Anyone ever been to Auschwitz

Zascar

My dad really wants to go so I'm going to go with him. Did a quick google and there are some tours etc, I think you guys get flights, a hotel and then there are loads of tours - but wondering if anyone has done it and if you have any tips?

comewatmay

Did it last year. Excellent and very interesting trip.

Flew into Kraków which is a beautiful city with lots of history and character. Excellent night life too around the main square. Everything is very cheap.

There are two camps you need to visit. One is the labour camp which is still standing and turned into a museum. The second was the death camp built later that killed 1.1m. The ruins of the gas chambers are there to see. It's an extremely interesting place to visit and very hard to comprehend.

I believe entrance to both is free of charge but you would be better off paying for a toru guide or join in with a group to get a real understanding of the place.

spurious

Been many times, by myself and with school groups.

If you go on an organised tour (bus from Krakow) it's easy to become lost in the crowds and if you're going in summer, the crowds are substantial. Autumn or Winter is a good time to visit.

The best is to get a private driver (or local public transport) out early. The buses arrive from about 9.30 am onwards, but the memorial opens at 8.00am. There is a fair amount of walking involved in visiting both sites, even if you're only getting the tourist trail round them.

Make sure to get to visit the Schindler factory too and the remains of Płaszów concentration camp (featured in the film), just south of Krakow Old Town. You can even see the house that Amon Goeth allegedly shot people from. These are easier to visit with a private driver, though also possible by public transport. You can see his actual house and also the one used in the film.

Don't plan on doing anything 'fun' that evening - most people won't be in the mood.

harr

spurious wrote: »

Been many times, by myself and with school groups.

If you go on an organised tour (bus from Krakow) it's easy to become lost in the crowds and if you're going in summer, the crowds are substantial. Autumn or Winter is a good time to visit.

The best is to get a private driver (or local public transport) out early. The buses arrive from about 9.30 am onwards, but the memorial opens at 8.00am. There is a fair amount of walking involved in visiting both sites, even if you're only getting the tourist trail round them.

Make sure to get to visit the Schindler factory too and the remains of Płaszów concentration camp (featured in the film), just south of Krakow Old Town. You can even see the house that Amon Goeth allegedly shot people from. These are easier to visit with a private driver, though also possible by public transport. You can see his actual house and also the one used in the film.

Don't plan on doing anything 'fun' that evening - most people won't be in the mood.

Would agree with all of above,Orginised a transfer from airport with a private driver very cheap, got chatting to him and agreed a price on hiring him for a full day I think it was 7am till about 8 pm got to see everything in those 13 hours first out to the camps before it got busy and in and around the city he even got us discount on tickets for various places and recommended bars and restaurants . No rush he was happy to let us go on at our pace.

FouxDaFaFa

I went a few months back, I was staying in Krakow.

Left it too late to go with one of the local tour companies (they sell out a day or two in advance sometimes) so hopped on a public transport bus down to Auschwitz. Cheap and no hassle. It stops right at the gate of Auschwitz museum.

We got there about 10.30am. If you're not with an organised tour group that's escorting you around, you can either go in by yourself and look around at your leisure or buy one of the tours run by Auschwitz itself and follow a guide. They had just sold out of all english-language tours for the day (they run every hour or so) so we took a French-language tour. Not ideal obviously but we had comfortable enough French to understand it and gain something from it. I would recommend buying a tour solely so you won't get lost by yourself, we met a few people who were a bit lost and confused as it's a pretty big site.

A bus leaves for Birkenau, the second camp, regularly. If you're with a guide, they will accompany you but you can also just go by yourself. It takes about 5/10 minutes to get to Birkenau. The shuttle bus will also take you back to Auschwitz.

Bring good shoes and a jacket because Birkenau in particular is very open and exposed and get can get cold.

hawkwind23

Yeah very easy , just go ahead and book flights to Krakow , some great hotels and so much to see and do , so try stay as long as you can!
Easy enough to drive too and you can also see Wadowice if you are into all the pope jp stuff on the same day
If you do get a car also worth a night in the Tatra Mountains or Zakopane.
Its one of the biggest tours in Krakow so you wont be stuck on choices , try trip advisor for reviews.
Also worth mentioning the walking tours , the jewish quarter one is good and do try to fit in the communist tour of nowa huta

Zascar

Thanks guys. I'm going with my Dad, he's 75 and a bit slow on his feet. He really loves war history so getting a proper tour with a knowledgeable tour guide is essential I think. How do I find a good tour guide? Also can anyone recommend nice reasonably priced hotels?
Thanks

Zascar

Also, how long do I need, would 3 days be plenty, Friday to Sunday? Or should I do 4?
Thanks

mikemac1

http://www.seekrakow.com/auschwitz-birkenau/

I did it with See Krakow. You can book in any of the tourist offices. A small 20 seated bus will collect you at your hotel, take you to there and then to Birkeneau and then drop you back.

They will probably have several of these buses so you have a coloured tag to help you and the guides. Try to remember what your driver looks like

Just tell them your language and you'll be split into groups. My guide was a school teacher doing some weekend work on the side. I'd say that's pretty typical.

I was collected at 10am and back by 6pm. You'll do it all in a day.

Icaras

Well worth the trip, also there is a salt mine tour which is very interesting.

eeguy

It's a fantastic tour that everyone should do once.

