At the website of Gemutichkeit, the travel letter for germany and austria, there are many good suggestions for touring this area. One I particularly like is suggested backroads drives in Austria. The website is www.gemut.com and the link is http://www.gemut.com/travel-austria-...g-austria.html

Guy,
I looked at the suggested routes and I don't think my wife would enjoy the small country roads in the Alps, she is a little scared of heights. But some of the routes suggested by Watzman seem a little less scary. I already have been told that I will be riding Aerial Trams and gondolas by myself.
I remember(1976) being in a bus going through the Alps on the way from Munich to St. Anton, Austria. Every time the bus made a rest stop the driver went to the bar and had a few shots of Schnapps. We were on some pretty small close to the edge roads, we made it safely but a little nervous.

If you go from Vienna to Heiligenblut via Graz and Klagenfurt through Carinthia, you will find Hochosterwitz Castle near Klagenfurt (motorway A2, exit 278 ). It is one of the most impressive medieval castles in Europe - usually not on the agenda of overseas visitors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hochosterwitz_Castle
All of Carinthia is a very popular destination among (mostly Central European) travellers, with already an Italian influence on architecture in the cities and towns.

Most tourists from overseas are not aware of the fact that the Alps are a meteorological divide, and it is not uncommon in summer that you get temps below 20C and constant rain on the Northern side, e.g. in Salzburg, while on the Southern side in Carinthia you have up to 30C and sunny skies.

For driving on Austrian motorways, you need a toll sticker, available at former border crossings or gas ststions in Germany near the border. Ten days for €7.70.
The Grossglockner and Krimml Road are run privately and require an extra (high) toll.

If you use viamichelin.com for trip planning, those costs should be included in the quote you get for costs.

Cin,
Just to let you know, we did book three nights using points as Gold, and we got the upgrade using points. :)

Thanks jenblaze.
I will look in to this and try to get an upgrade. With travel being slow we should have a good chance.
We are looking at Salzburg Hotels tonight.

We booked 2 nights at the Hotel Elefant in Salzburg through Best Western for $147 per night. Checked this forum and Tripadvisor and saw good reviews.

We stayed at the Elefant in Salzburg several years ago....and the location can't be beat. Short walk to everything,,,,however the parking would be tight and probably several blocks away.
Another time in Salzburg we stayed at a wonderful other Best WEstern acoss the river, longer walk or city bus to old town(10 min)....BUT with a parking lot in the back and a very complete buffet organic breakfast...nice personal family run.
We almost always have a car, but one November (cold and snowy and fun) we took all trains and cities. Flew to Frankfurt, train to Munich and on to SAlzburg, train to Vienna, and wonderful Lehar express to Budapest....then back through Salzburg to Zurich to fly home. Gorgeous ride through the Alps!
Yes, Gold Hilton does have some advantages....upgrade to an Executive Floor and/OR breakfast buffet....Hope you still have it.
Of course based on availability!!!
(or if they "want" to :)

Hallstat is beautiful (we did it as a day trip ), but almost impossible parking and I think in Summer you are not even allowed into the center of town. One parks way away on a hill parking lot before entering town.

You have a beautiful , fun trip planned.

mari5,
I read in our info for The Elefant that we can drive up to the Hotel, drop off our luggage and park about 5 minute walk from the Hotel. We are looking forward to staying in the old town area. I will look in to the parking in Hallstat and try to find lodging that has parking near by if possible. I still have to get lodging in Munich, Hallstat and wherever we stay in the area around the Neuschwanstein castle.

In Hallstatt, we have always stayed "in" the old part of town. There are several hotels that share a small parking lot for their guests.

