What is the Salina Turda Salt Mine?
Salina Turda is a salt mine (an amazing one at that!) located in Turda, Romania. It is one of the oldest salt mines in the world, with over 2,000 years of history. The mine was closed in the 1930s, used as an air strike shelter during World War II, and reopened to the public in 1992. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction, known for its unique underground setting and its many attractions.
One of the most popular attractions at Salina Turda is the Ferris wheel located 120 meters below ground that offers stunning views of the salt mine. There is also a salt lake (that you can ride a boat on!), a playground, and a minigolf course, among other attractions.
When we explored Salina Turda, we went on the ferris wheel and did a boat ride on the salt lake. Both experiences were super cool; we definitely recommend hanging out down in the park and doing whatever looks interesting to you!
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Where to Stay Near Salina Turda
One of our biggest regrets is not staying overnight here! There are so many great options, and while Salina Turda is usually done as part of a day trip, there are some AMAZING places to stay if you’re looking to get out of the city for a night. If you do decide to spend the night, we recommend checking out the glamping domes just a 20 minute walk from Salina Turda. These domes are located on a vineyard and look amazing!
Tips and Tricks for Your Visit to Salina Turday
- Salina Turda has hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, which means it can get BUSY. Try to visit in the morning if possible.
- If you plan on entering through the main entrance, buy your tickets online!! We visited on a Monday and had to wait in line for half an hour just to find out that we could have skipped the line had we bought our tickets online.
- If you’re walking from Turda town, I recommend using the alternate entrance. It’s much closer to town than the main entrance (and probably less crowded as well!). To find this, search for “Intrare Salina dinspre oras“ on Google Maps.
- Bring Romanian Lei! You can pay by card to enter the mine, but you’ll need cash to buy tickets for the activities within the mine.
- Bring a sweater/jacket! It gets pretty cold in the park (about 50F/10C) so you’ll want one even if you’re visiting in the summer.
- To get down to the amusement park, you’ll be climbing down 20 flights of stairs to the main area, and even more to get to the lake. There are elevators but the lines are very long.
- After your visit to Salina Turda, you can unwind with a glass of locally-produced white wine at La Salina Winery, just across the street from Salina Turda!
To learn more about the history of Salina Turda or buy tickets, check out their website!
Activities at Salina Turda
Salina Turda has loads of activities that travelers of all ages are able to enjoy. In the main amusement park area, the attraction is definitely the Ferris wheel. However, there are many other things to do on this level. You can play pool/billiards, ping pong, mini-bowling, and mini-golf. There is also a sports field, which you can rent out and play soccer, handball, tennis, and badminton! There’s also a small playground and a 180-seat amphitheater. If you go down to the Theresa Mine, you can take a quick row boat ride around the magnificent lake!
As mentioned before, a lot of these activities get very busy, so make sure to visit in the morning, and bring cash!
How to Get to Salina Turda
We recommend doing this as a day trip from one of the nearby cities, as there’s not too much to do in the city of Turda itself. Cluj-Napoca is the closest big city to Turda, so there are public transportation options as well as tours you can do. The easiest way to visit Salina Turda is with a rental car, but if you don’t want to rent a car, here are other options!
How to Get to Salina Turda by Bus
If you’re coming from Cluj, you can take a 45 minute bus to Turda town center.
We did this as a day trip from Sibiu, which certainly took longer than if we were going from Cluj, but it still worked! From Sibiu, we took a 3 hour bus to downtown Turda.
Once you’ve arrived in Turda, you can either get a taxi to the main entrance of the mine, walk a half hour to the alternative entrance (to find this, search for “Intrare Salina dinspre oras“ on Google Maps), or try to catch the 17 bus (but this doesn’t run too frequently).
Check Bus Schedules to Turda on Autogari
Tour Options
If you’re planning on doing a day trip to Salina Turda with a tour, it’ll have to be from Cluj (we haven’t found any other cities from which you can book a day trip).
For a half day trip, check out this tour! However, if you have the time, we definitely recommend doing this full day tour, where you’ll also get to explore Turda Gorge and the small town of Rimetea.
How Long to Spend at Salina Turda
We recommend spending 2 hours in the amusement park, but you can certainly spend longer depending on how many activities you do! You’ll also likely spend some time waiting in lines (once again – try to visit early!!). Overall, visiting Salina Turda will probably take around 3-4 hours on average.
Is Salina Turda Worth Visiting?
Salina Turda is 100% worth visiting. Whether you’re traveling with kids, as a couple, or just in your 20s, this is the place to unleash your excitement and live out your childhood dreams. After all, this is probably the coolest amusement park you’ll ever visit!
Keep Exploring Romania….
- The Best Things to Do in Sibiu, Romania
- Brașov and Sinaia: The Best Four Day Transylvania Itinerary
- The 10 Best Things to Do in Bucharest
- Sighișoara: A Charming Transylvanian Town with a Rich History
- Therme Spa: The Ultimate Guide to Bucharest’s Luxury Oasis
Our Favorite Travel Resources
Accommodations: We use Booking.com for hotels and HostelWorld for hostels. We also use VRBO or TrustedHousesitters for longer stays.
Flights: We recommend using Skyscanner to find the cheapest and best flights.
Ground Transport: We use 12Go and Omio for buses and private transfers, and rentalcars.com and Discover Cars for rental cars.
Activities: GetYourGuide and Viator are the best websites for booking organized tours.
International Medical Insurance: We highly recommend SafetyWing for Digital Nomads and HeyMondo for those not traveling full-time, or who frequently engage in higher-risk adventure activities.
eSIM: We recommend Airalo or Holafly for getting data internationally.
Check out our Travel Resources Page for more of our favorite travel-related products and services!
