Krakow & Auschwitz

ancapailldorcha

Hi all,

I am thinking of taking a solo trip to Krakow in late November/early December. I get the impression that it is a safe enough spot and so am not too worried about safety and getting around.

Specifically, I really want to do Auschwitz. I’ve had a quick look around and it seems that one can get there by public transport or go with a tour company. I think the former requires getting there very early. Has anyone any experience of either. There seem to be a lot of tour companies so if that’s the way to go, some recommendations would be amazing.

I think there’s a salt mine and Schindler’s factory which seem to be the other main attractions. I was planning on giving it 3 whole days which I hope is enough time. Not sure if I would need more.

Thanks!

spurious

It is possible to visit Auschwitz on your own via public transport, but to be honest, for the convenience alone I would use a company. There are lots of them all charging about the same. Ideally you want to get one gets you there before 10am. For a little extra some of the taxi transfer companies will offer private tours which avoid any waiting around for groups and can guarantee you get there before the buses and crowds.

There are companies offer both Auschwitz and the mines in the one day, but that's a very long day and with three days you could certainly do the saltmines on a seperate day.

It would be possible to do Auschwitz and Schindler's factory and tour of the Jewish ghetto in one day. Make sure to have watched the film in advance.

If possible spend part or all of a day just wandering round the main square. Go into little alleys and discover small galleries and coffee shops and bars. Fantastic city.

uck51js9zml2yt

Use a company. They normally have guides organised as well. Plus they take you between the camps.

Bring a sandwich and water.
Wash your hands before you eat during the short break between camps.
Toilets need some coins .

fabvinny

3 days is loads,very safe city,been there twice. get a tour guide for Auschwitz. well worth it.

cannotlogin

love krakow. very safe. very cheap.

would also recommend doing a guided tour - we did both tours on the same day and it was very long - think I would have preferred two seperate trips in hindsight.

ancapailldorcha

Thanks for the responses.

Would the tours likely cover both camps and would they need to be booked well in advance? Any recommendations for companies?

spurious wrote: »

It would be possible to do Auschwitz and Schindler's factory and tour of the Jewish ghetto in one day. Make sure to have watched the film in advance.

I take it you're referring to Schindler's List. Fortunately, it is on Netflix though I haven't seen it.

shamrock55

Krakow is a beautiful city, make sure you do the old underground tour under the square, I did the tour of Auschwitz and birkenau the later I found more eerie tbh, we went on a tour I think it was about an hr away on a coach, great experience but not for everyone as you can imagine, it takes a toll on you and you'll be a bit depressed for a while after but its a place I think people should see, had a nice walk around the Jewish get to and into one of the synagogues too which is well worth it

ancapailldorcha

shamrock55 wrote: »

Krakow is a beautiful city, make sure you do the old underground tour under the square, I did the tour of Auschwitz and birkenau the later I found more eerie tbh, we went on a tour I think it was about an hr away on a coach, great experience but not for everyone as you can imagine, it takes a toll on you and you'll be a bit depressed for a while after but its a place I think people should see, had a nice walk around the Jewish get to and into one of the synagogues too which is well worth it

Yeah, I think it's an important thing to do. Don't expect to be cheery after for a while though. I'm leaning towards the tour since it seems to be the option most people recommend.

Spon Farmer

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

Hi all,

I am thinking of taking a solo trip to Krakow in late November/early December. I get the impression that it is a safe enough spot and so am not too worried about safety and getting around.

Specifically, I really want to do Auschwitz. I’ve had a quick look around and it seems that one can get there by public transport or go with a tour company. I think the former requires getting there very early. Has anyone any experience of either. There seem to be a lot of tour companies so if that’s the way to go, some recommendations would be amazing.

I think there’s a salt mine and Schindler’s factory which seem to be the other main attractions. I was planning on giving it 3 whole days which I hope is enough time. Not sure if I would need more.

Thanks!

Three days is plenty for Auschwitz, the salt mines and the factory but there is lot more to see and Krakow is a lovely place so you might wish had stayed longer. There is always other time though.

I honestly don't know what to recommend regarding the transport and tour for Auschwitz.

Krakow is one of the few places were I haven't witnessed anything bad happen. I think you have to careful of severe over charging by taxi drivers.

