3 days in salskammergut - help needed

I would overnight at Salzburg if it's a sightseeing priority for you, but not to shave 2.5 hours off your train travel day. I don't think you particularly need a car. Trains from your home base at Bad Ischl to Halstatt only take half an hour and make other stops in the region. There are several Salt Mine tours in the Salzkammergut but the one in Halstatt can be reached by train, then local funicular.

With three nights I would choose one location as your base whether it is Bad Ischl,or look at St Wolfgang on Lake Wolfgang with access to towns on the Lake via boat or car as well as the town of St Wolfgang which has a tram that goes up the mountain with beautiful views.Hallstatdt is easily accessable from St Wolfgang.I am returning in September to St Wolfgang for my third trip.
Mike

Thanks a ton for the replies.

I am more in favour of establishing a base in one location and hence doing a one night stay at salzburg then moving again for nights to salzkammergut looks a bit rushed rushed.
- How would the weather be in first week of april ?
- which would be a better location to set up a base for 3 nights - St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang or Bad ISchl - with respect to ease of commute and visiting nearby places as well as the overall experience ?

While I love St Gilgen (recently spent 10 nts there in September -- our 6th visit), it would not be very convenient without a car. Bad Ischl probably offers the best transportation options.

If you are staying strictly in the area around St. Wolfgang (St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen, Mondsee), I would say to base your entire stay in St. Wolfgang. But if you are also planning on visiting Hallstatt, which, if you have never seen, I would strongly recommend, try to base in Bad Ischl, which is more centrally located for the entire trip, and make day trips to the others.

In 2009, I went by bus from Mondsee to Bad Ischl with a change across Wolfgangsee from St. Wolfgang, then went by bus to Lahn, which is just south (½ km) of Hallstatt. Bus transportation in that area is pretty good and a lot less expensive than renting a car.

I don't see the trip from Budapest to Bad Ischl taking 2½ hrs longer than to Salzburg. Taking the same RJ from Budapest and changing in Linz to an IC and to a regional train in Attnang-Puchheim looks like it take about 1H20M longer.

Thanks for the reply. The idea is to experience life in the austrian alps and stay in towns.
- Planning to make a day trip to Halstatt - if this is the case, would you still recommend basing ourselves in Bad Ischl ? or St Wolfgang?
- out of Bad Ischl and St Wolfgang ? which would be an overall better experience from stay point of view and nightlife ?
- How would the weather be in first week of April - would the attractions and salt mines be open then ?
- Since i have only 3 nights in the Salzburg & Salzkammergut area - if i reach Salzburg at 13.00 hrs and stay overnight, would that be sufficient time to visit the town of Salzburg - assuming i leave next day around 9.00 AM for salzkammergut region?
- What time does the light start fading in the evening around April ? which directly impacts the time i get to visit sights and sounds?

You should go to the Austria forum on Trip Advisorr and ask your question. There is a local Bad Ischl expert that could expertly guide you with answers.

From Bad Ischl it's about 20 minutes to the train station across the lake from Hallstatt and about half an hour by direct or one change bus to St. Wolfgang. Seems pretty convenient to me.

Are you going back to Budapest after Salzburg and the Salzkammergut?