We recently spent 2 nights in Hallstatt as a part of a larger 12 day Austria trip; true to Rick Steves form, the view from our balcony was breathtaking, and the town was perfectly cute and charming; however, I would like to advise visitors that if they are sleeping in Hallstatt (not day-tripping) it is imperative to make dinner reservations. On our first night there, all the hotel restaurants were full by the afternoon and the few eateries not associated with a hotel would not seat us (we were actually the next in line to be seated at one when we were told the kitchen was closed). Even the local grocery store closed at 6:30pm. After speaking with multiple waiters, it became clear that the restaurants are understaffed, and said staff does not live (or eat) locally, but rather out of town. Apparently finding dinner is a chronic challenge for travelers in Hallstatt - there are more hotel rooms than place settings. If you're visiting on a holiday (including the more obscure Catholic ones) or a storm is rolling over the lake, you will be lucky to run your take-out home through the rain and eat in the darkened hotel lobby. Don't go hungry - make dinner reservations...or day-trip.
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3227 posts
Good advice! We love food so we always make sure to have reservations before we get to a location. However, recently on our Germany trip, we were surprised to have a hard time finding coffee in the town of Heidelberg. Nothing was open.
Posted by
San Antonio TX, United States
2393 posts
I will be there in mid-October...any have experience there that time of year? I'm hoping it is not so crazy
Posted by
TX, USA
4080 posts
I would concur with the wisdom of making dinner reservations (although we never made any). I was there for 3 nights at the end of July. We found that restaurants took a kitchen break between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. So coffee and cake would be available but not something cooked. And almost everywhere seemed to close by 8:00.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7287 posts
I’ve been in some small villages where it was either impossible to get a table, or everything was closing early. I always bring a few individual servings of nuts & herbal tea bags in case I can’t even find an open grocery store.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4412 posts
You should always have some Kind bars or Clif bars tucked away in your carryon and your luggage, for all kinds of situations including this
Posted by
New York, NY
4000 posts
However, recently on our Germany trip, we were surprised to have a hard time finding coffee in the town of Heidelberg. Nothing was open.
Tammy, when were you in Heidelberg & what time of the day was it that you couldn’t buy a cup of coffee? On a Sunday morning perhaps?