How the day unfolds
You are collected at your hotel in Krakow and travel by bus to Oświęcim. On arrival there is time to see the open-air exhibitions, then you enter the Memorial with a licensed guide. You see the barracks, the tracks and the wagons that carried prisoners, the remains of the gas chambers and crematoria, and you pass under the Arbeit Macht Frei sign.
The visit tells of the systematic extermination of European Jews. You return to Krakow by bus and the tour ends at your hotel about seven and a half hours after departure. Two or three stops of ten or fifteen minutes are planned during the day.
What a smaller group changes
The limit is 12 people. To take a group in with a guide, the Memorial requires a minimum number of participants: if it is not reached, the tour may be cancelled or moved to another date. If you book at the last minute, a guide may not be available.
For this group, English is the language shown on the booking page for this market. Availability and guide language depend on the Memorial, however, so read the confirmation you receive the day before.
Times, confirmation and documents
Guide confirmation arrives at 3 pm the day before: until then the booking stays pending. Departure can fall between 5 am and 1.30 pm and the time you pick is not guaranteed. Keep your phone on, because any changes are sent there.
The name on the booking must match the one on your ID, which you must carry (identity card or passport). If it does not match, entry is refused. Tickets are named and a name can be changed only once per booking, within 10 per cent of the participants. Separate bookings may end up in different groups or vehicles.
What to bring and how to behave
The Memorial allows backpacks and bags up to 35 × 25 × 15 cm; the booking page gives a tighter limit of 30 × 20 × 10 cm, and it is wise to follow that one. Larger bags can be left on the bus or in the cloakroom.
No eating or picnics in the camp, and people under the influence of alcohol are not allowed on the bus. Bring water. The Memorial asks for solemnity and respect: it is the burial place of many people.
Official sourceMemorial · entry, checks and luggage Checked on
