Prague to Auschwitz in 1 day?

It looks to me like train to Krakow is about 7 hours, one way. Then you need to take a bus to the town of Oświęcim. There are quite a few posts describing how to get to Auschwitz from Krakow, its fairly easy. Google maps indicates that the drive from Prague to Auschwitz is about 5.5 hours.

If it were me, I'd use the train to get back and forth to Krakow and stay close to city center. You'd have at least a little time to see the historic city center which is lovely. The bus to Oswiecim leaves from the same train station. Actually, if it were me, I'd plan the trip differently and stay a few nights in Krakow.

Make sure to buy tickets for Auschwitz in advance!

Here is one post regarding transportation to and from Auschwitz (There are more):
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/poland/auschwitz-s-tours

There is a concentration camp near Prague. I know nothing about visiting or taking a tour, though I can see there are tours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terez%C3%ADn

Night trains vary, and people's ability to sleep on night trains varies. I'd be concerned about being in condition to tackle the long drive from Prague to Krakow after a night on a train.

Are you planning to take the 6:30 PM NightJet from Amsterdam? That train makes 3 stops after midnight, at 12:22, 2:47 and 3:42 AM. Each stop is accompanied by braking, station noise and then acceleration. There is a change of trains at Regensburg (5:53 AM). Beyond that point, there are no beds. Total time on the train is nearly 16 hours, but how much sleep will you get?.

There's a 6:38 PM departure on a regular train (no beds) that connects to a EuroNight train in Frankfurt at 12:28 AM. That EuroNight train makes 7 stops on the way to Prague, at 5:01, 6:20, 6:59, 7:06, 7:35, 7:53 and 8:11 AM. Total train time is close to 15 hours.

I think it would be more practical to fly from Amsterdam to Krakow (there are nonstops on KLM and EasyJet, maybe others), see Auschwitz (and ideally some of lovely Krakow), then fly from Krakow to Prague (RyanAir serves that route, but not daily).

Alternatively, you could fly to Krakow and arrange a private transfer from there to Prague, using a company like DayTrip.com.

I'm glad that Acraven picked up on overnight train (o/n), I missed that. I have done an overnight train with bunks. It was Budapest to Prague. I mostly liked it as an option. It freed up more time to see Prague and it was budget friendly. It was not the best sleep of my life.

When we were in Krakow, my husband did the daytrip to Auschwitz, I did not. I'm a sensitive person, and I was actively trying to take a mental break from some sad/challenging situations at home. I also know that I am even more sensitive if I've not had enough sleep. My thought about the night train to Auschwitz would be that you might not be rested enough for an emotion filled day.

Curious if you looked at the Prague area as an option for a concentration camp and what your thoughts might be.

I do like the options Acraven suggested for more efficient ways to incorporate Auschwitz into your trip.

The camp outside Prague is Terezin (Theresienstadt). I haven't been there yet (will happen in May or June), but it is often mentioned on this forum. It's accessible by public transportation; bus from Letnany station seems to be more convenient than the train. There are also guided tours from Prague.

Background on Terezin from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terez%C3%ADn

Official website: https://www.pamatnik-terezin.cz/basic-information-2

Hey everyone!
So, my daughter and I are taking the new (since2024) o/n train from Amsterdam to Prague in a sleeper. We have tix for Auschwitz and a RyanAir return in the early evening from Krakow airport back to Prague.
The missing link for us now is how best to get from Prague to Krakow on 6/24. Car rentals are ASTRONOMICAL ($850++ for a half day rental). I’ve looked into BlaBla Car and FlixBus (nothing planned yet for those dates on their end) and am really at a loss. Any ideas, beautiful people?

I am trying to get my head around your travel plans and just cannot understand what you are doing.Why are you going to Prague only to head to Krakow,Why not travel direct to Krakow and visit Auschwitz then fly or take the train to Prgaue.

