Auschwitz Ticket Types: Which One to Book, and When

There are four main ways to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau: a guided entry pass for individuals (about 3.5 hours), a longer study visit (6 hours), a free self-guided entry pass at certain times of day, or a tour from Kraków that bundles the guide with transport. All entry cards are now reserved online only, so yes, you need to book. Here is how the options differ, what they cost, and which suits you.

Key Takeaways

• You must book online. Since 1 March 2026, no entry cards are sold at the Museum entrance, and the Museum’s own booking site is the only official system.
• Entry to the grounds is free, but visits with a Museum educator are paid. The standard 3.5-hour guided pass costs 150 PLN in a foreign language (price list from 2 January 2026).
• Self-guided visits are only possible in certain afternoon windows, so most UK visitors choose a guided pass or a tour with transport.
• Groups must use a guide-educator licensed by the Museum. Individual guided passes cannot be changed once the visitor names are entered.
• If you want one booking that covers the guide, the driver and the hotel pickup, a Kraków tour with transport is the simplest route.

Table of Contents

• Do you need to book Auschwitz in advance?
• The Auschwitz ticket types at a glance
• The standard guided pass (3.5 hours)
• The 6-hour study visit
• The online guided tour (about 2 hours)
• Free entry and self-guided visits
• Group visits and school trips
• Tickets alone, or a tour from Kraków?
• Opening hours and timing
• Our perspective
• Book Auschwitz with transport from Kraków
• A simple way to choose
• FAQ
• Sources

Do you need to book Auschwitz in advance?

Yes. The Museum announced that from 1 March 2026 all entry cards to the Memorial are available only online, and nothing is sold at the entrance. The same notice says the Museum’s own website is the only official reservation system and that it does not cooperate with outside companies for entry cards. Individual visitors can reserve passes only online.

Three practical points from the Museum’s terms:

• A reservation for a guided pass stays active for 30 minutes, during which you must enter the visitors’ names and pay.
• For individual guided passes, changes in the system are not possible once the data is entered. Check spellings and dates before you confirm.
• Arrive at least 30 minutes before your start time, because of security checks.

If you are travelling from the UK in a group of friends or family, agree the date and language first, then book everyone in one go.

The Auschwitz ticket types at a glance

The Museum’s price list from 2 January 2026 also covers 2.5-hour general tours, two-day tours and a PLN 0 service for guardians of disabled visitors. Prices change, so confirm the figure at checkout.

The standard guided pass (3.5 hours)

This is the ticket most first-time visitors need. Individuals who are not part of an organised group visit on an Entry Pass for Guided Tours, including an audio headset. The Museum builds groups from individual bookers, with a maximum of 30 visitors per group.

The price covers a tour of both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau with a guide-educator, the headset, and the Museum shuttle bus between the two sites. The regular pass costs 150 PLN in a foreign language and 140 PLN in Polish. The reduced pass costs 140 PLN in a foreign language and 130 PLN in Polish, for students under 26, people over 75, holders of a disabled person’s ID, certain veterans and ICOM card holders (all per the 2 January 2026 price list).

One rule to know: if you buy a pass for a tour with an educator, you may not leave the group to continue independently. Plan the day accordingly.

Language. Educator-led tours run in 20 languages, English among them. Pick English when you book and the right group is assigned.

The 6-hour study visit

If you already know the broad story and want depth, the study visit is the step up. It is a specialist tour of both camps, enhanced with selected national exhibitions, the area known as Kanada, and the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria IV and V. The Museum defines a study visit as a tour with an educator combined with an educational activity such as a workshop, talk, presentation or lecture.

Study tours run every day, with start times of 9:00 in Polish, 9:15 in German and 9:30 in English. That 9:30 start matters if you are coming from Kraków: it means an early departure and a long day. The 2025 price list had this pass at a higher level than the standard tour, so expect to pay noticeably more than the 3.5-hour pass and check the current list.

The online guided tour (about 2 hours)

Not everyone can travel, and some people want to prepare before they go. The Museum’s online guided tour lasts about two hours, is split into Auschwitz I and Birkenau, and is available in seven languages, including English. It uses archival photographs, documents and Survivors’ testimonies, with live narration, and you can ask the guide questions.

It is a serious option in its own right, and a good companion for teenagers before a visit. It does not replace standing on the site, which is why many visitors do both.

Free entry and self-guided visits

The Memorial grounds are free to enter. The Museum’s visiting page states that fees apply for visits with a Museum educator, while individuals may tour independently. The catch is timing. Self-guided visits without an educator are possible only from set times of day:

• From 2:00 PM in January and November
• From 3:00 PM in February
• From 4:00 PM in March and October
• From 5:00 PM from April to September
• From 1:00 PM in December

Those times come from the Museum’s individual visitors page, and they can change, so check before you plan. You still need to reserve a free pass online. The Museum itself suggests that visiting with a guide-educator gives a better understanding of the history, and that is the advice we echo for a first visit.

