Calling all the Austria experts in this forum !!

My husband and I are planning for a 1 week stop in Austria (post an office trip to Swiss) We are expecting our first baby and wanted one last couple-trip before we settle down to a family life

What would be a nice spot to park in Austria from where we can do some roaming around? We are not going to be driving around too much. So I am hoping the local transportation - bus, train, tram - would be sufficient for the entire trip. We love nature - so am looking at scenic spots and walking around small cities. What places should we consider?

From what I can see on Fodors destination page, Innsbruck and Salzburg sounds real tempting. But which may be a better place? Or can we manage to see both in 7-8 days? Will Salzburg be crowded in mid July (12-20th types)?

Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks,
Vidya

We just returned from a trip to northern Italy and Austria. We used public transportation only. We stayed in Igls outside of Innsbruck and only a short 15 minute bus ride. It was very nice and quaint. We loved Salzburg and did a lot of walking. We also stopped in Melk to see the abbey en route to Vienna where we used the subway a lot. We liked Austria a great deal and the weather was great. Hope you have a great time too!

Salzburg is likely to be quite crowded.

You might enjoy Zell am See. From there you can take public (bus, train, cable car) trips to the mountains surrounding Zell, the Grossglockner, Kaprun Glacier,and a day trip Salzburg by train or one of the local bus tours.

Zell itself is a nice town, with hotels and restaurants in all categories to the top, Grand Hotel.

Another wqell place locateion is St. Johann in Tirol. Again train and bus opportunities to Kitzbuehel, Ellmau, Zell am See, etc.

Thanks for the replies.
KatGio - We were also considering Igls. Where did you stay there? And what do you mean by good weather? What was the avg temperature? I am hoping July wont be too hot. (I hate warm holidays!) Will it be below 24-25 C?

Treplow - Thanks for the suggestions. Zell am See / St Johann sound like gr8 places to stay in. Let me do some more research on it.

Will 7-8 days be sufficient to see Salzburg-Innsbruck / Tirol area well enough?

- V

trippster

Given you are expecting, take it easy and congrats too!

Base yourselves in Salzburg, you can visit Wolfgangsee, Hallstatt and Berchesgaden.

If you decide to drive, you may also consider moving west to Fussen to visit Neuschwanstein castle.

s

Was researching a bit more based on the suggestions I got until now.

These are the areas that are beginning to look interesing
1. Innsbruck / St Johann
2. Hallstatt
3. St Gilgen / St Wolfgang / Wolfgangsee /Konigsee and mountains near-by
4. Salzburg / Zell am see / Bad Ischl
5. Berchtesgaden and Eagle's Nest
6. Fussen and the castle

These all seem near-by but am now getting confused which is the best way to see all this? Good news is we are now thinking of extending the 7-days to 12/13 days in Austria!!! As you can all see, me and my husband are getting real excited now! And if it is 12 days, we are also thinking we will add Vienna to it. Maybe right at the end of the trip, just to get a flavor for the city and decide whether we want to go back later there.

So any help in categorizing these locations would be welcome. Am also wondering whether we should base ourselves out of Tirol region for 4-5 days and Salzburg region for another 4-5 days and then hit Vienna. Esp since I am pregnant.

Also specific doubts on transportation - what would be preferrable ... trains or buses given that we want to drink in the local scenes? I saw that train journeys between Innsbruck and Salzburg takes 3-4 hours! That is when I thought of taking 2 base locations. Can we do all these exciting places without a car? Or would renting a car make it much easier for us?

This forum has, as usual, been a great source of info for planning. Thanks a ton for all those who have replied till now.

- T

We stayed near Berchtesgaden, in a lovely vacation apartment, for a week a few years ago and found it to be a great base for exploring the Berchtesgadenland region (Schonau, Eagle's Nest, Mt. Jenner, Konigssee), Salzburg and the Salzkammergut (Hallstatt, Wolfgangsee, etc.). I know you prefer to use alternative transportation, but if it helps Berchtesgaden is about 20 minutes by car from Salzburg and Hallstatt was about 30 minutes by car from Salzburg. St. Gilgen and the Wolfgangsee was on the way to Hallstatt from Salzburg.

