Hallstatt as daytrip from Salzburg?
 

My choice is to either (A) spend 3 nights in Salzburg and daytrip to Hallstatt or (B) 2 nights in Salzburg and 1 night in Hallstatt. We will have a car.

I think the big question is where will you be going the following night? Although I'm not usually real big on one night stops, it makes more sense to me to drive to Hallstatt and spend the night and enjoy the solitude at night and early morning, than to drive there from Salzburg, spend a few hours, then drive back again, unless you have to return to Salzburg anyway.

I apologize. I hit the post before finishing my question. From either Hallstatt or Salzburg, will travel north into Germany bypassing Munich this trip. Patrick, your answer is in line with what I was thinking. The quiet of a night on the water sounds perfect. From there, we can drive on to Salzburg and further north. Thank you.

Teach:
I would opt for the Hallstatt overnight! This way you can explore the area in and around Hallstatt as well (Dachstein Mts and the Gossau region!) I found Hallstatt did not or better yet .. could not live up to all its hype!
It is a magical place indeed but it is one of many special places in and around the alpine lakes and mountain vistas of Austria!

Now that I'm rethinking, we'll have Lake Constance earlier in the trip. We could carve a day off that stop and have 2 lovely nights in Hallstatt and Salzburg. Neither of us is a big fan of one-night stops. Is this a good idea?

Rats. Too vague again. 2 nights EACH in Hallstatt and Salzburg.

Even better.

Many thanks, Patrick.

By the way, I've never been to Hallstatt. It's very high on my list and the only reason I've missed it is because I haven't had a good opportunity to be able to spend a night or two there. But I recommend an overnight stay with confidence even never having been there.

We did just that this summer...2 nights Salzburg and 2 nights Hallstadt and both were very enjoyable.

We stayed 3 nites in St. Gilgen, a beautiful village on the Wolfgangsee, and did Salzburg from there[:30] and also Hallstatt[1:00]. Be sure to drive up to Gosausee as well.

Another vote for St. Gilgen. Absolutely gorgeous! The Austrian Alps are awesome!

Would recommend that you not backtrack, but keep going straight ahead or zigzag ahead.

You may want a couple of nights in Salzburg. It's very touristy, but it's Mozart AND Sound of Music country. So a lot to do and see.

And, in that general vicinity, there are also Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles.

Enjoy!

Many thanks for the replies. I never thought about St. Gilgen, which I briefly visited in 1999. It was quite gorgeous. Very interesting idea (so many choices!). I'll have to think about that option.

Jason, I forgot to ask if the castles are not too far from Salzburg to do as a daytrip. I put the destinations in mappy.com and it states that the drive should take 3 hours each way. Is that accurate?

Bob, where did you stay in St. Gilgen?

Yes, the castles are too far, and you will have many great options in Austria.
We stayed at a family run pension named
Garni Schernthaler for about 75E. We love that area--take the ferry boat to St. Wolfgang. Search on St. Gilgen to find their site.

Teach,

A tip-of-the-cap goes out to you for selecting such a fine travel destination.

I was lucky enough to have toured that neck of the woods this summer, and I look forward to a return visit.

Salzburg is a lovely, culturally rich city, and I'd suggest that you allow at least two full days' sightseeing. My wife and I received a warm welcome at the Hotel-Pension Jedermann (www.hotel-jedermann.com). It's located a short, pleasant, 15-minute walk from the touristic heart of the city. The Jedermann features clean, attractive rooms, along with a fine breakfast buffet. The service was very friendly, too.

As regards Hallstatt, you'd be wise to spend a couple overnights. Like Rothenburg, on Germany's Romantic Road, it receives a good many day-trippers, therefore making its "after-hours" particularly attractive. Hallstatt is a terrific place place to stroll about and have a beverage or two along its waterfront. Check out Halstatt's salt mine, too. It's a good deal of fun. For lodging, we very much enjoyed our stay at Gasthof Zauner. It's centrally located, overlooking the main square, features balcony dining (a swell place to have dinner or breakfast). See www.zauner.hallstatt.net.

Finally, while Hallstatt's sites can be explored in a single day, you'll want to allow extra time for a short sidetrip to the Dachstein Caves. The tour of the ice caves is worth a special trip, and it features spectacular views of the area's countryside.

Best of luck.

Hi, great thread, great places. Just two comments -- the more I travel, the more I realize that it is best to spend the night at any town which attracts day-trippers. The experience of 'being there' in the quiet evening and early morning is something to be treasured. and. . . you mentioned Bodensee (constance?). . did you say where? The German side of that lake has some wonderful towns; I don't know that I'd cut back on them to spend two nights in Halstatt. J.

