My daughter went a couple of months ago. I am in Ireland it cost five hundred euro for a three night stay in a b+b and that included a guided tour of the camps and a visit to the salt mines. She found it very upsetting though but did it as it was part of her exam next sept.

Yes. I lived in Krakow for some time. Its a beautiful city. And the history is amazing. The tour is same, but a bit creepy and daunting when you go into the showers…i mean gas chambers. I say do it. You don’t need LOADS of money, just enough for accomodation and shopping! the stores are great! really nice clothes…as for the holocaust- there isnt much to purchase there..maybe a postcard?

i went. i think if you are going to Krakov, you have to visit Auschwitz. It wasnt a jolly experience but im glad i went. It was quite eerie, but needs to be acknowledged.

yes it can be done on a budget.
i booked cheap flights through ryanair (or easyjet, cant remember which). found a cheap hotel in krakov town centre for a few days.

got the train from Krakov to Auschwitz. then a bus/taxi from the station to the actual museum where you can buy a ticket for a tour. Its cheaper to get the train than an organised trip from Krakov.

I went for three days, flight and accomodation probably cost me £100 plus some spends.

if you have any questions you want to ask me, please feel free to email.

If you do go, go also to the Stallagluft camp that The Great Escape film is based on, it’s very interesting and has a museum nearby.

I’ve been to Auschwitz… and some of the other concentration camps, too. It is a sobering experience and it changes your thinking.

The thing that I remember most is, every time I have walked through the gates at a concentration camp, the feeling of a weigh on me is unbelievable… You just feel like the air has changed and your whole body feels… well… ’strange’.

One thing all the camps have in common is the smell in the gas chambers. They all have a ’smell’ to them… and they are very claustrophobic… the ceilings are low and, if you imagine yourself being shoved into one of those tiny rooms with several hundred other people and the doors are slammed shut… just that alone would be enough to kill some people before the Zyklon B even rolled down the chutes.

My great grand mother. She got a tatto to prove it

Cheap flight with Wizz Airlines……
Cheap B&B with Hostelbookers.com

Day trip to Auschwitz…..train to oswiecim..2 minute taxi to Auschwitz…or a 15 minute walk from the railway station(turn right from RW station)…..have a walk around the town after you,ve been to the saddest place on earth…you,ll need a beer to help you reflect how lucky you are.
Bus to Zakopane….lovely little ski resort town…lovely scenery
Train to Warsaw
Train to Katowice

Poland is nice…and generally food is cheaper and tastes great. Another city…up north…Gdansk is worth a few days visit….fly there(one way)….train down to Warsaw(one night)…then train down to Krakow(at least 4 nights there)….(fly home)
Have a nice trip! Krakow is cool.Do try and go for at least 5-6 days.

I’ve been there. was very interesting although also very emotional. I was there on a charity trip so we only paid 250 euro for food and a place to stay (boarding school) and worked for a week and went on one day to krakow and Auschwitz. but I have no idea how much it would cost you. for us it was so cheap because we stayed inlands and worked.

i went to krakow last summer. if you live in england flights from ryanair are the cheapest. krakow is a lovely town. you dont need a tour you can get the train to oswiem then get on the bus outside the station to the camp(its not far its just easier to get the bus, we walked back to the station in 10-15 mins but we knew the way because we got the bus to the camp). ask the driver to tell you when to get off.(you buy your bus ticket from inside the train station before you get on the bus). when you get off go straight ahead (the way the bus was facing when you got off) and its on your right you cant miss it. we stayed at trzy kafki hostel(something like that) it was really basic (just beds in a room but it was really cheap and i found it ok). you can find lots of hostels on hostelworld or hostelbooker.com. luckily for you krakow was the cheapest nicest place i went to on my trip around europe.

Yes - I have been to Auschwitz (Oswiecim in Polish).

There are actually two camps - Auschwitz - which was an old army barracks before being turned into a concentration camp (This is the place with the gates bearing the legend ‘Arbeit mach frei’) and Birkenau - the much larger camp which is abaout a kilometre away (with the famous arched gateway that the trains used to drive through into the camp).

As far as I recall there is no entrance fee to pay to go into either place - these are places of pilgramage rather than tourist sites - but you may have to pay a fee if you want a guided tour with a guide that speaks your language. You are encouraged to leave a donation towards the upkeep and preservation of the site.

You will not find it a happy experience - but a deeply moving one. The old camp (Auschwitz) has many exhibits set up in the old accomodation blocks - each block is set up in memory of a particular group of people who perished in the camps. I was reduced to tears when I came across a display case containing tiny bootees etc from the babies that died there. You can also walk through the killing room and crematorium that have been rebuilt.

Birkenau is different - apart from a memorial that has been built just above the site of the crematoria and a bit of tidying up it has been left much as it was at the end of the war - the remains of the gas chambers and crematoria that were demolished by the retreating Nazis have been propped in place just as they were found. The size of the place gives you some idea of the enormity of the massacres that took place there …..

Most of the wooden huts at Birkenau were burned down after the camp was liberated to try to eradicate the Typhus and other diseases that were rife amongst the survivors … but the brick chimneys still remain like a forest of fingers pointing into the sky.

A truly moving experience.

As for how to get there - travel in Poland is very cheap (by our standards). You need a bit of a sense of adventure to do it on your own by train and bus (and a good phrase book) but you will find the Polish people to be very friendly and helpful - particularly if you try to speak a little Polish.

Krakow is a very pretty old town and well worth a visit.

The salt mine (Wielski Soli) is another incredible place to visit - well worth the entrance fee.

Theres a lot to see if you are only there for a few days ….. make it a week at least.

Top tip …. if you are giving the waitress some money to settle the bill and thank her when you give her the money (Dziękuję Bardzo - Thank you very much) she may take this as the equivalent of ‘Thanks - keep the change’ - wait until she brings you the change - thank her and then leave a tip.

Have a great time.

i wouldnt go there even if someone gives me money im anti-poland sorry