Wieliczka Salt Mine Half-Day Guided Tour
Wieliczka Salt Mine is a priceless monument which was placed on UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978. It is a place that guarantees extraordinary experiences and a great adventure. Visiting the mine is an interesting journey into the depths of the earth, a space which was discovered more than 700 years ago and where air is free from pollutants, so bothersome and common on the earth’s surface.
You will get to know Wieliczka Salt Mine by taking a tourist route – a route that leads through an extraordinary underground city hiding many secrets, like chambers carved in salt, majestic carpentry structures, underground lakes or unique salt works of sculptural art. It is a fascinating journey through a maze of corridors carved in rock, over 2 km long and descending more than 130 meters underground. During the walk you will learn a fascinating story about a place stolen from nature and about the people who have made its history over the centuries. Wieliczka Salt Mine – touch the secret!
Highlights
- The heart of the mine – St. Kinga’s Chapel, entirely carved in salt, where holy mass is celebrated every Sunday
- A chamber dedicated to Nicolaus Copernicus, who was one of the first tourists to visit the mine more than 500 years ago
- The Burnt Chamber, which takes its name from a fire that broke out here in the 18th century
- Józef Piłsudski’s Cave, filled with brine on the bottom
- The Michałowice Chamber, 35 meters high, with a beautiful chandelier decorated with thousands of tiny salt crystals
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Wieliczka Salt Mine is a Polish national treasure on a global scale – it was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition, various miracles took place in the mine – it was here that records were broken for flying a balloon underground, underground bungee jumping or sliding windsurfing on one of the lakes, etc. However, the truth is that the greatest miracle is that since the 13th century until today men have excavated 250 kilometres of corridors applying simple manual work. Even more, they managed to create underground chambers so large that a balloon could be erected in them (their total capacity is 2,000 Olympic swimming pools! ) and which operated on as many as 9 underground levels. During the tour, you will discover 3 underground levels.
Local Impact: How you will help the local community by joining this tour?
On this tour, we use transport owned by a local owner. Your tour guide and driver are also local residents. For these people, this is a regular job, not just a hobby. An official Wieliczka guide, who lives nearby and is part of the local community, will show you the Wieliczka Salt Mine. After the tour you can buy souvenirs made by local artisans. All this provides residents with benefits of tourism. Your tour includes an entrance fee to the mine, which supports, among other things, the hardship of maintaining the site that you will visit.
Departure & Return
Our main meeting points in Krakow:
- Kiss and Ride Park / Dajwór 65, 31-052 Krakow
- Kiss and Ride Park / Dietla 91, 31-031 Krakow
- Reception desk at Holiday Inn Hotel / Wielopole 4, 31-072 Krakow
- Reception desk at Vienna House Andel’s Cracow / Pawia 3, 31-154 Krakow
- Kiss and Ride Park / Garbarska 2, 31-131 Krakow
- Reception desk at Radisson Blu Hotel, Straszewskiego 17, 31-101 Krakow
- Reception desk at the Sheraton Grand Hotel Krakow, Powiśle 7, 31-101 Krakow
A visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau may be a shocking experience, but every person should see this concentration camp at least once in their lifetime and face the terrifying story of the Holocaust, as well as attempt to read human emotions inside the camp.
Auschwitz-Birkenau used to be the largest extermination camp during World War II. It is estimated that over a million people were murdered there. Entering the former camp area youwill get the impression that for several years hell was located in this very place. Hunger, medical experiments, terror, exhausting work, diseases, executions, gas chambers, Zyklon B – all these were experienced by the people who had been brought here. Visiting the camp brings back the memory of those events, the genocide and the Holocaust. The atrocity that took place here makes you shudder. It also gives a lot to think about.
Highlights
Auschwitz I
- Gate with “Arbeit macht frei” (Work makes you free) sign
- Brick camp barracks
- The life of prisoners from the moment they enter the gate until their death in the gas chamber and their cremation
- Wall of Death
- Gas chamber and crematorium
Auschwitz-II Birkenau
- The Guard-house
- The main gate
- Ruins of gas chambers and crematoria
- International Monument dedicated to the Victims of the Auschwitz- Birkenau Camp
- Wooden barracks
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
A v1sit to Auschwitz-Birkenau is a shocking experience, but people who visit it, want to see the camp at least once in their life and face the terrifying history of the Holocaust and try to read human emotions inside the camp.
Local Impact: How you will help the local community by joining this tour?
On this tour, we use transport owned by a Krakow resident. Your tour guide and driver will also be from Krakow. For these people, this is a regular full-time job which allows them to make a living. At the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, you are shown around by an official museum educator who lives nearby and belongs to the local community. All this provides residents with the benefits of your visit.
Departure & Return
Our main meeting points in Krakow:
- Kiss and Ride Park / Dajwór 65, 31-052 Krakow
- Kiss and Ride Park / Dietla 91, 31-031 Krakow
- Reception desk at Holiday Inn Hotel / Wielopole 4, 31-072 Krakow
- Reception desk at Vienna House Andel’s Cracow / Pawia 3, 31-154 Krakow
- Kiss and Ride Park / Garbarska 2, 31-131 Krakow
- Reception desk at Radisson Blu Hotel, Straszewskiego 17, 31-101 Krakow
- Reception desk at the Sheraton Grand Hotel Krakow, Powiśle 7, 31-101 Krakow