# Visiting a salt mine for the first time: temperature, clothing, how long, lift or bus, dogs

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Guides](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides)

Published on 28 October 2026 · Facts checked on 28 October 2026

In a salt mine it is **between 11 and 15 °C all year round**, the same in winter as in August: 11–12 °C at [Turda Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-turda), with humidity above 75%, 12 °C at [Târgu Ocna](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-targu-ocna), 12–13 °C at [Slănic Prahova](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-slanic-prahova), around 14 °C at [Cacica](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-cacica), 13–15 °C at [Ocnele Mari](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-ocnele-mari). You go down by lift only at Turda; at Slănic, Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna a minibus or bus run by the mine takes you down, and at Cacica you walk down and back up 192 wooden steps. A visit takes between an hour and a half and two and a half hours, and pets are not allowed into any salt mine.

Below, each question you have before your first descent is taken in turn, salt mine by salt mine: how to dress, what to pack, how long you stay, where you go in and how you get down, what to do with the dog, where to get a ticket and what winter is like. Current opening hours and prices are on the page of each salt mine; the rules for small children and pushchairs are in [the guide to salt mines with children](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/salina-cu-copii).

## In short

- In the open salt mines it is 11–15 °C all year round: 11–12 °C at Turda, 12 °C at Târgu Ocna, 12–13 °C at Slănic Prahova, around 14 °C at Cacica, 13–15 °C at Ocnele Mari.
- You go down by lift only at Turda Salt Mine, where you can also take the stairs; at Slănic Prahova the minibus takes you down, at Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna the mine's bus, and at Cacica there are 192 steps and no lift.
- The visit takes about an hour and a half at Cacica, two hours at Târgu Ocna and two and a half hours at Turda, Slănic Prahova and Ocnele Mari, plus the wait for the lift or bus.
- Pets are not allowed into any salt mine; at Turda only guide dogs are admitted, with a certificate, a muzzle and a harness.
- Tickets can also be bought online: for Turda at bilete.salinaturda.eu, for the Salrom salt mines on Easy2visit and Eventim; a ticket is valid for a single entry per day.
- In November 2026 Turda and Târgu Ocna are open daily, Slănic Prahova and Cacica from Wednesday to Sunday, and Ocnele Mari only from Friday to Sunday; Praid Salt Mine has been closed since May 2025.

## Temperature, the way down and how long a visit takes in each salt mine

The table answers the questions you have before your first visit all at once, for the five salt mines open to visitors in 2026. The figures come from the salt mines' official pages and from their pages on this site; where the operator does not publish something, it says ‘not published’. Each column has its own section below, with the details.

| Salt mine | Temperature | Humidity | How you go down | Lift or steps | Duration | Pets |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Turda Salt Mine | 11–12 °C | above 75% | lift or stairs, from the Durgău entrance | in the Rudolf mine, panoramic lift or 172 steps | ~2 h 30 | no; guide dogs only |
| Slănic Prahova Salt Mine | 12–13 °C | 50–60% | the mine's minibus, down to 208 m | no lift (out of use since 2014) | ~2 h 30, plus the queue for the minibus | no |
| Ocnele Mari Salt Mine | 13–15 °C | ~50% | the mine's bus, ~10 minutes through a tunnel | no lift, no steps to go down | ~2 h 30, plus the bus | no |
| Târgu Ocna Salt Mine | 12 °C | ~50% | the mine's bus, a tunnel more than 3 km long, down to 240 m | no lift, no steps to go down | ~2 h, with the bus | no |
| Cacica Salt Mine | ~14 °C | not published | on foot, down the wooden staircase | 192 steps, down and back up, no lift | ~1 h 30 | no |

*Temperature, humidity and the rule on pets from the Salrom and salinaturda.eu websites, checked in October 2026; the temperature and humidity at Turda from the salt mine's page. The duration is the approximate one given on the salt mines' pages. Praid Salt Mine has been closed since May 2025, and Ocna Dej does not admit visitors.*