Spon Farmer

shamrock55 wrote: »

Krakow is a beautiful city, make sure you do the old underground tour under the square, I did the tour of Auschwitz and birkenau the later I found more eerie tbh, we went on a tour I think it was about an hr away on a coach, great experience but not for everyone as you can imagine, it takes a toll on you and you'll be a bit depressed for a while after but its a place I think people should see, had a nice walk around the Jewish get to and into one of the synagogues too which is well worth it

I haven't heard of that before. Don't know how we missed it on our holiday.:(

Rows Grower

Do the salt mines on its own in one of the days as there are an awful lot of steps to enter (hundreds and hundreds!) and there is a lot of walking involved inside the mines, it is absolutely mind blowing to visit. Thanks be to God there is a lift out.

I was there for three days and planned to do the same three trips you are doing but after visiting Schindler's factory I didn't have the mental toughness to visit Auschwitz. It's very hard to understand how so many humans could be so evil and cruel and what really brought it home for me is that my parents were alive when all of this was happening. Be prepared to get emotional in there.

There's a little basic cafe across from the Schindler's factory that sells the biggest pizza I have ever seen, well worth a visit too.

I promised herself I would take her back to do the Auschwitz tour and I will.

We'll do it on the first day and then do the other two tours again, they are that good.

dublintweety

Highly recommend the free walking tours in Krakow. We did one of the city and then a seperate one on the Jewish Ghetto.

spurious

+1 on the walking tours. I would avoid the golf buggy tours they are quite overpriced.

+1 also on the exhibition under the Cloth Hall. Very interesting.

Yes by the film I meant 'Schindler's List'. It really will enhance both the Auschwitz/Birkenau and factory visits. You could visit the site of Plaszow the 'Schindler camp'. It is close to the factory.

Use only pre-booked taxis and definitely none with signs like 'taxxi' or similar.

dublintweety

I booked the Auschwitz tour with Krakowshuttle.com - can also recommend a really nice central hotel.

EverythingGood

Go to Wawel castle, well worth it. Walk around, sit and have a beer, in Rynek Glowny, in the evening have a few wodka's in the great bars in Kazimerz - I'd recommend Spolica pigwowa, or wisniowa, or even sit outside with a warm piwo or wino. Tychy browary is about an hour away, worth a visit too, you'll need half a day for it. And definitely make sure to have a zapiekanki after a few drinks. On your way home buy a few bottles of Krupnik pigwowa in the airport for Christmas,

shamrock55

Spon Farmer wrote: »

I haven't heard of that before. Don't know how we missed it on our holiday.:(

Yea it's the original ground of the city I think, there's a museum too, it's under the main square, I think they only discovered it recently enough

ancapailldorcha

spurious wrote: »

+1 on the walking tours. I would avoid the golf buggy tours they are quite overpriced.

+1 also on the exhibition under the Cloth Hall. Very interesting.

Yes by the film I meant 'Schindler's List'. It really will enhance both the Auschwitz/Birkenau and factory visits. You could visit the site of Plaszow the 'Schindler camp'. It is close to the factory.

Use only pre-booked taxis and definitely none with signs like 'taxxi' or similar.

Watched it last night. Wasn't an easy watch.

The tours seem rushed based on some links I've looked at but that might not be a bad thing. Leaning towards them if they're more convenient. The website is a little too vague for my liking.

dublintweety wrote: »

I booked the Auschwitz tour with Krakowshuttle.com - can also recommend a really nice central hotel.

Thanks! That's really helpful.

uck51js9zml2yt

Do the salt mines in the evening. It's underground so it being dark won't matter.
Do it in the daytime and you loose outdoor time.

You won't do the camps and the Schindler museum in a day. The camps are a day on their own. It's tiring.

Stinkers

Did you go? Did you enjoy it?

ancapailldorcha

Stinkers wrote: »

Did you go? Did you enjoy it?

I did to the first and didn't to the second.

I've been to a few central/eastern states and this was easily the one I enjoyed least. I found the Poles to be quite rude and unhelpful and felt a bit unwelcome. Krakow isn't really special compared to other cities in Eastern Europe. Auschwitz was well worth seeing as were the Salt Mine and the Schindler Factory.