It's officially less than 1 year until our family trip to Salzburg so I though I should start gathering information from the knowledgable Fodorites. I have done a lot of late night internet searches for prep work so if I don't seem to have everything in order for my questions please be patient.

We will base in Salzburg for 7 nights. We would like to do 3 daytrips using public transportation. We are 2 adults (1 mid-30's, 1 mid-50's) and 3 children (14, 7 and 5).

Trip 1 - Berchtesgaden (Salt mines and Eagle's Nest)
It appears we can do both in one hectic day by using bus 840. My research shows we can get a family ticket for use this day. Does this ticket include the transfer to the bus that takes you to the Documentation Center? I know we have to then purchase separate tickets for the bus/elevator to the top. What order would you do this in; salt mine then Eagle's Nest or reverse?

Trip 2 - Zell am See
Again looks like we can get a family ticket (Einfach-Raus-Ticket) for the train. My mom is most interested in visiting this area. Is there a public beach for swimming? Will there be any fees? Do the boys need European type swimwear or will their longer swim trunks be allowed (we don't want a pool just the lake)?
I had really wanted to go up the Grossglockner Road but it appears the postbus runs very early and we won't be able to catch it. Are there any other mountains we could ascend by cable car that would have similar topography? Are there any easy to moderate hiking opportunites as well?

Trip 3 - St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang and in between
This is the one I am having the most diffculty finding information about. I know there is a bus(es) but can not find fare information or if there is any type of family ticket. Again we are looking for swimming beaches and possibly a summer luge that is accessible by bus or walking from one of the towns. I don't think we plan on doing the boat trip across the lake so would be relying solely on the bus.

Thanks for any help!

Try www.oebb.at for schedules from Salzburg to St. Gilgen and St. Wolfgang. I went to both towns in June upon recommendation of betty on this forum. I loved both places and the train up to Schafberg. I will be doing a daytrip from Hallstatt to St. Wolfgang in September.

Go as far as St. Gilgen and take the ferry boat on the lake from there. Pick a good weather day.

scatcat - I have actually tried that website along with www.svv.at. Each time I try to find fares I get an error on the page. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Maybe I will just estimate for budgeting purposes.

bob - We may reconsider the boat in the future.

trvlgirlmq, sounds like a great trip.

One suggestion - many advise that the early part of the day is the best time to do Eagle's Nest. Clouds tend to roll in later in the day. Of course, visibility is key for this excursion.

The building itself (which has a restaurant etc.) is umimpressive, but its historical context and its access road built by Italian prisoners are well worth the trip. Not to forget the view which is pure "Sound of Music"!

Curiously, we were told that Hitler himself made few visits up to this perch, being afraid of heights. Go figure.

I can get the schedules, but it does not show the price. I just did this last month, but I don't remember the exact cost. I think about 6-7 € each way per person. I don't know of the family plan. It was just me.

And I have not done Berchtesgaden by day trip, but I went up to the Eagle's Nest last September. The views are amazing. You are supposed to be able to see Salzburg, but I couldn't tell. I will go there again next June. I loved it.

lateday - That sounds reasonable. Yes, we are going for the views and will hopefully have some great weather.

scat - That will help with budgeting.

Tha planning has just begun and we are having a blast!

You will love it. Wish you had time to go to Hallstatt also.

From St. Gilgen, you can take a steam paddle boat to St. Wolfgang.

http://www.salzkammergut.at/en/4-11-...kammergut.html

If the weather is good, you could then walk to the Schafberg train station for the steam train up to the top of Schafberg Mtn.

http://www.schafbergbahn.at/media/SB..._2009_engl.pdf

If you don't have time to do the Schafbergbahn, there is a 15 minute cable car ride you can take from St. Gilgen up to the Zwölferhorn. Again, if it's a nice day, the views are great.

http://www.12erhorn.at/

if you fancy the trip up the Schaffberg, you can get off the boat right by the bottom of the funicular. then if you have time, after going up and down the mountain [1 hour or so each way, plus whatever time you spend at the top] you could walk into St. Wolfgang and catch the boat back to st. gilgen from there. boats run til about 7pm.

These are all wonderful suggestions.

