Best Underground Mine Boat Tours
A handful of mines preserve flooded galleries that can be navigated by boat — small punts, brine-lake gondolas or even rail-mounted electric craft. These are among the most unusual underground experiences anywhere.
Bonne Espérance, Belgium
Flooded lead-zinc gallery near Liège, navigated by electric punt.
Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland
The Erazm Barącz Chamber brine lake, crossed by gondola.
Salzwelten Dürrnberg, Austria
Brine lake on the Salzburg salt mine tour, crossed by raft.
Mine Bleue, Anjou, France
Train descent then a small boat through blue-slate flooded workings.
Wookey Hole, Somerset, England
More cave than mine, but with adjacent ochre workings.
Speedwell Cavern, Castleton, England
An 18th-century lead mine navigated by boat through a 500 m flooded gallery.
Bonne Mine d'Hozémont, Belgium
Another flooded Walloon gallery accessible by punt.
Mina La Jayona, Spain
Iron mine in Extremadura with a flooded section.
Olavsgruva, Røros, Norway
Acoustic concerts in a flooded chamber 50 m down.
Pioneer Mine, Iron Mountain, USA
Flooded Michigan iron mine with electric-launch tours.
Plan your visit
Every site mentioned is plotted, with opening hours and accessibility notes, on our interactive map.
Explore on the map
Use the interactive map to filter by country, mineral and accessibility — or to find the closest mining heritage site to wherever you happen to be.