Getting to Auschwitz from town
Jun 11th, 2017, 08:46 AM
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Getting to Auschwitz from town
Can anyone recommend a tour company for transportation RT to Auschwitz from center of Krakow? We are trying to save time by getting picked up at our hotel instead of getting to the bus and depending on schedules and large groups of people during the height of the tourism. OR is it very easy/hassle free/much cheaper to go the public route? If we go ourselves, is there an admission cost for the group tours there?
Is it reasonable to plan the Rynek Underground in the am, and Schindler's Factory, Pharmacy Under the Eagle, and Museum of Contemporary Art in the evening? Too much???
From Rynek Glowny, how would be get to Kazimierz and Podgorze? Are they walking distance?
With appreciation for your time!
Suzy
Is it reasonable to plan the Rynek Underground in the am, and Schindler's Factory, Pharmacy Under the Eagle, and Museum of Contemporary Art in the evening? Too much???
From Rynek Glowny, how would be get to Kazimierz and Podgorze? Are they walking distance?
With appreciation for your time!
Suzy
Jun 11th, 2017, 10:23 AM
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I'll try with a few.
First, DIY to/from Auschwitz cannot be hassle free, by definition. First, you have to get to/from the bus station in Krakow. So you have to find out where it is and figure out how to do that. If by some chance, your hotel is a short walk from the bus station, that's not as much a problem, but you still have to navigate the proper ticket purchases (which has varying degrees of difficulties in Poland at different places, I haven't bought that one so can't say about that bus station and how you do that there). I know just trying to figure out buying tram or train tickets wasn't a piece of cake in Krakow, and a lot of people don't speak English very well, of course (I don't speak Polish very well, either, although I know a bit more than most tourists). The buses can get pretty full, so be sure you don't get there at the last minute if you take the bus. The bus station is right near the train station, I think most people may stay in hotels where they wouldn't want to walk that, but that's up to you.
I'm sure there are other tour companies with perhaps cheaper prices for that tour, that's just the only one I know.
At Auschwitz, all buses leave from Auschwitz I, so if you are in II, you have to make sure you get back in time for the bus you want. They have changed systems recently at Auschwitz and you have to book online now in advance. If you don't, you could show up and no entrance tickets would be available. see http://auschwitz.org/en/visiting/
During peak season, if you go on your own, you have to be part of a 3.5 hr guided tour, if you arrive between 10 and 3 pm. I think the guided tour costs 45 PLN or about 11 euro.
Taking the train is more hassle as you then still have to take a bus from the train station to the camps, so don't do that.
As for private tours, I did use Cracow Tours for something else and they were very good, so I can only say I presume they have a good standard of quality. They do trips to/from Auschwitz
http://www.cracowtours.pl/auschwitz-...um,tour,1.html
Now you'll have to check if they even pick up at your hotel. If they don't, you'll have to go to another pickup point anyway, so decide if that is easier or not than the bus station. Plus, they take care of all reservations and tickets, of course. That trip is really pretty cheap for all that, only 155 PLN which is about 37 euro. So for that you get the 11 euro guided tour, plus transportation worth about 6-7 euro. There are various bus companies that go, one-way tickets are around 12-15 PLN. So that's very cheap, total may be only 6-7 euro.
So you are paying about 20 euro for the convenience of the group tour arranging things, and hotel pickup if that is feasible for you.
----------------------------
As for Schindler's Factory, etc., you can get there by tram although there is a bit of a walk to/from the tram station, I'll warn you. Last time I was there (last July), there was construction in that area which blocked off some streets, also, good thing I had a good map on me so could figure out how to get there from the tram stop. The tram stop is right near the pharmacy, by the way. There is literally practically nothing else there, which surprised me,so I couldn't even find a nice place to eat lunch nearby, just a hole in the wall I finally found. The tram stop is at plac Bohaterow Getta.
My hotel was fairly near the park going around Prague and thus not far from a tram line, so that was convenient for me.
YOU can do Schindler's Factory and the pharmacy (which is small) in an afternoon, I think throwing in a museum is a lot, but I think do-able. You should do the pharmacy first as it's near the tram stop, the other two are near each other.
