Krakow & Auschwitz itinerary help for September

My dilemma now is if should go on Monday or Tuesday to Auschwitz.

I don't think it's going to matter - Auschwitz will be busy both days - and the standard English-language tours will be booked well in advance - start looking now at bookings a couple of weeks out and you'll get an idea of the demand. Make sure to scope out your transportation on Sunday so you know exactly where to pick it up on your tour day.

And for local transit, get the Jakdojade app, which will help you to navigate and pay for fares.

@markcw - Thank you. I have the website for bus and train saved, and will probably reserve the bus going to and will catch a train back.
I've been monitoring the pace of sales and noticed the study tour (6 hours) in English doesn't get sold out fast. But I'll book as soon as it opens for my date. I'll be staying near the train station/bus station so I will swing by on Sunday to check out the exact place to board bus.

Just bumping this back up in case anyone else has something to share.

Joy, I'm going to be in Krakow about a week after you. I'm woefully behind on planning this trip so I'm going to search your post history and piggy back off your research 😉

Are you taking the bus or train to Auschwitz?

Hi Mary!

I'm staying near the main train station since I will arrive later in the day and depart early. I'm planning to take train from/to airport. It will also be a short walk to bus station.
This is my tentative itinerary so far:

• Sunday: I decided to just walk around exploring the town on Sunday, what I love the most when visiting new places. I imagine I will be up early with jet lag. I'll attend mass and also buy some snacks/food for the next day. I read there is a great market store near the hotel/train station. (My hotel has mini fridge).
• Monday: I'm planning to take the early morning bus to Auschwitz and will book it when I get my ticket. My ticket window opens in a few weeks but my plan is to do the 9:30am 6-hour Study Guided Tour on Monday. I may take the train back, TBD. This Flixbus site seems more user friendly to purchase bus ticket. But local bus Lajkonik website is this.
• Tuesday: Walkative tour of Kazimierz, Wawel Castle, maybe Schindler Factory.
• Wednesday: Train to airport early morning and flight to Budapest (I read your great TR on Budapest!)

These are the sites I have bookmarked for train schedule and reservation: https://koleo.pl/en/ and https://www.intercity.pl/en/ The name for the train station near Auschwitz is Oświęcim .

Thanks so much, Joy! Logistics stress me out the most so I've been planning around the Auschwitz day so far. The flixbus looks pretty easy (and cheap!). I wonder if there are taxis or Uber available between the bus stop and the museum?

Mary, the bus stops at Auschwitz museum. But the train station is about a 20 minute walk from what I read. There are taxis.
If you want to take bus back, I was told to book in advance as well.

We were there about two weeks ago, we were there for a week. We also just like to wander around and Krakow was lovely and easy to walk through. The Jewish quarter is not large either, the ghetto and quarter are not in the same place (ghetto across the river). In terms of Auschwitz, Flix is a great choice (we use Flix a lot), it drops you off about a block away. Lajkonik bus lines drops you off right in front of the gates but I had trouble with their website. The Flix bus tickets sell out so once you get you Auschwitz tickets, you can book that.. The train station is an easy walk, about 1.5 km away, make sure you buy a ticket for correct train line ticket, the machine only dispenses for one train line, the ticket office does both. It is odd to walk through town.
If you are planning on the Schindler museum, whenever we passed, there was s a line in front even if you have tickets, they control the number of people entering at a time. While it was an engaging/interactive museum, we did not find it very worth the time, probably more so considering that you are doing the 6 hour Auschwitz tour.

Since you are staying near the old town, you probably will hit the old town sites like the gates, squares, etc. just taking a walk after you arrive. Everything is close. Some of the museums have timed tickets so check on those.

@pln - thanks for sharing your experience and glad to hear it is easily walkable. I am still undecided on Schindler museum as I read mixed reviews too. And I am short on time there.

About bus to Auschwitz, I thought Flixbus in Krakow operated the same bus as local company. I need to look at it again. Last time I checked, ticket wasn't available yet but showed same times on both sites. For the local company, I need to use web browser as it doesn’t work well on phone.

UPDATE ON BUS

I just checked both websites again. If I understand it correctly, the local bus Lajkonik only makes tickets available about 30 days in advance. Flixbus seems to allow a longer window of purchase. But trough Flixbus website, you CAN purchase ticket for Lajkonik bus. However, tickets for Lajkonik bus will only show on the Flixbus website when they are also available on Lajkonik's website.

I have both websites saved but will try to use Flixbus first when purchase window opens up for my ticket (early August).

pln thank you, that is so helpful. I'm leaning towards the bus but I still have a few weeks before Auschwitz tickets are available for my date.

Going on Monday to Auschwitz / Birkenau probably makes the most sense.

Schindler Museum is really more about life in Krakow during the occupation — yes there are a handful of parts about Schindler himself, but Kraków’s position and experiences I thought were unique enough that it very much warrants a visit. You won’t get that part of the history from going to the memorial sites.

When we went to the museum a couple of days ago I was very happy to learn we could just cut the line without issue as we had tour timed entry tickets.

pretermpaw0q - Thanks for sharing your experience with Schindler museum. It's still a maybe for me because of my short time in Krakow.

When I was in Krakow I skipped Schindler's - in part because I was chatting with someone at breakfast and they told me they had gone, and found it very crowded and not really worthwhile. With your limited stay I would focus on the Old Town and Kazimierz. I found the Castle a bit underwhelming as well - I toured only the Cathedral. In Budapest, make time for the House of Terror - it may be enough to get your fill of history under oppressive regimes - especially if paired with the study tour at Auschwitz.

Thanks markcw - I heard many reviews that the castle is better on the outside so I am not putting much effort on it. I definitely want to see the cathedral.

And I have House of Terror on my Budapest list. Thanks again.

The Wawel Castle is beautiful on the outside, but the Germans and Russians helped themselves to most of the interior during WWII and then the Soviet occupation. That is the forgotten part of the Castle. To me, it was worthwhile to go one time, but then I had seen the most important sites in Krakow. I could be a tour guide.

Go to the Underground Rynek Museum and then the Museum on the second floor of the Cloth Hall.

Go to the Underground Rynek Museum and then the Museum on the second floor of the Cloth Hall.

The Underground is on my list but they will be closed on Tuesday. So I would have to go on Sunday which may be packed. Unless I do Auschwitz on Tuesday and Wavel Castle and Underground on Monday. I know Wawel has free tickets on Monday but I will be mostly outside but would like to visit the Cathedral. Decisions, decisions, decisions...

My Auschwitz ticket window opens up next week so I need to decide soon.

Good to know the castle interior is not an absolute must (I believe the grounds are free to wander?).

We too, will be in Krakow for only 2 days during December. Main purpose is to go to Auschwitz-Birkenau and the Salt mines. We are staying in old town. I have booked a private driver and tour to take us for a day trip so not to miss any important info. He will secure our English guide. It is not cheap but we think it is so worth it. Hoping to be able to visit the Christmas markets at night and have a 1/2 day to wonder the city. Hope you have a wonderful trip

Just got my ticket for the 6-hour study guide tour at Auschwitz and walkative tour of Kazimierz/Ghetto. Now off to fine tune my sightseeing days in Krakow.