We went in March this year. Booked a guided tour for 9.30, and in total it took about 4 hours.

There's a good bit of walking and some stairs to climb so you'd have to gauge whether or not your Dad could manage it.

It snowed the night before and for me that just added to the atmosphere.

harr

http://primetourskrakow.com/tours/auschwitz-tours/auschwitz-birkenau-memorial-4/?gclid=CjwKEAjwtr6sBRDv7uzB492H9XISJADj6aqbQvqYb_eDlHNeEb2zYeG703zHlSMHmSSZrgYTpuBCThoC2rXw_wcB

This is company a friend used a few weeks back and he found them very good,there was four of them in the group.
We went on a early flight on a Friday morning and returned on a late flight Monday evening . So we nearly had 4 full days and even at that we would have liked to stay a another day or two ....
We stayed in a hotel just off the main square ,very basic no lifts,bar or anything but it was perfect for what we needed. With you dad being that bit older you might need a bit more comfort...

hawkwind23

They have loads of tours done around the city in golf carts which will help with the walking.
Take a look at the tours and which ones interest you etc and go from there , i would suggest as long as possible.
There are a million hotels and everyone will have their favourites check the trip advisor and select a short list.

For example , ive stayed here a few times and like it , ideally placed beside the bus/train station but maybe a bit far from Wawel etc for yourself , noticed its number one on TA , understandable , she really goes out of her way to be welcoming

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g274772-d6610089-Reviews-Topolowa_Residence-Krakow_Lesser_Poland_Province_Southern_Poland.html

The Sheraton is a great hotel closer to everything but a fair bit dearer.

try stay around the main square and there are so many great hotels and apartments , maybe an apartment would suit better , chance to make some tea etc and separate bedrooms, they are great value too.

spurious

Hotel Kazimierz usually have good value for B & B - it's well located in the old Jewish quarter.

If you'd like a personal recommendation for a reliable driver I have used many times who could drive you wherever you want, send me a PM.

TheChizler

Got separated from my tour group in the gas chamber in the basement of Block 11 and spent the next half hour roaming the camp by myself, the non-English speaking Polish caretaker being the only living person I came across, tour guide said it had never happened before. Scary place.

kupus

spurious wrote: »

Don't plan on doing anything 'fun' that evening - most people won't be in the mood.

funny you should mention that....while I was there I was a tourist and doing the looking around touristy thing, I have witnessed these crowds in loads of tourist places so it didnt feel weird but also weird in the sense that I could have been in this crowd visiting Alcatraz tower of london or some other site....

It was only later in the evening when I got back to Krakow and having a bite to eat that I stopped and then thought to myself fuc me I am just after visiting a place that was a death camp and heres me now chomping into a great steak.

I mentioned it to other people and they've had the same reaction as well.
IT didnt truly hit until you were somewhere relaxing later on in the day/night.

fletch

100%, get a tour guide around Auschwitz and Birkenau. They show you things that you would probably just walk by and think nothing of, but the stories they tell will live with you forever.

cson

The room with the shoes is just something else. Very hard to get your head around what went on there - an incredible place in terms of what man can be capable of, pretty distressing stuff.

alan partridge aha

cson wrote: »

The room with the shoes is just something else. Very hard to get your head around what went on there - an incredible place in terms of what man can be capable of, pretty distressing stuff.

If you are the type to get distressed Dont Go. I found it a very interesting tour and well worth it.

fletch

cson wrote: »

The room with the shoes is just something else. Very hard to get your head around what went on there - an incredible place in terms of what man can be capable of, pretty distressing stuff.

Or the room with the hair...I found the women's sleeping quarters disturbing...again though, get a guide otherwise you won't learn about the horrific things that went on.

spurious

The glasses was what did it for me. A person/family behind each pair. The children's stuff too.

I first visited back in 1984 and they showed you much more back then. I believe the more extensive tour is now kept for accredited academics and researchers as they had some problems with Nazi 'appreciators' - imagine.

Stone Deaf 4evr

we were a group of lads in Krakow for a stag, 15 of us took a tour, the minibus out to the camp was full of the usually banter and having the craic, but the spin home was made in silence. It returned to my thoughts frequently for weeks after.
I've since been to the beaches in normandy and a few other sites, but nothing has resonated with me like Auchwitz

Its hard to get your head around it, and the fact that from a time passed point of view, its really not all that long ago since theses atrocities were carried out.

Its a haunting place, there is an air of respectful silence throughout, I'd highly recommend getting a guided tour also as mentioned earlier. our Guide was an elerderly lady who thanked us for coming, she said that fewer and fewer young people were visiting as the years went by (our group ages would have ranged from 28 to 33) and that It was sad to think that people would forget to learn from what had gone on.

CelticRambler

I visited Auschwitz-Berkenau in Novemeber 2012 with my eldest son. We both agreed that it was considerably less shocking or moving in real life compared to the stories. For me, the site felt like it was just another theme park, made worse by a huge crowd of (Israeli) children tearing around the place and acting the eejit.

My son had been to Dachau the year before with his school and thought that that was a much more sombre experience, and I've been to other war memorial sites too that were genuinely moving.

We went to KFC afterwards and then the cinema. Altogether, we had a fairly good weekend in the town of Oswecim (from a cultural/travelling point of view) and the only disappointment was Auschwitz.