Wieliczka Salt Mine Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to visit an underground salt kingdom? If you’re in Poland, you can easily do so at the Wieliczka Salt Mine — the biggest salt mine in Poland and one of Krakow’s top tourist attractions!

Wieliczka Salt Mine (or its more simple nickname, the Krakow Salt Mine) is a UNESCO-listed site that spans 9 levels and covers more than 250 kilometers (155 miles) of tunnels. In fact, the mine is so huge that tourists can explore only 2% of its total area!

Wieliczka isn’t just some ol’ boring salt mine, though — it’s home to underground lakes, magnificent chapels, intricate salt-carved statues, a grand ballroom, and so much more. It’s a must-visit, especially if you’re a fan of unique experiences and/or natural beauty.

Since Wieliczka Salt Mine is located just outside of Krakow, it’s also one of the easiest and most popular day trips from Krakow.

In this guide, I’ll cover everything that you need to know before visiting, including how to get to the salt mines, the different tours available, and even an entire walkthrough of the Wieliczka Salt Mine!

Wieliczka Salt Mine Travel Tips

Before we go 100-some meters underground and ‘start’ our tour, here are some practical travel tips that will help you make the most out of your visit:

📅 1. The best time to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine is *drumroll* … any time! Seriously 😁
Thanks to a stable underground climate, the Wieliczka Salt Mine is always kept at a pleasant temperature of around 17 C (63 F) ‘year round.

That being said, summer is the most popular time to visit (it’s the busiest season!), so be sure to book your tickets well in advance. We visited in winter (mid-February) and it was a fantastic time to go! Despite going on a sold-out tour (they cap the maximum guests at 35 per group), the mine wasn’t crowded at all and we didn’t have to deal with long lines.

Literally speaking, the best time to visit the mine is as early as possible — before noon is ideal. Our tour started at 10 am, which, in my humble opinion, was optimal. We could have breakfast, get to the mines, enjoy the tour (without crowds!), and be out by 1 pm… with half of the day to spare. :)

🤳 2. Visiting Independently
One of the most popular questions is Can you visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine independently?

Nope! Since the mine has nine levels and over 250 km (155 mi) of tunnels, it’s incredibly easy to get lost — which is why Wieliczka Salt Mine self-guided tours are not allowed.

Instead, the entry ticket includes a guided tour, which is honestly a good thing! The guides are very knowledgeable, and having someone walk you through the history, landmarks, and unique rock formations makes the experience much more enjoyable than wandering alone and trying to figure out who this dude named Chopin is. (Just kidding, he wrote one of my favorite pieces, Minute Waltz 😉)

⏰ 3. How Long Do You Need in Wieliczka Salt Mine?
If you plan to do Wieliczka from start to finish, plan to give yourself at least 4 hours: 1 hour to get there and back to Krakow, 1.5 hours for the main tour (Tourist Route), another hour for the museum tour, and 30 minutes for a quick snack or shopping break.

Fun fact: Hundreds of years ago, the first tours around the Wieliczka Salt Mine used to take between 6 to 8 hours! Thankfully, they’ve condensed it a bit since then. ;)

🎫 4. Be sure to book your tickets in advance!
To give you an idea, more than 1.5 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine every year, so you can imagine how popular it gets! You can book via the website or on sites like GetYourGuide or Viator:

🤔 5. Is the Wieliczka Salt Mine worth visiting?
To be honest, I didn’t really care for salt mines — they’re not something I think about a lot, you know what I mean?

However, after visiting Wieliczka, I can wholeheartedly recommend it! Despite being 3 hours long, the tour was very interesting and kept me engaged the whole time. The rock formations and underground pools were especially beautiful. As a nice bonus, the salt air is good for your respiratory health, so you’ll feel refreshed too. :)

Wieliczka Salt Mine Tickets

Before visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine, I was slightly confused about all of the tour options — What’s the difference between the Tourist Route and the Miners Route? Is one better than the other? What’s the Graduation Tower (and do graduates actually go there after their final exams)?

If you’re wondering the same thing, don’t worry — that’s exactly the point of this section! I break down all the ticket options at Wieliczka Salt Mine, so you can easily decide which tour is right for you.

There are 3 tours offered at the Wieliczka Salt Mine: the Tourist Route, the Miners’ Route, and the Pilgrims’ Route. Let’s take a look at each one:

The Tourist Route (Most Popular)

If it’s your first time visiting Wieliczka Salt Mines, this is the tour you’ll want to book. The Tourist Route is the most popular tour at Wieliczka and what most people usually start with. On this tour, you’ll get a comprehensive overview of the mine and walk through its most famous highlights, like underground chapels, lakes, chambers, salt sculptures, and more.

