Road Trip Through Austria
 

Hi Austria Experts. I am in the very first stages of planning an October, 2019 road trip through beautiful Austria. We will start in Vienna and end in Salzburg on a leisurely journey with stops in the Danube Valley, also taking Route 3 (Austrian Romantic Road). We mostly enjoy historic small towns and villages; dining; wine tasting; visiting abbeys, monasteries, castles and touring (on foot and by car). I thought if I gave you a list of towns and villages that I have so far come up with someone could advise me if I've missed any places that would be considered "must see" on my route, or if I've listed something that would be not worth my time (we have 2 weeks). Please comment on my choices of home base as well as the time spent there.

Vienna (4 days)
Home base Durnstine and visit Spitz, Krems and Melk (3 days)
Home base in Hallstatt and visit Gmunden, Gosau, Bad Ishl (3 days)
Salzburg (3 days)

Thanks in advance for your input!

I would not base in Durnstein or Hallstatt. Both are small; one an traverse the entirety of Hallstatt on foot in about 20 minutes. Durnstein is adorable, but like Melk and Spitz, the sidewalks will roll up quickly in the evenings.

You may want to factor Stift Admont and Stift Gottweig into your itinerary. The monastic library in the former is spectacular; and the views from atop Stift Gottweig's place on a hill over the Danube Valley are incredible. Renaissance Schloss Schallaberg is also in the general region; our favorite time to visit is in autumn both for the photography lighting and for whatever special exhibit is on display.

Think about Steyr and St. Florian, as well. I'm sort of "meh" about Gmunden and Bad Ischl. Aside from the Kaiservilla Bad Ischl is just another spa town; and I think of Gmunden also as another spa town, especially in October.

Have you looked at https://www.romantikstrasse.at?

Thinking of the same type of trip. Bookmarking

Thank you fourfortravel

I'm glad fourfortravel has looked at this.
I had similar reservations about your choice of bases, but have not traveled as extensively in Austria. For family reasons, I tend more towards southeastern areas of Austria, but FFT probably has a more balanced view of the most interesting spots to visit.

Most of these images are geo-tagged, which would give you an idea of what could be seen within your planned itinerary: https://flic.kr/s/aHsjoZSqFF

What a cool link. Thank you.

In my opinion Wolfgang is an absolute must see. We used that as a base to visit Hallstatt and Gosau. From Wolfgang the cog train up to mt Schafberg is another must see. Gorgeous views of Austrian lakes in every direction (I think you see 5 lakes from up there...its quite spectacular). Also considering cutting back a day from Durnstien. While the area is lovely I found Wolfgang/Hallstatt and Salzburg itself more charming and the views more majestic.