Any recommendations on quality tours from Munich to Dachau? I've looked at "the thirsty historian", but have not received any communication from that outfit after multiple emails. I don't mind being part of a group, but have no problems paying for a quality, individualized tour.
https://www.thethirstyhistorian.com
Thanks.
No one has ever convinced me that the tours led by guides employed and trained by the Memorial itself are not as quality as any of the more expensive 3rd party tours. I've taken the Memorial's tour, and I found it to be very high quality. All that a 3rd party tour does is babysit you from the Hauptbahnhof by the same S-Bahn and bus to the Memorial.
Look at the website for the Dachau Memorial. Admission is free and guided tours cost 3,50€/person. A Müchen XXL Tageskarte (a ticket for unlimited travel by one person in the two inner zones of the Munich metro district, which includes Dachau, costs 8,90€. A Gruppen Tageskarte, for up to 5 people, costs 16,10€. Compare 16,10€ for transportation plus 7,00€ for two guided tours, 23,10€, total, DIY, with 285€, from the Thirsty Historian. People like the Thirsty Historian thrive on Americans' insecurity about doing things ourselves.
Lee has never gone on a high quality professional tour, so not sure why he puts them down all the time. A good tour guide will spend immense amounts of time learning about their subject. For Dachau they will have spent time with survivors, and have personal stories to tell.
We used Dark History for Munich, Dachau and Regensburg. The money is very well spent. If you aren't sure, read the reviews on Trip Advisor.
Just because someone charges an arm and a leg, doesn't necessarily mean that they are better. It only means they make more profit. You demean the KZ-Gedenkstätte organization when you say their guides are not high quality professionals. The training course for Memorial guides is extensive. In fact, I suspect that outside tour companies hire their guides from those already trained by the Memorial. When I took the tour, the guide talked about the Memorial non-stop for 2½ hours. If there was any thing else she could have included, it would have been at the expense of something she told us. I can't remember half of what she told us; it was so extensive.
Jo, I have no financial agenda. My only objective is to get my fellow travelers what I think is the best deal.
I am not putting down the guides at the memorial, but you put down every professional guide with your comments. So, how are you different?
We work very, very hard at what we do. If we don't, someone will post on Trip Advisor about it. This keeps our tours at a very high standard. It is constant learning and reading.
What about the guides that Rick Steves uses? Is this also a waste of money? Are they just babysitting all those people on the bus as they travel from place to place? Why even bother with a Rick Steves tour when you can do all that stuff on your own and for a bargain prices?
"Are they just babysitting all those people on the bus as they travel from place to place?" hmmm - some might say that ;-)
I have taken only a handful of guided tours over the years - never an individualized tour. I have no objections whatsoever to making a living as a guide. Generally, I've enjoyed learning about something new through someone else's eyes.
But IMHO, a concentration camp is a completely different situation. What history are visitors actually "thirsty" for at Dachau KZ? It's basically an intense review of public-school and Hollywood material that we've already fully absorbed. Do we want more previously-unheard, grisly details? I hope not. Do we expect new revelations about the Holocaust? I did not... that's completely unrealistic of course - but nonetheless, I did tour the place. Was I thinking my visit would help someone else, in some way? No. So then... why did I go?? No doubt I was just blindly ticking off the "must-sees" in my guidebook - which is probably what most of us do - without truly thinking about it. This was lazy, flawed trip planning on my part, pure and simple. All I got out of my visit was several hours of deep depression, which did nothing for me or anyone else. It was a wasted day, and I should not have gone.
Back now to guides... I cannot grasp the concept of sharing all that gruesomeness with a stranger, knowledgeable or otherwise. The facility itself will provide all the beyond-gruesome details you can handle. A visit to Dachau IME is much more a personal and highly emotional experience than an educational one. If you have personal or family ties to individual victims - my condolences in this case, perhaps it's a must see - I don't know. Otherwise, I'd suggest skipping it unless you just want to test your own range of emotions.
@Russ -- yes, I did see Dachau with someone who had family ties (my husband's father had been imprisoned there) and the impact on me was powerful. As was the first time I met someone who had a concentration camp number tattooed on his forearm. Both were reminders that it wasn't just Hollywood screenplays, but real-life evil that could happen again.
tesla,
I decided to try Radius Tours for my visit to Dachau, and I was very pleased with the quality of the tour. The guide was excellent and was able to answer all my questions. If you're interested, have a look at their website - http://radiustours.com/en/english-tours/dachau-concentration-camp-memorial.html .
They also offer a number of other tours. I also took this one and quite enjoyed it - http://radiustours.com/en/english-tours/3rd-reich.html#frameId=iframe&height=369 .
Considering some of the shocking comments about Dachau that a few people on the forum have posted over the years, about what they learned on their tours there, I have honestly wondered about how good some of those guides in the Memorial are? Perhaps they become jaded giving multiple tours day after day, if that is possible?
When I visit a KZ, what I am interested in learning is about the how, about the who and about the why. Who participated and why? Who were they after and why? Who worked there and why? What happened to them later? Were they taken to court, sentenced, serve time or executed? How was this able to happen? Why did people let it happen? How were certain groups chosen and why? What happened at liberation? How were their lives affected afterwards? Did they receive any restitution?
For the US troop response when they arrived at Dachau witnessing the horrors, I would suggest Rick Atkinson's 3rd volume of his trilogy on WW2.
We really enjoyed the town of Dachau. Try to leave time for lunch and shopping there. Lots of little artisisian shops and very good restaurants. We had lunch at Enoteca Palmieri, shop up front a small restaurant in the back. Mr Palmieri is from Sicily, great meal, memorable man!!!
Just rent a car and drive. The audio guide and information boards at the site were fine for us. We arrived when it opened and the quiet added to the experience. Our walk around the camp took about 2.5 hours and the later it got the more people/tour groups showed up. It was a somber and meaningful experience.
