auschwitz - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!



Go Back   TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards! > Backpacker College Student Travel Message Boards > Where ya going? & Specific country info! > Europe: Eastern

Europe: Eastern From Russia to Croatia, the Danube, Iron Curtain era vestiges, Pilzner beer, Czech it out!

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-08-2004, 05:42 AM   #1
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Leigh On Sea, Essex
Posts: 3,331
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

Just wondered if anyone has been to auschwitz and if so can give some info on hostels around the area to stay?
__________________
I have two skins, one to lie on and one to cover myself with; the earth and the sky. (Masai proverb)


FANCY A READ...TPUNK BOOK CLUB CAN BE FOUND HERE



what goes around comes around
beergal is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2004, 08:03 AM   #2
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: newfoundland
Posts: 706
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

I'm going in september. we decided to stay in krakow since it's only 60km from there approx.
__________________
pics of stuff: http://www.dougstuff.net
d_fresh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2004, 10:05 AM   #3
french touch
 
Esterina's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Québec
Posts: 3,246
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

As d_fresh said, the best place to stay is in Krakow. You can find several hostels in town but depending on the time of year you are there, it might be better to book in advance, as they are often full with polish students. By the way, it's very, very noisy. Be prepared !

There are buses leaving for Auschwitz every morning from the central bus station. It's cheap and reliable.

Auschwitz has two main camps to visit, which are a few kilometers apart. A shuttle service is available, but it's not free. The first camp is now turned into a museum, interesting, but be sure to have plenty of time to walk and "feel" the second one, as it has been preserved. You can get a deeper sense of what happened in this one, I believe. Especially that this camp, Birkenau, was the Camp of Death.

I will never forget my visit.

Oh, and by the way, Krakow is a very enjoyable city. It's worth staying a few days !
__________________

people are people


Esterina is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2004, 02:01 PM   #4
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,112
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

We're planning on staying at Nathan's in Krakow, looks good - can anyone confirm?
tumblezweedz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2004, 07:00 PM   #5
TPunk Recognized
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Orlando, FL - Abaco, Bahamas
Posts: 398
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Send a message via AIM to JiveTurkey
Default

Not to steal beergal's thunder but what is the cost to visit? How much time should I allow?
__________________
MYSPACE PAGE Don't Look!!!
JiveTurkey is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2004, 07:24 PM   #6
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,112
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

The camp is about 1 1/2 hours from Krakow by bus, opens at 8 and closes at 7 in the summer (earlier off-season). Entry is free, but the English tour costs 25 zlotys which is about $6. The tour of Auschwitz takes about 3 1/2 hours and Birkenau is larger, so allot yourself the whole day. It looks as though you can just buy the guide book (3 zl) and wander on your own, but I'm not sure. Give yourself time to recover afterward, too!
tumblezweedz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-08-2004, 09:54 PM   #7
TPunk Recognized
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 210
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

As mentioned already, Krakow is your best bet and is about 80 minutes from Auschwitz on train. Train fare round trip is under $10 (when I was there last year). Once at the station that is by Auschwitz, a taxi ride is about $2 to the site.

I stayed at Nathan's Hostel this past year and had mixed opinions. The beds are very comfortable, the place is clean, and the location is not too far from the center (about 10 minutes walking). The negatives were the rooms are small. For laundry if you need it done there, everyone just dumps all their clothes into one bin, instead of individual loads. I don't really like that, but that might not be too big of a deal. Also the staff was not that helpful (I had asked about where I could watch the Super Bowl and they did not know what event that was) and there seemed to be a lot of people staying long term there which tended to make you feel like your a guest at their place. Still, for about $10 a night it is fine, but I don't believe there are too many other hostel options in the town.
skidrage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2004, 03:28 AM   #8
TPunk Emeritus
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Leigh On Sea, Essex
Posts: 3,331
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Default

heh excellent probably going to go there 1st weekend of oct now (hope its not too cold! This brit girl aint used to getting her ass frozen! ha ha)
__________________
I have two skins, one to lie on and one to cover myself with; the earth and the sky. (Masai proverb)


FANCY A READ...TPUNK BOOK CLUB CAN BE FOUND HERE



what goes around comes around
beergal is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply






Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Holocaust sites - Auschwitz-Birkenau... ever been there? pinknic38 General Travel Tips and Advice 8 03-24-2007 06:03 PM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:51 PM.



 

Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0 (Unregistered)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121