Would like to go to mountains during 5 days in Austria
 

We will be flying into Vienna late on a Monday afternoon and departing on Sunday am. Essentially we have 5 full days and 6 nights in Austria. Will plan to spend 3 nights in Vienna, but really love mountains--even if I can only drive/train through them. I am open to renting a car or taking train.

It appears to be about 5 hours to Innsbruck from Vienna, but not sure if this is the only option. Also love water and looked at the lake district between Vienna and Salzburg. Want to see scenery, not just great museums, etc.

Suggestions?

Thanks,

You don't have to go as far east as Innsbruck to be into the Alps.


The Salzburgerland lake area is lovely, or you could look at basing yourself somewhere like Zell am See, a nice little town on a lake close to great mountain scenery (and accessible by train). Or the Hohe Tauern area, or if you like you could pop over the border into Germany.

The time of year you are traveling might impact your itinerary. We spent the week between this past Christmas and New Years (for the third time) outside of Innsbruck (Seefeld in Tirol). Lots of snow in Seefeld and plenty of blue skies to enjoy; our day trip to Innsbruck, though, was grey, with the mountains fogged/clouded over. We've experienced similar in late autumn and early spring both in Tirol and the Salzkammergut, but have also been fortunate to have ideal autumn weather in the Alpbachtal on one occasion.

Presumably you'll be traveling in "good" weather. In our experience the Salzkammergut area can be lovely, though the weather even in summer can be unpredictable; the Hochsteiermark (http://www.hochsteiermark.at/en/) offers alpine experiences, many of which are within an easy train ride from Vienna, too. Of course, driving the Großglockner alpine road would make for impressive scenery.

Really, you have no shortage of options. The official Austrian tourism page offers a great many ideas, depending on your overall interests. Happy Planning!

Trains are great for all those Alpine wonders - consider Hallstatt for high Alps awesomeness - great train sites: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Book your own discounted tickets- www.seat61.com a vertiable trove of great info on doing that.

44travel is an Austrian resident who continually gives great advice from both a local's and tourist's viewpoints.

Thank you all for your ideas. We will be flying into Vienna and arriving at 4:30pm on Monday April 30th. I was thinking about renting a car, or possibly taking the train from the airport to ??? Spending Monday, Tuesday and possibly Wednesday night (basically two full days) seeing mountains, lakes etc. Maybe Salzburg, but I really want to see gorgeous scenery. I thought we could visit Schönbrunn Palace on the way back to Vienna, where we would spend three nights.

To put this in perspective, we don't spend a lot of time eating in restaurant--love picnics--so this gives us more time to sightsee.

Your thoughts on this itinerary and where to stay outside (or in) Vienna?

Thank you.

Late April is still shoulder season, so I would expect the weather to be changeable. Out in the Salzkammergut the Schafbergbahn doesn't begin operating until 10 May; closer to Vienna, the Schneebergbahn begins seasonal operations on 28 April. The Großglockner highway is closed until sometime in May. This should give you a decent indication of when good weather (and good scenery) is expected.

In looking at my journals, our outdoor activities in and around the Vienna Woods typically begin in the latter half of April; our outdoor activities further west, though, don't really get going until the middle of May. Can you reverse your itinerary somehow, to maximize the chance of better weather out toward Salzburg?

Again Hallstatt os a great stop between Salzburg and Vienna - well a bit of a detour but the awesome Alps of your dreams - great driving tour - Salzburg- Lakes District - Hallstatt - Vienna.

Not a possibility to reverse our itinerary. We are going on an educational program in Greece and will fly out from there on 4/30. Disappointing if roads may not open until after that. Is there a website I can check to see progress in clearing roads/road openings?

Doesn't seem to be ideal time of the year. You'd probably have to rent cars with chains still.

Plus I'm not sure how many of the services will be open. For instance, someone mentioned Shafbergbahn which is a cog wheel train climbing the mountains overlooking gorgeous St. Wolfgang Lake, likely being closed that time of the year.

With 3 days in Vienna out of 5 days, you really don't have a lot of time. Maybe day trips out of Vienna? You might be able to go to Wachau and Melk Abbey, which are suppose to be beautiful. I haven't been but they're UNESCO World Heritage sites:

ÖBB Rail Tours: Städtereisen, Kombitickets, Bahnreisen, Bahn City Hit, ÖBB, Sonderangebote, Hotel und Bahn

I am afraid to write that it is highly unlikely the schedules for the Großglockner and the trains will change because it's not just a matter of cleaning the roads; the Hütte and restaurants won't be open, either, and the mountain patrol may not be fully staffed before then.

In the Salkammergut (especially Wolfgangsee) you'll be able to appreciate the mountains from the villages along the lake. Hallstatt, as mentioned above, is another idea, but only if the weather is nice; otherwise, the mountains are clouded over and the village seems bleak. Not mountain scenery, but the Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey will be pretty in late April; the vineyards will have started to bloom, and the numerous heuriger may be open. Heading south toward Graz will take you through the scenic Hochsteiermark. Some of the castles in the area may be open, most of which afford scenic views, too.