St. Wolfgang & St.Gilgen as a day trip from Hallstatt
 

We’ll be in Hallstatt for 3 days this summer, and we would like to take a day trip from there to St. Wolfgang & St.Gilgen. We’ll have a car and I’m thinking:

get to St. Wolfgang, stroll around, take the cog train to the top of the Schafberg, enjoy the views there, get back to St. Wolfgang, take the ferry to St.Gilgen, explore St.Gilgen, back to St. Wolfgang where the car is and get back to Hallstatt.

Is this doable? Sounds like a lot…
How long is the cog train ride? Can we get tickets in advance?
I think I read that the ferry to St Gilgen is 45 minutes, where can I find a schedule?
Thanks

Well, we love Hallstatt, St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen but for just one day, I don't think you'll have time to do the drive to St. Wolfgang, the steam train up to Schafberg and back and the ferry to St. Gilgen and back.

We enjoy staying in St. Gilgen but for just a day, I'd suggest that you leave it off this trip. I think you'd just be too rushed.

Oh, that's disappointing because we had planned the same day trip for this May. Maybe we'll leave off the ferry. Is that more doable?

Yes, you can easily drive from St. Wolfgang to St. Gilgen in less than 25 minutes so that would definitely give you more time to spend both on Schafberg and in SG and still be able to make it back to Hallstatt in a amount of reasonable time.

I've done the ferry between SW and SG and while it is enjoyable on a nice day, I would definitely drop it in favor of seeing St. Gilgen.

As far as I know, there is no way to get the train tickets in advance. Allow time to stand in line for your tickets at the station. It likely will be crowded in May. Also, at the top of Schafberg, be sure to get your return reservation ASAP or you may not get the return train that you want. And take a jacket, as it will be colder and windier at the top, but the views are worth it.

Here is a website with some info:

http://www.schafbergbahn.at/service/...-englisch.html

Forgot to add, there is alot of good info on the Trip Advisor website:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...r_Austria.html

bettyk,
Thanks - I think we'll do the same as michele_d, drive to SG instead of taking the ferry. Plus, that will give us more flexibility, not to have to depend on the ferry schedule.

michele,
Hope you'll post a trip report when you get back, we'll be there late AUgust.

xyz99,
We won't be returning until July but I will post to this thread (if I remember!) about our time in this area.
Thanks bettyk for the info. I appreciate it.

I'm really looking forward to this part of our trip.

How long do you plan to pend on top of Schafberg? If not longer than a half hour then you can take the same train back down - if you go up at 10 am you could be back in St. Wolfgang at 11.50 am. That would give you enough time for the ferry trip to St. Gilgen, I'd think. In late August the ferries run every 30 minutes. The next-to-last departs St. Gilgen 6 pm and arrives St. Wolfgang 6.50 pm.

Hi Ingo,
I remember you from my Switzerland planning days, we had a great trip :)

I don't think we want to rush (not our style), so probably 1/2 hour will not be enough. I think the other plan of skipping the ferry is better.
I hope we can get to SG if even for only a quick tour. This entire area looks wonderful.

michele,
Thanks - we are leaving mid-August, so I hope you'll get to post something by then. Have a great trip!