- [Turda Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/turda-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Turda, CJ · 75 lei · 2 – 2½ hours · Top 20
  A salt mine worked from the Middle Ages until 1932 and turned into a spectacular underground park: a Ferris wheel, a lake with rowing boats, an amphitheatre and salt walls 120 m below ground, near Cluj.
- [Slănic Prahova Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/slanic-prahova-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Slănic, PH · 60 lei · 2 – 2½ hours · Top 100
  The Unirea mine, dug between 1938 and 1970, is a string of 14 salt halls over 50 m high, 208 m underground, which you reach by minibus; 100 km from Bucharest.
- [Ocnele Mari Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ocnele-mari-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Ocnele Mari, VL · 60 lei · 2 – 2½ hours · Top 100
  A working salt mine near Râmnicu Vâlcea that you enter by bus through a tunnel: huge galleries with swirling salt walls, sports courts, an ice rink and the country's largest underground church.
- [Târgu Ocna Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/targu-ocna-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Târgu Ocna, BC · 60 lei · 1½ – 2 hours
  One of Moldavia's oldest salt mines, still being worked: a bus takes you through a tunnel over 3 km long to 240 m below ground, to a salt church, a lake with a waterfall and sports courts.
- [Cacica Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cacica-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Cacica, SV · 38 lei · 1 – 1½ hours
  A salt mine opened by the Austrians in 1791 with miners brought from Galicia: 192 fir steps lead down to a chapel carved in salt, a salt lake and a ballroom 42 m below ground.

## What the temperature is in a salt mine: Turda, Slănic, Ocnele Mari, Târgu Ocna, Cacica

Underground, the temperature does not follow the seasons. Salrom writes of each of its salt mines that it has a constant microclimate: 12 °C at Târgu Ocna, 12–13 °C at Slănic Prahova, around 13–15 °C at Ocnele Mari, around 14 °C at Cacica. At [Turda Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-turda) it is 11–12 °C, the coldest of them, with humidity above 75%; for Slănic, Salrom gives 50–60%, for Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna around 50%, and for Cacica it does not publish the humidity.

The difference between the salt mines is small, the one with the outside is large: in summer you go down from the heat outside to 11–15 °C, in winter you come up from a place warmer than the street. Since you spend two hours in the same cold, your clothing matters more than the salt mine you choose. At [Praid Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-praid), which is closed, the temperature no longer matters for visitors: the mine has been flooded since May 2025.

## What to take to a salt mine: clothes, shoes, documents

- **Clothes in layers**, for 11–15 °C: a jacket or a thick jumper over what you wear outside, long trousers.
- **Closed shoes with grippy soles:** the floors are damp, and at Cacica the wooden steps are damp and steep.
- **Your identity document** or pupil or student card, if you ask for a reduced ticket: discounts are given only with documents.
- **A doctor's note**, at Turda, for people over 65 and for children under 3 (the rule on the official website). At the Salrom salt mines, children under 3 go in with a doctor's recommendation or on the adult's responsibility.
- **Cash:** down below, the leisure activities are often paid for in cash only, and the mobile signal is weak.
- **Food, depending on the place:** at Turda eating is not allowed in the salt mine; at Slănic, Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna there are cafés, kiosks or a restaurant underground.

With a small child, the full list is in [the guide to salt mines with children](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/salina-cu-copii#ce-iei-cu-tine-la-salina).

## How long a salt mine visit takes and the route at Turda

The approximate duration given on the salt mines' pages: **an hour and a half** at [Cacica](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-cacica); **two hours** at [Târgu Ocna](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-targu-ocna), including the bus ride; **two and a half hours** at [Slănic Prahova](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-slanic-prahova), [Ocnele Mari](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-ocnele-mari) and [Turda](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-turda). At Slănic add the queue for the minibuses, at Ocnele Mari the bus, which leaves every 30 minutes, and at Turda the waiting at the Ferris wheel, the boats and the lift.

The route at Turda, from the Durgău entrance: you go down into the Franz Josef Gallery, pass the Crivac Hall and go through the Iosif mine, the ‘hall of echoes’, reach the balcony of the Rudolf mine, go down to the floor of the hall, then lower still, into the Terezia mine, to the lake with boats.

Count your time from the last descent, not from closing time: at Turda the last entry is 40 minutes before, at the Salrom salt mines the last transport leaves one to one and a half hours before (the October 2026 opening hours).

## Salt mine with a lift, by bus or by the stairs

**[Turda Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-turda)** is the only one with a lift. From the Durgău entrance you go down by lift or by stairs to the Franz Josef Gallery, and in the Rudolf mine, where the official website says you go down 13 storeys, you choose between the panoramic lift and 172 steps. The mine's rules, however, state that access ‘is by the stairs’, that the lifts are optional and that the mine can stop them at any time, if safety requires it; the ticket is not refunded for this.

