Day Trip To Dachau Concentration Camp – Here’s What You Need To Know

UPDATED FEB 2020. Would you visit a concentration camp when you visit Europe? I have visited Auschwitz, Dachau, and Mauthausen and, while I wouldn’t say it’s a fun day of travel, I think they are worth visiting. It’s not an exciting thrill, you won’t get any great Instagram shots, and, to be honest, it might just be a sad experience for you. But, I think it’s important to learn about the destinations we visit as we travel. To make an effort to learn about the history, people, and culture – not just the shiny, pretty stuff. In the case of concentration camps, it’s important to keep the memory of it alive as a way to honor people who went through them. Here’s a guide on how to plan a day trip to Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany to help you plan your visit.

Day Trip To Dachau Concentration Camp – Here’s What You Need To Know

Planning basics

How much does it cost to visit?

There is no cost to enter the Dachau Concentration Camp.

For the headphone tour, which I highly recommend doing, it costs €4 per person and you need to give an ID card (like a driver’s license) as a deposit for the headphone set. Once you return the headphones, you get your ID card back.

Once the parking lot has been reopened there may be a small charge for parking.

Opening hours

The camp is open from 9am to 5pm daily and closed on Christmas Eve.

Where to stay to take a day trip to Dachau Concentration Camp?

As far as where to base yourself, Munich is your best bet which is only 40 minutes from the camp.

The camp is an hour and a half from Nuremberg, and a bit over 2 hours from Stuggart in Germany or Salzburg, Austria so those are other options.

You could also stay in a smaller town nearby but may need to have a rental car for those as public transport would take longer.

It’s a bit far away from places like Berlin and Hamburg to be doable for a day trip.

Where to park

There is a parking lot but when I visited it was undergoing renovations and was closed as a result.

This is expected to be the case until 2020.

I used street parking along the main street but if you are visiting before 2020 and especially during a peak season, it’d be worth going early in the day to make sure you can get a park nearby.

How to get to Dachau Concentration Camp using public transport

If you are not driving, you can take a train to Dachau station then a bus to the site. For more details on how to get there using public transport:

• Put the camp into Google Maps
• Click ‘directions’ and enter the starting point from your starting point
• Once it loads you can click the public transport icon and find the best route for you

This is how I usually find out how to travel to and from places using public transport.

What to expect on a day trip to Dachau Concentration Camp

Like I said, it’s not going to be fun. It’s a somber place similar to a cemetery.

Once you enter, take the path outside and follow the prompts on the signs to listen to the information in the headphones. The number on the sign is the number you enter into your headset.

I thought the Mauthausen Concentration Camp was a little easier to follow in terms of logistics, but this was not difficult and you will be able to follow the paths and the crowd to see everything.

You can expect to enter the main gates, walk through living quarters, see museum exhibits, watch a film, and see the crematorium building all while you learn about it through the information in your headset.

In other words, you get a thorough look at the camp. Be prepared to learn all about it with no sugar coating or glossing over the harsh details.

While they didn’t shy away from the harsh details, it was all presented respectfully and it was very informative.

It’s emotionally confronting.

If you’re an empath or have had family members in a camp, you can expect that it might be a heavy experience for you. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have something light planned for afterward to keep your cup-balanced.

I recommend checking the times for the film and working your tour around what time you want to see that because it was a good overview.

Is there a crematorium?

As I mentioned you will be able to visit the crematorium.

You don’t need to in the sense that it’s a self-guided tour and you can avoid anything you don’t want to see, but you are able to walk into the crematorium building and look at the crematorium itself.

It’s harsh to see and is where I noticed some other guests brought to tears. I’m deliberately not posting a photo from inside the building for this reason.

I just wanted to mention it here to give you the forewarning that you see the actual chambers with a stretcher still placed at them.

If you think this will be too hard to see you may want to either just see the building from the outside, or skip that part altogether.

Overall thoughts

I think they have done a great job of presenting the information in a detailed yet respectful way.

It’s really not a ‘fun’ day at all. Though, I think it is well worth a visit to learn more about the history and honor the memory of those who were there.

While it’s hard, it would be worse if we avoided it and let the memories of the victims fade.

Other guides you might enjoy

• How To Get To Auschwitz From Krakow And What To Expect There
• Visiting Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest Without A Tour And A Weekend Itinerary
• How To See The D-Day Landing Beaches Itinerary In Two Days

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For more information:

Visit the Dachau Concentration Camp website or follow their page on Facebook for updates.