Auschwitz-Birkenau 2026: How to Book a Visit From Kraków

Since March 1, 2026, you cannot walk up to Auschwitz-Birkenau and buy a ticket at the gate. Every entry card — guided or free, individual or group — now has to be reserved in advance at visit.auschwitz.org, and the Memorial and Museum will not sell one on-site. If you're planning a Kraków trip for the shoulder-season or Christmas-market months ahead, that change decides how far out you need to book, not just whether you remember to.

Why the museum shut down walk-up sales

The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, a state institution that received 1.95 million visitors in 2025 — roughly 90% of them on paid guided tours — said the switch was aimed at "unethical practices" by outside travel firms, not at visitors. According to Notes from Poland's reporting on the February 2026 announcement, some companies sold trips implying transport and pre-booked entry were both included, then told customers about last-minute cancellations or rescheduled slots — in some cases leaving groups arriving at midnight. The museum's own spokesman also described "heated conflicts among some 'tour operators'" jostling for position in the old walk-up queue. Moving every entry card into one online system removes the queue those operators were fighting over.

What actually changed for visitors

The museum's own visiting rules, published on auschwitz.org, are direct about it: "Entry cards should be reserved on visit.auschwitz.org" and "no entry cards are available at the entrance to the Museum." That applies whether you're booking a paid guide-educator tour or the free self-guided option — both routes go through the same reservation system, and neither can be arranged in person once you're standing outside.

The two booking windows are different in length. Guided tours — the standard way most individual visitors see both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau with a guide-educator and a rented headset — should be reserved at least two months ahead, per the museum's own guidance. Free self-guided entry cards open up much closer to the date: online reservations for those are accepted up to five days before a visit, and only while cards remain available for that day. Neither window is a guarantee — the museum caps daily entry cards to keep both camps walkable, and popular guided-tour dates in the high season can fill within that two-month window.

Entry to the grounds themselves is free. The fee only applies if you add a guide-educator, which is how most visitors actually go through — the museum's own 2025 figures put that at around 90% of visitors. If you want to see the site without a guide, that route stays free of charge; you just need the online reservation like everyone else.

Opening hours change with the season — plan around them

Auschwitz-Birkenau's opening hours shift through the year, and they matter if you're mapping a day trip from Kraków around a single visit. Per the museum's published schedule: April, May and September run 7:30am-6:00pm; March and October run 7:30am-5:00pm; November and January run 7:30am-3:00pm; and December — the shortest window of the year — is just 7:30am-2:00pm. Visitors are allowed to stay up to 90 minutes past the last entry time, and the museum recommends arriving 30 minutes before your slot for the security check. It's closed entirely on January 1, December 25, and Easter Sunday.

That means a trip booked for right now, in September, still has the long 7:30am-6:00pm window — but if you're booking ahead for a Kraków Christmas-market trip in November or December, the visiting day gets several hours shorter and the last entry earlier, which changes how much else you can fit around it.

If you're timing a booking now for a guided tour later this year, the two-month lead time lines up almost exactly with trips planned for the Christmas-market season — reserve in September for a November visit, or now for early December, before the shorter winter hours and any remaining guided slots fill.

Before you click "reserve"

The museum's own basic visiting information page has a few rules worth knowing before you book rather than after. Children under 14 are not recommended to visit the Memorial at all — there's a supervised facility near the museum where younger children can stay during the tour instead. Concessionary entry passes are available for pupils and students up to 26, and for visitors over 75, on presentation of valid ID. And unlike a hotel booking you can shuffle around, entry cards for individual visitors are explicitly non-changeable and non-refundable once reserved, so it's worth fixing your Kraków dates before you lock in a slot.

Because Poland is a Schengen country, the EU's Entry/Exit System is also relevant here: non-EU visitors get fingerprints and a photo captured at the border on a first entry, on top of whatever documents you'd normally carry. It's a border-control step rather than anything specific to the museum, but it's one more reason to build in some slack around your Kraków arrival rather than scheduling a guided Auschwitz-Birkenau slot for a few hours after landing.

Getting there from Kraków

Auschwitz-Birkenau sits just outside the town of Oświęcim, about 65km (40 miles) west of Kraków, and almost every visitor bases themselves in Kraków and day-trips out. Direct trains run between Kraków and Oświęcim in roughly 40 to 55 minutes depending on the service, per current Kraków-Oświęcim train timetables — the fastest option if you don't want to book an organized coach transfer. From the Oświęcim station it's a short local bus or taxi ride to the Memorial's visitor centre. Buses and private transfers from Kraków's bus station or the Old Town also run directly to the museum, useful if your guided-tour booking already bundles transport.

Staying connected for the booking process and the day itself

Because every entry card now lives inside one online portal, you'll want working mobile data before you land — to complete or adjust a reservation, pull up your entry-card QR code at the gate, or navigate the Kraków-Oświęcim train connection without relying on hotel Wi-Fi. A Poland eSIM installs before you fly and activates on arrival, which matters more here than at a typical sightseeing stop: a lapsed connection at the wrong moment means fumbling for a printed reservation at a memorial where staff have little patience for holdups at the gate. Roameo currently lists 91 Poland eSIM plans starting from $2.99, covering everything from a single Kraków weekend to a longer swing through the rest of the country.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still buy an Auschwitz-Birkenau ticket at the gate?

No. Since March 1, 2026, the museum sells no entry cards on-site. Every visit — guided or free, individual or group — has to be booked in advance at visit.auschwitz.org.

Is it free to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau?

Entry to the grounds is free. You only pay if you add a guide-educator tour, which is how most visitors go through the site, but a free self-guided reservation is available if you book it online in advance.

How far ahead do I need to book?

The museum recommends booking a guided tour at least two months ahead. Free self-guided entry cards open closer to the date — reservations for those are accepted up to five days before a visit, subject to availability.

How do I get from Kraków to Auschwitz-Birkenau?

The museum is about 65km (40 miles) from Kraków, near the town of Oświęcim. Direct trains take roughly 40 to 55 minutes; buses and organized transfers also run from Kraków's bus station and Old Town.