Best Terezin Concentration Camp Tours

The city of Terezín is linked to some of the darkest episodes of the Second World War as 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 those who passed through there were subjected were horrible and around 35,000 of the more than 140,000 people who passed through this place died.

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 about 5 hours, includes transport, entrance and a visit to the largest concentration camp in the Czech Republic.

From £49 at Hellotickets

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

Lasting approximately 5 hours, you will learn all about the history of this concentration camp and have access to key sites such as the Small Fortress, a building that served as a Gestapo prison.

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. You will also attend a screening of the film History of Terezín in English. Finally, you will visit the Jewish National Cemetery.

Throughout the bus ride, the guide will give you background information about this dark episode of the Second World War and tell you about the devastating events that took place in Terezín. Once at the concentration camp, the tour starts 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, which starts at €57 and lasts five hours, is available in English and Spanish. Throughout the tour, there is also free time to explore the various 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 Terezín concentration camp depending on whether you want to enjoy a more private option or complement this proposal with other activities. The main ones are listed below:

Semi-private half-day tour including entrance fee

On this semi-private excursion for up to six people to the Terezín concentration camp, as on the other tours, you will see the Great Fortress and the Small Fortress with an expert guide who will give you all the details of the history. However, it is true that this is a semi-private experience that will allow you to go into more detail and comment on the different explanations without slowing down the pace of the group.

This tour, which starts at 49€ and lasts four hours, is available in Spanish and the tour is done in a 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 an English-speaking guide, 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, which lasts approximately six hours, costs from 35€, but you have to add the entrance fee to the concentration ** camp**, which costs from 9€ per adult and 7€ reduced admission for children under 16, over 65s 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 transport... Transport by private vehicle.

Private tour to Terezín

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 disproportionately high. 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. However, this price does not include admission to the concentration camp (from €9 per adult and €7 reduced admission for over 65s, under 16s and students).

Of course, this option also includes transport from Prague and a tour of the different areas of the concentration camp with an English-speaking guide.

• Price... From €175 for a 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 transport... Transport by 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 seven-hour tour starts in the Jewish quarter of Prague, where the visit lasts approximately two hours and you will be shown all the nooks and crannies of this district. Afterwards, you will travel in an air-conditioned vehicle to the Terezín Memorial, which also lasts approximately two hours, and where you will visit the visitable rooms, the cemetery, the museum and the barracks. Finally, the last stop is at the Lydice Memorial.

This tour, from €200, includes admission 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 dark chapter in Prague's history.

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

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

• Ghetto Museum: Located in the former school building, it shows what life was like there during the Nazi occupation. It includes drawings of the children who lived in the camp, photographs... It is located less than a kilometre's walk from the Small Fortress.
• Magdeburg Barracks: During your visit to Terezín you can also visit the barracks where the prisoners lived in overcrowded conditions. To give you a full sense 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 see the terrible conditions that the people who passed through the concentration camp have lived in since their arrival. You will pass through the office where prisoners were searched and all their personal belongings were left, the cell yards, the cells where the prisoners lived, the hospital.
• The crematorium: This is usually the last stop on 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 start at 57 Euros and last approximately four to seven hours. All include bus transport from the Czech capital, an expert guide, entrance to the Great and 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 can get to know all the details of the history of the concentration camp. Otherwise, you 'll have to catch up on this episode of history to find out everything that happened there. And on the other hand, it is economical, as it includes the bus to and from the camp, the entrance ticket and the guide's accompaniment.

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

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

The best days of the week for a trip to Terezín from Prague are Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when there are fewer visitors. Keep in mind that Terezín is a very popular tour and on weekends it tends to be very crowded. Even so, the site is very large and it's hard to get the feeling that it's crowded.

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

If you are going on a trip to Terezin from Prague, I recommend that you take the following tips into account:

• Wear comfortable shoes. Terezín is very large and you will have to walk from one part of the concentration camp to another.
• If your excursion coincides with summer days, don't hesitate to take water and sun cream. There are very few shady places.
• Photography is allowed in Terezín concentration camp, with a few exceptions, so you can take your camera with you.
• There are no shops nearby, so don't hesitate to take an energy bar, dried fruit or a snack... whatever you want.
• It is not advisable to go with the youngest members of the family. 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. Even so, in my opinion, everyone has to go to a concentration camp at some point in their lives.

Also, for your trip to the Czech Republic, don't hesitate to read the post What to see and do in Prague.