Plan You Tour to Auschwitz from Warsaw

Often tourists visiting Warsaw are faced with asking themselves whether or not they should make a visit to Auschwitz. It’s indeed a difficult question for most. They may come up with several excuses like: not having enough time, already knowing about the history, not feeling personally connected with the place or feeling uncomfortable about the prospect of visiting a place of such emotional resonance and being crowded with tourists. These reasons for avoiding Auschwitz are perfectly reasonable until you actually go and visit the site. For you will never find anyone who has made the trip and still argues against going.

History of Auschwitz

The creation of the camp near the town of Oswiecim began as soon as Germany invaded Poland in September 1939. The site was used to imprison Polish political prisoners and the Germans called the place ‘Auschwitz’. In May 1940, the first 30 prisoners arrived from another concentration camp and in less than a year there were 11 thousand prisoners. As soon as they entered the camp, they were tattooed and shaved. Some were taken straight to the gas chambers.

In July 1940, a crematorium was added to the camp, and was used to cremate the prisoners who had been executed or who had died due to other reasons. It was used until July 1943.

In April 1941, an extra camp in Monowitz was created by destroying the houses of the villagers. This was a new labour camp where the prisoners from Auschwitz had to make synthetic rubber. The prisoners had to walk 7 kilometres to and from Auschwitz. Later, in October 1942 a camp was built around the factory where the prisoners could stay.

Meanwhile in September 1941, the first gas chamber was created and experiments with Zyklon B gas were conducted. Camp Leader Karl Fritzsch gassed a group of Soviet prisoners on the orders of Rudolf Hoss. And soon the morgue was converted into a gas chamber where up to 800 people could enter at the same time.

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Soon Auschwitz was overcrowded, and a second facility Auschwitz II Birkenau was built in October 1941. It was much larger than Auschwitz’s first camp and when the Nazis decided to get rid of the Jewish population, the camp was converted into a gruesome death camp.

Starting 1942, thousands of Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, political prisoners and others were transported to Auschwitz II Birkenau. At least 1.1 million were killed there and within a year 4 new gas chambers were added to the facility.

In the second half of 1944, the camps were bombed several times by the Allied forces. Therefore, in January 1945 the SS (Nazi army) finally decided to evacuate Auschwitz III Monowitz. At least 9,000 prisoners were sent on a death march to the smaller camp at Gliwice, while others were transported to the camps of Buchenwald and Mauthausen.

In January 1945, the allied forces came closer and closer. The SS (Nazi army) finally decided to evacuate Auschwitz. A large number of the prisoners were shifted to other concentration camps, but still around 60,000 prisoners were sent on death marches. Thousands of prisoners who were sick or tired were shot along the way. Finally, as the allied forces liberated the camp, they found another 7500 prisoners alive in Auschwitz.

In 1947 the concentration camps were converted into a museum and memorial to commemorate the horrors of Auschwitz. And by 1979 Auschwitz was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Auschwitz I

Smaller of the two camps, Auschwitz I, consists mainly of stone bunkers. It’s a kilometre long and about 400 meters wide. While visiting the camp, the first thing visible is the gates with the infamous sign ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ (work sets you free). There are about 20 barracks where the victims once resided and several exhibits about the camp and how the prisoners lived there.

The main highlights are Block 5, Block 11, and Block 27. In Block 5 there are a lot of things on display such as glasses, shoes and shaved hair. In Block 11 you will see the tiny rooms where prisoners were murdered using new Zyklon B gas which was later used in the gas chambers. And in Block 27 there are exhibits showcasing how the prisoners tried to make the best of their situation. There is a room full of children’s drawings, a large book in which all the names of the identified victims have been written down. In every part of the complex there are photographs of Auschwitz’s victims.

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Auschwitz II-Birkenau

The second camp is located a few km from Auschwitz I. If you are on an organised tour or have a driver, they will transfer you between the sites. If you are on a self-guided tour, there is a free shuttle bus that runs every 10 minutes between the two camps. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was built later and is much larger than the first camp. There’s a grass field surrounded by barbed wire. You will see train tracks enter into the camp through the entrance gate. Once the prisoners arrived from all over Europe, they were led directly into one of the four gas chambers, for their so-called shower. Others who were fit to work slept in the barracks with bunk beds, where prisoners were packed together. Behind the camp you can visit a number of graves, including the grave of Anne Frank. You will see a number of broken buildings where the gas chambers once stood. These buildings were destroyed by the Nazi’s to hide the evidence when the Red Army liberated the camp in 1945.

Why visiting Auschwitz is so Difficult

The number of visitors visiting Auschwitz is only increasing. In 2019, over 2 million people from all over the world visited the sites. Due to this ever-increasing popularity, you must purchase your tickets in advance to avoid disappointment.

The tickets are available three months in advance and some dates sell out very quickly, sometimes within a week. If you don’t book your tickets in advance, you’ll face a high risk of not entering the museum at all.

