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Turda or Slănic Prahova? Which salt mine to choose

One of the visitor halls 120 m underground, with a vaulted salt ceiling, lamp-lit walls and wooden tables on the floor, in August 2024
One of the visitor halls 120 m underground, with a vaulted salt ceiling, lamp-lit walls and wooden tables on the floor, in August 2024 · Pasztilla aka Attila Terbócs · CC BY-SA 4.0

Between Turda and Slănic Prahova you choose mostly by where you are starting from: Turda is 30 km from Cluj-Napoca and has the underground park with a Ferris wheel, a lake with boats and a lift, while Slănic Prahova is 100 km from Bucharest and has the largest salt halls in the country, which you reach by minibus. “Turda or Praid” is no longer a choice: Praid Salt Mine has been closed since May 2025, after the flood, and has no reopening date, so in Transylvania that leaves Turda.

Below, the five salt mines you can visit, Turda, Slănic Prahova, Ocnele Mari, Târgu Ocna and Cacica, are compared by criterion: what you see, how deep you go and how, how long it takes, what it costs, how it works with children and where you are coming from. The description of each salt mine is in the guide to Romania's salt mines, and the current opening hours and prices are on the page of each one.

In short

  • Turda is the salt mine for the show: an underground park at 120 m, with a Ferris wheel, a lake with boats and a lift, 30 km from Cluj-Napoca; the adult ticket costs 75 lei on weekdays and 90 lei at weekends.
  • Slănic Prahova is the salt mine with the largest halls: 14 halls about 54 m high, at 208 m, which you reach by minibus, 100 km from Bucharest; the adult ticket costs 60 lei.
  • Praid Salt Mine has been closed since May 2025, after the flood, with no reopening date (Salrom notice, 28 October 2026); from Turda to Praid it is about 130 km.
  • Sovata has no salt mine: it has Lake Ursu, a salt lake with a lido in summer, 7 km from Praid and about 130 km from Turda.
  • The deepest visit is at Târgu Ocna (240 m, by bus), the shortest and cheapest at Cacica (an hour and a half, 38 lei, 192 steps).
  • In November 2026 only Turda and Târgu Ocna are open every day; Slănic and Cacica close on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Ocnele Mari is open only Friday–Sunday.

Turda, Slănic, Ocnele Mari, Târgu Ocna or Cacica: the comparison by criterion

The table puts the five open salt mines side by side, on the criteria people usually choose by. All of them are 11–15 °C underground all year round, so temperature does not set them apart. The big differences are in how you go down, how long you stay and how far away you are.

Salt mineWhat you seeDepth, how you go downDurationAdult ticketWith childrenWhere you come from
Turdaunderground park: Ferris wheel, lake with boats, amphitheatre120 m, lift or stairs~2 h 3075 lei (90 at weekends)lift; playground, boatsCluj (30 km), Târgu Mureș, Alba Iulia
Slănic Prahova14 halls ~54 m high, salt sculptures208 m, the mine's minibus~2 h 30 + the queue60 leiminibus; playground, go-kartsBucharest (100 km), Ploiești, Brașov
Ocnele Mari40,000 m² gallery, ice rink, churchnot published; bus through a tunnel~2 h 30 + the bus60 leibus; karting, playgroundsRâmnicu Vâlcea (8 km), Sibiu, Craiova
Târgu Ocnasalt church, lake with a waterfall240 m, bus down a 3 km tunnel~2 h60 leibus; playgrounds, go-kartsBacău (60 km), Brașov (126 km)
Cacicaold mine: chapel, lake, ballroom42 m, 192 steps~1 h 3038 leionly children who climb wellSuceava (35 km), Iași (165 km)

Adult day prices, from salinaturda.eu and salrom.ro, October 2026; children aged 3–18 pay 25–59 lei, under-3s go in free. Durations and distances are those on the salt mines' pages. Praid is not listed: it has been closed since May 2025.

Turda or Slănic Prahova salt mine?

If you compare them like for like, the difference is between fitting-out and size. Turda Salt Mine is a park built in the old voids: from the balcony of the Rudolf mine you see the whole 42 m hall, you go down by the panoramic lift to the Ferris wheel and the amphitheatre, and further down, in the Terezia mine, you row a boat on the lake. Slănic Prahova Salt Mine has fewer attractions, but much larger halls: 14 trapezoidal chambers about 54 m high, over almost 80,000 m², with Decebalus and Trajan carved in salt.

Slănic is cheaper (60 lei, against 75 or 90 lei at Turda) and deeper (208 m, against 120 m); at Turda the Ferris wheel and the boat are paid for separately. In visiting time they are the same, about two and a half hours. In practice, the journey decides: from Cluj Turda is 35 minutes away, from Bucharest Slănic is about two hours away, and between the two there are about 330 km.