I think I took a bus to Kazimierz rather than a tram, but there are tram routes on the edgs of it, both sides. I think the main usual attractions are closer to the tram stops on ul. Starowislna. Tram 24 goes there, among others, I think 3 does also. There are tram stops on the road around the Old Town and next to the Planty (park area). You can pick up those trams on ul Starowislna just past the Planty (stop Poczta Glowna).
Are you staying near Rynek Glowny? You can walk to those places if you really want. It's only about 2 km to the Old Synagogue in Kasimierz, for example. It's about 3.5 km to Schindler's Factory.
First, DIY to/from Auschwitz cannot be hassle free, by definition. First, you have to get to/from the bus station in Krakow. So you have to find out where it is and figure out how to do that. If by some chance, your hotel is a short walk from the bus station, that's not as much a problem, but you still have to navigate the proper ticket purchases (which has varying degrees of difficulties in Poland at different places, I haven't bought that one so can't say about that bus station and how you do that there). I know just trying to figure out buying tram or train tickets wasn't a piece of cake in Krakow, and a lot of people don't speak English very well, of course (I don't speak Polish very well, either, although I know a bit more than most tourists). The buses can get pretty full, so be sure you don't get there at the last minute if you take the bus. The bus station is right near the train station, I think most people may stay in hotels where they wouldn't want to walk that, but that's up to you.
I'm sure there are other tour companies with perhaps cheaper prices for that tour, that's just the only one I know.
At Auschwitz, all buses leave from Auschwitz I, so if you are in II, you have to make sure you get back in time for the bus you want. They have changed systems recently at Auschwitz and you have to book online now in advance. If you don't, you could show up and no entrance tickets would be available. see http://auschwitz.org/en/visiting/
During peak season, if you go on your own, you have to be part of a 3.5 hr guided tour, if you arrive between 10 and 3 pm. I think the guided tour costs 45 PLN or about 11 euro.
Taking the train is more hassle as you then still have to take a bus from the train station to the camps, so don't do that.
As for private tours, I did use Cracow Tours for something else and they were very good, so I can only say I presume they have a good standard of quality. They do trips to/from Auschwitz
http://www.cracowtours.pl/auschwitz-...um,tour,1.html
Now you'll have to check if they even pick up at your hotel. If they don't, you'll have to go to another pickup point anyway, so decide if that is easier or not than the bus station. Plus, they take care of all reservations and tickets, of course. That trip is really pretty cheap for all that, only 155 PLN which is about 37 euro. So for that you get the 11 euro guided tour, plus transportation worth about 6-7 euro. There are various bus companies that go, one-way tickets are around 12-15 PLN. So that's very cheap, total may be only 6-7 euro.
So you are paying about 20 euro for the convenience of the group tour arranging things, and hotel pickup if that is feasible for you.
----------------------------
As for Schindler's Factory, etc., you can get there by tram although there is a bit of a walk to/from the tram station, I'll warn you. Last time I was there (last July), there was construction in that area which blocked off some streets, also, good thing I had a good map on me so could figure out how to get there from the tram stop. The tram stop is right near the pharmacy, by the way. There is literally practically nothing else there, which surprised me,so I couldn't even find a nice place to eat lunch nearby, just a hole in the wall I finally found. The tram stop is at plac Bohaterow Getta.
My hotel was fairly near the park going around Prague and thus not far from a tram line, so that was convenient for me.
YOU can do Schindler's Factory and the pharmacy (which is small) in an afternoon, I think throwing in a museum is a lot, but I think do-able. You should do the pharmacy first as it's near the tram stop, the other two are near each other.
I think I took a bus to Kazimierz rather than a tram, but there are tram routes on the edgs of it, both sides. I think the main usual attractions are closer to the tram stops on ul. Starowislna. Tram 24 goes there, among others, I think 3 does also. There are tram stops on the road around the Old Town and next to the Planty (park area). You can pick up those trams on ul Starowislna just past the Planty (stop Poczta Glowna).
Are you staying near Rynek Glowny? You can walk to those places if you really want. It's only about 2 km to the Old Synagogue in Kasimierz, for example. It's about 3.5 km to Schindler's Factory.
