leslieplatock

Our family is flying into Munich for our car loving son and husband to tour the BMW factory staying 2-3 nights then driving to Salzburg
Need help planning how many days in Salzburg and IF Switzerland doable in this time- our18 and 19 year old want to do outdoor activities
Our ideas is Salzberg for 4-5nights to see salzburg, day trips to hike largest ice caves, king's lake day trip , hallstat and salt mines day trip or stay and spend night or two here
then see SOMEWHERE in switzerland- any ideas?? have 3 moire days to spare - too much or too little time in salzburg?

Jean

What time of year?

What airport would you fly out of?

If you're considering a one-way car rental (pick up in Munich, drop off in Austria or Switzerland), have you researched how much the drop fee would be?

Rather than Switzerland, I would consider the Dolomites, but much depends on how many days you have altogether, whether you plan to keep the car throughout, and which airport you'd fly home from.

kja

Switzerland holds a vast array of options, so a good guidebook or two should prove invaluable to you. And where to go in the mountains depends a lot on WHEN you will be going, which I don't think you mention.

neckervd

All depends on what you want to do in Swizterland. If it's only for high mountains, glaciers and panoramic hiking trails, you can have the same in Austria as well. In this case, a journey to Switzerland would be a waste of time and money.

Christina

I imagine they just want to actually visit Switzerland since they've heard and read a lot about it. It's not the same for someone to tell you, don't bother, Austria has the same things. It does really depend on time of year. I've only been to some of the cities myself. Which would be too far to go anyway (like Montreux, Vevey, Lucerne or Interlaken). Maybe Mittenwald would work but that's over the border in Germany.

I've never had any interest in visiting a salt mine but I know that's the latest tourist attraction. I would normally say 4-5 days in Salzburg is overkill but since you plan so many day trips from there, sounds about right. I presume you are flying out of Munich, also, so you could drive from Salzburg to Lucerne but it would take up about 6 hrs, not sure you want to do that. I don't think there's an easy place in Switzerland you'd want to visit from Salzburg quickly, I suspect they are envisioning things that are in the SW part of the country or at least not NE. I doubt if the desire is to see Zurich, it would be a bit closer drive.

I think you'll just have to decide on priorities. If you spend all that time in and around Salzburg, Switzerland options are limited.

AbroadwithAsh

You can easily do Salzburg in one very rushed day or 2 leisurely days...so you could take a night off and still have plenty of time for your day trips.

I also agree that you should consider the Dolomites vs. Switzerland.

neckervd

Why the Dolomites? Austria has glacier areas to offer, not far away from Salzburg (Grossglockner, Zillertal, etc.).

masinyaren

Check Rheinfall in Neuhausen

shoe212

I've done almost that exact trip with my daughter.
You only need one ice cave: the one above Werfen. Look up Eisriesenwelt.

They use old style carbide lamps, teens should love that. Mine did. I think Panorama Tours does this as a day trip out of Salzburg.
No need to stay in Hallstatt. You can see the town AND visit the salt mine above the town, saving another trip elsewhere. You can get there by train, with one train change.
You can save money by taking the local bus to Konigsee. It leaves across the street from the train station in Salzburg. Pay the driver.

neckervd

It doesn't look like the OP would come back after a whole month.