Turda or Praid salt mine? Praid has been closed since 2025

Until 2025 “Turda or Praid” was the classic question in Transylvania: Praid was, alongside Turda, one of the most visited salt mines in the country, with leisure halls at 120 m, as at Turda, but longer and without a Ferris wheel or boats. Between 27 and 30 May 2025 the Corund stream flooded every level of the mine, and on 28 October 2026 Salrom still showed Praid Salt Mine as “temporarily closed”, with no reopening date. No tickets are sold.

So, today, the answer is Turda. From Turda Salt Mine to Praid it is about 130 km, roughly 2 h 15 by car, via Târgu Mureș, so many people combined them in a two-day trip. If you still go to Praid, the salt-water lido next to the salt mine is open in summer (adults 50 lei), and Sovata is 7 km away. What happened at Praid is told in full in the Praid section of the salt mines guide.

Sovata or Turda Salt Mine: salt lake or salt mine

Anyone searching for “Sovata Turda salt mine” is in fact comparing two different things. In Sovata there is no salt mine to go down into: there is Lake Ursu, a salt lake that formed in 1875 on a salt massif, with water that goes above 40 °C in summer under a layer of fresh water, and a lido on the shore. The lido is open only in summer (in 2026, from 26 June to September, depending on the weather), and the operator does not publish its prices.

Turda Salt Mine is open all year round, at 11–12 °C underground. So the choice depends on the season: in summer, a day in Sovata for a swim; the rest of the year, Turda. Between them there are about 130 km. Next to Turda you also have a summer option on the spot, Durgău Salt Lakes, with salt lakes, 100 m from the salt mine entrance. The difference between a salt mine and salt baths is explained in the guide to salt baths and salt lakes.

What you see: underground park, huge halls or old mine

The five salt mines fall into three kinds of visit:

  • Leisure park: Turda, with the Ferris wheel, the boats, minigolf and bowling, and, more simply, Ocnele Mari (ice rink, karting, sports courts) and Târgu Ocna (go-karts, courts, playgrounds).
  • Halls and sculptures: Slănic, where the sheer volume is what impresses, and Ocnele Mari, with the church considered the largest underground church in Romania. At Târgu Ocna, the salt church from 1992 and the lake with a waterfall.
  • Old mine: Cacica, from 1791, dug by hand, with the chapel at 29 m and the ballroom at 42 m. It has no park attractions, but it is the only one where you see what a salt mine looked like before machinery.

If you have already seen Turda, Slănic or Cacica will show you something different; Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna are more alike.

How deep you go and how: lift, minibus, bus or steps

Depth matters less than the way you get down. Turda is the only one with a lift: one from the Durgău entrance and a panoramic one in the Rudolf mine; on foot, from the balcony to the floor of the hall there are 172 steps. At Slănic you go down to 208 m in the mine's minibuses, on a spiral ramp, and the queue for the minibuses is the main time lost in summer and at weekends. At Ocnele Mari the bus takes you through a tunnel in about 10 minutes, with departures every 30 minutes; Salrom does not publish the depth. At Târgu Ocna the bus goes down a tunnel more than 3 km long to 240 m, the deepest tourist level in the country. At Cacica there are 192 damp wooden steps, on the way down and on the way up. The records, with their sources, are in the guide to the largest salt mine.

How long the visit takes and what it costs: Turda vs Slănic and the others

The longest visits are at Turda, Slănic and Ocnele Mari, about two and a half hours, plus the queue for the lift or the transport. Târgu Ocna takes about two hours, including the bus ride, and Cacica an hour and a half.

On price, Turda is the most expensive: 75 lei Monday to Friday, 90 lei at weekends and on public holidays, children aged 3–18 48/59 lei, plus the Ferris wheel, the boat or the Ghizela mine (32 lei). Slănic, Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna have the same Salrom price, 60 lei for adults, 40 lei for children, 45 lei for seniors, with transport included at Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna. Cacica costs 38 lei, children 25 lei. For a family of two adults and two children, the difference between Turda at the weekend and Slănic is almost 100 lei in tickets. The prices are from the official websites, October 2026; the family calculation is in the guide to salt mines with children.

Which salt mine is better with children: Turda or Slănic

With a small child, both work: at Turda you go down by lift, at Slănic by minibus, and both have playgrounds. At Turda children also have the boats and the Ferris wheel; at Slănic, the go-karts and the courts, and the ticket is cheaper. Cacica is the only one unsuitable for anyone who cannot climb 192 steps on their own.

