Plan a Visit to Auschwitz

Q: My husband and I would like to visit Auschwitz in June. We need advice on return flights from London, accommodation and tour options. How long should we stay in Krakow? - Bernie Lester

A: I think three days and two nights in Krakow would be ideal for your visit to Auschwitz. That should give you enough time to take two important tours, as well as check out the city. The first tour is a guided visit to the Auschwitz complex. This consists of Auschwitz 1, the original camp, and Auschwitz 2 (also known as Birkenau), which was the main killing centre. Both camps have museums documenting the horrors that took place there. The tour begins with a 15-minute documentary filmed by Russian troops after the camp was liberated. It shows the terrible state of the camp's remaining survivors. The tours last from 9am-4pm. Most companies offering the tour will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel. The tour costs 36 Euros (R346) per person. The second tour is named after the Hollywood movie, Schindler’s List. The hit movie documented how a German businessman, Oskar Schindler, saved more than a thousand Jews from the death-camps. The tour takes you to Schindler's enamel factory, the remains of the Jewish Ghetto and the cemeteries and synagogues dotted throughout the former Jewish Quarter. The tour lasts four hours and costs 33 Euros (R317) per person. Both tours run every day except Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. For more details of the tours visit the www.auschwitz-tours.com website. I checked flights from London to Krakow in June and the cheapest I could find was 58 GBP (R649) return on Ryanair. This was available on www.skyscanner.net. A two-night room-only package for two people at the Novotel Krakow Bronowice was on offer at 123 GBP (R1,377), while two nights with breakfast at the Express by Holiday Inn Krakow cost 138 GBP (R1,545). The hotels packages were on www.thomsons.co.uk. (13/3/11)