The Wieliczka Salt Mine (Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka) is one of the most popular attractions in Krakow (it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978) and is located nine miles south of the city in the town of Wieliczka. When we visted Krakow last year, it was high on our list of places to visit – I had seen photos of it online and my parents had recommended it after their trip to Poland the previous year. When you’re in Krakow, you will see many organised tour companies in the city centre offering overpriced trips to Wieliczka but it is actually very easy and straightforward to get there yourself.

The cheapest and easiest way to travel to Wieliczka Salt Mine is to take the train from Krakow Glowny Station in the city centre to Wieliczka Rynek Kopalnia which is the last station on the line. The journey takes twenty five minutes and will cost 3.50zł (75p). From the station, it is a short five minute walk to the mine and is clearly signposted.

As our hotel was located about a thirty minute walk from Glowny Station, it was easier and quicker for us to use an Uber which cost 24zł (£4.70) which was more than reasonable for the twenty minute drive. Our driver dropped us at the car park and from there we had a short walk to the mine entrance.

At the Wieliczka Salt Mine, there are several different tours that you can take – the majority of people see the Tourist Route (Danilowicz Shaft) but there is also another tour that takes you on the Miner’s Route (Regis Shaft) which takes your further and deeper into the mine.  It is also worth pointing out that you cannot visit the mine unaccompanied – everyone will have to have an official tour guide with them at all times.

When purchasing tickets for the Tourist Route, you need to be aware that there are separate lines for Polish nationals and foreigners so make sure you stand in the right line – there are plenty of signs to point you in the right direction.  As well as Polish, tours are offered in English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. English tours depart every thirty minutes throughout the day and you are booked on the next one when you arrive. As we purchased our tickets just after 9:00am, we had to wait just under twenty minutes for the next tour which was due to start at 9:30am.

As of June 2018, tickets for the Tourist Route at the Wieliczka Salt Mine are 89zł (£18) per adult – this was definitely the most expensive thing we did during our three night trip to Krakow. You will also need to pay an additional 10zł (£2) for a stupid sticker to wear which will allow you to take photos inside the mine. I despise these sort of stickers and refuse to wear them so I did an experiment and stuck it on the inside of my bag out of sight and not once during the entire tour did anyone ask me if I had bought a pass and I took a lot of photos! It just reeks of grabbing money for the sake of it.

After walking around the nearby grounds of the mine to kill some time before our tour started, we also used the toilets which were situated close to the entrance – there are also two lots of toilets available underground in the mine approximately forty and ninety minutes into the tour.

We joined the rest of our group near the entrance to the mine and met our guide who handed us all a single earphone (which was really uncomfortable and made me wish I’d brought my iPhone earphones with me) as well as a little handset each.

The start of the tour begins at the Danilowicz Shaft with a walk down 380 steps (over fifty flights of stairs) to a depth of 64 metres underground. This is only the start as there is a total of 800 steps along the Tourist Route leading to a depth of 135 metres. Wieliczka Salt Mine is actually over 178 miles long yet you will only see 2 miles of it.

Despite reading about the temperature of the mine being between 14 and 16 degrees celcius and to bring warm clothing, I actually found the temperature in the mine to be very comfortable. I wore jeans, a vest top and a jacket and I was neither hot or cold for the entire time we were there. The only thing you need to wear is comfortable shoes.

Once we were underground, our tour guide started leading us through various chambers and telling us all about the history, the miners and the stories of the mine. It was very interesting and incredible to believe that apart from the wooden log supports, everything surrounding us from the ceilings to the floors was made of salt. We took their word for it but apparently if we didn’t believe this fact, you could have licked the walls but would you really want to – imagine how many people have been there before you!

101 metres underground and an hour into the tour is the Chapel of St Kinga which took over thirty years to complete and is the largest underground church in the world. Everything you see once again all around you, including the chandeliers is made of salt. Before you walk down the grand staircase into the middle of the chapel, there is another desk where you can buy a photo permit in case you’ve changed your mind and now want to take photos. My sticker was still firmly stuck inside my bag – they never asked me if I had one and I did not see them ask anyone else.

The next two stops are an underground lake where the water contains 320g of salt in every litre and the incredible Michalowice Chamber which I thought looked far more grand and impressive than the Chapel of St Kinga. After these chambers is where you can take a break for a few minutes, use the bathrooms and grab a drink. There is even free wifi in this area!

Two of the last areas we visited were the Weimar Chamber where there was a short light and sound show followed by the Jozef Pilsudski Chamber. Many years ago, it was here where a boat of people capsized into the salty water and ended up trapped underneath the boat. It is impossible to drown but due to the salt content of the water, they were unable to swim down to get out from the under the heavy boat and they died due to suffocation. This is the reason why boat rides are not offered on the underground lakes at Wieliczka Salt Mine.

After two hours underground, you can choose to exit the mine which most people do or explore the last area of the tourist route yourself and visit the Saltworks Museum which is also located underground. To exit, we were given directions to walk to find the lift that will take you back to the surface – thankfully you do not have to walk those 800 steps back up! However this lift is not for those who have claustrophobia – it is tiny and you are truly squashed in there with eight other people. Thankfully the ride to the surface is quick and you exit the mine around the corner from where you first entered.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is very touristy and can be very crowded at times – imagine groups of thirty or so people spaced out in two minute intervals throughout the mine and you get the idea. However I really enjoyed my visit here and it is definitely one of the highlights of a trip to Krakow.

Since this blog post was written back in 2018, some of the information may no longer be accurate or up to date. Be sure to do your own research and check official websites for the latest details before making any of your own travel plans.

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