Jun 11th, 2017, 10:38 AM
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I bought a mini-bus ticket at the Krakow bus station (next to the train station) the night before my planned visit to Auschwitz. The mini-bus dropped us on the street maybe 1/2 km from the camp parking lot, but it was a direct, quick walk. I picked a mini-bus that would get me to the camp before 10AM, so I could enter without a tour (entry to the camp is free, but the tours you are required to join after 10AM are not free).
The way back was more complicated, because the bus I had been expecting to depart from the parking lot failed to materialize; with a few other tourists, I walked back out to the street where I'd been dropped off in the morning and caught the next mini-bus back to Krakow.
If you are savvy with public transportation in Europe, there is really no big issue getting to/from Auschwitz that way. If you aren't so savvy, it might make more sense to take some sort of direct tour from Krakow. Not something I needed to do.
The way back was more complicated, because the bus I had been expecting to depart from the parking lot failed to materialize; with a few other tourists, I walked back out to the street where I'd been dropped off in the morning and caught the next mini-bus back to Krakow.
If you are savvy with public transportation in Europe, there is really no big issue getting to/from Auschwitz that way. If you aren't so savvy, it might make more sense to take some sort of direct tour from Krakow. Not something I needed to do.
Jun 11th, 2017, 12:50 PM
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There are also trams that will take you to Kazimierz and to the Schindler's Factory Museum (aka "Museum of the Occupation of Krakow") from the Rynek Glowny. Why not walk? Because your feet may be completely wiped out - as mine were - from walking in Auschwitz and in the salt mine - which requires a lot of walking too.
Jun 11th, 2017, 01:18 PM
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If you are savvy with public transportation in Europe, there is really no big issue getting to/from Auschwitz that way.>
Auschwitz itself was mainly a work camp - Birkenau - a few kilometres away was a work and death camp - the rail sidings still there where arriving deportees were either deemed fit to work or sent straight away to the nearby gas chambers, ruins of which are also still visible -be sure you go to both camps -I walked between them but assume there are buses and group tours of coure do both.
Birkenau to me was by far the more chilling - Auschwitz was too but Birkenau even much more so.
Auschwitz itself was mainly a work camp - Birkenau - a few kilometres away was a work and death camp - the rail sidings still there where arriving deportees were either deemed fit to work or sent straight away to the nearby gas chambers, ruins of which are also still visible -be sure you go to both camps -I walked between them but assume there are buses and group tours of coure do both.
Birkenau to me was by far the more chilling - Auschwitz was too but Birkenau even much more so.
Jun 11th, 2017, 04:20 PM
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I joined a tour organized by the TI office in Krakow, and was very favorably impressed by it – BUT that was back in 1995, so things could have changed!
Despite the passage of time, I would urge you to consider going with a tour group rather than on your own – IME, visiting Auschwitz / Birkenau can be extraordinarily powerful emotionally. I, personally, would not have wanted to try to manage transportation on my own after that, and I greatly valued the quiet time on the tour bus back to Krakow – and it was quiet: NO one spoke EXCEPT in a hushed voice. I was very glad that I did not have to think about anything after that visit unless those thoughts came to me – a luxury facilitated by guaranteed and simple travel arrangements (i.e., by taking a tour). Similarly, I would not plan anything else for this emotional day other than a nice, easy dinner. JMO.
Despite the passage of time, I would urge you to consider going with a tour group rather than on your own – IME, visiting Auschwitz / Birkenau can be extraordinarily powerful emotionally. I, personally, would not have wanted to try to manage transportation on my own after that, and I greatly valued the quiet time on the tour bus back to Krakow – and it was quiet: NO one spoke EXCEPT in a hushed voice. I was very glad that I did not have to think about anything after that visit unless those thoughts came to me – a luxury facilitated by guaranteed and simple travel arrangements (i.e., by taking a tour). Similarly, I would not plan anything else for this emotional day other than a nice, easy dinner. JMO.
Jun 11th, 2017, 09:28 PM
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Rynek Underground requires a timed advance ticket. Non of the guide books I have read mentioned this, but when I stopped by at the ticket office Saturday morning two weeks ago, all the tickets for the Saturday was sold out. I had to buy tickets for Sunday.
The ticket acquisition for the museums were not intuitive.