**[Slănic Prahova](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-slanic-prahova)** used to have a lift, out of use since 2014; today you go down to 208 m only in the mine's minibuses, along a spiral ramp. At **[Ocnele Mari](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-ocnele-mari)** and **[Târgu Ocna](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-targu-ocna)** the mine's bus takes you down, included in the ticket, so there are no steps to go down. At **[Cacica](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-cacica)** there is no lift: access is only by the wooden staircase with 192 steps, which you also climb on the way back.

For pushchairs and wheelchairs, see [the guide to salt mines with children](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/salina-cu-copii#salina-cu-caruciorul).

## Getting into Turda Salt Mine, Slănic and the others: where you go in

- **Turda** has two entrances. The new entrance, on Aleea Durgăului 7, has a car park and lifts; on your GPS search for ‘Salina Turda Durgău’. The old entrance, on Strada Salinelor 54B, is about 20 minutes' walk from the centre, through the Franz Josef Gallery; according to the official website, people with neuromotor disabilities go in this way, with access to only some of the levels.
- **Slănic Prahova:** you go in at the Unirea Mining Complex, on Strada Salinei 1, where the minibuses leave from.
- **Ocnele Mari:** the visit starts at the leisure base on Strada Pinilor 65; on your GPS search for ‘Salina Ocnele Mari’, not ‘Salina veche’.
- **Târgu Ocna:** you board the bus at the entrance of the Trotuș mine, on Strada Salinei 12.
- **Cacica:** you go in through the extraction shaft building, on Strada Republicii 9.
- **Praid:** access to the mining area and to the Salt Canyon is prohibited; only the lido next to the salt mine operates, in summer.

The way there from each city: [the guide to the nearest salt mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/cea-mai-apropiata-salina).

## Salt mines and pets: can you bring your dog?

No. The Salrom pages of the Slănic Prahova, Ocnele Mari, Târgu Ocna and Cacica salt mines all say the same: access with pets is prohibited. At [Turda Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-turda), the access page of the official website says the same.

The only exception is at Turda, in the visitor rules: the **guide dog** of a person with a disability. There are several conditions: proof of the dog's training (a certificate or identity card), a muzzle, a harness or vest, a short lead, materials for picking up after it, and the dog cannot be of a breed banned by law. Salrom publishes no exception for guide dogs; if you have one, phone the salt mine beforehand.

With a dog in the car, in summer, do not leave it there for the length of the visit: plan with someone who stays outside with it.

## Salt mine tickets online: Turda and the Salrom salt mines

You can buy the ticket at the ticket desk too, but online you skip a queue:

- **[Turda Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-turda):** at bilete.salinaturda.eu, linked from the official website. At weekends and in the holidays it is the option that shortens the wait.
- **The Salrom salt mines** ([Slănic Prahova](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-slanic-prahova), [Ocnele Mari](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-ocnele-mari), [Târgu Ocna](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-targu-ocna), [Cacica](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-cacica)): on Easy2visit and Eventim, with links from the page of each salt mine on salrom.ro.

The ticket is per person and valid for a single entry per day: if you leave, you cannot go back in with it. Discounts (children, pupils, students, seniors) are given only with the document that proves them, so take it with you even when your ticket is on your phone. Current prices are on the page of each salt mine, and they are compared in [the guide to Romania's salt mines](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/saline-din-romania#cate-saline-sunt-in-romania).

## Salt mines in winter: Turda, Slănic and Praid in the cold season

In winter it is as cold underground as in summer, so warmer than outside: 11–15 °C. The warm clothes you arrive in are enough; only your shoes need to be non-slip, especially on the snow at the entrance.

What changes is the opening hours. According to Salrom's announcements for November 2026, **Târgu Ocna** stays open daily, **Slănic Prahova** and **Cacica** are open from Wednesday to Sunday, and **Ocnele Mari** only from Friday to Sunday, with extra open days on 30 November and 1 December. **Turda** is open daily all year round. Slănic also closes on some public holidays, such as 1 January and Christmas. Salrom publishes its opening hours month by month, so check the month of your visit on the salt mine's page.

**Praid in winter** is not an option: the salt mine has been closed since May 2025, with no reopening date at the end of October 2026. The details are in [the Praid section of the salt mines guide](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/saline-din-romania#salina-praid).

- [Praid Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/praid-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Praid, HR · Top 100
  The salt mine of the Land of Salt, with huge leisure and treatment halls 120 m underground, once Romania's most visited. Closed indefinitely since the flood of May 2025.