Check out the Seehotel Gruner Baum which is located right on the lake and probably the nicest hotel in Hallstatt. Across the town square is the Zauner Hotel, also nice but not on the lake. If you are interested in something less expensive, check out the Simony Guest House which is also on the lake. It has loads of charm, but is in need of an update.

http://www.hallstatt.net/index.php?lang=en-iso-8859-15

cinquanta: I think when we stayed at the Elefant we did not have a car (the ONE time in that area without a car :)) and yes, I've read where you can pull up to the hotel to unload,,,,and one person even wrote that the hotel has people who will take your car off to park. I do remember in a taxi that the street at that time was practically a walking street and was quite tight getting to hotel. But is IS a wonderful location to be staying,,,,and loads of things to see and walk to very CLOSE by.

We drove in Hallstat off season and I remeber researching a hotel ahead of time but decided not to stay. I thought the owner told me that the town was closed to traffic in the summer...but perhaps a couple of hotels DO have some limited parking, and that would be great. We drove trough the old town,, tight, but lots of fun and Hallstat IS a beautiful setting.

mari, the only way to get into the old part of town is if you have a reservation at one of the hotels there.

When you contact the hotel for a reservation, you need to ask them how to get thru the gate on the main road. The last time we were there, we checked with the parking lot attendant at the large parking lot when you first enter Hallstatt and he gave us a parking ticket to use to get thru the gate. I don't know if this has changed since then or not. It has been a couple of years since we were last there.

I should have said the only way with a CAR is if you have a hotel reservation there.

bettyk......I don't know what YOU did or WHEN you were in Hallstatt, but I KNOW we were there in OFFSEASON and drove into the town. NO gate stopped us, though there were people parking outside the gate and standing outside their cars.(but not the hoards of tourists one might find in the summer)
We just spent a short time there getting a gorgeous overview...drove through old town and to the end of the lake, looked back and then drove back through the tight "walking" streets,, being VERY careful. The lady in the hotel I had been in contact with a few weeks before told me that it was possible THAT time of year,,but not after a certain date.
This was about 5 years ago, and it was March/April on that trip.
Doubt if this would work in June!
We returned to our hotel in Salzburg, then drove down through N. Italy to Venice, then over to Lake Garda, up through Lugano, and on up through Germany, & the Rhine for a couple of days, and back to Frankfurt.

Well, Mari, EXCUSE MEEEEEEEE!!! Obviously, you've got everything covered so I'll just butt out.

Bettyk and Mari5,
Thank you both and keep the info coming. I went to the Hallstatt web site and e-mailed the tourist info office for information on parking. I will post the response as soon as I get it back.

Cinquanta,

I finally decided to get a few bits of info on last year's trip online here.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35182408

Enjoy!

flygirl
I enjoyed the pictures and can't wait to see some of the views, thanks.
On the subject of parking in Hallstatt I received and email from the tourist office
Hello from Hallstatt,
we have 4 parking places in hallstatt for parking.
When you check- in in your hotel, then you get a ticket for free parking on all parking areas in hallstatt.
You can park for free there.
For more questions, just mail me again. Best regards
Herzliche Grüße aus dem Inneren Salzkammergut. Energie für mich!
Teresa Preims
Das Salzkammergut erfüllt die Sehnsucht nach Lebenskraft und Lebensfreude!
tourist office:
Has any one stayed at Gasthof Simony in Hallstatt? My wife likes the sound of the description in Rick Steves.

We spent one night at the Gasthof Simony a couple of years ago. It is as I described it above. Very old building on the lake. It is charming but could stand to be updated.

If you do a search here on Fodor's for the Simony, you should find a few comments from others who have stayed there.

I stayed at Gasthof Simony last September. I had a single room with a balcony facing the lake. It was small, but just fine for me. I actually liked it a lot. It is not fancy or modern, but I still was pleased with my room. There is no TV, phone, or internet. Breakfast was good and included in the very low price of 35€ per night. I plan to stay there again in June and September.

The Simony does have a good breakfast. I remember there was some excellent hot chocolate and the owner baked some homemade Schnecken rolls that morning. Yum!

Don't know if Suzannah still owns the Simony. She was quite old when we were last there. She was very nice though.