The rule for children under 3 differs: at the Salrom salt mines they go in free, with a recommendation from the family doctor or on the adult's responsibility; at Turda, the access rules require a doctor's note for children under 3 and for people over 65 (salinaturda.eu, October 2026). In a wheelchair, at Turda you go in through the old entrance, on Strada Salinelor, and the visit is limited to the Franz Josef Gallery, the Ghizela treatment station, the balcony in the Iosif mine, the Crivac Hall, the extraction shaft hall and the Roll-call Hall. The rest, with the pushchair and babies, is in the guide to salt mines with children.

Slănic or Ocnele Mari, Târgu Ocna or Cacica: choosing by region

Beyond the Turda–Slănic pair, the comparisons that matter are by region.

  • From Bucharest: Slănic or Ocnele Mari. Slănic is 100 km away, Ocnele Mari 180 km, on the A1 and through the Olt Valley. Slănic is closer and has the larger halls; Ocnele Mari works for a weekend, with the ice rink and the underground church.
  • From Brașov: Slănic or Târgu Ocna. Slănic about 85 km, Târgu Ocna 126 km via the Oituz Pass. You choose between the tall halls at Slănic and the bus ride down to 240 m.
  • From Moldavia: Târgu Ocna or Cacica. From Bacău, Târgu Ocna is 60 km away; from Suceava, Cacica is 35 km away; from Iași, Cacica is closer (165 km), but Târgu Ocna suits you better if you have small children or someone who finds climbing hard.

The distances from 22 cities are in the guide to the nearest salt mine.

Which salt mine is open on Monday and Tuesday: the November 2026 opening hours

Outside summer, the opening hours may decide for you. In November 2026, according to the official websites:

  • Turda: every day, 09:00–17:00, last entry at 16:20.
  • Târgu Ocna: every day, 08:00–16:00, last transport underground at 15:00.
  • Slănic Prahova: Wednesday–Sunday, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays (except 30 November and 1 December); the last minibus goes down at 15:30.
  • Cacica: Wednesday–Sunday, 09:00–17:00 (also open on 30 November).
  • Ocnele Mari: only Friday–Sunday, 09:00–17:00, last entry at 15:30, plus 30 November and 1 December.

So, on a Monday or Tuesday in November, “Turda or Slănic” settles itself: Slănic is closed. Salrom publishes the opening hours month by month, so check the salt mine's page before you set off.

Before you go, whichever you choose

What all salt mines have in common (warm clothes for 11–15 °C, shoes with good grip, online tickets, no pets) is in the practical section of the salt mines guide and, in full, in the guide to your first visit to a salt mine. Specific to this comparison: Turda and Slănic are the most crowded at weekends and in the holidays, with queues for the lift and for the minibuses respectively, so arrive at opening time; at Turda, the weekend ticket is 15 lei more expensive than on weekdays.

Frequently asked questions

Which salt mine is more beautiful, Turda or Slănic Prahova?
It depends on what you are looking for. Turda has the underground park, with a Ferris wheel, a lake with boats and a lift; Slănic Prahova has the largest salt halls in Romania, 14 halls about 54 m high, at 208 m. Turda is 30 km from Cluj-Napoca, Slănic 100 km from Bucharest.
Turda or Praid salt mine?
Turda. Praid Salt Mine has been closed since May 2025, after the flood, and on 28 October 2026 Salrom had not announced a reopening date. Turda Salt Mine is open every day.
How far is Turda Salt Mine from Praid Salt Mine?
About 130 km by car, roughly 2 h 15, via Târgu Mureș (calculated on OpenStreetMap, October 2026). Praid, however, has been closed since May 2025.
Which is cheaper, Turda or Slănic salt mine?
Slănic Prahova: 60 lei for the adult ticket and 40 lei for children aged 3–18. At Turda an adult pays 75 lei Monday to Friday and 90 lei at weekends, children 48/59 lei. Prices from the official websites, October 2026.
Does Sovata have a salt mine?
No. In Sovata there is Lake Ursu, a salt lake with a lido open in summer. The nearest salt mine, Praid, 7 km away, has been closed since May 2025; the nearest open salt mine is Turda, about 130 km away.
Which salt mine has a lift, Turda or Slănic?
Turda, with one lift from the Durgău entrance and a panoramic one in the Rudolf mine. At Slănic Prahova you go down in the mine's minibuses; the old lift has been out of use since 2014.
Which salt mine is open on Mondays?
In November 2026, only Turda and Târgu Ocna are open every day. Slănic Prahova and Cacica close on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Ocnele Mari is open only Friday–Sunday.

Sources

All guides