Three of us will be traveling between Munich and Vienna in September 2013. We can either visit Salzburg on the way or go directly between the two cities. What do you recommend for travel -- air? train? car? other?

The train ride from Muich to Vienna takes 4 hrs. By plane it may be a little longer (from city center to city center) and you can of course not stop over at Salzburg.
But it's really up to you.

It is TOTALLY up to you. You give absolutely no reason for using any of the modes other than the Salzburg stopover and you aren't even requiring that.

Sorry, more information is needed IMO like whether or not you would PREFER the flexibility of a car, for example.

The train on this route is fantastic... Clean, convenient ( I live in Eastern Europe and we pine for the Austrian trains) .. And I love Salzburg... A very charming city.

Here is a trip report on Salzburg.

http://worldinbetween.wordpress.com/...usic-festival/

Our preference is to take the train early from Munich, stop in Salzburg for several hours, then continue on to Vienna later the same day. Is that doable?

Go to www.bahn.de/en - booking opens 92 days ahead.

Book from Munich to Vienna from €29 by modern Railjet train, they run every couple of hours. Easy!

If you want a few hours in Salzburg on the way, simply click 'add stopover' and enter Salzburg plus the number of hours (up to 48:00) in the 'stopover' box. Then you'll still get Munich-Vienna cheap fares from €29 but with a stopover in Salzburg.

Bargain!