Krakow is one of Europe’s most meaningful destinations for school groups studying the Second World War. It’s compact, walkable and rich in context. And it gives students the chance to connect classroom learning with real places, personal stories and lasting questions.
Over four days, your students can experience Kazimierz (Krakow’s historic Jewish Quarter), visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, descend into the Wieliczka Salt Mine, discover Schindler’s Factory and reflect on Jewish culture, memory and renewal at the Galicia Jewish Museum.
The success of a trip like this isn’t just about where you go. It’s about the pacing, preparation and tone. It’s making sure students have time to reflect. That’s why this sample Krakow school trip itinerary has been designed to support both your curriculum aims and the practical realities of travelling with young people.
4-day school trip to Krakow itinerary at a glance
Day 1: Arrive in Krakow and take a guided walking tour of Kazimierz (the Jewish Quarter).
Day 2: Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau before returning to Krakow for reflection time in the Old Town.
Day 3: Explore Wieliczka Salt Mine and Schindler’s Factory Museum.
Day 4: Visit the Galicia Jewish Museum and take part in a Holocaust testimony session before flying home.
Example 4-Day Itinerary for School Groups Visiting Krakow
Day 1 - Arrive in Krakow and explore Kazimierz (the Jewish Quarter)
- Morning flight from the UK to Krakow
- Meet the coach and transfer to the hotel
- Afternoon - guided walking tour of the Jewish Quarter
- Evening meal at the hotel or at Ariel in the Jewish Quarter
The first day of your school trip to Krakow will start with an early flight (to Krakow or Katowice Airport).
On arrival, you’ll meet your private coach and transfer to your hotel, where you’ll check in and drop off your luggage.
The afternoon will be spent on a guided walking tour of the Jewish Quarter. But first, you can grab some lunch from the Judah Food Market, where you’ll find a variety of street food trucks serving everything from pierogi and chimney cakes to hot dogs and burgers (which is useful when you’re travelling with a group with varied tastes and dietary needs).
Once you’ve eaten, you’ll start your 4-hour (approximately) tour of Kazimierz (as the Jewish Quarter is known locally). For centuries, this was the centre of Jewish life in Kraków, and a place where Jewish and Catholic communities lived alongside one another.
Krakow itself was home to approximately 80,000 Jews (the total population of the city was around 237,000) before the Nazi occupation of Poland. The city had become an important centre for Jewish culture in Poland since the community established itself there in the 12th century.
This changed during the Second World War, when all of Krakow’s Jewish residents (including residents of Kazimierz) were forcibly moved to a ghetto across the river in Podgórze. Most were later killed during the liquidation of the ghetto, or in the death camps they were transported to.
Recently, Jewish culture has slowly begun to return to Kazimierz, and Europe’s largest festival of Jewish culture now takes place in the area every June.
On your tour, your guide will point out the key sites of interest and bring to life the history of the area. You can choose to add a visit to the Old Synagogue too.
For dinner, you can either return to your accommodation or you could stay in the Jewish Quarter, eating at a Jewish restaurant called Ariel (where you’ll usually be entertained by some traditional music during your meal).
Day 2 - Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau on a school trip from Krakow
- Breakfast at hotel
- Coach transfer to Auschwitz- Birkenau
- Guided tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp
- Coach back to Krakow
- Free time to explore the Old Town
- Evening meal at the hotel
Today is going to be a big day for your students. That’s because today is the day they’ll visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, and students will encounter the history of the Holocaust in a direct, carefully supported way.
Almost every school group that travels to Krakow wants to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Over 1.1 million people died here, so it’s a sombre but important visit.
You’ll start with breakfast before climbing aboard your coach for the transfer to Oświęcim. The journey takes around 90 minutes, and on arrival, you’ll need to go through security before starting your tour.
Most groups choose the standard tour, which lasts 3.5 hours and starts with a tour of the permanent exhibitions and buildings at the Auschwitz I-Main Camp. You’ll then visit the most important original camp buildings in Auschwitz II-Birkenau (including the prisoner barracks, the unloading platform and the ruins of a gas chamber and crematoria II or III).
