Itinerary suggestions. 4 nights Bad Ischl. 1 night Salzburg then on to Munich

Hi,

Bad Ischl is nice but with four nights planned there you must have other touring activities in mind. I went there as a day trip from Vienna. You can take the bus across from the train station to Salzburg as a day r/t trip.

The Kaiservilla is the main historical site, ie, the summer residence of the Habsburgs and the Emperor Franz Joseph's summer refuge from Vienna, which can be seen only on a tour. The tours are periodic , I took the tour at 15:00, given only in German, no audio phones available. If you're into operetta there's also Franz Lehar's theater and museum.

Using Bad Ischl as a base is an interesting choice. Hope you found a nice place to stay there. Hallstatt is only 21-27 minutes south of there by train. Hallstatt is definitely worth at least a long day's stay. You're not far by bus from St. Wolfgang. That would make a good day's trip as well. That still leaves too many days to travel to outlying sites. There might be a good reason (Spa) to stay in Bad Ischl for a day. You can take the train from there to Salzburg, but you might also consider taking buses via Mondsee (Sound of Music wedding church)

Thank you both for your replies. We chose 4 nights in Bad Ischl as we heard the surrounding areas are beautiful and we are hoping to do bike rides and just relax and enjoy the environment. I had read that there are salt mines and a few other things to do, but Hallstadt and St Wolfgang are definites. Hopefully there are others that have stayed in the area that are also nature lovers that will have some other suggestions. Are there any other travelers that have used Bad Ischl as a base to cycle around the area?

Jenn

At St Wolfgang you can do a boat ride on the lake to Strobal and St Gilgen,there is also the Schafberg Cog Railway which will give you great views of the lakes and valley,you could hike down and train up.
Mike

Several years ago we spent 4 nights in Obertraun and found no shortage of things to do. We had a car and spent about half our time just exploring some of the valleys and more remote lakes in the area. The other half was spent in towns like St. Wolfgang and Hallstatt. I'm afraid I can't give you a lot of specific advice since I don't know what is easily accessible by bike/train. However, there was another couple staying for a week at our guesthouse who were traveling by train/bike and the owners sent them off on a new adventure each day. I think if you ask locally, you won't have any problem filling your handful of days there with lost of scenic beauty and charm.

If you go past the Hallsatt Bahnhof to the next stop at Obertraun-Dachsteinhöhlen Bahnhof, you can take a cable car up to the ice caves (Dachsteinhöhlen). From Obertraun, you can take a scheduled bus a few minutes around the end of the lake to Lahn, from which the incline goes up to the Hallstatt salt mine.

The Schafbergbahn is the incline cog train shown in Sound of Music. Ironically, the movie seems to show the kids going up the cog train to a picnic, but the picnic scene is on a hillside outside of Werfen, over 25 miles away.

I would highly recommend more than one night in Salzburg. We were there three and could have stayed longer. It is beautiful and Old Town is quite charming. We enjoyed doing Rick's walking tour of the city, spending time in cafes, and just exploring Old Town. Augustiner Bier Hall was a great afternoon and fun way to mingle with locals. Mirabell Gardens are worth a visit as well. We did a Sound of Music tour (touristy, I know), but I love the movie so it was fun to see some of the sights outside of Central Salzburg that would have been hard to get to on our own.

We returned to Salzburg last year for 3 1/2 days and also stayed at St. Wolfgang two days. We took a bus from St. Wolfgang to Bad Ischl to catch a train to Melk.

If you have any flexibility in your days at locations, I would definitely recommend a 2nd day at Salzburg - so much to do & see. We loved our days at St. Wolfgang and want to return there. We took short hikes each day above town and enjoyed our lakefront hotel - relaxing and wonderful days!

For a special trip to Salzburg if the weather is nice, I would recommend taking the bus to St. Wolfgang, taking the boat to St. Gilgen, and then take the bus to Salzburg. The boat ride is very scenic. But, if you end up with only one day in Salzburg, skip this and arrive early to Salzburg.

We stayed 3 nights in Bad Ischl planning on cycling. We did have one nice day. Unfortunately the wife got sick and we didn't cycle the other two days. On a previous trip I had cycled from Hallstatt to Salzburg. I don't think you will have any trouble filling 4 days.

Thank you everyone for your great suggestions. I think I will now have plenty to do. I appreciate all the options.