connette

Has anyone done this? Is it worth it? How would you spend the day if you don't do it. Docked in Linz I believe. I see things in Salzburg that I would like to do - but not so much - the Sound of Music tour. Is it possible to use their transportation to Salzburg, do your own thing and then join up again for a ride back to the ship? Thanks

suec1

You might check the train schedules to see if you could go into Salz on your own - I would think that would be cheaper than paying for a tour!

sylbea

Hi Connette,
We also have the same question. We are going on an Avalon river cruise in June and would like to take the Salzburg tour but we were there several years ago and want to go on our own. I was thinking we would like to take the funicular that goes to the mountain. Sorry, now sure about all the details but our son did that when we were there. I believe that you get off in one town and are picked up in another. Not positive but that is the way I read the itinerary. Thanks and keep in touch.

Iceflower1

Dear Conette,
It is an absolute lovely tour, do it!
If you don't go, you will sail and sail, and sail. You will arrive in Linz at 8AM, the Salzburg excursion leaves the ship, and you will sail to Passau. You will arrive Passau around 4,30PM, and you will have a shorzt city tour.

connette

Just a follow up. We did go to Salzburg and it was well worth it. Over 2/3 of the ship went. The only ones who stayed behind had already been there before or were elderly, etc. and needed a day of rest. I think due to the large Mozart celebration this year, it really turned into a Mozart tour, rather than a sound of music tour - which suited us perfectly. Now of course the Sound of Music fans were a bit disappointed. They have a new state of the art Mozart museum. We also had plenty of time to take the funicular up to the Fortress and go through all of the museums. That was our main goal for Salzburg - so it worked out splendidly. The museums and the view at the Fortress were just great!

Underhill

I did the optional Salzberg tour in December and wouldn't do it that way again. First of all, the bus ride takes about 1-1/2 hours each way: too much. With the included lunch, we had barely 4 hours to see Salzburg, and even though I'd been there before that was simply not enough to do much of anything. The city was absolutely packed with tourists, including many Italians who had come up on a holiday to do Christmas shopping.

So I wish I'd stayed back on the ship and gone into Linz instead.

treplow

Since I don't know where the Salzburg tour will be leaving the boat (Linz?) and where it will catch up with the boat again (Passau?), you may want to check www.bahn.de and see what your train options are. Usually, these boat tours - if they are optional - are overpriced and very organzised.If the train schedules work out, you might enejoy doing your own thing in Salzburg.

You don't mention when in the year the tour is. Starting in late June this year, Salzburg will be probably very crowded. As to the "Sound of Music Tour": That's just another organized tour; it has very little to do with the book and even less so with what actually happend to the Trapp family..

I would - after arrival at the Salzburg station - take the bus into the old town, walk there, take the funicular up to the Hohensalzburg Festung (castle) visit the cathedral and have a leisurely lunch or Kaffeee und Kuchen (coffee and pastry)at the Cafe Glockenspiel, overlooking the cathedral and Mozart Fountain. Then I would walk back to the station via the Mirabel Palace and its gardens. This would be much more relaxing than any tour.

Otherwise, Passau is really also a very nice city, with a great cathedral and great views of where the three rivers join the Danube.