Auschwitz tours

The standard tour of the two camps offers plenty of in-depth information and meaning. You should sign up online well in advance to ensure a spot.

It takes about 4 hours to complete the standard tour. Birkenau is especially bone-chilling, as its purpose was solely extermination (murder) of the people sent there. Auschwitz served multiple purposes, and that discussion was very interesting.

I would describe these sites as hellish rather than sacred, but certainly an attitude of reverence towards the victims is both appropriate and universal among visitors.

Auschwitz/Birkenau uses their own guides, so all you need to do is get there although signing up for a “tour” with transportation might be wise. If such exists. We did have a ‘wild’ driver take us there and honestly, I’m not sure how we scheduled with him, but it had to be an online search as it wasn’t happenstance. Unless you request a private tour and I’m not sure they offer them, you will be grouped with others. However, it does not take away from the immensity of the crimes committed there. Everyone we encountered was solemn and serious about what was represented so the atmosphere was highly appropriate.

book 6h study tour

No matter how you arrive, the camp does the guiding.

Since all guiding is done by staff of the historical site, simply taking a public bus to the camp is an option. That's what I did; I am cheap.

Please note that online tickets for Auschwitz sell out well in advance. At the time of my trip (summer 2018), those tickets were sold out eight days into the future. There were some very upset visitors in Krakow who hadn't bought tickets ahead of time. There may be some tickets available at the camp, but the ticket line on the day I visited was long and outdoors, exposed to the weather.

Our group of 13, booked a private tour with one of their guides. We got there on our own, but there are plenty of taxis that will take you there and pick you up.
We were glad we had the private tour, as there was no waiting in line to get in and we were not in the huge groups.
The tour was outstanding and we were able to ask the guide many, many questions. 2 of us are guides who conduct 3rd Reich tours in Frankfurt, so being able to ask in depth questions was important to us.

Was it required to have a 'group specific' size for a private tour?

Our group of 13, booked a private tour ... We were glad we ... were not in the huge groups.

The standard tours are not "huge." I think they're no more than 20 people.

Here is a link to the official website sightseeing page:

https://www.auschwitz.org/zwiedzanie/organizacja-zwiedzania-dla-odwiedzajacych-indywidualnie/

From this link you should be able to find information regarding arranging for a private tour - see Visit for Groups:

https://visit.auschwitz.org/?_gl=1*1nphgk3*_ga*NTY3NTMwMjQ5LjE3MzQ5Nzk5OTg.*_ga_ES4EZDDBMD*MTczNDk3OTk5OC4xLjEuMTczNDk4MDMxMi4wLjAuMA..

Thanks to all of you.

I was there with my family on December 26th. We took the 6-hour "study tour". I purchased the tickets on-line directly from the Auschwitz website about 2 months in advance, since there' sonly 1 English 6-hour tour each day. Because the tour begins at 9:30am, we needed to arrange private transportation to get there, so I used a service recommended in Rick's guidebook. The ride was convenient and hassle-free.

If you're very interested in learning about Auschwitz, I recommend the 6-hour tour. The group has 15 persons max, and it includes guided tours of both camps. I believe we saw some buildings that are not included in the shorter tours. The time went by quickly. Be advised, however, that a lot of walking is involved.

For anyone going in January 2025, be advised that a large tent is covering the famous gate at the Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, so both the gate and the rail car that can be seen in many photos are hidden from the public until after the 80th Anniversary events are over at the end of the month. Certainly no reason not to go, but a little disappointing.