The tour is divided into two parts:
✔️ The ‘main’ tour takes about 1.5 to 2 hours and covers about 2 km (1.2 mi).
✔️ At the end, you can extend your visit and take an optional tour of the ‘museum,’ which is another hour and 1.25 km (0.77 mi).
✔️ If you do both, you can expect to spend about 2.5 to 3.5 hours total.

The maximum number of people in each tour group is 35.

Tours are conducted in 8 languages: English, Polish, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Ukrainian, and russian. The Polish and English tours have multiple departures every day, while the other languages have fewer tours (i.e. only twice or three times a day). If you’re planning to take a tour in another language, be sure to check the timetables (and book a ticket!) before you visit.

The Miners’ Route (Interactive Experience)

For something a little more hands-on, there’s also the Miners’ Route. This is more of an activity than an actual tour, since you’ll dress up like miners (including hard hats and costume!) and carry out all sorts of mining tasks.

The tour is led by the ‘Foreman,’ who also teaches the ~~group~~ aspiring miners tasks like weaving ropes, checking for gas, mining for salt, and much more. At the end of the tour, everyone will receive a certificate and become an honorary miner. :)

Everyone aged 10+ or older can participate. The duration, walking distance, and price is similar to the Tourist Route above — about 2.5 to 3.5 hours, and about 2 km (1.2 mi). However, you’ll be covering different parts of the mine (i.e. other levels and areas that are not part of the Tourist Route).

This ‘tour’ is also smaller, since the maximum group size is only 20 people. Tours are available in English and Polish.

📝 Travel Tip! If you’re interested in doing both tours, I recommend starting with the Tourist Route (to get a solid introduction to the mine) and then going on the Miners’ Route (to dive deeper and see the mines from a different perspective). You can even do both in one day — just be sure to leave a bit of time between the tours so you can have lunch and rest.

The Pilgrims’ Route (Faith Focused)

Finally, the mine also offers a special Pilgrims’ Route tour for those who want to learn more about how the miners kept their faith underground, marvel at religious sculptures, and see places of worship. At the end, there is also the option to hold a mass at one of the underground chapels.

However, this tour is usually reserved for private groups (minimum 20 people), so you’ll need to organize it in advance.

Besides the three tours mentioned above, the mine also sells tickets to the Graduation Tower.

The Graduation Tower (Not a Tour But Still Cool)

Finally, you might have noticed an option called the Graduation Tower.

Despite its name, it has nothing to do with graduating students (like I originally thought 😅). The tower got its name from the ‘graduation process,’ which is used to extract salt. Back in the day, salt production involved gradually increasing the concentration of salt in water by letting it flow over blackthorn branches, where wind and sun naturally evaporated the water, leaving behind more concentrated salt deposits.

The Wieliczka Graduation Tower still follows the same principle: instead of producing salt, it releases salt-infused mist into the air via the branches, which creates a natural inhalation therapy beneficial for the respiratory system.

As you walk around and breathe in the mineral-rich air, your respiratory system gets a natural cleanse — kind of like a spa day for your lungs. :)

When I asked our tour guide, she mentioned that the tower is especially recommended for those who suffer from allergies or asthma; those who want to give a boost to their immune system; or just anyone who wants to try salt therapy (without necessarily going down underground).

It’s a nice add-on to your visit if you have some extra time or want a relaxing way to end your Wieliczka Salt Mine experience. The official Wieliczka website mentions that to get the maximum benefits from the tower, your visit should be at least 30 minutes.

You can book tickets on the Wieliczka website or check out one of these top-rated tours below:

How to Get to the Wieliczka Salt Mine

The Wieliczka Salt Mine may be just outside of Krakow, but don’t let that put you off — getting there is very easy! At first, we were hesitant about taking this day trip because of the logistics, but we worried for nothing. :)

The distance from Krakow to the Wieliczka Salt Mine is only about 12 km (7.5 mi), and there are multiple options to get to the mine. Here is how to reach the Wieliczka Salt Mine from Krakow:

By Tour (Easiest & Most Convenient)

The easiest way to travel to the Wieliczka Salt Mine is by tour, since you don’t need to stress about where to find the bus/train/taxi, waiting in line for tickets, or figuring out logistics. Since everything is taken care of, all you need to do is show up and enjoy the trip!

