Salzwelten Salzburg — Attraction in Hallein

We booked our tickets online through GetYourGuide. The welcome at the meeting point in the morning was very pleasant — the young man who greeted us was friendly, clear, and helpful. The included shuttle bus was also well organized and ran smoothly.

However, things took a turn once we arrived at Salzwelten. We had been told that we could go straight to the start of the tour with our printed confirmation. But upon arrival, we were met by a staff member who treated us in an extremely rude and unprofessional manner — her behavior would have been completely unacceptable in any era, let alone today. She was blunt, impatient, and condescending.

We were told we couldn’t enter yet and needed to exchange our voucher for an official ticket. When we queued up to do that, we were pulled out of line again and told we actually needed to scan the QR code from the GetYourGuide app instead. However, this code didn’t work for any of us who arrived via the shuttle. Rather than helping or guiding us through the issue, the staff member reacted with heavy sighs, eye-rolling, and unpleasant remarks. It was clear we weren’t the first group to experience this confusion, yet there was zero effort to make the process smoother.

Later, in the changing room, the same woman gathered us again to ask for additional information. This led to her taking our return shuttle tickets without giving them back or providing an explanation. We were told to “figure it out" with the bus driver ourselves.

Fortunately, from this point on, our experience improved significantly. Our tour guide inside the mine was fantastic — humorous, engaging, and informative. He led the tour in both German and English with great energy and made the entire experience enjoyable and educational. The salt mine itself is absolutely worth visiting if you’re interested in the history, extraction, and uses of salt.

Summary:

✅ Positives: clear communication at the pickup point, organized shuttle, great guide and interesting tour inside the mine.

❌ Negatives: extremely rude and unprofessional behavior by one staff member at Salzwelten, poor ticket coordination and confusing instructions for GetYourGuide users.

Final Verdict:

The salt mine tour is definitely worth it — but the experience is soured by the way visitors are received and processed on-site. Hopefully Salzwelten will address this issue, as customer service plays a crucial role in the...

I really hesitated between 2 or 3 stars… the slides are real fun. The work done while you’re on the boat is very well made BUT: the groups are way too big… the guide was very bad! Not only was she more giving you a teaser of what would come next, but half way in the visit she started to talk before all the visitors were there. But we’ll, seeing the provided info is close to nihil… some of the videos look more like company promo films than anything else… If you force people to have a guide, this should be a + point not a -. the trains are way too noisy!! 100dB is what you experience at concert. There should be warning signs about that. (Or earing protections offered!) I was so surprised by the noise that I measured the level with my phone (calibrated system!) way too expensive for what you get! The photos taken without even you consent aren’t included in the price….

There is no attention for details. (For example, the first aid kit or extinguishers are in plain view just next to the real artifacts.) Safety is a must but here it almost “steals the show”.

Globally you don’t really feel you’re in a mine.

Next to the mine is the Celtic museum. There again, no attention to details. You should be brought to 400 BC but that doesn’t work if the Gardena watering things aren’t removed… I mean come on, even in the toilets they didn’t think things through! I could look at my neighbour’s to see who has the biggest… 🥴

If you want to experience a real mine, I’d suggest go to the mercury mines of Idrija (Slovenia). There you get immersed in what it wa me to be a miner. And you learn a LOT (more)!

Last point before the mine’s reaction: I don’t give a cent about your investments… I’m a visitor, not an investor, so don’t go mention your 10M€ Invesment to me… as far as I’m concerned, it might have been better before than now…

EDIT:Reply to the organisations reaction: your last remark confirms me you really didn’t get my point. Therefore I remove one star… I won’t give you another cent at...

PROs: it's quite an unusual experience, visiting a salt mine. The celtic village is good value for kids. Well connected (by car) and ample parking available. Nice surprise gift at the end of the tour. Free phone audioguide app, but it has been updated and now the kids activities at the celtic village are unavailable. There is the possibility of looking at a small salt-processing operation, but it was unfortunately closed at the time of our visit. If you plan to go on a tour starting after 4 pm, try to visit the village before so you are sure everything is accessible.

CONs: extremely expensive for the value, at 32€ per person. The tour is primarily in German, followed by a short translation in accent-heavy English that in our case left much to be desired; I feel making alternate tours in German and English would be better. The tour is one hour long, but rushes through the displays focusing more on the "fun" part (the toboggans, the train and boat). You won't have much time to look at the artefacts, especially if you have to wait for the english explaination and the guide will move one immediately afterward. I would have preferred some slower pacing and more attention to the technical and historical parts.

A warning: lighting is very dim and uneven through the tour, so if you are with people who have issue seeing in low visibility settings be aware that they should be accompained at all times. You are supplied with an overall (mostly to protect your legs on the toboggans), bring sturdy trekking shoes. The place is frankly unsuitable for large groups. I mean, you can visit but your 15-people crowd striving to stick toghether everywhere will make the tour miserable for everyone. Please be sensible and break down in smaller groups...