Preferred Auschwitz tour company from Krakow

I've had no experience with any of those companies. It may not matter too much which one you choose, because at Auschwitz the tour of the camp/memorial is always conducted by a camp employee, not by an employee of the company that delivered you to the camp. I would hope you'd have a guide on the bus, providing some background information, and of course one guide might be better than another, but as long as you get to the camp and are provided a suitably timed ticket, you will get a solid tour by a camp employee.

I also don't know how early you need to book a tour. All I know is that the online tickets for the camp itself were sold out for the next eight days when I arrived in Krakow in the summer of 2018.

Look at this discussion on the topic from a few days ago:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/poland/auschwitz-birkenau-tour-planning-recommendations

I used Discover Crakow and was happy with the service.

Thanks for the replies. I did see some other threads on the topic (it has been covered a bunch) but many of the others seemed to be more along the lines of "tour vs no tour" rather than looking for recommendations on a company after having already made that decision.

@markcw - Discover Krakow is definitely on my radar as the price seems very reasonable. I'm not sure why the price between companies varies so much given the fact that none of them operate the actual "guided tour" at the site.

Another question: how strict is the ID checking at the site? The reason I ask is because my middle name is on my passport. I typically don't include my middle name in bookings other than flights since most places only ask for the first and last names. I assume the same applies here but just curious if anyone has had any trouble only including first and last name when they also had middle name(s) on their passport/ID.

Another question: how strict is the ID checking at the site? The reason I ask is because my middle name is on my passport. I typically don't include my middle name in bookings other than flights since most places only ask for the first and last names. I assume the same applies here but just curious if anyone has had any trouble only including first and last name when they also had middle name(s) on their passport/ID.

So far as I know, everyone has their complete name on their passport. You shouldn't have any problem.

I'm in the camp of not having taken a tour to get to Auschwitz (Oświęcim), since it's so easy to get there from Krakow by train. But we're not mobility limited, and it's a bit of a hike to the museum from the train station. Be aware, though, that the museum tour (which will be the same whether or not a tour company takes you to the museum entry) requires a fair bit of walking.

I don't want to overstate the case, but while the proprietary guides are well-trained and hard-working, even the longest tour has to leave some things out. Our tour was greatly delayed by slow-moving groups ahead of us in the barracks with some famous, if horrific, mementos. And despite multiple box fans on the floor, it was sweltering inside the building. If you have personal priorities, make notes on what you want to see, so you can note and correct any omissions from the formal tour. We had free time in Auschwitz after that first part of the tour, but you also have to learn that some places (like the formally organized barracks, some dedicated to certain countries or ethnicity) are only to be seen with a group and a guide. But I failed to realize that (I think for time or summer heat reasons ... ?) our Birkenau portion had failed to include the crematoriums. They were so far away that I simply forgot to walk to them when the tour finished, and we could go anywhere we wanted at Birkenau (and, BTW, take any departure of the proprietary shuttle bus back to Auschwitz).

As others noted, any tour company would not be involved with any of these projects. In fact, our car service (Rick's recommendation) told us they would meet us at Birkenau, I guess to avoid wasting a small bit of time on the bus, but also to pick us up at a less crowded location.

Another question: how strict is the ID checking at the site?

I looked at my Discover Cracow ticket - it only shows first and last name. They submit your info to the memorial for your tour ticket, so that should be adequate. Be sure to have your passport with you.

In regard to comments above regarding touring parts of Auschwitz on your own after the formal tour, it's my understanding that this is only allowed during hours later in the day. And yes, some of the interiors are cramped, and can be crowded with multiple tour groups.

I used Mr. Shuttle when I visited Auschwitz in May 2024. I actually did the combo tour with the Salt Mine, but I don’t know that I would recommend doing that. The pickup time for the tour was 6:10 am which was way too early for me and I was too sleepy during the first part of the tour to fully appreciate it. But I’m not a morning person.

Other than the early start time, I thought the company did a great job. My hotel was on a small one-way street, so a representative met me at the hotel and walked me down to the next street to a waiting van that drove me and a couple of other people to a larger bus a couple of blocks away. During the bus ride to the camp, they played a video that was very informative. The driver spoke excellent English and gave very detailed directions of where to meet him after the tour was finished. And he made sure everyone was back on the bus before driving off.

In Poland very few people have middle names and middle names are generally disregarded. That also includes flights. Most European airlines do not even ask for middle names on their booking forms.