Saltmine tours Hallstatt -Hallein

All the salt mine tours are good. I am one person who has done both. I preferred the one in Hallein. I found the tour guide to be better at giving us information in English. It also had a few more interesting "moments": crossing underground between 2 countries, crossing an underground lake on a "boat", more a raft with seats,etc. Overall, we had a better experience there. The one advantage Hallstatt had was the ride up to the mine and the views from the top. You don't have to do the mine tour to experience those. There is a nice little restaurant up there where you can enjoy a coffee and pastry. You could also ride up and walk back down as there is a nice trail back into Hallstatt.

Different perspective: how long will you be in Halstatt? If a short time, I wouldn't waste it inside the salt mine; if a longer time, well, there's not much else to do there besides enjoying the view.

I wonder if your interest in the mines is primarily geological or historical? I ask because both mines are significant in the history of the early Iron Age. No matter which mine you visit, don't miss the museums associated with both! The Hallstatt Museum is in the center of town, though, not next to the mine.

Thank you all for your input. We have plenty of time to do what we want as we are taking a month to explore a bit more of Germany on the way to the Czech Republic's western region and Austria. History and geology are always of interest to us.