It seems no one has any comments on Zell am See. Is there nothing to hold our interest there for a day? Would it make more sense to do a second trip to the Lake District such as Hallstatt or Mondsee? We really wanted to be able to swim in one of the gorgeous lakes. I grew up in Tahoe and I know it probably doesn't compare but I thought it would be fun for the kids to experience an alpine lake.

Hi trv,

You might be interested in touring the castle and seeing the raptors at
http://www.salzburg-burgen.at/en/werfen/ There is train service to Werfen.

Have you looked up the travel time and costs of a visit to Zell am See at www.bahn.de?

Hello trvl,

7 nights in Salzburg is fantastic! So much to do and see, and the kids will just love it. Glad you plan on seeing the salt mines. There are also the Ice Caves for a great day trip.
www.eisriesenwelt.at
I'm not sure if it's something your 5 year old can do, but sometimes if a 5 year old is having fun, they find the energy.
Click on "getting there." It gives a good visual about the actual trip up to the caves, and you can see if you think your kids can do it.
Anyway, you will have a wonderful week.

At age 9, our son really enjoyed the castle and raptor show in Werfen and the ice caves
In Salzburg be sure to visit Schloss Helbrunn with its trick fountains, another favorite with kids.

I am not sure how easy it is to get to via train from Salzburg, but Burghausen, Germany is not far and has a huge and fascinating castle/fortress complex

I have never been to Zell am See, so I can't give any info. I also wanted to tell you that there is a salt mine in Hallstatt. You can get to Hallstatt by train in a little over 2 hours. Then there is a ferry waiting near the train station to carry you across the lake to Hallstatt. Very pretty! I am going there again on September 18.

Hi trvlgirlmq,

I did the exact same thing a few years ago -- spent a week in Salzburg and took a few day-trips to nearby areas, including Zell am See. I must tell you that it wasn't all that much, a sweet and picturesque and touristy village. However, I assume there is swimming in the lake, as almost every Alpine lake I've seen does have swimming (and you can see it in the very last episode of the series "Band of Brothers"). I was there in January, and folks were ice skating.

I will spend a few days in St. Gilgen this September. I wrote to the tourist office and got a wonderful packet of information -- walking and cycling trails among the goodies. Since you have so much time, you may want to do this. You may also want to write to the tourist office of Zell am See to get all the details on swimming and things to see.

Have fun!

s

We are scheduled to spend a couple of days in Zell am See in September as part of our 3 week trip to Germany and Austria. We will also be returning to St. Gilgen for 3 days. I will be writing a trip report when I get back.

There is also salt mines in Hallein.

If you are staying for 7 days, have you considered renting an apartment for that time?

we spent an hour or so in Zell am See on our way to Kitzbuehel. the one-way system is impenetrable [no problem to you as you'll be on the train] we paid for parking when you don't need to on a saturday, and the railway line goes between the town and the lake. so very convvenient id you are arriving by train, but apain for everyone else.

we did find an arab cafe! [just over the railway line from the poshest hotel in town]. they do very nice coffee and freshley squeezed orange juice, and the people at the next table to us were surprised how good the omlettes were.

i've no idea if you can swim in the lake but the tourist office should have that sort of info.

we didn't like it as much as the lakes in the Salzkammergut, but we weren't there for very long.

Wow, this all great information. I had read about most places/sites mentioned but without a car we really had to narrow down what we can do.

So far we have the apartment at Haus am Moos for the week. Can't wait for that since reading about it here in some trip reports.

I had mentioned the ice caves to my mom but she is not sure if she can do all the walking it requires once the bus drops you off. We'll have to see how her knees are next summer.

Hmm, maybe we will rethink Zell am See and stick to something else in the Salzburgerland or Salzkammergut.

We are definitely going to add in the boat trip on Wolfgangsee and there is a public beach in Strobl that I found.

We decided on the Berchtesgaden salt mines because of price. It was the least expensive for the 5 of us. Hopefully the tours aren't too different that we would be missing something due to our thriftiness.

I need to step away from the computer so I don't see any more that I want to do!

To those travelling soon have wonderful trips. I will be taking copius notes from all trip reports and will come back with more questions I am sure.