Lake Halstatt or Lake Constance

Hallstatt is better positioned than the Bodensee (Konstanz) to Salzburg and also Munich.. Hallstatt is indeed beautiful but lately is over run with Chinese tourists since a replica was built in China. May have changed from 3 years ago! I recommend going there to see it even with lots of others there seeing it too, but I would recommend staying in St. Wolfgang or St.Gilden on the Wolfgangsee. There’s an old cable car in St.Gilden that’s absolutely worth riding. And there are these wonderful glider rocking chairs set throughout the valley at strategic places. I wanted one really badly!! Plus-tons of bicycle paths in the valley.

Halstatt is beautiful! We visited with a one night stay on a RS tour in 2017, and it was plenty of time. We have heard that it is overrun (even then) with tourists, but for some reason we got very lucky. The weather was amazing, and there weren't a lot of people around. However, I would think 3-4 days would be way too much time, unless there are other nearby places you plan to visit.

Hallstatt ... but lately is over run with Chinese tourists ...

Due to the no-fly zone over Russia because of the war in the Ukraine it has become rather difficult to travel from east Asia to Europe. So you won't find as many Chinese tourists as it was some years ago.

Hallstatt is beautiful, but teeny. Not sure it's the best location for 3-4 days.

Stay in the Salzkammergut region but I’d pick a different lake to stay on and visit Hallstatt for a day. It’s nice but very touristy. We enjoyed staying on Grundlsee but there are many beautiful lakes in that region to stay on. I’d pick based on wherever you can get the best lake view room with a balcony to sit out and enjoy it. Then with a car drive around during the day to various lakes/sites in the region.

Constance was nice but not as beautiful and doesn’t have nearly the same feel as the Salzkammergut region.

We LOVED the Three Lakes tour on Grundlsee. You go on a boat on the largest lake past waterfalls and a castle, get off, walk a bit to the next lake where you board a smaller boat which takes you back farther until you reach a short hiking path to the final lake that has a beautiful little restaurant on it where you can eat their fresh caught fish from the lake overlooking the beautiful view. One of our favorite European experiences we’ve ever done.

I'm going to give a down vote to Lake Constance. I've spent more than a week total on the shores of Constance. I've been around the lake almost twice on a bicycle.

Lake Constance is fine. It's huge, so when you look at it it tends to read like a big open sea. And the immediate terrain around it is not noteworthy. The Alps are there maybe 100km back from the shore, so on a very clear day with a very long telephoto lens you can make it look like there are mountains next to the lake. Nearly every beach is muddy or rocky. In many places the highway runs right along the lakeshore and must be crossed to get to the lake
where you listen to the traffic. In many other prime locations, massive swaths of the lakeshore private.

Lake Constance isn't a bad place, but it's a bit of a lowest common denominator sort of vacation destination. Plus it's pretty far away from Salzburg.

For pretty mountain lakes I'd choose the Salzkammergut for sure, Wolfgangsee for starters.

Also consider Berchtesgaden and lovely Zell am See, both close to Salzburg.

We enjoyed staying on Grundlsee but there are many beautiful lakes in
that region to stay on.

Never stayed there, but took a look once on a long bike ride. Looked great, less known internationally, seemed to attract more german-speaking families, Czechs, Poles, etc.

This is before your September trip, but because I like live theater, I hope to eventually see a performance on the huge Seebuhne in Bregenz. (A scene in one of the James Bond movies, for example.) I saw the vacant, empty stage during a winter business trip once.

Were you planing to stay at either lake as a base? Hallstadt, Austria itself I think is a half day, not including travel time. Maybe base out of St. Gilgen and explore the Saltzkammergut lake district?

Bodensee has a lot to offer. Easy to spend 3-4 nights in the region. You can also slip into Switzerland, Liechtenstein or Vorarlberg, Austria.

I can't thank everyone of you who replied to my post. I have great ideas,places to see and beautiful towns to visit. We will be exploring the Salzkammergut region,September 22nd -25th.
Again a whole hearted Thank you.
JLuttner