recommend and a great price.
The whole experience isa must for all adults I feel. The tour guide was fantastic and extremely knowledgeable even if your knowledge on this subject is very good you can always learn more. I think you should allocate a whole day to this trip to see it all properly. The travel time from Krakow to the site is over One hour. It’s a tour I do not think anyone would forget. The value for money is great and atmosphere fitting and sombre as it should be.
A well organised trip, very insightful. Great tour guide Ewa. We had the afternoon slot and didn’t get the lunch (paid extra) until we arrived at Aushwitz so would say it wasn’t worth it. Would be fine if on the morning trip though!
Amazing preservation of this historical site. Very emotional. Very touching. Tour guide was amazing. Loved hearing about the history. Make sure to read the time slots as the tours can range from 3 hours to 6 hours.
The experience of visiting Auschwitz is a somber, enlightening and rewarding experience. The guide was very well acquainted with the history, having family who had perished at the camp during the war. Her insights and compassion for the victims was shared in a way that let you peer into the story of the people in the camps as well as getting a sense of the huge place in history of this facility. The tour operators gave a very good effort in providing safe transportation, acquiring guides and tickets and coordinating a memorable experience. Highly recommended.
Everything was so well organised, from communication beforehand to the drop off at the end. Somewhere I have always wanted to go and I am so glad I have been.
Excellent communication and pre-trip information from Hello Cracow. Convenient pick up, comfortable coach journey with useful background info and advice from our knowledgeable tour guide. I am pleased we went for the self-guide option inside Auschwitz itself, so we could go at our own speed, and our guide clearly recommended in which order to tour the camp, which was really useful. It's a long day (7 hours), but it is an important experience, especially for younger generations to appreciate the enormity of what happened here. A must-do if visiting Krakow.
Great experience. Michal the tour guide was lovely and very knowledgeable. Unfortunately we didn't get to go inside birkenau due to time restraints so feel disappointed in that as I really wanted to see it.
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