My husband and I have used the Hop on Hop off busses in both Athens and Paris. We found them to be extremely convenient . We were able to purchase passes for 1 or 2 days, they stopped at all of the main exhibits or with walking distance of them. We didn't have to take the time to figure out either the bus or metro routes or worry about setting up an exact itinerary. We rode the bus once around the city and then starting hopping off to see everything we wanted to. We are only planning on staying in each city for 2-3 days since their is so much we want to see outside of the cities as well. Do they have these in Salzburg and Vienna and are they a good way to get to all of the sites these cities as well?
Posted by
Washington
919 posts
Unless you have mobility issues, Salzburg is quite compact and most things are easily walkable. You have to cross the river to get to and from the old town to the new town, but in the area where many things are you'll want to see the street system isn't really conducive to the HoHo experience (if they even have such a thing). I'm not sure what Vienna has--haven't been there in years and walked or took the subway or trams everywhere.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Vienna has them, but they're not terribly useful. Most of stuff tourists want to see is located within Ringstraße, which if memory serves me correctly, buses are not allowed.
As the other poster noted, Salzburg's Altstadt is pretty small, and there isn't much in the way of streets for a hop-on, hop-off bus to traverse.
Posted by
OP
16 posts
Rachel and Tom,
Thank you both for the information. Every thing I had read so far led me to believe they would not work as well in Austria. I just wanted to make sure.
Donna
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8946 posts
Recommend reading reviews on Trip Advisor about the Hop on Hop off buses in both of these cities.
Have you considered doing a bike tour or walking tour instead? Fun, interesting, informative, cheaper, usually run by local residents rather than international companies, and are also a good green alternative. (those ubiquitous red ho-ho buses one sees everywhere are owned and run by Yellow Cab!)
Posted by
OP
16 posts
We were looking at the walking tour as well. It sounds like the bus is not the best idea in Austria.
Thank you
Posted by
Colorado
67 posts
We loved the hop on hop off in Salzburg. The buses are plentiful and came every 15 min or so. We only had about four hours so w saw a lot during that time.
Jenny
Posted by
Prince George, BC, Canada
432 posts
As others have said, Salzburg is pretty compact, so we've always walked. In Vienna I would look at the reviews for the various hop on bus companies and then make a decision. We decided not to go that route, and instead just bought a public transit pass for the subway/bus/tram system in Vienna. It's not expensive to buy - various rates and time durations - and very easy to figure out. While the center of Vienna is quite dense and compact, there are a number of interesting neighbourhoods and sites outside of the Ringstrasse, so having access to these areas is highly recommended.
Posted by
alameda, ca, usa
2602 posts
I used the HoHo bus in Salzburg, arrived in the early morning via train from Vienna for just the day and found it was quite useful for getting a good feel for the town and immediate environs, plus useful for getting to sites outside the city. I spent a bit of time at Mirabell and toured Hellbrunn, then back to old town for remainder of afternoon where there was plenty to see on foot, particularly enjoyed Mozart's Geburthaus. Vienna's metro is quite easy to use and many places you might want to visit are directly reached by the metro or tram, if not on foot--old town is very compact and walkable.