Since this will be the longest travel day of our September trip, I'm wondering what would be the best route to take to avoid traffic? I'm aware that many of the autobahns can be horribly congested so maybe it would be best to travel on some of the "B" roads.

Hi betty - st. gilgen again, hey? knowing how much you love it, I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Assuming you mean Bamberg in Bayern, i went to viamichelin, and asked for the sightseeing route, and got this:

http://www.viamichelin.com/web/Routes

it's about 5 1/2 hours and does have a bit of motorway, but not too much. there is an alternative via Regensburg which takes about 4 1/2 hous. this compares with their recommended route which is nearly all autobahn and takes just under 4 hours.

have a great trip!

Hi; Use www.viamichelin.com shortest or sightseeing approaches. Mostly on B roads. About four hours travel time. Lot of places to visit along the way. Landshut, Passau and others.

Sorry Ann; You were not there when clicked on to this post.

Thanks. Yes, Ann, St. Gilgen AGAIN!!! We're also spending a couple of nights in Hallstatt. Taking a friend with us this time so we wanted her to experience St. Gilgen as she's been to Hallstatt on a previous trip.

I'll check out the link you provided. When I googled the route, it showed mostly autobahn and a time of about 4 hrs. However, I know with heavy traffic, that could easily end up being 5 hours.

Topping in case there is someone here who has driven the B roads or knows if there are problem areas on the Autobahn between these two areas. Thanks.

We were in that area last September. We were on both B roads and the autobahn. Biggest problem was construction on the autobahn, but we had no lingering delays.

OK, iris, that's good to know. Thanks.

I have driven on some of those B roads. They are fine unless you happen to get stuck behind a truck and are an impatient driver like me. If you use the B roads, you could stop in Burghausen or Landshut or Regensburg for lunch. Without disparaging the other two, Landshut is particularly charming.

robertino, Landshut has long been on my list of places to visit. Lunch sounds like a great idea! Thanks.

My DH is also an impatient driver, but sitting still on the Autobahn vs slow going on a B road is a no brainer for me.

Hi Betty,

While I can't answer your question, I wanted to say have a great trip! There's nothing better than being in Austria in the fall!

Paul

We stayed in Landshut our last night before flying home from Munich. Very nice town.

Thanks, Paul. I couldn't agree more. I think my husband is ready to explore other countries (maybe Poland) next year but I never tire of Germany & Austria.

Iris, where did you stay in Landshut?

Hi bettyk; We stayed in a Romantik Hotel that we liked a lot. Good parking. www.fuerstenhof.la/englisch

Thanks, Iris. Looks nice.

Passau would be another very easy town to visit/stay on your way to Bamberg. Incredible town on the Danue. Perhaps under two hours from St Gilgen on B roads. Then autobahn to Bamberg. Under three hours. Do you have your hotel in Bamberg? Richard

Thanks, Richard (not iris?). Passau is another town that's on my "to do" list. We are staying at the Hotel Molitor in Bamberg. We stayed there last year and really liked the hotel, staff and location.

Hi bettyk; I was know as the 'iris' man, when I had 180 different varities of Japanese Iris. So, I have used that on this site. Mostly I sign off with Richard. If I had to choise between Landshut and Passau, tough choice, but Passau. Have a great trip