You pick up advance entry tickets of all kinds in one part of the Cloth Hall - no the inside vendor parts, the outside facing side. That is the museum visitor center. It is located at google coordinate 50.061892, 19.937283. This is where you buy the tickets to enter the Rynek Underground. However, the entry to the Rynek Underground is elsewhere at coordinate 50.061984, 19.937837. How much time you end up down there depends on how many interactive activities you care to do and how many documentary films you care to watch.
When you buy a reservation for Oskar Schindler Factory advance ticket, which you should -- the queue was very very long if you didn't, you ALSO pickup the actual tickets at the Museum visitor center at the Cloth Hall. By the way, it is really a museum of life of Krakow under occupation. It is displayed like Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin. One narrow corridor after another, a lot and a lot of small print things to read.
For Auschwitz-Birkenau visit, if there are 4 people in your group, it costs about the same as if you booked a tour vs. booking a taxi to take you there, have taxi wait, and take you back to your hotel. Ask your hotel for an offer. I booked a 9am non-guided no cost Auschwitz reservation using the official site. We left Krakow hotel in taxi at 7:15am and arrived at Auschwitz 1 at 8:30am. For all timed places including Auschwitz, I entered way before the supposed entry time printed on the tickets. Because we were way ahead of practically all other tour groups arriving by bus, we visited most places at Auschwitz 1 without dealing with tour groups. I have seen many many documentaries before the visit and I had a detailed guide book. I did not feel I needed additional guide. I spent more time at places I felt were compelling even when tour groups zipped behind me. Birkenau is enormous. Crowd is not an issue like Auschwitz 1. In order to climb the entrance guard tower at Birkenau, you need to be part of a tour.
The free shuttle bus between the Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau is "said" to be every 10 minutes. That is NOT TRUE before noon. The buses leave Auschwitz 1 at 10:30, 10:50, 11:10, 11:30, 11:50 then every 10 minutes from noon on. Not only that, the bus stop sign at Auschwitz 1 is WRONG. The shuttle bus actually stops on the other side, the same stop as the city buses. The bus stop sign at Birkenau was correct. The bus stopped and left from the bus stop sign.
The ticket acquisition for the museums were not intuitive.
You pick up advance entry tickets of all kinds in one part of the Cloth Hall - no the inside vendor parts, the outside facing side. That is the museum visitor center. It is located at google coordinate 50.061892, 19.937283. This is where you buy the tickets to enter the Rynek Underground. However, the entry to the Rynek Underground is elsewhere at coordinate 50.061984, 19.937837. How much time you end up down there depends on how many interactive activities you care to do and how many documentary films you care to watch.
When you buy a reservation for Oskar Schindler Factory advance ticket, which you should -- the queue was very very long if you didn't, you ALSO pickup the actual tickets at the Museum visitor center at the Cloth Hall. By the way, it is really a museum of life of Krakow under occupation. It is displayed like Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin. One narrow corridor after another, a lot and a lot of small print things to read.
For Auschwitz-Birkenau visit, if there are 4 people in your group, it costs about the same as if you booked a tour vs. booking a taxi to take you there, have taxi wait, and take you back to your hotel. Ask your hotel for an offer. I booked a 9am non-guided no cost Auschwitz reservation using the official site. We left Krakow hotel in taxi at 7:15am and arrived at Auschwitz 1 at 8:30am. For all timed places including Auschwitz, I entered way before the supposed entry time printed on the tickets. Because we were way ahead of practically all other tour groups arriving by bus, we visited most places at Auschwitz 1 without dealing with tour groups. I have seen many many documentaries before the visit and I had a detailed guide book. I did not feel I needed additional guide. I spent more time at places I felt were compelling even when tour groups zipped behind me. Birkenau is enormous. Crowd is not an issue like Auschwitz 1. In order to climb the entrance guard tower at Birkenau, you need to be part of a tour.
The free shuttle bus between the Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau is "said" to be every 10 minutes. That is NOT TRUE before noon. The buses leave Auschwitz 1 at 10:30, 10:50, 11:10, 11:30, 11:50 then every 10 minutes from noon on. Not only that, the bus stop sign at Auschwitz 1 is WRONG. The shuttle bus actually stops on the other side, the same stop as the city buses. The bus stop sign at Birkenau was correct. The bus stopped and left from the bus stop sign.
