How many nights- Salzburg, Halstatt, CK, Prague?

If I wouldn't consider event. day trips from your bases then Salzburg deserves 2 nights, Hallstatt and Cesky Krumlov each one, Prague at least 4. Or leave as it is and you have time for day trips. 3 nights for Prague is absolute minimum.

I combined two 1/2 day trips in Salzburg, starting with Berchtesgaden (just the Documentation Center - would have gone up to Eagle's Nest, but it was fogged in), then back to Salzburg to the Freilicht Museum. I enjoyed both very much. If you want to enjoy the Konigsee, you may need most of a day. As I understand it, it's nearly impossible to visit Eagle's Nest and the Konigsee by public transport in a single day. If you aren't interested in the Documentation Center, Eagle's Nest (basically it's just the view) may not be worth the trip.

Some RS trip reports said that the salt mine tour in Salzburg was preferable to the one in Hallstatt. Considering how much travel time the "detour" to Hallstatt adds to your trip, I'd skip it and keep 3 nights in Salzburg (or even 4 if you do a day trip plus the salt mines) and add 1-2 nights to Prague. I do think Prague deserves 3 full days, more if you plan day trips (Terezin was fascinating). If you skip Hallstatt, maybe you only need 1 night in CK?

Thanks- good advice. I think I will take the 2 nights from Halstatt and add 1 each to Salzburg and Prague. The fewer location changes the better.

Chani- you are right- the additional travel/expense to Halstatt is considerable- which is why I had thought staying 2 nights there would make it more worthwhile- but honestly I think we are more interested in the surrounding countryside than just the village of Halstatt.

Now considering doing a day trip there instead.
Has anyone ever used MCM Tours? They offer a day trip to Halstatt that does not include the SoM stops as Bob's Tours do. Reviews are good for MCM and not so good for Bob's.

https://www.mcmtours.at/en_hallstatt.htm

we visited Halstatt and Salzburg earlier this year. we had a car so travelling around was not a problem. while we very much enjoyed Halstatt stayed two nights, it was on our bucket list, ( the salt mine tour and scenery was great) it could be very crowded with tourists. we particularly loved the Berchtesgaden area, the scenery and surrounding attractions are great.
so , if time was not available I would spend more time there/near salzburg and skip Halstatt.

we stayed in a guest house in Berchtesgaden and day tripped into Salzburg ( not far to drive) that way we could visit the doc centre/konigsee lake, eagle nest, rossfeld road etc etc much easier.

hope this helps.

If you move from place to place and just see the sights 2 days in Salzburg is enough. If you like to wander and just bask in the atmosphere like me, Salzburg is 3 full days and I usually take more to bike around the area. Again if you just want to see Hallstatt 1 full day is enough but the ambiance there is addicting for me and sitting around and relaxing is part of the fun and there are 2-3 restaurants I like there so I take 2 days in Hallstatt. Prague, for the same wandering and taking my time reason is 4 days so I also get to see all the sites. Going in May wont be as crowded as June, July and August so seeing the sites is a little easier and faster.

I agree with Terry's comments! Had three nights in Salzburg (two full days) and wish we had one more--loved the pace of the city and could've easily spent one additional day just enjoying. We spent one night in Hallstatt and wished we had one more. There isn't a ton to do, but if you want a few days of slow paced relaxation, I would do it. We did the Salt mine tour there and were actually pleasantly surprised. We stayed a Hotel Grunerbaum and had a room/deck overlooking the lake--I could've easily spent a second day relaxing on that deck :)!

Thank ck1-
We have not decided quite yet but right now have:

4 nights Salzburg or 3 Salzburg/1 Halstatt-- will hang on to accommodation for both options here for now
2 CK- this is our chill out 2 days
4 Prague

Was thinking with 4 nights in Salzburg we have option of day trips to Berchtesgaen or Halstatt or St Gilgen/Wolfgang- and could just decide when we are there/weather permitting, etc. I know staying over in Halstatt is highly recommended so that is the decision I have to make soon.
I have actually fine tuned the rest of our itinerary so the 1 night in Halstatt would be our only 1 night stay- I can handle that!