Wieliczka Salt Mine: tickets, the Tourist Route and Miners' Route, and the 23-minute train from Kraków

In this guide

💡 The Short Version: Take the Koleje Małopolskie SKA1 train from Kraków Główny: 23 minutes, trains at :08 and :38 past the hour, PLN 10 (£2) each way on a 70-minute combined ticket. The Tourist Route is PLN 143 (£28) in English (PLN 103 in Polish), takes 2 to 3 hours, and goes about 800 steps down to 135 metres. Book your time slot at bilety.kopalnia.pl, the mine’s own booking site; tours in languages other than Polish and English must be bought online in advance. The mine is closed on 1 November, 24 December and 25 December 2026. Or book a tour: GetYourGuide’s Wieliczka tour with fast-track ticketad (4.6 stars from 14,146 reviews) includes the entry ticket and a licensed guide, with transport from Kraków or a meeting point in Wieliczka depending on the option (GetYourGuide).

Tickets and prices

The mine’s ticket office and booking site, bilety.kopalnia.pl, is the only official seller; the mine says it works with no intermediaries and is not responsible for tickets bought elsewhere. All visits are with a guide, and the ticket also covers the underground exhibition of the Kraków Saltworks Museum.

Children under 4 enter free but need a free pass, booked online. “Reduced” is for children over 4 and young people up to 19 (ID), university students up to 26 (student card) and visitors over 65 (ID). The family ticket is for two adults and one or two children over 4 and up to 16. (kopalnia.pl).

• Booking rule. Tours in English and Polish can be bought at the mine’s ticket machine or ticket offices, subject to availability, with a longer wait. Tours in any other language must be bought online in advance.
• Closed: 1 November, 24 December and 25 December 2026.

Tours that include entry

The mine sells its own English tour, so a tour pays for the transport or the convenience of one booking. Prices vary by option and date; the checkout shows the total.

Wieliczka Salt Mine tour and fast-track ticket

4.6 stars from 14,146 reviews · 2.5 to 4 hours · Cracow Visit Tours & Transfers

The tourad includes the entry ticket, skip-the-line entry and a licensed guide, in English, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish or French. Choose transport from Kraków or meet at the mine. The operator messages the day before to confirm the pick-up.

Wieliczka guided tour with transport

4.5 stars from 11,630 reviews · 5 hours · Discover Cracow

The tour with transportad goes by shared transport from a central meeting point in Kraków, with the 2.5-hour guided tour in the mine. Admission is included in some options and paid separately in others, so read the option before you book. Hotel pick-up is an upgrade for groups of up to 8.

Wieliczka fast-track ticket and guided tour

4.5 stars from 6,354 reviews · 2.5 to 4.5 hours

The fast-track ticket and guided tourad sells the fast-track entry together with the guided tour.

Pick-up options from Krakowdirect

4.5 stars from 1,378 and 1,206 reviews · 2.5 to 4 hours

The guided tour with pick-up optionad and the fast-track tour with hotel pick-upad are 2.5-hour guided tours, with Kraków pick-up in the options that choose it and entry at the mine in the others. The guided tour with transferad (4.6 stars from 3,370 reviews, 2 to 4 hours) includes a transfer.

What to see

The Tourist Route is a guided walk of 2 to 3 hours and about 3.5 km, 135 metres down, at 17 to 18 °C. Groups are up to 40. It goes down about 800 steps, 380 of them at the start.

The Chapel of St Kinga on the Tourist Route. Photo: Arian Zwegers, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

• The Tourist Route. The chambers cut in salt, including the Chapel of St Kinga, underground lakes and salt sculptures, with the underground exhibition of the Kraków Saltworks Museum. Allow 3 hours door to door.
• The Miners’ Route. Polish and English, age 10 and over, PLN 143. It starts at the Regis shaft, takes 2 to 3 hours, and gives you overalls, a helmet and a lamp for simple underground tasks. It does not visit the Chapel of St Kinga, so take the Tourist Route if the chapel is the reason you came (kopalnia.pl).
• The Graduation Tower. PLN 10, unguided, 09:00 to 19:00 in October. A brine tower at the mine, a separate ticket and a short stop; a five-visit pass is PLN 40.
• Food. The Miners’ Tavern, 125 metres underground, serves Polish dishes, and the Bistro Posolone is on the surface beside the Daniłowicza shaft. Cards are accepted everywhere on site. There are toilets at the surface and twice underground.