Allow enough time. The Museum recommends at least about an hour for Auschwitz I and the same for Birkenau, and says visiting both parts is essential.

Group visits and school trips

Groups have no free-for-all option. Visitors arriving in groups must engage a guide-educator, and only educators licensed by the Museum may serve them. The Museum works with almost 300 educators and trains them regularly.

If you are organising a group from a UK school, society or family reunion, sort out the money early. A shared cost plan, such as the one in this guide to budgeting a group trip, keeps tickets, transport and meals from turning into last-minute arguments. Then book guide and transport together, so everyone arrives at the same time.

Tickets alone, or a tour from Kraków?

Auschwitz is in Oświęcim, roughly 66 to 70 km from Kraków (our page on the distance from Kraków covers the options). The Museum lists Lajkonik buses that reach the Museum car park from Kraków, plus minibus and bus stops nearby, so independent travel is possible. You then juggle ticket, timing and transport yourself.

A tour from Kraków turns that into one booking. Think about it this way:

How you travel between the camps is simple to plan around. They are 3.5 km apart, with a three-kilometre walking route, and the Museum shuttle links them. On a guided pass the shuttle is part of the visit. Our Birkenau visit guide explains what to expect on the second site.

Opening hours and timing

The Museum is open all year except 1 January, 25 December and Easter Sunday. Entry hours run from 7:30 AM to 2:00 PM in December and 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM in June, July and August, and visitors may stay 90 minutes after the last entry hour. The standard guided tour lasts about three and a half hours, so work back from your entry slot, not from the closing time.

For UK visitors on a city break, a morning slot leaves the afternoon free in Kraków. If you land at the airport the same day, our airport to Auschwitz guide shows how to link the two.

Our perspective

We have taken visitors to Auschwitz-Birkenau for years, and the question we hear most is not about the ticket. It is “how do I do this properly without it becoming stressful?”

Our answer is small groups and a guide who tells the story with care. A big crowd with a headset can feel distant. A small group lets you ask questions, slow down, and have someone beside you who knows when to speak and when to stay quiet.

That is why we pair the visit with a driver who collects you from your hotel. You arrive calm, on time, with nothing to chase. As a family-run team, we think the day should be about the place and its history, not about timetables, queues or missed buses.

We would suggest the guided route for a first visit, in your own language, whichever way you book it.

Damian Fort

Book Auschwitz with transport from Kraków

Our Auschwitz-Birkenau live-guided tour with transportation and hotel pickup is designed for visitors who want the guide, the driver and the timing handled in one booking, in a small group. We also run a Krakow Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum tour with private transport, and we can tailor the itinerary to your party and language.

If you only need the journey, our private driver service and Kraków sightseeing transfers for UK visitors cover it. The airport and city transfer is 100-150 PLN one-off, on our transfer page. Anyone who needs step-free access should read our wheelchair access guide first. For a broader plan, see our Auschwitz visiting guide.

A simple way to choose

1. Decide your depth. First visit: the 3.5-hour guided pass. Returning or history-focused: the study visit.
2. Pick your date and language. Check the opening hours for the month and set your start time.
3. Decide on transport. Do it yourself, or book a tour from Kraków with pickup.
4. Book through the official route or a provider. Use the Museum’s site for entry passes, or book a tour that includes everything.
5. Leave margin. Arrive 30 minutes early, and keep the afternoon light.

FAQ

Do you have to pay to go to Auschwitz?

Entry to the Memorial grounds is free, but a visit with a Museum educator is paid. You still need to reserve an entry pass online, because no cards are sold at the entrance. The standard guided pass costs 150 PLN in a foreign language.

Can you walk between Auschwitz and Birkenau?

Yes, the walking route is about three kilometres, though the camps are 3.5 km apart in a straight line. On a guided pass the Museum shuttle takes you between them, which saves time and energy. The Museum’s getting-there page describes the route.

Do I need a guide?

Individuals may visit without one at certain times of day, but groups must use a licensed guide-educator. For a first visit, we recommend the guided route, which the Museum also suggests for a fuller understanding of the history.

How long should I allow?

The standard guided tour takes about 3.5 hours. Study visits take 6 hours. Add the journey from Kraków and the 30 minutes for security checks when you plan your day.

Sources

• Museum news: entry cards available only online from 1 March
• Price list for guided tours, from 2 January 2026
• Individual visitors and guided tours
• Terms and Conditions, from 1 July 2026
• Regulations for visitors, from 1 July 2026
• Visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau
• Tours options
• Online guided tours
• Getting to the Museum
• Plan your visit
• Opening hours
• Basic information
• Visitors Services

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• Auschwitz tickets sold out? 7 ways UK visitors can still get in
• UK Travellers: Get a Licensed Auschwitz Guide and Guaranteed Transfer
• Skip Locker Queues: Auschwitz Packing List for a Respectful Visit
• Auschwitz Memorial Visiting Guide