I recommend this tour, which includes hotel pick-up (!) and is top rated.

By Car & Taxi (Fast)

If you prefer flexibility, traveling by car is another straightforward option. Whether you rent a car or take a taxi, the journey takes about 20-30 minutes (depending on traffic).

We hailed an Uber and found it easy to use in Krakow and on the way back. A typical trip costs 45 PLN for the basic UberX, around 80 PLN for UberXL (for groups up to 6), or 100 PLN for Uber Black (for a luxury ride). There’s also paid parking available near the mine if you’re driving there yourself.

By Bus (Budget-Friendly)

Another easy way to reach Wieliczka Salt Mine is by taking the 304 bus, which goes directly to the entrance. It has multiple departures every hour and takes about 30 minutes to reach the mine.

You can buy a ticket at the kiosk or via the Jakdojade app, but be sure to buy a Zone I + II ticket, since Wieliczka is in zone II!

If you’re staying near the main train station (Kraków Główny), go to the Dworzec Główny Zachód and you’ll see the stop (and timetables for the 304 bus). Likewise, the 304 bus also circles around the Old Town, so you can hop on the bus at the Nowy Kleparz, Plac Inwalidów, Muzeum Narodowe, or Jubilat stops. You can check out the full route here →

By Train

If you’re staying near Kraków Główny, taking the train is another option. You’ll need to go to the main station and look for the train operated by Koleje Małopolskie (the company that goes between Krakow and Wieliczka). The train leaves twice an hour and the journey takes about 20 minutes.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour

Now for the fun part: let’s talk about what you’ll see on the tour! This next section is a full walkthrough of the Wieliczka Salt Mine experience.

We did the Tourist Route, which starts at Daniłowicza 10. If you’re taking a taxi, it’ll drop you off at the gate. If you’re taking public transportation, you’ll need to walk a bit to get there.

After entering the gate, there’s a ticket booth (for those who didn’t pre-book a ticket) and a handful of clearly-marked queues based on language (i.e. English-language tour, Polish-language tour, and so on).

We arrived about 10 minutes before our scheduled tour and didn’t have to wait very long — after a few minutes, the employees made an announcement and ushered us inside.

The stairs going down the Wieliczka Mine

The Descent Begins

After your tickets are validated, the real fun begins: descending down the staircase! To get to the starting point of the tour, you’ll need to walk down 350 wooden steps, or about 130 meters (427 ft) below ground.

At the bottom, you’ll meet your tour guide and get a quick safety briefing before going into the tunnels.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine has 9 levels (‘stories’ if you will :)) and more than 2,500 corridors that span around 250 to 300 kilometers (155 to 186 miles). I say ‘around’ 250 km because the mine is an active excavation site and archaeologists are constantly finding “new” tunnels that were previously collapsed hundreds of years ago.

In fact, only 1.5 to 2% of the entire mine is open to the public!

Safety in the Wieliczka Salt Mine

During the first few minutes, you might feel a little uneasy (I definitely had a moment where it hit me how far underground we were 😅), but it goes away quickly.

On that note, I’d like to point out that the Wieliczka Salt Mine is completely safe! The tour guide mentioned that, thanks to the infrastructure and maintenance, there are no sudden collapses. The beams that prop up the chambers have been ‘soaked’ in salty air for such a long time that they’ve hardened and become almost rock-like. The mine also employs around 400 workers, who constantly monitor conditions and conduct safety checks.

With that out of the way, let’s continue the tour!

The Wieliczka Salt Sculptures

The first stop along the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour is a salt statue of one of the most famous Polish people (no, not Chopin, although we’ll see him in a little bit 😁). I’m talking about Nicolaus Copernicus!

This particular statue of Copernicus was created for the 500th anniversary of his birth. Choosing Copernicus as the subject wasn’t a coincidence, either — he was one of the first guests to visit the salt mine!

Speaking of which… During the tour, you’ll see a couple of statues carved entirely out of salt. What’s even more interesting is that these sculptures were made by regular miners — that is, they didn’t have any formal training in arts or sculpting! How cool is that?

The Legend of Princess Kinga

The next chamber tells us a brief story about the legend of how the Wieliczka Salt Mine came to be. Many many years ago (around the 1200s, to be precise), a Hungarian princess called Kinga was set to be married to Bolesław V, the prince of Krakow. As part of her dowry, Kinga asked her father, the King of Hungary, for a lump of salt — something that was so valuable that it cost more than gold!

