5 nights in Vienna. Would like to spend some in Bratislava and Hallstatt.

IF you are going to spend a few hours on a train, go to Budapest. Wait, you are landing in Vienna for a tour that starts in Salzburg? Start in Munich .... where does your tour end?

EDIT: unless you are starting in Salzburg and heading West. Then Vienna and Hallstatt make great sense. I would do it at least. Bratislava, not so much.

Hallstatt is much closer to Salzburg than Vienna. It might make more sense to go there on your way to Salzburg.

With just 5 nights, I would spend them all in Vienna. I’ve been planning for a March trip that includes Vienna. There’s a lot to see there. It would be easy to take a day trip to Bratislava.

Or, if you can change your current Marriott dates, stop at Hallstatt on the way to Salzburg, as Liz has suggested.

Enjoy the tour!! I’m planning on taking this tour in 2026.

Mr. E, the tour ends in Chamonix, France.

I too suggest sleeping in Vienna all five nights and take a day trip to Bratislava's old town by direct train.

Carrie, then I would do a few nights in Vienna, then to Hallstatt for a night, then on to Salzburg. Nothing wrong with Bratislava but with limited time Vienna and Hallstatt have better value.

Maybe use Daytrip.com and make a few stops between cities. I like them and compared to Austria in general, not terribly expensive.

Edit: not true what i said. I would fly to Budapest and take the latest possible train to Salzburg to begin my tour. But trying to stay on topic.

Thank you for the responses.

I went to add 3 more nights at the Imperial Riding School and while I was wading through the website the point options disappeared and the cash prices went up. Ugh! Now I'm looking at other hotel options. Or...possibly find a different flight that eventually gets us to Vienna for the dates we already have reserved.

Can I get suggestions for another airport that could be combined with a "special" train ride to VIE?

You could fly into Bratislava. There is a regular bus service between the airports of Bratislava and Vienna. From Vienna International Airport you can go to the city by a short train ride.

... while I was wading through the website the point options disappeared and the cash prices went up.

Clear all cookies and try again. If no success, call the hotel directly and try to negotiate.

I’m looking at the Marriott site now and there are rooms available, using points, for all nights in June. So, I would try again and if you are still having issues, you want to call Marriott, not the hotel. My sister and her husband use credit card points for travel and they are often more trouble than they are worth. Good luck!!

Thank you. I logged in again and now have reservations with points and one with cash. We have options when we finally find flight .

I do appreciate the help I’m getting from this community.

??? If you arrive in Vienna and have to reach Salzburg to start a tour, and as Hallstatt is pretty much between Vienna and Salzburg and as there is train service connecting all 3, why would you do Hallstatt as a day trip tour?

Yes, Mr. E, that sounds logical. Thank you for the suggestion.

By the way, I am one of those that avoided Hallstatt like the plague because of the tourism. I finally got forced to go this year. We had a wonderful time. Salzburg on the other hand, which was my plan B because I "knew" Hallstatt would be terrible, turned out to be one of the least impressive places I have visited. But I know those that love it, and they are correct as well. Thats why there are so many places on must see lists, because we are all different. Bratislava? Also visited this year. It was pretty much okay for what it was, but the time would have been better spent, for my interests, in Vienna.

We are all limited by time and money, but the big expense is getting overhere, then things can cost what ever you want to pay. I say "over here" because if you didnt notice, i live in Magyarország (not to be confused with where Alex, Marty and Melman live). The trip I would take would be Budapest, even if only for 2 nights (cut me some slack folks ... LOL) if the airfare was about the same. The cost of the visit will be substantially less than Austria with hotels as well located and as nice as those in Vienna for about half the cost. Then up to Vienna (2.5 hours on a train for as little as $15), then to Hallstatt and Salzburg by train (maybe $50 for the two).

If you are arriving in Salzburg after the start of the music festival, then the extra night (outside of your tour) could be a tad expensive so look carefully. The hotel I stayed at a few months back was about $250, but when i checked it for the music festival period it was over $1000. Nice hotel. Hotel Elefant. Good location for tourism. In Hallstatt we stayed at the Seewirt Zauner and for location not sure you can beat it. Our room was the balcony room in the center of the picture https://cf.bstatic.com/xdata/images/hotel/max1024x768/37638091.jpg?k=f2253353c43136fa170c0634e957ad1c3da3756eb7c33d008eb7465156b4051d&o= but it was close to $300 in the shoulder season. June? I am afraid to ask.

I confess, I am one of those guys that flies basic economy, but not Basic Economy. (semi-cheap traveler)

jkh, the OP is landing in Vienna and starting the tour in Salzburg several days later, and will be going to Salzburg on their own. Or at least thats how I understood it. Hallstatt is a stop on the way to Salzburg.

Like you, planning my own trip

Depends. In the Balkans I hire assistance. So much easier.

For hotels in Salzburg search here: https://www.salzburg.info/en/hotels-offers/book

Thank you for ideas for Salzburg. However, that is where we meet up with the Rick Steves' tour. Our hotel and breakfast is provided.

Does that RS tour return to Vienna? Or where does it go?

This is the tour

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/europe/my-way-alpine

We like country hikes and quaint villages, that’s why I was asking about Bratislava.

That looks like an excellent trip. Starting it off in Vienna / Hallstatt makes perfect sense. If you havent been to Vienna, you can spend a full three days there without the need or time to go elsewhere.

There is little that is quaint about Bratislava. Its a crowded Eastern European city with a small Disney-like "old town" neighborhood. I suspect that one of our Austria experts here might have an idea for something more like a village. Maybe on the train route on the way to Wachau? In the other direction Sopron is always nice. And you might be able to do it on the way to Hallstatt so no lost time back tracking.

Melk and Pannonhalma also make good day trips out of Vienna.

When the tour ends in Chamonix we have scheduled a couple nights in Montreux and 5 nights in Lucerne.

Our current flight reservations back home are out of Munich. I’m looking at options to fly out of Zurich.

We’d like to travel Chamonix-Montreux and Lucerne-MUC on scenic trains if possible.

I can find an option to fly out of Zurich. It's the same price but seems like less hassle than getting up to Munich as Munich wasn't in our thoughts when booking the RS tour. There is 3 night gap between checking out of hotel in Lucerne and either flight, the one from Zurich or the one from Munich. We were planning to visit Zurich on a day trip from Lucerne.

Is it worth the effort to go to Munich? Would it be better to find a hotel in Zurich and explore that area while staying there instead of just a day trip from Lucerne?

Thank you, I do appreciate your insights.

If it was me, I would definitely fly out of Zurich. If your flight is not too early in the morning, you can take a train from Lucerne right to the airport in just over an hour.

As for the extra nights, you have so many great options. Are you staying at the Marriott hotels in Montreux (Grand Swiss) and Lucerne (Renaissance)? I have stayed at both hotels, and you will not be disappointed if you add more nights to one or both.

As your tour only spends 3 nights in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, I suspect you may want more time there. So, you could go from Montreux to Wengen or Murren and then end up in Lucerne. No Marriott hotels there though.

I guess it depends if your current hotels are already booked and can you change the dates if they are. Zurich is not a terrible place to end up in if you need to add the extra nights after Lucerne and there is a Marriott there.

If you click on my name, you will find the links to my Switzerland trips. Those should give you some good ideas for your time in Switzerland.

This really sounds like a great trip that you are planning. You are lucky to be able to add so much time before and after the tour.