To start with, Auschwitz is around 70 kilometres away from Krakow. Bus, train and taxi are available from Krakow to Auschwitz. Packaged tours are also plentiful. How to get from Krakow to Auschwitz the cheapest and easiest? The answer has to be by bus. Read on to find out why.
Auschwitz – For Starters
Auschwitz has now become the symbol of Nazi terror during Hitler’s regime. About 1.1 million humans were killed inside a few acres of land over a couple of years. Many more were tortured and imprisoned. It is now maintained as a memorial – mainly to remind the present and future generations about the unspeakable cruelty that paranoid rulers and their cohorts can subject human beings to.
Here are some tips for tourists about Auschwitz:
- Visiting Auschwitz is considered a must for Krakow travellers. So, don’t skip it.
- Auschwitz is located in a Polish city called O?wi?cim.
- There are two memorials: Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II, which are more than 3 kilometres apart. Auschwitz II is also known as Birkenau.
- The Auschwitz memorial allows visitors everyday from 7.30 AM. It will remain open till 7 PM in the peak season of June-August; till 6 PM in April, May and September.
- April–September is the best time to visit. In the rest of the months, it is winter and the memorial will allow visitors only till the afternoon.
Now some tips on how best to do an Auschwitz tour from Krakow.
Options Available
You have four options, if you do not possess your own vehicle. If you do have one, do not think about any other option. Head straight to Auschwitz. You know how far is Auschwitz from Krakow, right? About 70–66 kilometres to be precise.
The four options are
- By bus
- By train
- By taxi
- By packaged tour
By Bus
The Krakow to Auschwitz bus journey will take around 90-100 minutes. The ticket charge is roughly 3.5 Euros. The first bus will start from Krakow at 6:20 AM. The last return bus from Auschwitz to Krakow will start at 7:45 PM.
The train ticket rate and time taken are almost the same. Then why must bus be the preferred option for how to get from Krakow to Auschwitz?
Well, the bus stop right in front of the gate at the Auschwitz memorial. The railway station at Auschwitz is about 2 kilometres away from the memorial. Bus will be the best option for travelling between Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II too.
By Train
At Krakow, the bus stand and railway station are quite close to each other – unlike in Auschwitz. The ticket charge is the same as in bus: 3.5 Euro. But the journey is slightly longer. It will take more than 100 minutes.
The first train from Krakow to Auschwitz starts at 6:13 AM from Krakow Glowny and the last train from Auschwitz to Krakow starts at 5:51 PM.
Whether you opt for train or bus, don’t take the return ticket when you start out. You can take the return ticket from Auschwitz later at your own convenience. Otherwise, you will have to wait for that particular mode at Auschwitz once you are done.
By Taxi
Taxi is perhaps the most convenient mode. But it will cost somewhere around 60-75 Euros minimum. The price covers the to and fro fare.
Tour packages are available in plenty. You do not have to worry about ticket charges or location finding. The tour operators will take care of everything. But you may not be able to spend time as you please.
These are probably all you need to know about how to get from Krakow to Auschwitz. Humanity still has much more to learn from Auschwitz’s history though.
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