Salzburg and Zermatt
 

my wife and i had the pleasure of visiting vienna. we would like to go back to see salzburg and perhaps zermatt. we would like to know is how is it to travel between the 2 places and if one offers a uniquely different experience than the other. as well, how many days do you suggest to spend on each one.

Zermatt is very hard to get to from there---I would try plan B.

any suggestion what plan b could be?

Well, Zermatt and Salzburg are hardly similar and if you want to travel from one to the other that can certainly be done by both road and car. I'm not sure why Bob is describing the trip as "difficult" unless it is because the trip takes more than a couple hours.

Zermatt is like a lot of other alpine ski villages except that it offers a somewhat unique extra: a view of the Matterhorn (on the days it isn't shrouded in clouds).

As to driving between the two, the distance is about 360 miles; the village is car-free so you have to drive to nearby Tasche, park there, and take a train the remainder of the journey.

A rail trip would take at the fastest at least 9 hours

Well you can travel between these city by train but the trip is long and it might make sense to break up the trip and stay overnight somewhere in the middle like in Zurich or in a small town.

How much time do you have? I love Salzburg, but I tell you, there is nothing like looking up and seeing the Matterhorn!

Yes, Hallstatt and St. Gilgen close at hand.
Or, the Val Grdena in the Dolomites.

thanks for all the insights. it ceratinly puts things in perspective.

Yes each is very very different - one an Alpine wonderland of glacier-girdled peaks, toylike mountain trains and thrilling aerial gondola rides and of course europe's most famous mountain, the Matterhorn - and Salzburg a Baroque wonder that to me is one of Europe's comeliest cities - and one with lots of old churches, palaces, etc and also which lies at the foot of the fabulous Sound of Music Country

but how many days do you have total?

Possible itinerary - Salzburg and its area - then take train to Zurich and onto St Moritz - hop the world-famous Bernina Express train to Tirano, Italy then the scenic Centovalli train to Domodossola and then via Brig to Zermatt - stay there some days and go either to Milan or Geneva or Zurich to fly home. About two sweet weeks and yes two very different and wonderful places.

Oh and if doing that much in Switzerland then by all means investigate the Swiss Pass which would cover all Swiss trains from Austrian border to Zurich and St Moritz, Centovalli (even part that goes thru Italy) to Zermatt and Zurich or Geneva airports. For lots of great info on Swiss trains and passes - check out these fab IMO sites - www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

I would suggest staying also in the Interlaken and Jungfrau Region - to me the absolute highlight of Switzerland and even more thrilling than Zermatt - in many ways much more of a variety of things to do - larger area - lake boat trips, zillions of trains - this could be a great stop en route to Zermatt - you practically pass thru Interlaken if going the direct route Salzburg to Zermatt by train (or car).