Best Terezin Concentration Camp Tours

The city of Terezín is linked to some of the darkest episodes of the Second World War, housing a concentration camp. It was not an extermination camp but a transit camp to other camps such as Auschwitz or Treblinka, but the conditions to which they were subjected by those who passed there were horrible and died around 35,000 people of the more than 140,000 who passed through this place.

If you decide to visit Terezín, I recommend that you opt for an excursion from the Czech capital. Here are some of the options available for your visit.

The most complete option

Terezin Concentration Camp Day Trip from Prague

Get to know the history of Terezin with this tour from Prague

This tour, which lasts approximately 5 hours, includes transportation, entrance and visit to the largest concentration camp in the Czech Republic.

From $64 at Hellotickets

With this excursion to Terezin from Prague, you will discover the tragic events of World War II in the Czech Republic with a guide.

With an approximate duration of 5 hours, you will learn all the history of this concentration camp and have access to key sites such as the Small Fortress, a building that served as a prison for the Gestapo.

Recommended if... You are passionate about history.

On this excursion to the Terezín concentration camp, departing from Prague by bus, you will visit the Small and the Big Fortress, the Jewish Ghetto Museum. In addition, you will attend the screening of the film History of Terezín in English. And finally, you will visit the Jewish National Cemetery.

Throughout the bus ride, the guide will give you background information about this dark episode of World War II and tell you about the devastating events that took place in Terezín. Once at the concentration camp, the tour will start at the Great Fortress. Throughout the tour, you will walk through the outbuildings, the shooting ranges... and witness the atrocities experienced by those who passed through the concentration camp.

This tour, priced from 57€ and lasting from five hours, is available in English and Spanish. Throughout the tour, there is also free time to visit the different facilities.

• Price... From 57€.
• Duration... 5 hours.
• What's included... Guided tour, entrance to the large and small fortress.
• Means of transport... Bus.

There are other options available to visit the Terezin concentration camp depending on whether you want to enjoy a more private option or want to complement this proposal with other activities. Here are the main ones:

Semi-private half-day tour with admission included

In this semi-private excursion for up to six people to the Terezín concentration camp, as in the rest of the tours, you will visit the Great Fortress and the Small Fortress with an expert guide who will give you all the details of the history. It is true that this experience, being semi-private, will allow you to go deeper into the details and comment on the different explanations without slowing down the pace of the group.

This tour, priced from 49 and lasting four hours, is available in Spanish and the tour is done in minibus.

• Price... From 49€.
• Duration... 4 hours.
• What's included... Guided tour, transfer from Prague, entrance to the large and small fortress.
• Means of transport... Bus.

Tour to Terezín without entrance

This tour departs from Prague early in the morning, around 9 a.m., and follows the same route as the trains that took the prisoners to ** Terezín**. Once there, you will visit, together with a guide in English, the different areas of the concentration camp: the Ghetto Museum, the office where the prisoners were registered, the courtyards of the cells, the cemetery...

The tour, of approximately six hours, has a price from 35€, but to this you have to add the entrance to the concentration ** camp** that has a cost from 9€ per adult and 7€ reduced admission for children under 16 years, over 65 years and students.

• Price... From 35€.
• Duration... Approximately 6 hours.
• What's included... Transfer from Prague to Terezín and guided tour of the concentration camp.
• Means of transportation... Transportation in private vehicle.

Private tour to Terezín

And if you want to visit the Terezín concentration camp in a more intimate way, you can opt for a private tour. In this case, the price is a little higher, but not disproportionate. Thus, the tour for four people can be booked from 175 €, for six people from 210 €, for eight people from 315 €, for 15 people from 500 € and for 19 people from 588 €. Of course, this price does not include the entrance fee to the concentration camp (from 9€ per adult and 7€ reduced admission for seniors over 65, children under 16 and students).

Of course, this option also includes transportation from Prague and the visit, along with a guide in Spanish, of the different areas of the concentration camp.

• Price... From 175€ for the tour for up to four people.
• Duration... Approximately 5 to 6 hours.
• What's included... Transfer to Terezín and private guided tour of the concentration camp.
• Means of transportation... Transportation in a private vehicle.

Tour of the Jewish quarter of Prague, the Terezín concentration camp and Lídice

Another type of tour to visit the Terezín concentration camp also includes a visit to the Jewish quarter of Prague and Lídice, destroyed in a massacre during World War II.