Definitely stay at Hallstatt, even if it's for one night. We spent two nights at Gasthof Zauner in July and had a wonderful experience - http://www.zauner.hallstatt.net The dinner was absolutly delightful as we had the local fish for our entree. The apple struedel was THE best. The Salt Mine Tour was a wonderful adventure as well. Go early to avoid the crowds - we took the first tour and it was only my wife and myself, and another small family of 3. ENJOY!!!!

These new replies are just terrific too. It confirms what I was thinking about needing to stay overnight after the crowds have thinned out.

Thanks for the additional great input that Bob and David gave, I am happily continuing to roll along with my planning - almost my favorite part of the trip.

I took BOBTHENAVIGATOR's advice and reserved a room for 3 nights at St. Gilgen. the hotel email add. is [email protected], which they already confirmed my reservation within 12 hours. Thank you Bob.

You are welcome--have fun !
You will like the Eisl family--she runs the place. It is not fancy but very homey. The best food in town is across the street--are you ready--in a chinese place. The train into Salzburg is easy and takes :30--better than driving. That is a great location for day trips.

Bob, not to tax you with too many questions, but what do you think of splitting 4-5 days between St. Gilgen and Hallstatt? Too much?

Hallstatt is cute but I have only spent one day there, which seemed adequate. But, we also did the salt mine thing at Hallein, not Hallstatt. I just think St. Gilgen gives you a good central location with lots of options.

Hi Teach. St. Gilgen and Halstatt are very close to one another. I have not read every post here, but if you've decided to stay out of town from Salzburg, maybe you should just make it St. Gilgen, train into Salzburg, and visit Halstatt another day by car, staying late in the evening and returning to your St. Gilgen hotel. I know I'm one who said spend the night, but I also like to stay in one little hotel several nights instead of hopping place to place. Did you mention the time of year? It is light very late during the summer, sooo perhaps it would work. That's pretty much what I did some years ago. We chose St. Gilgen for a central location and budget hotel. I don't suppose it would be possible for you to stay in Halstatt and train or drive to Salzburg from there? I liked St. Gilgen very much, but its setting and 'village plan' is not as spectacular as Halstatt. Sorry to muddy the decision-making waters. J.

We just got back from Hallstatt and Salzburg. I didn't care for Salzburg that much, touristy, commercial, sort of spoiled. Hallstatt was awesome! We stayed at the Gruener Baum which is next to Gasthof Zauner. I would reccommend The Gruener Baum as a hotel, but stay away from the restaurant there. We had an awesome, corner room, top floor room, on the lake!, but had to wait 1.5 hours for an overcooked dinner. Salt mines were worth it; we opted to see the ice caves in Werfen which were incredible and a short, beautiful drive from Hallstatt. They are supposed to be the largest of the ice caves. While in Werfen you can visit the castle there also. Enjoy your trip - we did!

We also stayed for 2 nights at the gruner baum in Hallstadt. It is worth it to pay alittle extra to get a room with a balcony overlooking the lake. We did eat at the restaurant and had no problem or wait.The food was ok but not great. There is also a good pizza/italian place up the mountain a bit. The hotel is old but has character. The rooms were very big. I just loved sitting out on the balcony. Amazing view. You can also rent a canoe or kayak..or even small motor boat...it is a nice thing to do. We all liked the salt mine tour...even my somewhat picky teenagers...and the meal at the hotel on top of the mountain was good. Have fun. I have to say that we did like salzburg...it is an extremely beautiful city.

Teach,

This is a strong, most interesting thread.

Allow me to chime-in on lodging in Halstatt. I stayed this summer for an overnight at both the Gasthof Zauner and Gruner Baum (sp?).

While both are centrally located, the Gruner features stupendous lake views. However, we had a top-floor room at the Zauner and it was very appealing, featuring a wonderful, seemingly overhead view of the town square with the lake in the rearground. There was also a small porch. The only drawback to our room was the telephone-booth sized, dimly-lit bathroom. The Zauner has a fine restaurant, specializing in traditional fare.

Concerning the Gruner Baum, the service at this hotel couldn't have been much better. We didn't have dinner here, but we enjoyed lunch in the hotel's dining room. Unlike the Zauner, however, the Gruner is more rustic than charming. Indeed, Fodor's Guide to Austria characterizes the hotel as in need of "sprucing up". This is accurate, as our room was plain and outdated in appearance. The building is quite old, and I suspect it's in need of near-future and significant repairs. So consider the Gruner for its splendid location, the views of the lake, and the service, but its rustic quality won't appeal to all tastes.

Best of luck.