Auschwitz versus time in Krakow

In the end it's a personal decision that's up to you, but I agree the tour seems terribly short on time in Krakow itself.

Just looking at the itinerary, the tour misses out on Schindler's Factory, Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, Czartoryski Museum (home of da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine), world class Polish Aviation Museum, and potential daytrips to Wieliczka Salt Mine and/or Zakopane spa town.

We visited Auschwitz but had not visited any other concentration camps before. Since your tour does not cover nearly enough of historic Krakow, I suggest you spend more time there. It’s a shame that the RS tour dies not give enough time to this beautiful city. We spent four days there.

If you have already visited 2 concentration camps, I think that Auschwitz will not offer that much more in terms of historical insight, even though Auschwitz was quite different in its goal and way of operation.
And let us be honest: such visits are harrowing.
In your shoes, I would happily stay in Krakow.

I found Auschwitz-Birkenau to be quite different from the other camps. The sites were incredibly moving and emotional and brought an additional dimension to the experience of the other camps mentioned. I view it as a not to be missed opportunity.

I agree that Auschwitz was very different from Dachau and Mauthausen. I thought it was the most impactful of the ones I have visited and would definitely not miss out on the chance to see it.

I think given that you are asking .... skip it.

I would suggest you take the Auschwitz RS tour, but design your own Krakow tour for the day before and tell the guide you have other plans. You can see much more of Krakow at your own pace than the pace of the tour. You'll be able to at least visit more sights albeit a short visit. Also, plan exterior sightseeing views for the evening and save the daytime for interior sights. I agree that it is a shame that Krakow is shorted on time on this tour. The Auschwitz tour is extremely well done, more so than Dachau for example.

This is one of the major differences of traveling independently versus a tour, time restrictions on tours.

I've only been to Auschwitz so I can't comment on whether you should go after visiting two other camps - that depends on how you feel about it. I can understand that someone might not want to overdo that kind of experience, it can be very emotional.

I think in your position I'd recommend checking out some things you might want to see/do in and around Krakow that aren't on the tour and then make your decision when you're there. Make it depend on how you feel that day. Unless you're thinking about some place that requires advance timed entry tickets, there's nothing wrong with making a last minute decision to skip Auschwitz and enjoy more of Krakow. Just keep your guide and your 'buddy' aware of your plans.

I spent 3 days in Krakow (one at Auschwitz - took the better part of a day) and I would dearly love ot go back for at least 3 more days.

If you're a Da Vinci fan, try not to miss seeing The Lady and the Ermine. It was the highlight of my time in Krakow as it's always been a favorite painting of mine and seeing it in person was amazing.

I've been on this tour when it had a slightly different itinerary, so we had two half days of free time (an afternoon on what would be your day 4 and a full morning on day 5, then we went to Auschwitz just after lunch). I hadn't been to any other concentration camps and was extremely moved by Auschwitz, and since we went in the afternoon I was pretty spent by the time I got to dinner. But if you're not wanting to visit (totally understandable), then you can easily fill another day with other things. As has been said, just tell the guide and your tour buddy.

I third the suggestion to see da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine (it is so, so spectacular). For a completely different change of pace, I also did a Crazy Guides tour on my first free afternoon (I think we scheduled it for around 2 p.m.). It was a hoot and a fun way to see Nowa Huta. You do have to schedule it ahead though.

You need to buy tickets to the Schindler Factory in advance. It can sell out.

Auschwitz is undoubtedly a powerful and important place to visit, spending the whole day there given your past experiences may be quite heavy and exhausting. Krakow is such a lovely, historic city that it would be a shame to miss out exploring more of it. Perhaps a compromise could be to do a half day at Auschwitz to still experience it, but leave the afternoon free to wander Krakow's charming streets and squares. The concentration camp will always be there if you chose to return independently one day for more time. Either way, enjoy your Central Europe trip planning - it's a beautiful part of the world!

Thank you all for your input. It’s much appreciated! We are leaning towards more time in Krakow but will decide soon. The Schindler factory and Lady with an Ermine painting are high on our list. 😊

Above post by juliaroot857 reported.

We did this tour. The Lady with the Ermine was next door to our hotel. We knocked off the museum in less than an hour. Afterwards we went to the market, the square, and other places before out departure to Auschwitz. We did Schindler enamel factory right after the walking tour of Krakow on the 1st full day of being in Krakow. We walked back to the hotel via all the sites that day.

There is plenty of time to see Krakow on the tour and in free time. To see Auschwitz is amazing and enormous. It cannot be compared to Dachau which served another purpose on its own.

