Is Auschwitz a day trip from Krakow? How long it takes?

Situated not far from Krakow, the town of Oświęcim is one of the most frequently visited places due to the museum located in the former Auschwitz concentration camp. A glance at the map shows that Auschwitz is not in Krakow, but only a short distance away. Many people preparing for a trip to Krakow wonder whether a trip to Auschwitz is a day trip from Krakow. Do you need a full day to visit Auschwitz? How much time is needed? Does the trip last all day? Can you do a day trip from Krakow to Auschwitz? How many hours does a tour of Auschwitz take?

You can read on some websites that it takes a whole day for a trip to visit Auschwitz. Is this really the case?

Does it take a full day to visit Auschwitz from Krakow?

The museum at the former Auschwitz camp is located in the town of Oświęcim about 65 kilometres (40 miles) by car west of Krakow. The best way to get to Auschwitz is by direct bus Lajkonik from the centre of Krakow for 22 PLN (5.20 EUR; 4.40 GBP; 5.42 USD) or by train SKA3 or SKA2 going to Auschwitz stopping near the museum for 16,50 PLN (3.91 EUR; 3.30 GBP; 4.07 USD) per ticket.

The bus takes about 1h 20 minutes, the train between 1h and 30 minutes depending on the train you use.

Take the bus directly to Auschwitz to the car park in front of the museum entrance and, if there is no giant queue to enter, start the tour after a few minutes. How long does the tour last?

Here there are two options. If you choose to visit the museum with a museum guide, the tour of both sites Auschwitz I & Auschwitz II lasts about 3.5 hours. Tours start every 15 minutes or so. Assuming we leave Krakow by bus arriving at the museum at 8:05, we can start the tour at 8:30, finish it around 12:00 and return to the centre of Krakow around 14:00.

From experience, we always recommend booking a ticket for a tour starting a little later than the planned arrival time at the car park in Auschwitz in case of traffic jams on the road.

If we choose to travel by train, the journey is shorter, but we have to take a shuttle bus line M from the railway station in Oświęcim for 4 złotys (0.95 EUR; 0.80 GBP; 1 USD) or a Bolt, or walk, so what we save by taking the train we lose on the spot by having to get to the museum.

If we organise such a trip, it costs us twice 22 zloty (5.20 EUR; 4.40 GBP; 5.42 USD) for the Lajkonik bus ticket and 110 zloty (25.84 EUR; 21.88 GBP; 28.03 USD) for a ticketed guided tour of the Auschwitz museum. A total of 154 zloty (36.46 EUR; 30.82 GBP; 37.97 USD) per person.

A quicker visit to Auschwitz is possible

Polish legislation ensures that visits to all memorials at former Nazi German concentration camps are free. It is also possible to visit Auschwitz for free and it’s faster.

Free entrance tickets to the Auschwitz Museum in Oświęcim are available every day in the afternoon. These entrances are fewer and are in the afternoon and must be booked well in advance always on the official website.

If you decide to take the unguided tour on your own, you can take more or less time. Then we do not have to visit the museum for as long as 3.5 hours, but, for example, only for 1.5 hours, so the trip to Auschwitz will then close for us in about 4.5-5.5 hours, so we can spend the afternoon in Krakow or go on a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mine and Auschwitz in one day and, in addition, then we do not have to pay for the museum entrance, but only for the transportation, so the cost of such a trip for us is 44 zlotys (10.40 EUR; 8.80 GBP; 10.84 USD) per person. Here you can read the detailed price list for tickets to Auschwitz tours.

Is the ‘transfer’ by car faster?

If we have a car, it is of little use to us. I mean, if you rent a car, you can get to Auschwitz a bit quicker than if you take the train or a bus, but then you still have to park etc., so the time gain is small.

The best way to get to Auschwitz is by direct bus from the bus station located in the very centre of Krakow on Bosacka Street behind the Galeria Krakowska shopping centre. If you want to visit Auschwitz quickly then a trip to Auschwitz is not a day trip. Using the standard tour is also not a trip from morning to late evening.

Read detailed guide on easiest and cheapest ways to get to Auschwitz from Krakow city center.

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