Hallstatt - 2 days in September
 

We are spending 8-9 days in Austria as part of our first visit, this September. I had initially planned on spending time in Vienna(3nights), Salzburg(3nights) and Innsbruck(2nights) - but after looking at previous posts here, it seems like Hallstatt might be a better choice, compared to Innsbruck.

Would folks here agree with that ? If you do, can you provide some suggestions on things to do in Hallstatt for 2 days ? We will be taking the train and wont have a car.

We love nature, scenic beauty, easy-moderate hikes, etc. This might be a stupid and\or ignorant question - Would there be enough to do in Hallstatt for 2 days ?

We're making our third trip to Hallstatt in 3 weeks. It truly is beautiful, but it's very small. However, there is a salt mine tour we found fun, you can visit the roman ruins museum which were discovered during excavation to expand the local sporting goods store, and yes, there are hiking trails providing great views of the lake and town. Check out the following website for info:

http://www.tiscover.at/hallstatt

If you had a car I would say 2-days in Hallstatt would be 1 too many....but you are limited with the train.

I might be tempted to suggest Hallstatt as a day trip or maybe one overnight out of Salsburg!

John

My husband and I spent one day and one night in Hallstatt a few years ago and I thought that was enough time. It's a beautiful town, but there's not a ton to do. The aforementioned salt mine tour was neat, as was the bone house. Have your camera ready at all times--lots of photo opportunities.

We plan to spend 3 nights in Hallstatt next month towards the end of our 2 week vacation, primarily in Germany. We will do a day trip to Wolfgangsee and maybe a drive down to Badgastein. We definitely want to rent one of the electric boats in Hallstatt this time for a ride around the Lake. Otherwise, we're just going to sit in our lake view room at the Gruner Baum and relax.

Hmmm ! Without a car, and looking for natural beauty and quaint villages, I would stay in St. Gilgen instead. I love Hallstatt but half a day is adequate. More to see and do on the Wolfgangsee.

The problem with Hallstatt without a car is GETING THERE. Actually, a car IN Hallstatt is a pain.

The train will drop you off across the lake from the village, so you will have a boatride both ways. You could do the trip in one day and still get a sense of the village. This would have the advantage of a bit greater flexibility: If the weather is not good (Salzburg is known for its "Schnuerlregen", aka steady rain)
you have the option of postponing your Hallstatt trip for a day or two. Hallstatt in the rain is really nothing.

Hallstatt is nice if you want to just relax for a day. It really is very small. You can rent a boat and go out on the lake or take the saltmine tour which is fun. We stayed in Innsbruck one night. If you had more time there you could go up into the mountains. We also stayed one night in a little village close to Innsbruck called Alpback athe Romantikhotel Böglerhof. I don't think you could get there though by train. It had a great spa area with sauna and pool... You can go to this web site http://www.innsbruck-tourismus.com/i...mp;_b=&_m= and see all the summer things in Innsbruck.

Hallstatt is the perfect place to take a rest from your touring. It is tiny but relaxing. A good place to see a few things and then sit with a book by the lake. To me it depends on your arrival time as to whether or not two nights is too many. If you arrive in the morning with a full day, one night would be plenty. I think it is a beautiful region and not to be missed.

I happily spent two nights there hiking, renting a kayak on the lake and taking the ice caves tour (actually, the tour wasn't that great. I'd do the salt mine next time).

I was in Hallstatt at the end of June 2005 and totally enjoyed it. If you plan to stay 2 days, then perhaps it would be a good place to actually relax rather than be on the go like the other days of your vacation. Stay there and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings, the quaint houses, shops and restaurants. (Try Cafe Derbl in the market square.) Take a hike and enjoy the salt mine tour as we did and just have a good stay.

Hallstadt is truly beautiful and is best enjoyed after the day - trippers leave! For hikers, the accessibility of the nearby Dachstein massif provides endless possibilities for hiking choices. In addition to the ice caves, you will have your choice of some great hiking trails. Like Germany, the trails are well marked and kept quite clean. At the summit, it's always fun to watch the hang gliders depart for their afternoon descent into the valley below.
For those who never get the opportunity to visit the nearby mountains, it may appear that there is little to do in Hallstadt, but, for those who hike and climb...this is one of the meccas in the area!

I think Hallstatt and the surrounding area is stunning. The town itself, as mentioned above, is tiny but very quaint. Hallstatt itself can be done in one morning or afternoon unless you plan on hiking (which, unfortunately, we couldn't do because it was raining) but the surrounding area offers plenty to do. As bobthenavigator mentions, St. Gilgin is also a great town. We stopped there for dinner one night and wish we could have stayed longer.

In any event, I would choose Hallstatt over Innsbruck (which we were not impressed with in the least) any day!

Tracy