This tour, which lasts seven hours, starts in the Jewish quarter of Prague where the visit lasts approximately two hours and you will be shown all the corners of this district. Afterwards, you will travel in an air-conditioned vehicle to the Terezín Memorial, whose visit also has an estimated time of two hours, and where you will visit the visitable rooms, the cemetery, the museum and the barracks. Finally, the last stop will be at the Lydice Memorial.

This tour, from 200€, includes entrance tickets to all the museums (Židovské Muzeum v Praze, Terezín Memorial and Lidice Memorial), as well as travel and the accompaniment of a professional guide who will give you all the details about this black chapter of Prague's history.

• Price... From 200€.
• Duration... 7 hours approximately.
• What's included... Tour with professional guide through the Jewish quarter of Prague, the concentration camp of Terezín and Lídce, entrance fees, and transfers.
• Means of transportation... Air-conditioned vehicle.

Terezín is located just over 60 kilometers from Prague and is divided into two areas: the Great Fortress and the Small Fortress.

• Ghetto Museum: Located in the building where the old school was located, it shows what life was like in the place during the Nazi occupation. It includes drawings of the children who lived in the camp, photographs... It is located less than a kilometer walk from the Small Fortress.
• Magdeburg Barracks: During the visit to Terezín you can also visit the barracks where the prisoners lived in overcrowded conditions. To make you fully aware of how they lived, they have been faithfully reconstructed to their original state.
• The Small Fortress: Considered the main section of Terezín, on your visit you will be able to observe the terrible conditions experienced by the people who passed through the concentration camp since their arrival. You will pass through the office where the prisoners were searched and all their personal belongings were left, the cell yards, the cells where the prisoners lived, the hospital.
• The crematorium: It is usually the last stop of the tour. In principle, Terezín was a transit camp and not an extermination camp, but thousands of deaths have been recorded.

Excursions to Terezin from Prague are priced from 57 Euro and last approximately four to seven hours. All include bus transportation from the Czech capital, the accompaniment of an expert guide, entrance to the Great Fortress and the Small Fortress, a visit to the Ghetto Museum and a tour of the Jewish National Cemetery.

In my opinion, it is advisable to opt for an excursion to Terezin from Prague withan expert guide. On the one hand, this way, you will get to know all the details of the history of the concentration camp. Otherwise, you will have to catch up on this episode of history to know everything that happened there. And, on the other hand, it is economical, since it includes the bus to and from the camp, the entrance fee and the guide's accompaniment.

The Terezín concentration camp, located 62 kilometers from Prague, is open all year round except December 24 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. During the summer months, the opening hours are extended to 6 pm.

All excursions to Terezín from Prague include transportation both to and from the center of Prague or even from the hotel, so in principle you don't have to worry about how to get from the Czech capital to Terezín. Still, it is important to know that it is located 62 kilometers from Prague and it takes between 45 minutes and an hour to get there.

The best days of the week to take a tour to Terezin from Prague are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as this is when there are fewer visitors. Keep in mind that Terezin is a very popular tour and on weekends it is usually very crowded. Even so, the site is very large and it is difficult to get the feeling that it is crowded.

The best time of the year to take a trip to Terezin from Prague is in May, June or September, when temperatures are not yet very low, but there is not as much tourism as in summer, which is high season in the Czech Republic.

If you are going on an excursion to Terezin from Prague I recommend that you take into account the following tips:

• Wear comfortable shoes. Terezin is very large and to get from one point to another of the concentration camp you will have to walk.
• If your excursion coincides with summer days, do not hesitate to bring water and sunscreen. There are very few shady places.
• In the concentration camp of Terezín it is allowed, with some exceptions, to take pictures so you can bring your camera.
• You will not find stores nearby so do not hesitate to take an energy bar, dried fruit or a snack... whatever you consider appropriate.
• It is not advisable to go with the little ones of the house. For children it can be very hard or they may not understand the visit.
• You have to be mentally prepared for the visit. It is very hard and, at times, you will feel anxious, overwhelmed and even suffocated. Just imagining what the people who went through Terezín might have felt will make you shudder. Still, in my opinion, everyone has to go to a concentration camp sometime in life.

Also, for your trip to the Czech Republic, do not hesitate to read the post what to see and do in Prague.