Dachau tours

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I've used Radius Tours to tour Dachau and thought they were very good and worth the cost. I don't have any information on the others. I believe there are also tours available at Dachau.

We also used Radius Tours and were very pleased. Craig was our guide. He was very knowledgeable, professional and encouraged everyone to ask questions.

We also used Radius and felt we made a better choice than going on our own.

Why do an expensive 3rd party tour? I did it on my own in 2009, and it is easy too do.

Most of what the 3rd party tour are charging you for is taking you out to the Memorial, often on the same S-Bahn and bus you would use yourself. An S2 leaves the Hauptbahnhof (direction Petershausen) every 20 minutes at 10, 30, and 50 minutes past the hour. In fact, whereas the tours only leave from one place in Munich (usually the Hbf), you can catch the S2 at any station in downtown Munich from Ostbahnhof to Laim (ex. Marienplatz). Get off at Dachau Bahnhof and take the 726 bus from in front of the station (well marked) to the Memorial. Get a Muenchen XXL Tagesticket (day pass) current price 8,30€ single or 14,80€ group up to 5 people. It covers both the S-Bahn and the bus, round trip. If you are going to get an Innenraum (inner zone) day pass anyway (if, for instance, your hotel is not at the Hbf), the XXL Ticket is only 2,10€ more for one, 3,10€ more for a group. The trip takes 38 minutes with a short walk and 10 minutes to get the bus at Dachau Bahnhof.

Plan to get to the Memorial just before 11 AM or 1 PM and sigh up for the 3€, 2½ hour tour with a professional guide trained extensively by the Memorial itself. If you can't get there for those times, or you prefer to go at your own pace, you can rent audio guides for 3,50€. Or, you can just walk around by yourself and read the signs for free, but I think for 3€ the guided tour is well worth the cost. No one has ever been able to convince me that the more expensive, 3rd party tours are any better than those run by the Memorial itself. (In fact, I don't think anyone who recommends the 3rd party tours has gone on a Memorial tour to compare it. I don't think I remember all of the information that was presented during the 2½ hour tour.)

Here is the Memorial's website, in English.

We did it as Lee suggested by arriving early and securing a place for the guided tour offered there. Our guide was a relative of both survivors and Holcaust victims. We also had the RS notes with us. We used the train then connected to the Dachau camp by bus. We had come from Rothenburg and easily stored our luggage in the train lockers.

I agree, the Memorial's guides are excellent, transportation to the Memorial is easy (but crowded at peak times).

One point:

There is no luggage storage possibility at the Memorial and the number of lockers at the Dachau station are limited. Most people, if doing this as a day trip, won't need lockers. If you are coming from Munich Hbf (that's what I did) try to store your bags at the Munich Hbf, where there are a lot more lockers, and come back to get them. If you are using a day ticket or a Bayern-Ticket, it won't cost you anything more, and won't take much more time to come back to the Hbf to get your luggage.

I went on a tour to Dachau with James from Mikes Bike Tour and enjoyed every moment of it. I went in 2010 and at that point all third party tour guides were required to complete extensive training also, not just the staff. All guides at that time were also required to be approved by Dachau staff in order to lead tours. It was nice to tour with a smaller group and not need to worry at all in regards to where to catch the train/bus etc. The cost also includes all of the transportation and entrance fees as well. I would highly recommend the tour with James.

I mainly travel on my own and save money on tours when I can by doing it on my own. In this instance I have zero regrets as James was open to questions regarding Dachau and Munich in general during the entire trip, not just within Dachau. Knowledge that I've been able to use on my yearly trips to Munich since.

So if you're interested in saving money and doing it on your own, that's great. But there are great, and just as knowledgeable, 3rd party tour guides that take the planning out of it and offer more information and time than just the Dachau tour. Whichever you choose I'm sure you won't regret touring and paying respects in Dachau.

Thanks all for your helpful replies. We did as Lee suggested. It was easy to get to and the memorial guide was pleasant and informative. I have to agree, why spend the extra money on a third party tour. I found out that most tour guides have been trained by the memorial and lured away by the tour companies for more money. Oh, by the way, entrance into the memorial is free and the XXL tagskarte which covers all transportation to Dachau for up to 5 people is 14.80 euro.

GM

" I found out that most tour guides have been trained by the memorial and lured away by the tour companies for more money. "

I've always suspected this, but have not been able to prove it. Although no longer described on the Memorial's site, being an official guide requires a year of training. Do 3rd party tours do that?

By the way, an XXL Tageskarte costs 14,80€, but an Innenraum Tageskarte, which you might need to get to the beginning of a 3rd party tour (like the Hbf), cost 13,70€, only 3,10€ less.