My hotel is a decent walk from the Salzburg HBf train station, and I need to leave my hotel around 5am my day of departure to get there. I have to walk through a wooded area for a little while. Is this relatively safe? Are there extra precautions I should take?
This will be in the summer.
I have been to Salzburg twice and walked to the train station myself and I have always felt safe there. But as a man I don't always think about how it would be for a single female. For peace of mind it might be prudent to take a taxi and remove all chances. To be honest, I have always felt safer in Europe walking on the street than in the USA, Europeans don't carry guns and have good access to mental heath facilities.
If you are concerned can you not get a taxi? The hotel would be the best source of local knowledge about any concerns you may have.
I can't imagine a woody area near the HBF or in Salzburg center. Where is your hotel? All of this said, it is very safe. I am a woman and I would feel totally comfortable at 5 am. At that hour, workers are already on the streets getting to jobs. If it is summer, then it will also be daylight already.
If you are concerned, just ask your hotel to call a taxi. As a single female, that's what I usually do if traveling at an early hour. That said, I'm unaware of any woods near the train station.
My hotel is a decent walk from the Salzburg HBf train station ...
How far is "decent"?
The train station is in the middle of the city. It needs at least a walk of 2 miles just to leave the urban area. And even around the city there are not too many woods close by.
Please take a taxi and take that worry away.
By 5 am it will be daylight, one of the advantages of summer travel.
