kwren

I'm wondering if I should alter our plans...We currently have 5 nights/4 full days in Salzburg planned - we'll visit the sights, go to some concerts, do a daytrip or two into the countryside - maybe Hallstadt, salt mines, Werfen, and on the last morning have been planning to take the train to Innsbruck where we will go straight to the airport to catch a late afternoon plane to Paris. I read that the train ride is beautiful, especially if we request the most scenic way as opposed to the shortest. (I'm not sure how I would know if I was getting what I was asking for - the post wasn't specific in this.)

After doing a bit more reading here, I'm wondering if it might be fun to cut the time in Salzburg by at least a day and maybe drive to Innsbruck, seeing some little towns along the way. Any reason not to do this? Any suggestions as to what we should do, where we should spend the night? We'll have our 3 kids with us, and have never been to Austia before so anything is fair game. Is the terrain too mountainous to consider this - ie would the driver enjoy the drive at all?

We don't mind spending 4 full days in Salzburg - there is obviously enough to keep us busy, but also love to drive and visit small charming towns. Any suggestions for us?

Thanks!

vnh

I don't think I'll be able to answer all the specific questions but I did this drive a couple of weeks ago (well, I was the passenger (partner drove!) - from Innsbruck to Salzburg.
We were driving straight on a motorway so it certainly wasn't a difficult drive. In fact, the motorway from Innsbruck to Salzburg cuts through southern Germany so he got to test the upper limits of his car's speedometer (which, according to him, was way more exciting than the thought of narrow country roads.. but then again, he is Italian and the thought of being able to show off his car's potential was exciting!).
All in all, it took about 2 hours with a stop. I don't know the mileage but it isn't very far.
Innsbruck (even though we were only there for a day) is a pretty town. Very manageable and in a beautiful location. We were just spending the night there after driving up from Italy so were both a bit tired and I'm sure lots of other people will have a lot more to say about small towns along the way.

Just by the way, I really enjoyed visitng the Hellsbrun Palace outside Salzburg and i think that kids would love it too (does that say something about my mentality!). It has some great trick fountains which were fun and if you have a few days in Salzburg, they'd definitely be time.

EmilyC

You can easily see lots of great sights in the area around Salzburg without moving to another city. Take the train to Innsbruck and sit back to enjoy the scenic ride.
Day trips (or less) while staying in Salzburg could include Berchtesgaden, Konigsee, Obersalzberg with a visit to the Berghof, Rossfeldstrasse for spectacular mountain scenery, day trip to Hallstadt, St Johann or St Anton, a ride up the cable car in St. Leonhardt (not for wimps!) and many other local areas. Innsbruck itself is not that scenic but the towns in Austria and Germany in the area of Salzburg are terrific.

JulieVikmanis

How much of the day trip travel from Salzburg is doable by train? We're thinking of not renting a car but would definitely like to see some of the cute little towns surrounding Salzburg--like St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen, etc.

LindyE

We did a day trip from Salzburg to Innsbruck and really enjoyed it. The train trip was enjoyable and relaxing. We had a nice day in Innsbruck and were happy we took the time to go.

Austria is beautiful! Have a wonderful trip!

BATUFFOLINA

I took the train from Innsbruck to Salzburg in 1998 and it was perfect, the train was the IC Ars Electronica or something like that, pretty views during the whole trip, I would recommend the train.