Kinga’s father took her to a salt mine in Hungary to fulfill her wish. Although she was pleased, Kinga was also worried because she had no idea how to move the entire mine to Poland. After a while, she had an idea and threw her engagement ring into one of the mining shafts.

After Kinga arrived in Krakow, she was met with a grand celebration, but she hadn’t forgotten about her unusual dowry. Determined to bring the gift of salt to her new homeland, she stopped near the (present-day) town of Wieliczka and asked her attendants to start digging. To everyone’s astonishment, they uncovered a rich salt deposit buried deep in the ground and, in one of the rocks, was Kinga’s engagement ring!

From that day, Kinga became the patron saint of salt miners in Poland.

A Day in The Life of a Miner

In the next chamber, there’s another theatrical ‘story’ about one of the most dangerous aspects of early mining — methane gas.

While we’re on the topic, it was interesting to learn that working at the Wieliczka Salt Mine was a privilege. The working conditions were fairly good, and the miners worked a maximum of 8 hours a day. In fact, many preferred working at the Wieliczka Salt Mine over other mining places (such as coal, which was bad for the lungs!)

Over in the next room, there’s a short story of how supplies and salt blocks were transported by horses. At one time, as many as 80 horses worked in the mines, and there was even an entire chamber dedicated to their stables!

Early Salt Production

Moving a bit further is another room of a diorama of how early settlers found salt more than 6,000 years ago (before the salt mines existed! 😉)

In the final room, there’s a statue of one of Poland’s greatest leaders, King Casimir the Great (fun fact: the Kazimierz neighborhood in Krakow is named after him!).

Casimir inherited a kingdom weakened by war and, during his 30+ year reign, turned it into a powerful state. In fact, there’s even a popular saying that goes, “[Casimir] found a Poland made of wood and left it made of stone.” However, you might wonder, where did he get the money to afford such a grand development?

The answer is the Wieliczka Salt Mine! ;)

About 33% of the country’s income came from salt mining in those days, which is pretty amazing when you think about it. It wasn’t a one-way street, either — Casimir also greatly helped the salt mine by building a hospital for the miners and granting it special privileges.

Wieliczka Salt Mine Chapels

From this room, you’ll walk downstairs to one level below — about 153 steps — and walk a bit to the next chamber. On the way there, you’ll meet some cute ‘locals’ (gnome statues!) who sometimes come alive and work in the mines when nobody’s looking. 😉

The next stop is the first underground chapel on the tour, called the Holy Cross Chapel. It was built in the 1860s by the miners, who came to pray before and during their shift.

In the next hallway, the tour typically stops for a very quick bathroom break. This is also around the halfway point of the Tourist Route tour.

After the break, you’ll visit the most famous landmark in the entire Wieliczka Salt Mine: the St. Kinga’s Chapel! As you might remember from a few paragraphs ago, Kinga was the Hungarian princess who threw her engagement ring into a salt mine and later became the patron saint of miners.

If you’ve already read or researched about the salt mine, you might notice that most of the cover photos for Wieliczka Salt Mine tours and travel brochures are from this chapel. I don’t blame them, it’s absolutely stunning here!

St. Kinga’s Chapel is located some 100 meters underground and is especially famous for its ‘salt paintings,’ which are bas-relief images of the Last Supper, famous events in Polish history, and so on. Interestingly, half of the ‘paintings’ here are modern (i.e. they were only created a few years ago by local artists)!

If you want to tie the knot with your loved one, you can also rent out this chapel for your wedding. 😉
(And in fact, miners used the chapel for their weddings over a century ago!)

After a quick break in the chapel, the tour continues to the Erazm Barącz Chamber, which is actually an underground lake! The water here is very, very, very salty — in fact, it’s about 32% saltier than the Dead Sea.

Thanks to this high concentration of salt, the Wieliczka Salt Mine is a very popular place for health tourism in Poland. Our guide mentioned that people come here for 2 to 3 weeks at a time to heal their respiratory ailments, such as asthma — the salt mine even works with a local hotel to offer packages.

From the lake, you’ll walk a bit to get to the next area: the Michałowice Chamber. This is a huge room — so huge, in fact, that the chamber is 36 meters tall! The main feature of the room are the huge wooden pillars that ‘hold up’ the chamber, which took miners over 100 years to build. It also holds the mine’s biggest chandelier and is sometimes used for banquets, meetings, and concerts (could you imagine the amazing acoustics?)