There is also the option to take an extended study tour, which lasts 6 hours. This specialist tour of Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau is enhanced with selected national exhibitions, as well as visits to Kanada and the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria IV and V.
Whichever tour you decide to take, we strongly recommend that you give students a bit of free time once you return to Krakow. They’ll need time to reflect and to decompress from this visit. Your Tour Adviser can help you decide how much time to build in after the visit, depending on your students’ age, maturity and previous preparation.
Many of our groups choose this time to explore the Old Town. You could start in Rynek Główny, one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe. Key points of interest here are St. Mary’s Basilica (listen out for the hourly trumpet call from the top of the taller tower that gets cut off partway through), the Cloth Hall and the Town Hall Tower.
Or you could head to Wawel Hill, which overlooks the Vistula River and is home to a spectacular castle and cathedral.
Later, you’ll return to your accommodation for your evening meal.
Day 3 - Wieliczka Salt Mines and Schindler’s Factory Museum
- Breakfast at hotel
- Coach transfer to Wieliczka
- Guided tour of Wieliczka Salt Mines
- Coach back to Krakow
- Guided visit to Schindler’s Factory Museum
- Evening meal at hotel
After breakfast at your accommodation, you’ll hop back on board your private coach for the journey to Wieliczka Salt Mine.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site gives students a striking contrast to the previous day, combining history, engineering, art and geology. Your 3-hour guided tour will see you descend 135m below the ground. Prepare your group for the stairs down to the mine (there are 380 of them), as well as a few while you’re going through the tunnels (but you’ll be relieved to hear that a lift will take you back up to the surface at the end of the tour).
You’ll see magnificent saline lakes, beautiful underground chambers and incredible sculptures carved out of the salt. On the 2.2-mile visitors’ route, one of the highlights will be the remarkable St. Kinga’s Chapel. Everything (from the statue of Pope John Paul II to the Last Supper relief and even the chandeliers) has been carved from the salt.
After your visit, you’ll head back to Krakow for a visit to Schindler’s Factory. Here, the permanent exhibition, Krakow Under Nazi Occupation 1939 - 1945, tells the story of both the Polish and Jewish residents of the city during the Nazi occupation. Fittingly, the exhibition is housed in a former administrative building of Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. His endeavours to protect his Jewish workers were, of course, immortalised in the Steven Spielberg film, Schindler’s List.
After a busy day, it’ll be time to head back to your accommodation for a tasty dinner and a good night’s sleep.
Day 4 - Galicia Jewish Museum and Holocaust testimony session
- Breakfast at the hotel
- Visit to the Galicia Jewish Museum, with Holocaust Survivor Talk
- Meet the coach and transfer to the airport
- Afternoon/evening flight from Krakow to the UK
After another filling breakfast, your fourth and final day in Krakow will begin by returning to Kazimierz for a visit to the Galicia Jewish Museum.
The main exhibition here is Traces of Memory. A collaboration between museum founder and photographer Chris Schwarz and Professor Jonathan Webber, the exhibition explores 800 years of Jewish culture in southeastern Poland. The exhibition highlights the void created by the Holocaust, as well as the regeneration of Jewish culture in the area.
Subject to availability, we can also arrange for your group to meet a Righteous Among the Nations or a Holocaust survivor in a testimony-based session. These meetings are designed to be a dialogue, with your students encouraged to ask questions while hearing a first-hand account of the history they’ve been studying.
After a powerful and reflective morning, it’ll be time to board your coach and head back to the airport for your return flight to the UK. Your students will be returning home with a greater understanding of the realities and horrors of the Holocaust and the impact it had on the Nazi-occupied countries of Europe, particularly Poland.
History will feel immediate, human and relevant, helping students understand why remembrance still matters.
Halsbury Team Tips
Who is this Krakow school trip itinerary suitable for?
