Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow: Transfer, Ticket and Guide

To visit Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow, five excursions are listed on WizardTrip. Four are limited to the two camps, with transfer and ticket. The fifth, the tour with the Wieliczka Salt Mine, adds a second site on the same day. All five last from 7 to 12 hours.

Together they have 28,577 reviews (as of 18 October 2026), with ratings from 4.6 to 4.8 out of 5. This article compares the meeting point, the guide’s language, the time spent in the camps and the unexpected.

Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow: what to know

The museum is in Oświęcim, about 65 km from Krakow, or about 1 hour 15 minutes by road each way according to the listings. The site combines two camps, Auschwitz I and Birkenau (Auschwitz II), a few minutes apart.

The most reviewed listing describes the complex as a place of remembrance for more than a million victims. It says the site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Four tours of the two camps from Krakow

Guide in four languages, the most reviewed listing

The most reviewed listing has 10,327 reviews, rated 4.7 out of 5. It lists guides in English, French, Italian and Dutch: check the language of the option you choose. The group has 30 people at most, the official size at the museum according to the listing.

The 7-hour program includes about 2 hours at Auschwitz I and 1 hour at Birkenau. Three meeting points exist in Krakow: Starowiślna 65, Wielopole 2 and Pawia 18a. The hotel is served only by the option limited to 15 people.

The self-guided option gives a ticket for Auschwitz I, with no museum guide in the camps; Birkenau is seen from the outside. An 11-hour option adds the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Minaxi, in October 2026, warns: “Be prepared for the emotional weight of this visit.” A one-star review from October 2026 reports waiting more than 30 minutes for a shuttle between the camps. Its author could not visit Auschwitz I.

Krakow to Auschwitz Birkenau Guided Tour with Transfer and Ticket4.7(10,319 reviews)From €35From€35View activity

Eight-seat minibus with hotel pickup

The minibus tour (5,328 reviews, 4.8 out of 5) limits transport to 8 people per vehicle. It picks travelers up at the hotel, apartment or hostel, between 7 am and 10 am. The time is confirmed the day before.

Its text describes a tour guided in French by a museum guide. Its data, however, indicate only English. The camps take about 3.5 hours. The listing advises against the tour for pregnant women.

Two reviews report pickups before 7 am, despite the announced window of 7 am to 10 am. They rate the tour 3 out of 5 in July 2026 and 4 out of 5 in September 2026.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Guided Tour with Hotel Pickup from Krakow4.8(5,322 reviews)From €53From€53View activity

Live guide in English or Spanish, digital booklet

The live-guided tour (4,322 reviews, 4.7 out of 5) is run in English, or in Spanish in a separate option. Digital booklets are included in other languages, including French. A self-guided option replaces the guide with a digital guide.

Departure is from the bus stop in front of the Radisson Blu hotel. The pickup window runs from 5 am to 2 pm.

The listing announces 7 hours in its data and about 6 hours in its text. A four-star review, in August 2026, finds Birkenau more rushed than Auschwitz I.

Krakow to Auschwitz-Birkenau Live Guided Tour & Hotel Pick-up4.7(4,322 reviews)From €25From€25View activity

Meeting on Pawia Street, lunch optional

The tour with a meeting point on Pawia Street (4,145 reviews, 4.6 out of 5) leaves from the Kiss&Ride parking lot at Pawia 18b, next to the Mercure hotel. An option adds hotel pickup, without drop-off at the hotel on the return. The guide speaks English.

The road takes about 1 hour 30 minutes there and 1 hour 15 minutes back. The listing counts 1 hour 50 minutes at Auschwitz I and 1 hour 10 minutes at Birkenau. Lunch is not included: the excursion leader sells it for PLN 60.

If no museum guide is available, the listing offers two solutions. The first is an official museum guide. The second is a tour with a local guide around the former complex, with no museum entry. A full refund is provided if neither suits. A two-star review, in June 2026, reports a case of this kind.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum Tour from Krakow4.6(4,146 reviews)From €50From€50View activity

Auschwitz and the Wieliczka Salt Mine on the same day

The tour with Wieliczka (4,455 reviews, 4.7 out of 5) lasts 10 to 12 hours. Hotel pickup, within the Krakow city limits, takes place between 5:30 am and 7:30 am. A surcharge applies outside the city. A documentary about the camps plays during the drive.

At Auschwitz I, a museum guide leads a tour in English of about 2 hours. The same guide continues for about 1 hour at Birkenau. Lunch follows: a lunch box, with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free or dairy-free variants. One option does not include the lunch box.

The mine is visited in English at 4 pm or 5 pm. The 2.5 km route descends to 140 meters underground and lasts 2.5 hours. It has about 800 steps, with an elevator back up. The temperature is about 14 °C.

Tickets are issued in each traveler’s name: a name error can lead to refused entry. The listing advises against the tour for wheelchair users or people who cannot walk for long. It does not run on 25 December, 1 January, Easter Sunday or during the March of the Living.

The group has 30 people at most according to the listing text, and 40 according to its data. Michele, in October 2026, writes after a tour with about 30 people: “We felt very rushed throughout.”

Day Trip Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine from Krakow4.7(4,454 reviews)From €118.75From€118.75View activity

The five tours compared

Which language, which departure time, and what if it rains?

For a French-speaking guide, two listings are concerned. The most reviewed lists French among its languages. The minibus tour describes a tour in French. The other three give English, plus Spanish for the live-guided tour.

In all five listings, the exact departure time is only known as the date approaches. Four provide for confirmation the day before. The live-guided tour announces any change 12 to 24 hours before.

Four listings specify that the tour is not canceled for bad weather. Up to 70% of the route is outdoors, according to the most reviewed. The Wieliczka tour claims never to cancel, but its data provide for cancellation in bad weather. Four listings can be canceled for lack of participants; the Pawia Street tour cannot. In all five listings, a cancellation is fully refunded up to 24 hours before departure.

Children, wheelchairs, meals: what the listings say

The most reviewed listing specifies that children must be accompanied by an adult. Three listings offer baby seats. The Pawia Street tour asks infants to stay on an adult’s lap.

Only the live-guided tour is announced as wheelchair accessible. The Wieliczka tour advises against it, and the other three listings do not specify.

In all five listings, lunch is optional or to be brought. Three listings advise bringing a snack, as there is no meal break between the camps. They differ on food service on site: the most reviewed contradicts itself, and the live-guided tour states there is none.

Which one to choose?

• You want a French-speaking guide: the minibus tour or the most reviewed listing, language to be checked.
• You want a small minibus and hotel pickup: the eight-seat minibus tour.
• You want to add the salt mine: the tour with Wieliczka.
• You travel in a wheelchair: the live-guided tour, the only listing to announce it as accessible.
• You prefer a central meeting point: the Pawia Street tour, with lunch to buy from the excursion leader.

For the rest of your stay, the city’s tours and excursions are gathered on the Things to do in Krakow page. Those for the country are on the Poland page.