How far in advance to book hotels for Vienna/Salzburg for December

I would book as soon as you know your dates. That's a busy time of year. In my experience, hotel prices tend to go up, not down.

I just yesterday booked my hotel for Nov. in London.

Hi Sara, I booked hotels for those two cities last year in July when I suddenly found out my daughter could go with me to the Christmas Markets. I looked up options for the first week of December, and the inventory was definitely low for my criteria of having a hotel very close to the main city center. Especially for weekends, don’t delay. (I’ve already booked mine for the Christmas Markets for 2026.)

Its high season in both, and in both I suspect the well located moderately priced (under $250) will go fast.

I just checked a hotel i like in Salzburg and Booking.com said it was sold out 16 - 19 December. But the hotel website had rooms. For 220€ no cancelation, no breakfast, no smiles. So check with the hotels directly.

The last hotel I stayed at in Vienna, that i thought was okay, was sold out on the same dates.

NOW - for the best price and best location. We go to the Xmas Markets every other yr and we book at least a yr in advance. Vienna & Salzburg are VERY popular Xmas Market destinations - the best, most convenient hotels book fast.

Best to book direct, not thru a 3rd party.

If you make a reservation with free cancellation, there's no reason not to book now. You can always modify your reservation if the price goes down. Booking.com is very good. However, sometimes booking direct will give you a slightly better price and maybe a freebie (breakfast, wine, candies, etc).

Adding to Funpig’s response, Booking.com now sends me emails whenever the hotel price I’ve reserved goes down. They give it to me as a credit on a future reservation after I’ve completed that stay.