Auschwitz Tour

Entry to the memorial camp includes a guided tour. A private guide would just be taking the tour along with you. We had a private driver take us to Auschwitz from Krakow, and pick us up afterwards. but the guide was strictly who came with the Auschwitz/Birkenau ticket. He was outstanding, by the way. The visit was very sobering.

Thank you for your response. How many people were in your tour group?

I don’t really remember. Probably no more than 20 people. There’s a one-way route at Auschwitz through the barracks, an outdoor gallows, and the one gas chamber/cremation oven building that the Nazis didn’t manage to blow up before the Allies could reach the camp, and guides need to keep people moving, because there are more groups coming right behind each group. There is some time allowed for reflection on each place, and for questions, so it’s not a forced march (boy, that’s an ironic phrase, considering the place), but there aren’t huge masses of people per group that would be hard to keep them moving along.

There’s a brief lunch break after the Auschwitz tour portion is finished, and then group members take an included shuttle bus to the Birkenau camp for the continuing tour. It’s much bigger, but most of the barracks are demolished, so there’s more open space, and it felt like there was a smaller group in the afternoon, maybe just because it wasn’t as closed-in.

Thank you, Cyn! Have a good night!

Renie, I visited Auschwitz about a month ago. As others have shared here, you will tour Auschwitz with their own guide. I bought my ticket directly from the Auschwitz museum, and took a train there. But some people hire private drivers or "tour guides" which basically just take you to and from the museum, but they don't go through the exhibits with you.

Auschwitz has a few tour options. The majority of people choose the general tour (3.5 hours) which includes both Auschwitz and Birkenau (there is a free shuttle that takes you between these 2 camps). There is also a longer study guide tour (6 hours in one day) which was the option I chose. There are other study guide options broken up into 2 days.
General 3.5 hour tours usually have 30 people, and the study guide (6 hours) about 15-20 people.

I strongly suggest you get the ticket directly from the museum, and you can figure out transportation (on your own, private driver, etc.) later. I know there are a few tour groups that will get a ticket for you, and if that's the route you want, just make sure you use credible group.

I also suggest you get familiarized with the Auschwitz website. You can purchase a ticket 3 months in advance. Visit the site https://visit.auschwitz.org/ and pick "visit for individuals". Then just look at one of the dates available in December so you can see what is available. Tour times vary by time of the year.

I wrote a trip report for Krakow and Auschwitz (study guide tour) which you can read here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/tr-krakow-auschwitz-in-3-days-sep-2026

We did the shorter tour a week ago.

I see a lot of mentions of taking the train or a private transfer. We took the bus which leaves from the bus station next to the Krakow train station and drops off at the Auschwitz Museum. We bought our bus tickets online in advance. A couple of pointers for riding the bus. 1) the bus was full and the driver very strict about having the ticket for the specific bus departure. 2) Most of the buses look like standard buses, but one of them has cartoon characters painted on the outside (odd choice given the context) and several people didn’t board at Auschwitz due to the assumption it wasn’t the correct return bus. There is a small sign on the front of the bus giving the company name.

Aside from these issues, the bus was comfortable and we arrived and departed on time.

Bguy36 - I had bought return tickets for the bus, but my bus did not arrive. There were other people waiting for the 4:30 p.m. bus, which didn’t come. The only ones that stopped at the bus stop during that wait were the FlixBus (and they confirmed it was not the Lajkonik) and the shuttle bus. I think our case was the exception, as I’ve heard positive reviews about the bus. The other group waiting for the return bus had taken the bus to Auschwitz in the morning without issues.
But I did learn you can also buy a ticket on the spot for the return. It seems like people tend to buy just the ticket to Auschwitz and not the return ticket.

My vacation time at work resets in the 3rd week in June. I am thinking of traveling to Poland sometime after that time. I have never seen any part of Poland. My brief research suggests that a guided tour of the remains of the camp is technically optional. It looks like your options are only: an official guided tour with a guide provided by the caretakers, or a self-guided tour. It looks they do not allow private guiding: it would be nonsensical to get a private guide to accompany you on an official guided tour.

My tentative thought is, I would rather tour the place without a guide because, based on experience using guides at ruins in other countries, I paid too much attention to the tour guide and not enough attention to the site.

Edit: private guided tours are all scams unless it is transportation only, to and from the site.

Hi Mike,

Auschwitz is a museum now, and to get the most out of your visit, I recommend taking one of the guided tours included with the ticket. The tours are led by museum guides who can really help explain what you’re seeing. There’s a standard 3.5-hour tour and a longer 6-hour study tour, which is the one I did.

It’s possible to visit the museum without a guide, but those tickets are VERY limited and only available for the end of the day. They must also be purchased online through the official Auschwitz website, and they’re free. However, you’ll have very limited time to visit both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

When people mention "private tour", that is primarily the transfer from Krakow to Auschwitz and there might have a "guide" sharing some information during the drive. However, that "guide" it not allowed to give a tour inside Auschwitz.