## Salt mines you cannot go into and places that are not salt mines

Two names come up often in searches but do not admit visitors: [Praid Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-praid), closed after the flood, and [Ocna Dej Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/salina-ocna-dej), an active mine that Salrom does not open to visitors.

The salt baths at [Ocna Sibiului](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ocna-sibiului), [Lake Ursu](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/lacul-ursu) in Sovata or the [Durgău Salt Lakes](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/strandul-durgau) next to Turda Salt Mine are not salt mines: you swim outdoors, in summer, so the questions about temperature and clothes have a different answer. They are in [the guide to salt baths and salt lakes](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/bai-sarate-si-lacuri-sarate). The salt rooms in towns, sometimes called ‘artificial salt mines’, are rooms lined with salt, with no going underground. The difference is explained in [the salt mines guide](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/guides/saline-din-romania#salina-bai-sarate-sau-camera-de-sare).

- [Ocna Dej Salt Mine](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/ocna-dej-salt-mine) — Salt mines · Dej, CJ
  A working salt mine near Dej, where salt has been dug since Roman times, with an Orthodox church carved into the salt about 80 m down. Not currently open to visitors.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the temperature in Turda Salt Mine?**

Turda Salt Mine is 11–12 °C all year round, with humidity above 75%. It is the coldest of the open salt mines: take a jacket and shoes with grippy soles even in August.

**What is the temperature in Slănic Prahova Salt Mine?**

A constant 12–13 °C, with humidity of 50–60%, according to the Salrom website (October 2026). Târgu Ocna is 12 °C, Cacica around 14 °C, Ocnele Mari 13–15 °C.

**How long does a visit to Turda Salt Mine take?**

About two and a half hours, longer if you stop at the Ferris wheel and the boats or queue for the lift at weekends. The last entry is at 16:20 (October 2026 opening hours).

**Which salt mine has a lift?**

Only Turda Salt Mine, where the lift is optional and can be stopped; you can also take the stairs. At Slănic Prahova the lift has been out of use since 2014 and you go down by minibus, at Ocnele Mari and Târgu Ocna by the mine's bus, at Cacica down 192 steps.

**Can I take my dog into a salt mine?**

No. Pets are not allowed into Turda Salt Mine or into the Salrom salt mines (Slănic Prahova, Ocnele Mari, Târgu Ocna, Cacica). At Turda only guide dogs are admitted, with a certificate, a muzzle and a harness.

**What should I take to a salt mine?**

Clothes for 11–15 °C, in layers, closed shoes with grippy soles, your document for the reduced ticket and cash for the activities underground. At Turda, people over 65 and children under 3 need a doctor's note.

**Where can I buy Turda Salt Mine tickets online?**

At bilete.salinaturda.eu, linked from the official website. For the Salrom salt mines, online tickets are sold on Easy2visit and Eventim. A ticket is valid for a single entry per day.

**Is Turda Salt Mine open in winter?**

Yes, Turda Salt Mine is open daily all year round, and down below it is still 11–12 °C. Of the Salrom salt mines, in November 2026 Târgu Ocna is open daily, Slănic Prahova and Cacica Wednesday–Sunday, Ocnele Mari Friday–Sunday.

## Sources

- [Turda Salt Mine, official website: access and important information](https://www.salinaturda.eu/acces/)
- [Turda Salt Mine, official website: visiting and prices](https://www.salinaturda.eu/vizitare-si-tarife/)
- [Turda Salt Mine, official website: the Rudolf mine](https://www.salinaturda.eu/locatie/mina-rudolf/)
- [Turda Salt Mine: visitor rules (PDF)](https://www.salinaturda.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Regulament-Salina-Turda-24.08.2024-fara-cerere-pt-gratuitatea-11-RO.pdf)
- [Salrom: Slănic Prahova Salt Mine](https://salrom.ro/salina-slanic-prahova/)
- [Salrom: Ocnele Mari Salt Mine](https://salrom.ro/salina-ocnele-mari-rm-valcea/)
- [Salrom: Târgu Ocna Salt Mine](https://salrom.ro/salina-tg-ocna-bacau/)
- [Salrom: Cacica Salt Mine](https://salrom.ro/salina-cacica-suceava/)
- [Salrom: Praid Salt Mine](https://salrom.ro/salina-praid-harghita/)

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Last updated: 28 October 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania