19 Apr 2024
Leave time to get there 15 minutes early as there could be a line to pick up your voucher from Viator to get on your tour bus. We booked this tour with Panorama tour company after we did the Sound of Music tour with them
the day before which was also excellent.
We had a small group of 8 in a van take us to the salt mines which also included a mini tour of Salzburg town and it was cloudy so it was hard to see the full Bavarian Mountains, but our tour guide tried for us and we appreciate it.
No eating or drinking in the car as the cars do need quick turn arounds for tours throughout the day and close quarters probably would help prevent any allergic reactions as well.
Once reaching the salt mine the tour guide helped us through the line and getting our gear on. No photos allowed in the salt mine at all and there are cameras to ensure no photos are taken. Highly suggest going to the bathroom before getting your gear on. I regretted not going once in the salt mines.
Be prepared to walk down stairs if you don’t want to use the slides.
The tour is in German; however, they offer audio guides in other languages.
We had a quick turnover time once finished to get a quick souvenir/buy a photo, use the bathroom, grab our stuff from a locker (uses a 1/2€ coin you get back at the end) then we were quickly shuffled onto the minivan to then head to Berchtesgaden, Germany for some free time approximately 40 minutes. So bring your PASSPORT just encase. If you want more time to wander the salt mines cafe and viewing area and longer at Berchtesgaden then I suggest a longer tour than this one, but our tour guide did mention to us we could take the public bus back to Salzburg if we wanted, too!
During this time we tried some German Schnapps at the place recommended by the tour guide and chocolates (10 minutes) with liquor in them. Bought a postcard and magnet (10 minutes). We also went up to the Panorama Restaurant (15 minutes) there for a German beer which even though it was a cloudy rainy day it was still beautiful! Then it was time to head back to the drop off point. It was a quiet bus ride back as we drove back the same way we came and our tour guide had to get back in time for some of the group to make the other sound of music tour.
Panorama tour bus meeting point is right near Mirabell Gardens and the yellow (different company— Salzburg hop on hop off) not a huge fan of that tour company as many reviews were relevant to some issues we experienced).