First timer to Europe; Visiting Austria and maybe Prague / Budapest

When is your visit?

Sorry, I should have mentioned that we plan to be there between Sep 26 and Oct 08, 2025.

EDIT: Okay we crossed paths with out posts. Still not sure when you land in Vienna or depart Vienna. I have an extra day for some reason.

Okay, so dates do help with the suggestions. I presume you have a round trip out of Vienna? That might have some impact. Then just so I understand your 12 days are like this:
1 Leave the US (or was this not in the 12 days?)
2 arrive Vienna
3 – 11 in Europe
12 Depart Vienna

Its fine for what you want to do but it is a bit tight which is why every day gets counted correctly.

If you are coming in November I have some suggestions, if you are coming in August I have some different suggestions, so the time of year matters. Then, for Austria, Emily might know some special events or one-off happenings in Austria, so that’s why the exact dates are useful.

A quick basic run-through might be what is below or it’s a place to start at least. This gives you 4 full days in Vienna and 2 full days in Salzburg, and I think thats good. You get very little time in Hallstatt, but ……. Maybe give up one night in Vienna for Hallstatt. To be honest, I was glad I went to Hallstatt last September, but since then they have closed the mine and the skywalk and the funicular up the hill. So that takes a lot out of it for me. I also went to Salzburg last September and I will confess a moral crime …. I didn’t enjoy Salzburg. Glad I saw it I guess but would never go back. A real disappointment as I was looking forward to it, but not so much Hallstatt that I ended up loving. Strange how that works.

September 27 Arrive Vienna (Night in Vienna)
28 Vienna (Night in Vienna)
29 Vienna (Night in Vienna)
30 Vienna to Salzburg (train of course) (Night in Salzburg)
October 1 Salzburg (Night in Salzburg)
2 Salzburg (Night in Salzburg)
3 Train or Daytrip.com to Hallstatt. I like the Daytrip.com because you can make stops and make a real sightseeing trip out of it. But you will arrive later that way. Spend the night in Hallstatt (night in Hallstatt)
4 Hallstatt to Vienna by train (night in Vienna)
5 Vienna (night in Vienna)
6 Vienna (night in Vienna)
7 Return Home. (thats 12 days)
September 8 ??

Your idea of a day trip to Budapest has me torn. If you do it you will become pretty angry with yourself that you wasted time in Salzburg (maybe, maybe not). It will be a hard day. I am going to suggest that if you do want to do it, then you get an early train, maybe 8:00 am out of Vienna. That will get you here before lunch. Between myself and a few others here we can map out a day that at least will show you why you should have stayed longer and convince you to come back. BUT THEN, do not return. Return for what? To go to bed? No, get a room in Budapest down on the river with a view. I am assuming warm weather so sit outside on the Corso for dinner and live gypsy music and discuss your regrets of not having stayed longer. Then the next morning catch a 8:00 am train back to Vienna. Or if you are having a great time, you catch a later train. Trains are cheap. You do this, you miss a day out of Vienna. If I guessed wrong about Day 1 being a travel day and Day 1 is a day in Europe, then maybe it works. Or cut a day out of Salzburg.

Prague. You don’t have the time for the journey.

Favorite Tourism Video of Budapest https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable Budapest is https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX

How about a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna? It's closer.

Do Melk for a day trip. I'm not a big fan of Bratislava except for the UFO. Bratislava you can see in the US (CA or FL) the UFO Tower is ..... well ... its the UFO Tower! https://youtu.be/J3AgiPv5-_U?si=yl-nU05maX38j6xR Like I said, do Melk.

I haven't been to Melk, though I've heard its nice. I think Budapest is too far from Vienna for a day trip. Same for Prague. I lieu of those cities, I was suggesting Bratislava. I don't think Bratislava comes close to Budapest or Prague, but its nice, somewhat similar and only an hour away.

You are correct, Budapest is pushing it. Only if you have it very well thought out; and spending a night would make a huge difference and really not take much more time away from Vienna. But Vienna to Budapest is about the same as Dubrovnik to Mostar and that is an extremely popular day trip. You need nothing less than 3 full days in Vienna and if you love museums, 4 full days or more. Melk is under 90 minutes, so that’s not much different than Bratislava. But Melk has no UFO. Very sad.

So, let’s see if I can dream up a worth while day trip to Budapest.

8:42 to 11:42 Train. Stops in Kelenföld so take the M4 from the station to Fővám tér. Up the stairs and you see Budapest for the first time. Szabadság híd (Liberty Bridge) and Gellert Hotel in one direction and the Great Market Hall in the other. That’s where we begin. So, noon to noon:45 pm at Great Market Hall.

Then the famous for the views 2 Tram to the Corso for lunch. https://youtu.be/aBpxwFFwVgM?si=BQwWafAu3Mwah1MI September is perfect to sit outside with a view of the Castle across the river. Now it 13:30 maybe.

Back on the 2 tram to Chain Bridge and beyond to the Parliament. Walk down to the shoes on the Danube memorial and then walk the back of the Parliament. Great views of a magnificent building. Its not later than 14:15 now.

