Another Auschwitz Post

I didn't seek out any particular bus company; I simply went to the bus station in Krakow and bought a bus ticket at the time I wanted to get me to Oświęcim (Polish name for Auschwitz). The bus left from the bus station, but my apartment was only a short walk from the bus station (which is next to the train station). It may have been the bus company you mentioned, maybe not, no idea - I just bought the ticket based on the time. Could be this is the only bus company running on that route or there may be multiple companies. All that mattered to me was the time. (Don't recall the price, but I'm sure it was cheap like everything else in Poland.)

The bus (a "mini-bus" actually) dropped me on the road about 1/3 of a mile from the camp entrance. Some buses drop off or pick up in the big parking lot. Going back to Krakow, I walked back out to the road where I was dropped off and just caught the next mini-bus back to Krakow. There was a bus schedule posted in the camp but the bus never showed up in the parking lot as scheduled, which is why I walked out to the road again.

Thanks Andrew. Just to make sure I understand, you didn't pre book anything. You just walked to the bus stop and found the next mini-bus to Oświęcim? That sounds easy enough.

Well, I did prebook the bus the day before by buying a ticket at the bus station, just to make sure I got a seat on the mini-bus. As the name implies, it's not a big bus, and I wanted to go early (to enter the camp without a guide, which you can do before 10am). This was 2012, and I'm not sure it was possible to buy tickets online then. I suppose I would have just to get the time of bus I wanted.

I didn't book the return ticket to Krakow - bought it on the bus. It too was a mini-bus. Some people who got on after me had to stand - almost an hour back to Krakow as I recall.

Here's a way to check the bus schedules between Krakow and Oświęcim - don't see a way to buy online:

http://rozklady.mda.malopolska.pl/?lang=eng#krk

I did the same thing Andrew did, but I think I ended up on a full-size bus. I was definitely dropped off and picked up in the parking lot.

I've tried two different browsers and cannot get far enough through the ticket-purchase process on the DiscoverCracow website (URL provided by OP) to confirm that the price of 3.50 euros is typical. I've seen those "From" prices before; that's not usually the price you will actually pay. My notes show that I paid more than double that--over 80 zlotys. Perhaps it would have been less expensive if I had purchased more than one day ahead of time.

Take plenty of water with you. Water for sale at the site is very expensive by Polish standards.

We did not pre-book. We just went to the bus station and waited at the platform. We had a bus, not a mini-bus. We were there in July. We arrived quite early and had something to eat in the restaurant.

I’m not sure why the price is shown in euros. You would obviously pay in local currency. I don’t remember the price of a ticket.

Most likely, the price is shown in Euros to make it easy for tourists to understand the price. I've found this common in countries that don't use the Euro to have prices shown in the equivalent of the Euro anyway. The Zloty isn't an intuitive currency to convert in your head if you aren't Polish.

I also bought tickets from the main bus station and caught the next bus (a normal sized bus) to Auschwitz. The stop was directly outside the entrance. I don't believe it was a dedicated bus but rather a normal day to day bus used by the locals. The ticket was cheap although I can't recall the precise amount but €3.75 sounds about right.

I went to this website:
https://lajkonik.moj-bus.pl/?lang=en
and pre-booked our bus tickets to Aushwitz for our trip in June. It was $3.75 each. I printed our tickets and will bring them with. I believe it is a public bus, but I wanted to make sure we had a seat. Apparently you can always get standing room too, but who wants to stand for 1.5 hours.

Standing is good for circular system :p

The latest ticket we can get for entrance without a guide is 8:00 am. I'm having difficulty finding a bus schedule in English. Does the bus run early enough to get us to Oswiecim city by 7:30? We are staying at Topolowa Residence and will be there in July. Thanks in advance.