Price of Visiting Auschwitz: Cost of Tickets and Guided Tours

Travelling to Poland on a tight budget is possible, and visiting Auschwitz will not make your stay excessively expensive.

I will tell you what to expect in terms of the costs of this trip, the prices of tours, tickets and transport to get there, and how to save money if you want to keep your expenses to a minimum.

If you want to avoid any headaches when visiting Auschwitz, you can always buy the excursion with skip-the-line tickets to Auschwitz, which includes a guided tour and return transport from Krakow by minibus. The price is around S$45, which is slightly more than the general admission tickets, but it's well worth it to get to the concentration camp in the most comfortable way possible.

The prices if you buy general admission tickets are subject to change, but approximately, this is the cost of individual tickets without a tour or transfer:

• Standard price for adults: €29
• Standard rate for under 21s: €27
• Senior citizen rate: €27
• Group visits (more than ten people): between €8 and €19 per person, depending on the size of the group. These visits must be booked in advance and accredited as a group by registering on the official website.

How to purchase tickets

You can get them at the ticket office or buy them online, but you will have to choose the date and time slot for your visit, as all access to Auschwitz is scheduled.

One option to consider if you are concerned about transport between Krakow and Auschwitz but would prefer to visit on your own rather than join a guided tour is to book an unguided excursion, which usually costs around €25-30 per person and includes only return transport.

Given the small difference in price, in my opinion it is 100% advisable to choose the excursion that includes the guided tour, but if you think you will get a better view of the concentration camp by doing the route on your own, this is a good option.

An all-inclusive guided tour to Auschwitz from Krakow costs around €39 if you book with Hellotickets. On this tour, you will be accompanied by an expert guide and will arrive at the gates of the concentration camp in just over an hour, without unnecessary waiting or queuing at the Auschwitz ticket office. What's more, if something unexpected comes up, you can cancel the excursion at no cost.

What does this excursion include?

• Professional expertguide, usually in several languages
• Skip-the-line tickets to the entire Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp complex
• Private bus transport from Krakow (they can pick you up at your hotel)
• Return to Krakow city centre or your hotel on the same private coach

Why do I recommend this option?

This is undoubtedly the best value for money option you will find for visiting Auschwitz. Taking the tour with an expert guide (and especially in your own language) will help you delve deeper into the history and the visit, and also allow you to forget about the logistics of making the round trip on your own.

As these are the two most popular excursions in Krakow and its surroundings, there is the opportunity to get a combined guided tour of both attractions from around €90. With this option, you save time (as you won't have to queue at the ticket office) and money (by avoiding having to buy them separately).

The visit takes place on the same day and a private bus will take you from the centre of Krakow to Auschwitz and then to the Salt Mines. At the end of both visits, you will return to the starting point.

If you would like more detailed information to organise this visit, you can consult my article on excursions to Auschwitz and the Salt Mines.

If you decide not to join a guided tour with transport included, you will have to use public transport. The best options are the bus and the train. A return bus ticket to Auschwitz from Krakow costs around €5 (approximately €2.50 each way).

If you choose to take the train, the price is slightly higher: €8 each way, or around €16 return. In general, I recommend taking the bus, as it drops you off closer to the concentration camp (the train station is 2 km from the entrance to Auschwitz).

For more details on timetables, journey times and transport prices, I recommend reading my article on how to get to Auschwitz from Krakow.

It is not possible to enter for free. If you want to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, you will have to buy a ticket or book a tour (you can see the prices above), but there is no way to access the camp for free.

If you wish, you can visit the Auschwitz Museum for free (without a guide and before 10 a.m.) or take a virtual tour on their website, but to visit the extermination camp in person, you will have to pay for the ticket or guided tour.

On the other hand, there are no notable discounts, promotions or discount codes as such, but there are reduced rates for groups, pensioners and young people under 21.