Back on the 2 tram to the 4/6 tram. On the 4/6 tram you will go wow https://youtu.be/falbvH6-z_M?si=XHJXHeiK77uT9Ty7 as you pass Eiffel’s Nyugati Train station https://welovebudapest.com/i/cb/nyugati-palyaudvar_balkanyi-laszlo_20140602.exact1980w.jpg , Get off at the Oktogon and walk down Andrassy ut to see the Opera House https://youtu.be/EtaCCOoTmXY?si=r8RL3G96UMx_mVvQ and the great architecture. 15:30 would be the goal.

At the end of Andrassy ut you head towards Deak Ferenc ter and board the 47/49 tram to the Great Synagogue. Do the short tour. 17:00 by the time you get there and do the tour. https://youtu.be/g_7P4edIInc?si=gimlwiWCuICc9x_B

Back on the 47/49 tram and cross the river to the next stop. On the right is a great Hungarian restaurant and the Gellert Hotel. On the left is a good wine bar with outside tables. You want to be here about 17:30. If you are early go have a glass of Hungarian wine. Then go to the restaurant. You will be done by 18:30 and you will be near the M4 metro station that will take you back to Kelenföld to catch the train at 19:55. Give yourself 45 minutes to get to the station while taking it easy and having plenty of time to find your platform and relax. So, you want to walk down to the M4 at 19:10. If tis early and it should be, THE WINE BAR of course. You will be in Vienna at about 22:20

Well, that proves my point above. Why rush home to Vienna just to go to bed. Stay the night in Budapest at the Marriott or the Intercontinental on the river. Then you can probalby do the tour of the Opera House and maybe run up to Heroes Square. Then I suggest another place for lunch so you can have dinner on the Corso with the lit up castle as your backdrop while you listen to gypsy music into the night. Long before you reach the desert course you will be asking yourself, “why did we go to Vienna?” https://www.diningcity.hu/media/restaurantwidepictures/22979_dunacorso_etterem.jpg Then catch a 8:30 train back to Vienna in the morning. What do you lose? 2 morning hours in Vienna?

No need to go to Zell am See. It's nice but overhyped. I think Bratislava is a great idea. Prague or Budapest is possible, but you'd be pushing it.

I agree, to begin with, that day trips to either Budapest or Prague are way too ambitious and I too, fear you will not be happy that that is all you gave either city.
In addition, although Hallstatt is lovely, as of late it is overrun with Chinese tourists who have forgotten that it is actually inhabited, due to the replica that is uninhabited that was built in China. I would be tempted to skip it and use time to possibly do a 2 day to Budapest or a 2 day to Prague.
Coming from Bangalore, you must know too that you will be quite tired, so Vienna is a wonderful city to be in to get over that.
So, I would split time in 3 places, Vienna, Salzburg and either Prague or Budapest to get the better of all ideas. Check the best train connections to Prague and Budapest to see what would give you the most time in either city.
I missed if you will be renting a car or if your travel will all be on public transport.
It will be a lot of ground covered with not enough time anywhere, no matter how you finalize your plans!!
Best travel wishes.
Edited to add: Definitely skip Innsbruck, especially if Prague or Budapest rise to the upper layer of your wishes.

In addition, although Hallstatt is lovely, as of late it is overrun
with Chinese tourists who have forgotten that it is actually
inhabited, due to the replica that is uninhabited that was built in
China.

Would you feel different if it were Americans in Paris because there is an Eiffel Tower replica in Vegas? To my great surprise last September I really enjoyed Hallstatt as did my non-Chinese Asian S.O.

The population is less than 800 which is half what it was in 1950. I suspect the vast majority are in the tourist business and would have to move away if it were not for the 1,000,000 tourists every year.

Check the best train connections to Prague and Budapest to see what
would give you the most time in either city.

Vienna to Prague about 4:05. Vienna to Budapest about 2:40. Fastest route with all three if you pick dates with good discount airline flight times: Vienna, train to Budapest, flight to Prague. Otherwise by train Prague > Vienna > Budapest. Dirrct Trains run about every two hours.

First, the OP has booked their round trip tickets already, from Bangalore.
Next, neither Bratislava, Budapest or Prague are either practical in this short visit, nor (arguably for Bratislava and Budapest) worth throwing off an Austria focused trip. With their initial plan, there is already more than enough to do and it will all be quite wonderful. I would focus on making sure that they are making the most of each destination instead of trying to jam extra visits in.
Salzburg is not my favorite place in the world, but through the lense of first-time visitors, it can be wonderful. Dwell there a bit. Walk along the river and let those nasty swans chase you while you pose for a picture. Be a tourist and embrace it. It's not so bad.

There is no need to spend the night at Hallstatt. It's a small place, overrun by tourists. As mentioned, many of these tour groups can be rude and aggressive. I was there when there were still Covid restrictions and it was jam-packed. The scenery was nice, but the ambience wasn't. Been there, done that, but not again.

There is a trip report current in the forum where visitors in Budapest did a day trip to Vienna. You might hunt for it and ask their thoughts on the subject ... even if it was the reverse. Ask if they think there would be greater value is spending the night and returning in the morning. This isn't something that gets done a lot, so asking when you do find someone....

Edit. Found it https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/sarajevo-mostar-bosnia-croatia-budapest

Mack, I don't think anyone was trying to convince the OP to add to their itinerary. I believe folks were trying to answer the OP's question. It was made pretty clear that Prague and Budapest were not great day trip options. Folks were just trying to provide options and since Budapest was brought up, Bratislava was suggested as a closer alternative.

Absolutely, there is plenty to do in Austria without expanding the trip to other countries.