St. Wolfgang versus Hallstatt
 

Touring Austria in September. Rick Steves only mentions Hallstatt. I made resers. in St. Wolfgang. Should I cancel them and try to reserve a place in Hallstatt?

I did 2 nights in each of those towns! Loved them both!

Hallstatt!!! I love St. Wolfgang, but Hallstatt keeps calling me back.

I've been to both as well. My vote is absolutely for Hallstatt. It's stunning! Stayed in a small B&B right on the lake with my own balcony. One early evening I watched an extraordinary thunder storm passed through the mountains & over the lake. Magic! Good hiking opportunities. I enjoyed the salt mine too.

I like Rick, but he seems to pay little attention to some of the great little towns in Austria. IMO, St. Gilgen might be a better choice for you...all the advantages of staying on the Wolfgangsee, and good transportation possibilities as well. From there it is possible to take easy day trips to Hallstatt and Salzburg

Both are so beautiful, tough decision. We stayed in St. Wolfgang and made day trip to Hallstatt and Bad Ischl. It seemed there was more to do in St. Wolfgang and the transportation options on the lake were handy for visiting some of the other villages around the lake. I would definitely want to see both, but would stay in St. Wolfgang again. It has such a fairy tale atmosphere I almost cried when we had to leave. : )

Dee_Dee, would love to get the name of the B&B you stayed at in Hallstatt. It sounds great!

Roxanne, so sorry I haven't replied sooner. I've been off fodors for a bit and had to do some research to remember its name. The B&B I stayed in is http://www.gasthof-simony.at/. If you want luxury, this is not for you. Please check Tripadvisor for reviews, they're very honest. The accommodations were only average. I found the breakfast to be below average. But.... the views are extraordinary. I did have a great dinner there though. If memory serves me correctly, I had a fish from the lake. It was excellent. The restaurant was quite busy at dinner, servers & patrons were quite friendly. I had a lovely, very reasonable dinner experience.

Hi Dee_Dee,

No worries about the delay, I do really appreciate you getting me the name! I'll check out the other reviews but I don't need luxury, just clean and a good view. A good view is one of the most important things for me! :) I do greatly appreciate you taking the time to find this for me!

Did you happen to get into Slovenia? We're planning our main trip to be to Slovenia and do a side trip here to Hallstatt for a couple of days. Hoping to do some hiking there!

Thanks again, so much!

Robyn.

Hi Roxanne. No, unfortunately I didn't get into Slovenia. My trip was Berchtesgaden - Salzburg - Hallstatt - Cesky Krumlov - Melk - Vienna. It was my first time in Austria & just loved the country and the people.

In Hallstatt I hiked up the mountain to the salt mine, took the tour & hiked back down again in 90+ degree heat (unlike everyone else who took the lift up & hiked down.) While there I had planned to paraglide off the mountain just around the lakeshore. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with thunder & lightning storms. If there would be any way you could go even further to Berchtesgaden, great hiking abounds in that area.

We stayed at the Simony in 2010 and agree with Dee_Dee's review. To add, there is no phone, no TV, no frills at all. Towels are thin and we had mold in our shower. But we had a balcony room and the views are amazing. BUT, they aren't inexpensive. However, there are only a few hotels that sit right on the lake. The Gruner Baum next door to the Simony is more expensive but a much nicer hotel. There is a brand new hotel in Hallstatt called the Heritage and it has lakeview rooms as well.

http://www.gruenerbaum.cc/?cid=1

http://www.hotel-hallstatt.com/en/in...FShjTAod9w1JJQ

Try the Gasthaus Zauner restaurant in Hallstatt. They have really good food.

http://zauner.hallstatt.net/?lang=en

We have visited Hallstatt 4 or 5 times and it is truly beautiful. But, we also love St. Gilgen on Wolgangsee. We made our 4th visit there last September. We have a favorite hotel, the Schernthaner, where we always stay. The owner is extremely nice and makes you feel like family. While there isn't as much to do in St. Gilgen, we like the peacefulness of it. We either drive or take the boat over to St. Wolfgang while we are there to shop and then return to our little slice of heaven in St. Gilgen!

A really good restaurant in St. Gilgen is Gries am Wirt.

http://www.hotel-schernthaner.at/sei...sh/index_e.htm

Thank you both for your responses!

How far is Berchtesgaden from Hallstatt?

Paragliding, awesome! I didn't know that was offered there, I will definitely check that out!

How strenuous was the hike to the salt mine? Was it scenic along the way? Any other hikes in the area?

Sorry for all the questions...

Roxanne, Berchtesgaden is 49km, 46 minutes from Hallstatt. Check viamichelin.com for directions. And, don't forget you must pay for & have a pass when traveling on Austrian motorways.

The hike up to the saltmine is lovely & not strenuous. Lots of views of the lake as you climb up the mountain paths. I also loved the plants & especially the ferns along the way. It was like being in a forest primeval. As I was only in Hallstatt for 2 nights, I didn't do any other hikes and am not sure what else is on offer. I spent 5 nights in Berchtesgaden and was able to take advantage of the plethora of trails in that area. I so enjoyed my hikes in the Berchtesgaden National Park, especially the area accessed from Ramsau. The waterfalls I found were just extraordinary and in an area covered with gorgeous ferns.

Thank you, Dee_Dee!!

I didn't know about needing a pass, I'll check into that.

I'd love to do both towns, if I can find the time... as usual with travel, so much to do, so little time! :) I'll have 2 weeks total but want to spend most of that in Slovenia so I will have to plan carefully. I really want to visit Hallstatt for 2 days though so I'll have to see about fitting in the Berchtesgaden as well.

Thank you again, I really appreciate the info!

The "pass" for Austria is called a Vignette. You can purchase it at any service station when you get close to the Austrian border or once you cross the border into Austria. Just don't travel too far on any motorways without one or you could get a ticket. But if you only travel on the smaller roads, then you won't need it.

Hallstatt to Berchtesgaden takes much more than 45 minutes by auto- probably 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours even more depending on traffic-

The highway sticker / vignette
currently 7,90 euro for 10 days.

Be certain to have one has as much control by officials.

If picking up your car in Austria, check with the rental agency to see if it already comes with a vignette.

Thanks all!

I'll be renting a car in Slovenia (need to find a good car rental agency - any suggestions?) and then taking it to Austria, to Hallstatt. Hopefully there won't be any problems taking it across the border, I will be sure and notify the car rental company that I will be taking it into Austria.

Check with AutoEurope.com. We've used them numerous times with great service. If you rent in Slovenia and drop off in Austria, be prepared for some possibly steep drop off charges. Be sure to find out what they are beforehand. But it might be worth it to you to keep from having to backtrack.

Thanks! I'll check them out!