Also, you will end up waiting in long queues to the ticket office without any assurance of getting the entry tickets. You need to understand, for each day there are only a limited number of tickets available for on-the-spot purchase. And it’s always likely they will run out of tickets and your possibility of entering the museum is over.

Further, in the year 2020, a new system has been introduced, that you can enter the museum only with a valid passport or National ID card. Your name on the document must match with the entry ticket bought in the presale. Buying a ticket on the spot has its hassles like showing your passport or National ID card at the ticket office and then again at the entrance. An incorrect spelling of your name or surname may prevent you from visiting the museum.

Therefore, it’s highly recommended to book your tour to Auschwitz from Warsaw with Rosotravel. In this way, you will get a confirmed ticket, skip the long lines and you spend most of your time exploring the camps thoroughly.

How to visit

You have 3 options

Book a private tour:

This is a highly recommended option in order to avoid all the hassle of sorting out your own: transport, ticket and guide. By choosing Rosotravel’s private-guided tour you save time and energy. A drive from Warsaw to Auschwitz takes 4 hours. You will be picked up at your hotel in Warsaw and dropped off there after the tour. Your entry tickets are included in the price. You will walk past the queue and have a guide waiting for you at the museum. After touring the camp, sit back in your comfortable car and reflect on what you have seen and get back to your hotel safely in Warsaw without any hassle.

Visit alone and join a guided tour at the museum:

You can book your tickets in advance for a guided tour on the official website of Auschwitz. This is recommended because in both camps there are hardly any information boards.

Visit alone for free without a guide:

If you are on a tight budget, you can purchase a free ticket on the Auschwitz official website without a guide. However, these tickets are available only for time slots in the afternoon. Further there are only 25 free tickets per quarter of an hour. So, if you want one of these tickets, reserve it online in advance. You can order your tickets three months in advance and choose a time when you will be present.

How to reach from Warsaw

Auschwitz-Birkenau is located 320 kilometres by road from Warsaw. You can get to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train or on a private tour.

By Private Tour

The best option is choosing a private tour to Auschwitz by car. An experienced driver picks you up from your Warsaw hotel. The drive from Warsaw to Auschwitz takes 4 hours. On reaching, you will join a guided group tour of Auschwitz concentration camp with a licensed museum guide. Later, you will be driven to the second part of the sightseeing tour to Birkenau camp grounds. After 3.5 hours your tour will end. You will return by car to Warsaw (4 hrs travel time) and the driver drops you off at your Warsaw hotel. The complete private tour lasts for a minimum 12 hours.

By Train

If you are on a tight budget, then train is the best option for you. From Warsaw there is a super-fast train that will get you to Krakow station in about 2.5 hrs. Then from Krakow you will have to board a bus to the town of Oswiecim. The bus will drop you right outside Auschwitz. This option is only advisable if you are a seasoned and experienced traveller and know how to get around the public transport in foreign lands.

Advice for Visiting Auschwitz

The entire tour from Warsaw and back will last for at least 12 hours. At the Auschwitz camp you will spend 3.5 hours. During this time there will be no respite from the sun or rain, therefore you must consider the weather conditions carefully. And there is no place to sit if you are tired while exploring both camps.

Don’t forget your sunhat and sunscreen
Carry sufficient water as there are no cafes within the camp.
Carry a waterproof jacket.
Wear comfortable walking shoes as the ground is stony and uneven in certain areas.
Only small bags (A5 size) are allowed into the camp, else you will have to leave your bags in the lockers.
You are permitted to take photographs, but there are certain areas where photography is strictly prohibited.
Visiting the concentration camp leaves a deep impression on visitors, hence its recommended not to visit the place with children under the age of 14.

Information on Auschwitz

Auschwitz-Birkenau is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Every year more than 1.5 million people visit the site.
Admission is free; however, you have to pay for the guided tour with an educator.
Auschwitz is open all year round, except on January 1st, Easter Sunday and December 25th.

The camps are open seven days a week from 07:30 and closing times depend on the month of the year:

December: 14:00

January, November: 15:00

February: 16:00

March, October: 17:00

April, May, September: 18:00

June, July, August: 19:00

Final Words

The Auschwitz Museum and Memorial tour brings to light one of the most horrific acts in human history. As you walk through the gate, you will get a feeling of how scared the people must have been when they reached the camp. You will walk around the places where 1.3 million souls lived and died. You will enter one of the gas chambers and wonder how humanity could be so cruel. Finally, as you walk back you will realize why the Poles cannot forget what went in these camps and others like them.

After visiting the camps, the perspective gained is incomparable. And it’s up to you to decide if you want to visit Auschwitz or not. But you must understand that Auschwitz is not a site of Polish concern or Jewish concern or a historical concern……it’s about human concern. Anyone visiting Auschwitz must treat the place with solemn respect.