Hallstatt from Salzburg

I don't think I would do it as a day trip, since round trip by train and/or bus takes about 2 hours, and I think Hallstatt would be worth more than a half day to visit. But as an overnight trip, it would be very doable.

There is a train-train connection from Salzburg Bahnhof to the Hallstatt Bahnhof with a change at Attnang-Puchheim. That connection takes just over 2 hours. Hallstatt Bahnhof is across the lake from the town. You take a small boat across to the town, coming in near the Market square. If you stay in Hallstatt, that's probably the best way to get there. Including the boat across the lake, that trip would take over 2 hours.

When I went from Salzburg to Hallstatt in 2011, I went via Mondsee (site of the wedding church in Sound of Music), where I spent several hours. From Mondsee I continued on by bus to Bad Ischl, which is on the train line from Attnang-Puchheim to Hallstatt. I could have taken the train from there to Hallstatt Bahnhof, but I found a farm house to stay in in Lahn, Austria, which is a 1 km walk along the lake south from Hallstatt. There is a bus station in Lahn, so I took another bus from Bad Ischl to Lahn and avoided the walk to Lahn. If you take a direct bus from Salzburg to Bad Ischl, then a bus to Lahn, that takes just under 2 hours.

The third way is to take the bus to Bad Ischl and change to the train to Hallstatt Bahnhof, again coming across the lake. And that trip take a little under 2 hours plus the boat crossing.

All this is on the Austrian Rail website, www.oebb.at.

BTW, I spent the previous night in a hotel in Freilassing, across the river, in Germany, from Salzburg. In the morning, my host asked me where I was going next. I said "Hallstatt", pronouncing it like Rick does, "Hall-statt" with As pronounced as the English word all and ah. My host just looked at me with a blank expression. Then he said, oh Hall-statt, with the first half pronounced like the man's name, Hal, and the second half rhyming with the English word at. The Austrians don't pronounce it like Rick does.

We could not figure out a good one night trip without a car to Hallstatt. We did figure out a great two night trip which solved any luggage storage problems. We arrived later on day one and departed after breakfast on day three. Here is the itinerary which we loved.

Day one: We spent the morning in Salzburg and after a late lunch, we headed by bus to Hallstatt. We arrived by bus late afternoon into Hallstatt and within an hour or so, most day-trippers were leaving. We strolled Hallstatt and had dinner at a table next to the lake. The day-trippers had departed so dinner table seats were available on the water. After dinner we strolled the town and took photos at the iconic sites.

Day two: We took a bus to Obertraun Dachsteinseilbahn. We rode the cable car to the first stop and toured the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave. Then we rode the cable car to the top and hiked to the 5fingers Platform which looks down on Hallstatt and Lake Hallstatt. We returned to Hallstatt late in the afternoon. We strolled around the town and again, had dinner at a table right next to the lake.

Day three: After breakfast, we took the ferry to the train station across the lake with around five other people ... we all got great photos of Hallstatt from the water. When the train pulled in, there were so many tourist disembarking and hurrying to get a seat on the ferry ... it would have been standing room only. When our train arrived a small group of us calmly boarded it and rode it to our next stop.

We thought it was well worth the effort to visit.

I'm getting ready to leave for this tour next week. I have added extra nights in Salzburg and will be taking a day tour to Hallstattt.

There are a couple different options:

https://www.bobstours.com/public-full-day-tour-to-hallstatt-from-salzburg/

https://www.panoramatours.com/en/salzburg/tour/hallstatt-tour-945/

I took the train from Vienna, then after 2 nights in Hallstat used a Daytrip.com driver to reach Salzburg. Pretty sweet trip. Mid-week in early September and not crowded at all.

Oh wow. Thank you so much. Yes, I will spend a night in Hallstatt to enjoy without the day trippers.

Easier the better way for me as I am slowing down in my travels and traveling solo.

Any easy to get to accommodations that you would recommend?

Dot

There are a couple different options:

The only option I would find viable is DIY. It's so easy and inexpensive to do the trip with public transportation. Why give your hard earned money to someone who just saves you the bother of planning and executing the trip yourself. As PT Barnum said, "There's one ...".

Anyway, Hallstatt is definitely worth at least one, maybe two nights. Hallstatt is magical in the evening, after the "day trippers" have left.

In Hallstatt we stayed at https://maps.app.goo.gl/yAyk7M1UvwNj7bmA7?g_st=ac. Thought it was good. Had a room with a balcony and a pretty sweet view of tge lake and its right on the square.

We enjoyed Hallstatt more than Salzburg. Is the funicular to the mine running again?

If you did consider the daytrip.com for me the value comes when you make a stop and do some sightseeing along the way. With a train or bus you just fly past things. We stopped in one of the "Bad" towns did some poking around and had lunch. Nice carefree and laid back day.

Any easy to get to accommodations that you would recommend?

It's been over 15 years since I was there, and accommodations come and go. I started planning and looking for accommodations months before, and I kept getting people saying they were "ausgebucht", sold out, but when I got there, the same places had "Zimmer frei" signs out. I figured out that, because it was early and I was single, they rejected me because they were hoping to get two people in the room so they could get more money for it.

I finally found a nice chateau a short walk up the river from Lahn and booked it. Later, the woman wrote to me and said she had an opportunity to rent it to two people, and would I mind staying with her mother-in-law across the street.

Well, that turned out to be a serendipitously great alternative. The mother-in-law lived in an old farm house that had been renovated for tourists. She didn't speak any English (I speak enough German to get by). Two floors with rooms and a bathroom on each floor. There was one other couple there each night when I was there (an Italian couple one night and an Asian couple the other night). I never saw either of them except at breakfast. They were on the other floor; I had a private bathroom on my floor to myself.

The mother-in-law was an 80 yo woman who got up every morning at 6 to milk the cow, and the neighbors had a herd of sheep with one goat. The goat had a bell that only rang when he ate; it rang all the time. I remember waking up in the morning hearing the goat's bell. These are experiences you don't get at a 4-star hotel. I don't see either place listed today as accommodations on Google maps. I found my original accommodations using the Hallstatt tourist office's website.

My tour starts May 24, 2027

I will do the train/train boat or bus/ boat to get to Hallstatt from Salzburg.

Great now I’m thinking of spending 2 nights in Hallstatt. I have found that I may be looking to book too far in advance.

Do I need to book ahead for the salt mine?

I booked mine in advance. It did speed things up a little but the city wasnt crowded tge Srptember we were there.