Austria in the summer
 

I am considering spending one week in Austria next summer. I am interested in feedback on two towns in particular - Schladming and Hinterthal. Is it reasonable to use one of those towns as a base to explore other places including Salzberg? What is realistic and recommended? And is it best to do the exploring by car ? Thank you in advance for your ideas.

By public transport Schladming is about 1 1/2 hours from Salzburg, Hinterthal (via bus to Saalfelden) takes 2 1/2 hours.

You can drive from Schladming or from Hinterthal to Salzburg in just a bit over an an hour, traffic willing.

Both locations give you access to many other spots, easier by car than by train or bus since services are limited and slow in the mountains. For public transport check with the websites of each town and with oebb.at

Salzburg province is certainly a diverse corner of Austria in terms of landscape and tourism opportunities. Salzburg is famous for mainly four things: It′s Medieval and Baroque architecture in the Old Town (a UNESCO cultural heritage site) and general prettiness; as a birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; for the Salzburg Festival and music offerings; and for the movie "The Sound of Music.

I am assuming that these are trades on vacation colonies - which are usually a really bad idea unless you basically want to hang around the town/resort and not go anywhere.

If you want to see other parts of the country you typically have to rent a car and assume there will be a lot of driving involved to see much except a number of other small towns.

The lodging may be "free" but you risk losing an awful lot of vacation time.

Thank you for your responses. Sounds like a car is the best plan for getting around.

Regarding: "Both locations give you access to many other spots..." What would you recommend within driving distance?

Regarding: "I am assuming that these are trades on vacation colonies..." They are timeshare properties that we are considering. I have done this in Bavaria and it worked well. We drove somewhere every day or took the train to Munich and liked having a base that was not just a hotel room. I was hoping that the places I am considering in Austria would work this way as well.

As far as activities, we enjoy music, art, museums, gardens, general mountain beauty, walking, wine and good food, among other things.

Hi,

We're staying in Ramsau am Dachstein (near Schladming) for a few nights in Dec. The Dachstein Cable car, Ice Palace, Skywalk and Suspension Bridge are on our list.

Zell am See is about 1:30 away, so it also makes for a good day trip for you.

Paul

Thanks for the ideas, Paul. Another option has come up that we might prefer and I welcome feedback. It is in the spa town of Bad Gastein. Looks like a gorgeous area with train transporation available to Salzburg. We'd be interested in exploring the surrounding areas on day trips. Ideas anyone?