Fussen is several hours from that region, so I would suggest either skipping it for this trip or consider basing yourself in that region instead.

We haven't made it to the Tirol region yet so unfortunately I can't help you with that portion of your trip.

Austria is a beautiful county; you will surely have a spectacular time!

Tracy

Hi T,

From your list, I suggest 3 or 5. You can get to Salzburg from both without a car.

It is not easy to get from Hallstatt by train and boat.

With a car, you can park anywhere.

I am currently doing my trip report to Austria, which you might find helpful.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=35014078

swagman, tcreath and ira - thanks for ur replies.

hmm ... so looks like a car may be useful in driving around ... if we do decide to rent a car, how do we do it? will there be rental agencies in innsbruck from where we use the car for the tirol region? and take another one after reaching salzburg?

ira - your report speaks of picking up a car... how much does it cost approximately?

all our earlier trips to europe, we have relied on public transportation ... so this would be our first shot at car renting in europe ...

- T

Hi,

Another vote for Berchtesgaden and southeastern Germany and Bavaria! There is a little town called Mittenwald, which is a famous town for violin making and it is as cute as a picture.

The "Sound of Music" tour is really fun, but touristy. It was neat to see all of the famous places from the movie, but we also got to see some of the lakes around Salzburg. Be sure and buy lots of Mozart chocolates (called Kugeln) for a chocolate tasting when you get home.

There are car rental offices all over Europe, at the airports, in major hotels, so don't worry about having trouble with the car rentals. I'd consider one of the major car rental companies to ensure that you have reliable cars, lots of locations if you have car trouble on a trip. Lots of the major car rental companies are international and there are some excellent European companies that are reliable, such as Auto Europe.

Confirm your rental reservation before you leave home. Take all of your paperwork with you with car type, rates, confirmation number, etc. etc.

Public transportation is outstanding in Europe, so don't hesitate to use it! Car rentals are excellent for exploring smaller out-of-the-way areas and towns.

Best Regards,
Julia
Blog: spasandadventures.wordpress.com

I would highly suggest renting a car. I do believe in public transportation for many places, but for getting around the countryside I personally think a car is the way to go as you can explore the countryside at your pace and see places a train may not be able to go.

Driving in Austria is very easy. Honestly if you can drive in the US you can drive in Austria. The roads are very well maintained and well marked.

As mentioned above, you can rent a car just about anywhere. I would definitely rent before you leave for your trip, as you will more than likely get a better rate than just showing up at a rental counter. We almost always use Auto Europe www.autoeurope.com and have been very pleased. They will also price match if you find a cheaper rate. Otherwise you can look into any major rental car agency such as Avis, Hertz, etc.

Tracy

Thanks everyone for replying ...

I think I forgot to mention that we are from india - where we have left-side driving. I am trying to check if the international permit we get will be recognised in right-side driving countries like Austria. If it is, let me explore this option of renting a car twice in the trip - once to see around Tyrol and once in the Berchtesgeden area for 3-4 days each. Does that make sense?

Broadly my itinerary is going to be like

26th July St Moritz - Innsbruck / Igls / St Johann

27th - 29th July Around that area

30th Jul - Reach Berchtesgeden

30th - 4th/5th Aug - Around that area

5th Aug - Flight back to India.

Now I need to fit in these places into day-wise plans Any help is again welcome. And any pointers on the driving permit rules in Austria?

Thanks once again for all the replies.
- Trippster

Trippster,

First of all, my apologies for assuming you are from the US! One of the greatest things about this forum is how diverse it is, with people posting from all over the world.

I think your itinerary looks great. When you are in the Innsbruck area, definitely check out Hall in Tirol. Its a small but very picturesque and quaint little town about 20 minutes from Innsbruck. I personally did not care for Innsbruck, with the exception of the historic older part of town, but the area is certainly beautiful.

The Berchtesgaden area is a favorite of mine. We just absolutely loved it there. The scenery is amazing and there are lots of great things to do and see. I would plan at least a day in Salzburg and a day for the Salzkammergut.

As for driving, we have driven on the left side in both Ireland and England without too many problems. Its always a little scary at first but we just take it slowly and everything seems to work out fine.

Good luck and happy planning!
Tracy