Skip This: Wieliczka Salt Mines in Krakow

Mine shaft to not-so-much fun

I should have listened to my first instinct: this is going to be overpriced and hokey. But when we met a well-traveled, interesting couple on our tour of Auschwitz who recommended the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour, we decided to take a leap of faith and try it out.








Here is why I recommend skipping this tourist trap:

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1. Accessibility: We had to take a private car en route to the airport, which cost a significant amount extra. Public transportation is a bear, and your other option is to earmark several hours of your day to go on a bus with a tour from your hotel. The lines are long: you have to plan in advance.
2. Cost: Not including the extra we paid for transportation to and from, this was the most expensive thing we did in Krakow. With a currency that makes prices more-than-favorable to US travelers, there is no need to fork over $25 per person for these tickets. Or $19 for the student ticket. Krakow is extremely affordable, and the cost/enjoyment ratio is low.
3. Time: This tour takes around three hours. We finished the tour in around two and a half hours, but had to wait almost 45 minutes to be escorted out of the mine. Not only did the trek out of the mine take another 15 minutes, but it dropped us off about a 1/2 mile from the main building. Unfortunately, we encountered some of the few non-English speaking Poles in this area and had a little difficulty finding our way back. 
4. Adventure factor: Perhaps this is because we just did the "Tourist Tour," but I was expecting to get somewhat of a workout as we ventured down the 800-step descent and around the 20 chambers. Comfortable shoes were absolutely not required for this tour, and frankly led to false hope!



Seven Dwarfs light show...

5. Quality of sights: All of this would be worth it if there was unique or impressive art work to be seen in the salt mines; however, we sat through not one, but two overly dramatic "shows" with a couple colored lights and loud music, and reluctantly snapped photos of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs carving, only because I was determined to get enough pictures to compensate for the extra $3 camera pass I purchased. 

Proposal in the S

A huge disclaimer on this review of the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour is I was traveling to Krakow with my husband, and we do not have to entertain any small children. But for those of you who do not need to pay $25 to see a salt carving of a fictional salt-mine proposal story, I highly recommend spending more time in the lovely city of Krakow!