Frankly, the Auschwitz excursion is not guaranteed by RS tours. Ticket priority for any given day is given to school groups. The RS tour team has to wake up in the middle of the night to secure a small amount of tickets to coincide with the tour that will be there at that time. It’s a logistic feat that RS gets tickets. Auschwitz ensures that this site remain educational and not a tourist trap. They don’t have special tix reserved for RS tours or anyone else. RS has to supply names, and upon arrival your passport has to be presented before you get your ticket.

Most likely Auschwitz will be done in the afternoon with a 1 pm departure. This gives you the entire morning in Krakow. The decision is yours.

We were on the Best of Eastern (now Central) Europe tour last summer, and chose to join the group with the Auschwitz trip. Having previously been to Dachau, I felt Auschwitz was a different experience because so many of the original buildings and structures were still intact. It was very impactful. Whether or not you feel it’s right for you is a personal decision.

As for the timing, we had a similar schedule that Mo R described (the official itinerary was rather unspecific on this one, perhaps since they don’t know for sure if tickets are a guarantee). We got on the bus after a morning on our own and returned to Krakow for dinner on our own. Aside from the group walking tour, we also booked a tour of Schindler Factory on our own (definitely book ahead as suggested). We would have liked to go to the Salt Mines, but couldn’t work it in time-wise. I think the only option for the English language tour for the Schindler Factory was mid-afternoon, and that didn’t leave us enough time to get to the Salt Mine and back before or after, and we didn’t want to miss the morning group walking tour. And also not enough time to visit the Salt Mines on that morning before Auschwitz either (at least we weren’t comfortable with the timing with it being a bit out of town and requiring transport). If we had opted for a Schindler Factory visit without the guided tour, we may have been able to squeeze in both, but it would have been a very full day.
So I guess we were a little ‘boxed in’ with the timing of the group events, and the short time in the city, but we did enjoy Krakow, and have a lot more to see when we hopefully return someday.

We did this tour in September. We've been to Dachau and Mauthausen a few years ago and went to Auschwitz this year. It's really quite different than the other two. Mauthausen was more of a memorial and Auschwitz is just the big open feel. Honestly, Auschwitz was more moving because of the starkness and the sheer size. We had plenty of time to visit the Schindler museum.

FWIW-my husband thinks to skip it. He was fine with the other two. I guess it depends on how much time you want if you're going to visit the salt mines, which is much further away and takes a bit of time. Krakow itself is walkable and the tram system is very easy to use (for anything just outside the city center).

I've never been on an RS tour, so I don't know if some customers prefer to have most of their visits arranged for them and guided, as opposed to Independent Travel. Auschwitz is also a big time commitment.

I don't know if you want to "calculate" the "value" of one visit over another. I mean, we skipped the salt mine, because we don't care. We felt we were lucky to get a last-minute ticket to a concert in an important Synagogue, because the extra concert lighting made it much easier to see the architecture, and we weren't bound by the open-hours of the place. I suppose that The Schindler Factory is a must-see (because everyone will ask you about it.). But it doesn't give you a touching insight to "Schindler's List" (the movie) because it's not about the movie. It's really an "Occupation of Krakow" museum, with 10% dedicated to Schindler and his secret project. It's just as crowded as Auschwitz, but not exposed to heat or cold like outdoors. I found it claustrophobic. I would say that the Resistance museums in Amsterdam and Besançon (France) did a better job of trying to show you what the locals, other than Jews, faced. The rigid fixed-time tickets at the Schindler Factory are a problem, like the Auschwitz tickets.

We've been to Buchenwald as well as Auschwitz, and indeed it's a big factor that so much of Auschwitz is still intact. The vast crowds, and the dedication of individual barracks buildings to specific victim groups (so that they are not really "public", I simply mean ... ) take away from the experience. But I think it's an essential visit.

Auschwitz is completely different than Dachau and on a much bigger scale. It was the most memorable tour I've taken, largely because of the guide. Krakow is a wonderful city but also imho can be seen fairly quickly on your own. I would tour Auschwitz, but it's really depending on what you're looking for.

Enjoyed the RS Eastern Europe tour. Auschwitz tour was very moving. Much more than our Dachau tour. Don’t miss it. We found Schindler Museum a disappointment after Auschwitz. Kind of a retelling of the same story. I wish we had done the salt mines tour. It is a change of pace from basic site seeing. The walking tour for the city was adequate, more time not needed if you aren’t a shopper.

We felt Auschwitz was very important to visit. We skipped the Salt Mines as we had no interest in them.