The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum is easily navigated on foot. There is a free bus between Auschwitz and Birkenau.
Tours are provided by the museum for a fee in various languages, and are recommended if you want a deeper understanding of the site, but they are unfortunately somewhat rushed, and you can get a pretty good feel by buying a guidebook and map small, simple guide = 5zl; more detailed "souvenir" guide = 12zl - covering Auschwitz and Birkenau and wandering around on your own provided you arrive before 10:00 a.m. - after 10:00 a.m., for crowd control purposes, guided tours are mandatory. Each exhibit is described in Polish with other language translations. The scope of the evil and terror that occurred here is almost unimaginable and a guide can help to put in context what a room full of human hair or what a thousand pairs of infant shoes means. They'll also tell you about former prisoners who have returned to see the museum.