The underground lake in the Erazm Barącz chamber. Photo: ErwinMeier, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Practical information

Getting there from Kraków

SKA1 train, 23 minutes · PLN 10 each way · bus 304 as an alternative

• Train. Koleje Małopolskie SKA1 from Kraków Główny to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia takes 23 minutes, with trains from Główny at :08 and :38 past the hour (05:38, for instance, arrives at 06:01) and back from Wieliczka at :11 and :41. The current timetable runs to 24 October 2026. The mine is a few minutes’ walk from the station.
• Fare. A 70-minute combined KMK and KMŁ ticket is PLN 10 (£2). It is valid on the trains between Wieliczka Bogucice and Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia and on city transport in Kraków, and it must be validated. A return costs PLN 20 (£4) on two tickets.
• Bus 304. It runs from Dworzec Główny Zachód, near Galeria Krakowska, to the stop Wieliczka Kopalnia Soli for the Daniłowicza shaft, or to Wieliczka Rynek for the Regis shaft. Buy an agglomeration ticket covering zones I and II (kopalnia.pl).
• Car. There is a paid car park at the mine, and coaches drop off at the shaft.

A Koleje Małopolskie train at Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station. Photo: Jonashtand, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

At the mine

• The meeting point is the Daniłowicza shaft, at ul. Daniłowicza 10, where the ticket machine and offices are. The tour can end at the Regis shaft or back at Daniłowicza.
• Bags. Hand luggage only, up to 20 x 20 x 35 cm. Larger bags go in the free cloakroom or the automatic lockers.
• Other rules. Prams are not recommended, photography is allowed, and animals are not, except assistance dogs.

The building at the Daniłowicza shaft, where tours meet. Photo: Ingo Mehling, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wieliczka is one of the day trips from Kraków and the easiest by train. To pair it with the Memorial in one day, see Auschwitz and Wieliczka in one day, and for the Memorial alone, Auschwitz-Birkenau tickets. Kraków public transport has the ticket rules for the 70-minute fare, and Kraków airport to the city centre shows the same SKA1 line from the airport; the single to Wieliczka is PLN 24. 3 days in Kraków shows where a half day at the mine fits, and where to stay in Kraków has the areas by the station.

Common questions

How much is a ticket to the Wieliczka Salt Mine?

The Tourist Route is PLN 143 (£28) for an adult and PLN 121 (£23.50) reduced on tours in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Russian, and PLN 103 (£20) and PLN 82 (£16) in Polish. The Miners' Route is PLN 143 and PLN 121. The Graduation Tower is PLN 10 (£2). The mine's own site, bilety.kopalnia.pl, is the official seller.

How do I get from Kraków to the Wieliczka Salt Mine?

Take the Koleje Małopolskie SKA1 train from Kraków Główny to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia: 23 minutes, with trains at :08 and :38 past the hour and returns at :11 and :41. A 70-minute combined ticket costs PLN 10 each way, and the mine is a few minutes' walk from the station.

How long does the Wieliczka Salt Mine tour take?

The Tourist Route takes 2 to 3 hours and covers about 3.5 km, with about 800 steps down to 135 metres. It is 17 to 18 °C underground.

Do I need to book Wieliczka in advance?

Book online if your date is fixed. Tours in English and Polish also sell at the ticket offices subject to availability, with a longer wait, but tours in other languages must be bought online beforehand.

Is the Wieliczka Salt Mine closed on any days?

On 1 November, 24 December and 25 December 2026.