There seem to be quite a few of these on offer. I would prefer to book direct rather than with Viator, etc. Any recommendations?
With the food tours, would prefer one with less emphasis on beer, etc. as I don't drink. Are there any that are strictly food?
The Salt Mine tours look amazing, but unsure if they are all pretty similar or is one better than the other ones?
Do you need a tour? You can easily visit Wieliczka by getting there by public transport or uber/free now
tickets: https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/individual-tourist/useful-information/ticket-prices-and-visiting-hours
public transport: https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/individual-tourist/useful-information/map-and-access
The tours of the Salt Mine are given by their onsite guides. If you take a 3rd party tour, I recall from my tour that you are paying them for logistics of getting to the location, where they turn you over to the local guides.
After your tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine you have a chance to visit the Museum. We just missed the English tour (one per hour) so decided to take a break in the cafe and wait for the next tour. Turned out we were the only ones on that tour (in April). It's not a large museum but has some beautiful displays. The guide was quite knowledgeable and shared his personal connections to the mine as well. I can't speak to tours that take you from Krakow to the mine as we had a rental car for that day.