Masterphil

Thinking about visiting Wawel, Auschwitz I & II, and Salt Mines during a 5 day stay in Krakow.

I saw there was a tour that takes you to Auschwitz and Salt Mines all in one day. ($135 for 2 people).

I was contemplating the thought of renting a car and visiting Wawel, Auschwitz and Salt Mines all in one day.

I know it limits my time at each place, but it also allows me to stop along the routes and set my own schedule.

A rental car costs about $100 for the day.

Are there any negatives that I am missing?

Thanks in advance for your help!

PalenQ

With 5 days in Krakow I'd do the Salt Mines as a leisurely day trip by bus or train -just a few kms south of Krakow. No rush and very easy -when I was there old miners did the tours on site.

Christina

Wawel castle is right in Krakow, you just walk to it (or take the tram). Perhaps you don't understand where it is. Given you are there 5 days, why would you even consider visiting Wawel by car on the same days as you are going outside the city? I don't even know where you'd park your car at Wawel, but I suppose maybe there is a way for out-of-town visitors. It's only about 1 km from the main square of Krakow, takes about 15 minutes to walk there. There are a few interesting sights along the way, also (like the Archdiocese museum).

have no opinion on the others, if you want to rent a car, I guess you think it works out, I"m not a big car renter myself, I prefer public transportation or those group tours.

Masterphil

Mistake on my part! I misread directions on Google maps!

Thanks for straightening me out Christina!

PalenQ

Taking public transit to Auschwitz is harder for visiting -the train station and presumably bus depot is in the town center (I took the train)

But then you have to take a bus or walk the few kms to the first camp- Auschwitz, which was basically a work camp -and then take a bus or walk a few miles to Birkenau -the grisly death camp with gas chambers -old rail siding -etc.

Both camps are essential but if you have all day or go by taxi from the stations or buses I guess it's OK.

Nice to have a car and drive thru still gritty IME rusting Polish industrial towns and dumpy rural villages.

Masterphil

Maybe I'll just jump on the tour bus if there is nothing in between except "rusting" and "dumpy"

Thanks, PalenQ

PalenQ

Well that was several years ago and was from the train - train from Hell really - 2nd cl only and was SRO on way back -I sat in the baggage car along with lots of gritty locals swilling booze and spitting sun flower seed shells all over!

Hopefully things have improved!

colduphere

We were there last March and took two separate tours. One in the afternoon. One the next morning. I'm curious as to whether the $135 includes the entrance fee to the salt mines?

michelhuebeli

They want to sell you tours for everything in Krakow. For Auschwitz it can be a good thing. For Wawel, not really. For the Wieliczka (www.wieliczka-saltmine.com) salt mines you walk to the train station (the modern one next to the still-standing old building with the blue Glowny neon sign), buy your return ticket (write down Wieliczka Bilet Powrotny - it means return-trip - and hand it to the agent in case there's no English spoken - very common).

Find the train, it's a slow local that stops everywhere. In Wieliczka, get off and walk a couple of hundred yards to the mines, stand in line for tickets, tell the agent which language group you wish to join, go wait by the appropriate flag, and soon a whole group of folks will be led inside and down down down by a guide.

Individuals can't get in by themselves, and a "tour" from Krakow only consists of pricey transportation, while the train costs you pennies.

If you have bad knees, don't go, the first ten minutes are spent walking down stairs and more stairs. Coming back up at the end you'll use elevators.

Not sure what train PalenQ is referring to. My short little suburban trip was uneventful. As was the fast and spiffy modern train from Krakow to Warsaw. No complaints.

PalenQ

Not sure what train PalenQ is referring to. My short little suburban trip was uneventful. As was the fast and spiffy modern train from Krakow to Warsaw. No complaints.>

It was a local train Krakow to Auschwitz and hopefully improved in the several years since I took it- a bus tour makes sense because of the transportation problems once there. Buses I think may be faster than that local train or maybe there are IC trains now which are much nicer-like to Warsaw when I took it even then.

kja

For Auschwitz / Birkenau, I was truly glad that I joined a tour from Krakow, and I don't normally like tours! I found a visit to these camps extremely powerful, and would not have wanted to try to drive afterwards, even if all the roads and signage and traffic norms had been familiar to me! Not only would I not have been a very good driver, but I also really wanted the time to simply spend with my own thoughts, without having to focus my attention elsewhere.

Instead, I took the tour bus back with a bunch of people who were all emotionally drained and incredibly quiet. I was glad that the only thing I tried to do that evening was a very quiet meal.

Absolutely NO reason for a tour of Wawel.

I missed the salt mines....

Masterphil

http://krakowshuttle.com/krakow-tour...-one-day-tour/

is the tour I was talking about.

I believe it includes transportation and entrance.

kja

Not a tour I would take. YMMV.

michelhuebeli

Krakow-Wieliczka is just a typical local train ride - old rolling stock, slow, quite a few stops at minimal suburban and small-village-style stations, but nothing wrong with it that I could see. The louts that PalenQ encountered were nowhere to be seen on my short little trip. They were probably still sleeping off the hangover from a few years ago.

Dirt cheap and it got me there, the station is very close to the mines - no need for a "tour", just go on your own.

Masterphil

kja... Why? The tour itself? The tour company?

Just curious of your reasoning.

Thanks!

kja

The tour itself:

I wouldn't want a tour that includes both Auschwitz / Birkenau and the Salt Mines in a single one-day trip. I wanted MUCH more time that the 2 hours that this tour offers at the camps, and then, as I said, I wanted nothing other than private time -- with no demands upon my attention or thoughts -- for the rest of the day. JMO.

Masterphil

I understand. That's kind of why I wanted to drive. I could set my own schedule.

I believe the Salt Mine you have to be part of a tour.

Auschwitz on the other hand might be a little rushed. I hope not.

Thanks again for your input.

kja

At the risk of repeating myself...

From my perspective, how to visit Auschwitz / Birkenau isn't about setting one's own schedule. it's about dealing with extraordinarily powerful emotions -- emotions strong enough to intrude upon one's thoughts so potently as to distract despite one's intentions and make one an unsafe driver. And perhaps even more importantly, emotions that actually deserve your full attention until you give them some thought, and, IMO, do <b>not</b> deserve being "distanced" by the intervention of your driving time. JMO.

For context: IIRC, I spent more than 6 hours at Auschwitz / Birkenau. And as painful as those hours were -- and they were incredibly painful! -- I wouldn't have skipped a single moment. From my perspective, if I'm going to take the time and energy -- physical, and especially emotional -- then I want to <b>see</b> it. I can't imagine what it would be like to "whip" through the place in 2 hours. I can't imagine what you wouldn't see, or how that would limit your understanding of this place -- or other places like it.

JMO. Your trip, your call.

Cali

We were in Krakow this past August and we took a bus tour from Krakow to Auschwitz and Birkenau and it took most of the day. I would not want to add any other tours to that day. It was very emotional for all of us. We enjoyed Krakow so much more than we had expected.

colduphere

Yes it does look like your ticket to the Salt Mines is included. So your one day tour is about what we paid for our two day tours.

Our experience was that we could have done a second tour after Auschwitz from an emotional perspective. I was a bit surprised at that but there you go. Our guide was just fabulous and hit just the right tone I thought.

Personally I think splitting the tour over two days is a slightly better option but I can see the benefits of driving as well. I hope it works out.