If your head is spinning from the sheer proportions of the Michałowice Chamber, no worries — the next stop is the break room!

Mini Break

This area has a small cafe with snacks and water; a mini gift store; benches to sit down and relax; and even bathrooms. Heck, there’s even an internet connection in this area! We were given about 10 minutes to relax before we moved onto the final part of the tour.

The Final Stretch

The last section of the tour visits the Weimar Chamber, which features a statue of Chopin near the entrance. That’s not a coincidence, since the next room features a large pool and a short light show — with Chopin’s music playing in the background. :)

After the show, you’ll descend a few more steps to get to the Józef Piłsudski Chamber, which features his statue, and the Józef Piłsudski Grotto, which is a small ‘river’ that used to offer boat rides through the mines.

The Stanisław Staszic chamber is the final room and the place where you’ll finish the first part of the tour. The room itself is very impressive — it’s 36 meters tall and was even used for hot air balloon rides and bungee jumping! There’s also a small gift shop, toilets, and elevator (if you wish to finish the tour here and go back up to civilization).

Hungry? You can eat like a miner at the nearby cafeteria (Witolda Budryka chamber), which features Polish and European dishes for a surprisingly good price.

If you’d like to continue your trip and take the optional museum tour, follow the hallway until you get to the next room.

The museum tour departs every hour or so (depending on the language of the tour). We lucked out and finished our first tour around 12:52, which meant we only had to wait about 8 minutes until the English-language museum tour began. :)

If you want to end the tour here, you’ll have to go to the next room and wait in line for the elevator. I recommend timing your exit, since you might be waiting for a long time in the elevator queue (the elevator only holds a maximum of 9 people at a time!)

The Museum Tour

This section will be a lot shorter, since the museum tour focuses exclusively on objects and artifacts that relate to salt mining. The tour took about 50 minutes and was about 1.25 km (0.77 mi) in length.

The guide walks you through a few rooms and explains each object, such as the worker’s uniforms, weapons (yes, really! They had weapons in the mines!), salt rock formations, paintings, maps, and tools.

My favorite item was the horse-drawn tourist railway carriage (see above), which was used in the 19th century and had three (three!) classes — first class, business, and economy. ;)

After the museum tour, you’ll be led to the elevator and sent back up to the surface. If you have time, I recommend doing the museum tour — besides learning new things, you’ll be taken to the ‘second’ elevator, which has a much shorter waiting time. It goes up 4 meters per second – how cool!

When you arrive at the surface, you’ll exit through the gift shop. Voila!

What Else To Do In Wieliczka

While the salt mine is the star attraction, there are a few other things to do in Wieliczka if you have an extra hour or two.

📍 St. Clement’s Church — Located near the mine’s entrance, this historic church dates back to the 14th century and is dedicated to St. Clement, the patron saint of miners. The interior features beautiful Baroque altars and artworks related to salt mining.

📍 Wieliczka Saltworks Museum — Located in Żupny Castle, this neat museum has historical artifacts and a large collection of saltshakers.

📍 Wieliczka Market Square — A cute square with restaurants and shops. The creperie and pierogi spots are both excellent. :)

📍 Winnica Wieliczka (Wieliczka Vineyard) — Did you know Wieliczka has its own vineyard? That’s not all – it’s also Poland’s most eco-friendly vineyards! If you want to learn more, you can reserve a Winnica Wieliczka Wine Tasting and Tour, which includes 4 glasses, a meat and cheese platter, and a guided tour through the vineyard — click here to book! →

Where to Stay In Wieliczka

While most visitors explore Wieliczka Salt Mine as a day trip from Krakow, staying overnight can be a great option if you want to explore the town at a more relaxed pace or enjoy health-focused activities like salt therapy.

Here are some of the best places to stay in Wieliczka:

📍Grand Sal Hotel — If you want to stay as close as possible to the salt mine, the Grand Sal is an excellent choice (it’s located right across the Daniłowicza entrance!). This 4-star hotel has elegant yet modern rooms, an outdoor terrace, and even a spa. Book via Booking.com → | Agoda →

📍Turówka Hotel & Spa — A chic European-style hotel with a full-service spa (including a salt cave, of course!). It’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for a wellness retreat. Book via Booking.com → | Agoda →

📍Crystal Cave Apartment — Prefer an apartment instead? Crystal Cave is a spacious and modern one-bedroom apartment that can hold up to 4 guests. Best of all, it’s located just a short walk from the salt mine! Book via Booking.com → | Agoda →