been having a look at trains from Prgaue,most of the trains to Krakow stop at Oswiecim station and depending on when your tour is you could get the train as it is about an hour less journey time than all the way to Krakow,It takes about 10-15 minutes to walk to the Auschwitz site from there but there may be local taxis and I think a bus goes there. the 2 times (last time 18 months ago) i have been I just walked.
I can see a direct train on the 24th at 6.08 am that gets to Oswiecim at 11.25. have a look at the Cesky Drahy website to see your options. There are lots of trains every hour from Oswiecim to Krakow, times take about 50-90 minutes depending on the train. Luggage if carrying it may be a problem as i am not aware of storage at the train station but there are small lockers available at Auschwitz, there may be bigger ones but i just do't know

and from the main train station in Krakow, there are trains every 30 minutes to the airport, takes you right into the airport and it is only 2 or 3 minutes walk to check-in desks or security. Train to airport takes 18 minutes, you can getr tickets on board,at the platform ,at the main ticket desk or on the Koleo App which is what i use ,if you are over 60 you can get 25-50% discount on the :Polish trains and if over 65 you can get 50% discount on the Cesky Drahy trains

I found that it is so hard to graft Poland onto a trip to an adjacent country that I put off Poland until we could do ten days there, and visit East Anglia friends on the way home. 15 years later, we did it.

Poland's a great country, we did it on its own and spent about 3.5 weeks. When we went to Poland, we connected thru Amsterdam and flew into Krakow and out of Warsaw. And, yes, its quite easy to get from and back to the Krakow airport to city center via a quick train ride.

Correct me, if I'm wrong, but I am getting the sense that a major objective of your trip is trying out the overnight trains. I think that is absolutely fine.

Hi everyone,

Travelling with my daughter can be challenging in terms of what she wants to do—we’re definitely very different in that regard, hahaha!

That said, we’re staying in Prague 2-3 nights. She wants to go to Auschwitz. We won’t be staying in Krakow and will not have luggage with us (as it will be in Prague). I like the early direct train to Oswiecim that arrives at 11:25AM. From there, there will be busses to Auschwitz I imagine?

Earlier someone had mentioned a driver/ tour guide to Auschwitz from Prague. I imagine that would be similar to driving to Oswiecim and far more informative. Can anyone recommend such a person/guide group?

Thank you!

From there, there will be busses to Auschwitz I imagine?
it is no more than a 15 minute walk, very easy,signposted, just keep to the path on the left had side, there may be buses but not sure,so maybe try and search for them, check on google maps for the route,it is quite easy.

what time is your tour and what time is your flight to Prague, I really think you are going to struggle to do this, the quickest train back to Krakow is 50 minutes or so then you have to get to the airport , easy enough as it is just a change of platforms, you need at least an hour for getting through security and boarding the plane , wouls not leave any less time than this..The Auschwit tour with guide takes at least 2 hours and if you go to the Birkenau area as well add at least another hour to that.
Not a day trip I would ever consider and I am a regular traveller in both Poland and the Czech Republic, was last in Krakow 4 months ago and in Prague 2 months ago,will be back in Prague and Brno next month.
if you miss any of your trains or flight you are up a creek without a paddle

Outside guides cannot conduct tours at Auschwitz; all the guiding is done by employees of the camp/memorial.

A private driver from Prague would be exorbitant. DayTrip.com quoted $561 one way and $1179 round-trip. You might be able to beat those prices a bit by cutting out the middleman (DayTrip.com), but it would still be a very big number.

it is also important to add that you cannot do a tour on your own, you must do it with an "educator/guide". there is the possibility to do it without a guide but only late in the day and in June that would be from 5pm, these tickets are free but very limited .
if you have never visited Auschwitz before it can be an overwhelmimg experiece and after visiting it takes quite a while to come to terms with what you have experienced. I first did the tour with my brother and 3 friends, it was quite overwhelming particularly for my brother. I went back on my own the following year and that was less emotional for me and i was able to take in more of what actually went on there.It is not a fun day out ,the educators are called that as that is what they do,don't expect them to be chatting and enthusiastic, they give the information is a very low keyed way very different for any guided tour i have been on, at first it was strange but I do understand why they do it this way.

Hi everyone

I’m very grateful for those of you who responded thoughtfully and informatively!

Given the folly of a RT from Prague to Auschwitz and back, we’ve changed our plans. We’re still stayind 2 nights/3d in Prague, then going to Krakow and staying centrally at Hotel Wielopole for a couple of nights. We’ll go to Auschwitz the next day (6/22). Lucky for us, my daughter hadn’t finalized our Auschwitz tickets bc she had Qs about the tour options.

After researching Krakow, I’m much more comfortable staying there as so many people have said such wonderful things about it, so THANK YOU for that!

Thanks everyone!

do not hold off on booking your tickets for Auschwitz, they sell out fast and getting a time and languague suitable can be difficult.