This itinerary is best suited to GCSE or A-Level history groups studying Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, the Second World War or life in occupied Europe. It can also work well for religious studies groups exploring Judaism, Catholicism, interfaith history, religious persecution and remembrance.
Because the subject matter is sensitive, we’ll help you plan the right pace for your students. That might mean building in more reflection time after Auschwitz-Birkenau, choosing age-appropriate visits or adapting the balance between guided learning and free time.
What subjects is Krakow suitable for?
Most school groups that visit Krakow do so because they’re studying the Nazis and the Holocaust in history. But many of the same visits can work really well for religious studies groups, too.
Your group will be able to explore similarities and differences between Catholicism (Poland’s majority religion) and Judaism. They can learn about key practices and beliefs of Catholicism, and the influence of religion on society (and how that can change). And they’ll explore the Holocaust as an example of religious discrimination and persecution.
What age group is Krakow suitable for?
Because of the topics typically explored on a school trip to Kraków, it’s usually GCSE and A-Level groups that choose this destination. However, if you wanted to arrange a cultural experience for a younger group, this would certainly be possible.
Is Krakow suitable for GCSE history trips?
Yes. Krakow is particularly suitable for GCSE and A-Level groups studying Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, the Second World War and life in occupied Europe.
Can religious studies groups visit Krakow?
Yes. Krakow works well for religious studies groups exploring Judaism, Catholicism, religious identity, persecution, remembrance and interfaith history.
How will we get to Krakow?
Most groups fly to Krakow, as several budget airlines (Ryanair, Easyjet and Wizz Air, for example) fly there from UK airports.
You can travel by coach, but it is nearly a day’s drive from the South of England. If you do want to go by coach, you could potentially spend the last night of your trip in Prague or Dresden, to break up the journey a bit and see another European city.
How will we get around Krakow?
Krakow itself is very walkable, so for visits within the city, you’ll often travel on foot. There is also a tram if you prefer not to walk.
For excursions outside the city (like Auschwitz-Birkenau or Wieliczka Salt Mine), we’ll arrange a private coach for you.
What’s the best time of year to visit Krakow?
You can visit Krakow at any time of year (just bear in mind that winter temperatures can dip well below freezing, while summer temperatures can go above 30 °C, so make sure you pack accordingly).
How many days do you need for a school trip to Krakow?
Most groups will spend 3-4 days exploring Krakow. A 4-day itinerary gives you time to visit Kazimierz, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Wieliczka Salt Mine, Schindler’s Factory and the Galicia Jewish Museum without rushing.
You could choose to combine your trip to Krakow with a visit to Berlin, in which case durations of 5-6 days are more common.
Can you visit Auschwitz-Birkenau on a school trip to Krakow?
Yes. Most history school trips to Krakow include a guided visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. We’ll help you plan the visit sensitively, including transport, timings and reflection time afterwards.
Teacher Planning Notes
A Krakow school trip can be deeply rewarding, but some visits (particularly Auschwitz-Birkenau) require careful preparation. We recommend speaking to students before departure about the nature of the sites they’ll visit, setting clear expectations around behaviour and building in time afterwards for quiet reflection.
We’ll support you with the practical planning too, including transport, accommodation, meals, visit timings and guidance on how to pace the itinerary for your group.
In summary…
A school trip to Krakow gives students more than a deeper understanding of the Holocaust and Nazi-occupied Poland. It helps them see how history lives in streets, buildings, memorials and personal testimony.
From Kazimierz and Auschwitz-Birkenau to Schindler’s Factory and the Galicia Jewish Museum, each visit adds context, compassion and clarity. Students return home with a stronger understanding of Jewish life in Poland, the realities of persecution and the importance of remembrance.
For teachers, this itinerary gives structure without stiffness. It includes guided visits, private coach transfers, reflective time and flexible options for history and religious studies groups. We’ll help you adapt the pace, prepare students for sensitive content and deal with the details (from flights and accommodation to meals, timings and support on the ground).
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