Day trips from Salzburg

Do you have plans to do a Sound of Music tour? It sounds kitschy, but we enjoyed it. Ours did take us out in the country and into the mountains to Mondsee to see "The Sound of Music" church.

Ludwigshafen Herrenchiemsee Palace is an hour from Salzburg. Hohenwefen is close by also. See if the ferry on the Wolfgangsee is running. A day stopping and exploring the villages on the lake, by boat, is terrific.

We do! I think it sounds fun. We are considering doing Bob's tour to combine with Hallstatt because I'm worried about parking in Hallstatt if we go on our own, but we are definitely planning on it!

We did Panarama, but I don't know that I'd recommend one over another. If the church in Mondsee is of interest I'd make sure any tour would include it

We loved nearby little St. Wolfgang (stayed two nights besides all of our time in Salzburg.). We took the bus to St. Gilgen and the ferry to St. Wolfgang, but you could just take a bus all of the way there. The cogwheel train in SoM is next to St. Wolfgang, too.

Parking in Hallstatt in March shouldn't be a problem. We went a while ago in mid October and it was very quiet, even during the day. If you have a car, drive the beautiful Rossfeld Panorama Road above Berchtesgaden. Its open all year.

https://www.rossfeldpanoramastrasse.de/en/

I would do a salt mine tour.

If it was later in the year I would recommend the ice caves in Werfen

I would buy Rick Steves’ AT guidebook to learn more about the Sazkammergut region. There’s also a direct train from Salzburg Hbf station to Innsbruck Hbf station (2h).

We are considering doing Bob's tour to combine with Hallstatt because
I'm worried about parking in Hallstatt if we go on our own,

Take the train to Hallstatt. No need to worry about parking and IMO without a doubt the most scenic way to arrive in Hallstatt.

Passau - St. Stephan's Cathedral & the Glass Museum. Beautiful views of where the Danube, Ilz & Inn rivers converge. It is a bit over 2 hours by train, so just a bit longer than the ride to Munich.

I think the Kielstein Haus will be closed mid March. Any ski region where the lifts are still running would be nice. Long way but maybe Innsbruck?

We spent a week just a bit south of Salzburg and did day trips from there. For a SOM tour I recommend Bob’s tour that goes to Mondsee. It’s a minibus as opposed to the big bus tours. We didn’t have any trouble parking in Hallstatt in late May 2016. March shouldn’t be a problem at all, but taking the train sounds like fun too. We also enjoyed Hohenwerfen. We went to Herrenchiemsee Palace from a Bavarian home base in 2010 and loved it. It would be an easy trip from Salzburg. When we were there they were filming the Orlando Bloom version of The Three Musketeers.

Take the train to Hallstatt. No need to worry about parking and IMO without a doubt the most scenic way to arrive in Hallstatt.

I agree!
The first glimpse of Hallstatt across the lake is magical. A ferry meets the train and takes you across.

We were in Hallstatt late March, and it was beautiful. It did seem like shoulder season, and not all the shops and restaurants were open, [so frequented the grocery store by the parking area, I think.] We really enjoyed the salt mines tour, and the views from the snow-covered mountain top was stunning! The pix we took from the ferry leaving Hallstatt are still some of my favorites. We did spend one night, as I think it would be a hectic day trip if you were doing the salt mine tour.
Also note: the ferry is coordinated with the train schedule. When we were leaving and crossed the lake, everyone on the ferry then lined up at the outdoor train station to buy train tickets. There were only two machines selling tickets, and the process was very slow. We almost missed the train, until my daughter figured out how to buy our tickets on her phone. The internet was really spotty. So my advise is to buy your return ticket in advance.

We didn't get to Krems, as it was just too early in the season for most of the boat trips, but that's on my bucket list.

What an exciting trip!

note that some Youtube posters recommend taking the bus TO Hallstatt and adjoining sites, then taking the boat to the train on the way back. They claim logistically this works better. YMMV.

I drove from Salzburg to Eagle’s Nest, looked around then drove to Hallstatt and stayed the night - blissful with no tourist at night or early morning. If you stay in Hallstatt you’re guaranteed parking. St’s Bad Ischl, Wolfgang and Gilgan the next day driving back. Agree on Salt Mine tour of you can squeeze in. I would have liked to squeeze in Zell am See and Five Fingers.

Oh and did SoM bike tour which was awesome - might be too cold in March?

Peak ski season. Maybe spend a day on the slopes?

Zell am See. We loved first or visit to and then staying at Zell am See. Both trips in mid to late October. Quiet and the scenery was stunning.

It's only about 2 1/2 hours by train to Vienna.

I was worried Vienna might be too much to tackle in a day. I hadn't even considered it, but I guess I need to check it out! Thanks!

For me, Vienna would be a heavy lift - meaning I would want to give it more time than you may have. Someone else already mentioned this, and let me second it: Innsbruck. Direct train (no changes), shorter arrival time than Hallstatt by train. Opportunities to get into the mountains pretty quickly and directly. When time is tight, I like to weigh the agita involved among my choices.

I think it is wise to consider lots of options in case the weather makes the decision for you.

Innsbruck. Fabulous town to visit. Vienna isn't that far and would make for a great day trip. Abbey Melk is on the RS tour ( Munich to Vienna). it's amazing. Hallstatt is ok, basically a quick day trip. Lovely town. Munich may be pushing it in your time frame.

Bad Ischl....take the bus from Salzburg Hbf. This was the summer residence of the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph.

Where he stayed was the Kaiservilla, which you can walk to from the train station. If you're interested in operetta, the house of Franz Lehar (The Merry Widow/.Die Lustige Witwe) is in the town center, can't miss it.

Hands down for me....Konigssee (King's Lake) just outside Berchtesgaden, about 30 minutes south of Salzburg. You'll have to be mindful of weather in March, of course. The boat trip across the lake is stunning, especially when they stop mid-way and play a German tune on a trumpet. It absolutely reverberates off the mountain walls and is fantastic. Both boat stops should be open at that time, or at least the first one with the biergarten option.

https://www.berchtesgaden.de/en/nature/lake-koenigssee

If you can swing another day trip to that area, see if the Eagle's Nest is open. It's very weather-dependent since the road up to the tea house is one lane in each direction and is quite steep. If it's open, book a guided tour so that you can fully learn about all of the historical houses previously owned by various high-ranking Nazi officials that are or were located on the mountain. It's a three-quarter day trip or so, and nearby Berchtesgaden makes a nice place to visit in the afternoon for a beer and some dinner after the guided tour.

You may possibly see this on a Sound of Music tour. We did not take the SOM tour. Instead we took a bus from Salzburg to Schloss Hellbrunn and got a timed tour of the Hellbrunn Trick Fountains and gardens and then toured the palace and saw the Sound of Music gazebo. It was a nice half day trip.