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Late december 11 day itinerary

Posted by (Spokane) on

Hello,

We are a family of 3 with an 8 year old boy, and will be in Austria from 12/19 to 12/30. On our trips we like a mix of exploring natural beauty and urban life. I am tentatively contemplating the following schedule:

Vienna (4 nights)
Salzburg/Salzkammergut (3 nights)
Innsbruck/Seefeld (4 nights)

I expect Vienna to be all about museums, monuments, and Christmas markets. Innsbruck to be entirely a base for alpine/natural beauty exploration. And Salzburg to be a bit of both.

  1. Trying to figure out if I should stay in Salzburg, a village around Wolfgangsee, or Bad Ischl. I am leaning towards Salzburg because: a) More options for after dark activities b) Warmer since away from lakes c) Easier base for public transportation d) More accommodation options. Benefit of a place like Bad Ischl is that we are better situated for exploring Hallstatt or the lake district. We would be there on the 23/24/25th nights. If we choose Salzburg...are the markets still ongoing there? Is the place still lively 24th evening & 25th? Don't know if it is worthwhile to head out to the Berchtesgaden area/Konigsee?

  2. Innsbruck or Seefeld. Wondering if I should go with Innsbruck for the same reasons as mentioned for Salzburg -- more to do after dark; warmer in the valley; easier transportation hub; cheaper accommodations. Seefeld, I gather, might especially be filled with skiers. Seefeld seems to be centrally located for exploring Mittenwald, Innsbruck, Zugspitze, even Garmisch. With Innsbruck as the base, one might look at day trips to Seefeld, Igls, Stubai glacier/valley, Lake Achensee, Kitzbuhel etc. Will the Christmas market/atmosphere be over by the 27th December in the Innsbruck area?

I am open to eliminating Salzburg Region, give another day to Vienna, and the rest to Innsbruck & Seefeld. Perhaps I am better off exploring the wonders of Alp rather than being neither here nor there with Salzburg? We are not into winter sports but are open to trying snow walking/beginners skiing etc., although my understanding is Dec might be a little early for snow. Any opinion/commentary/insights regarding all this would be highly appreciated,

Thanks much!

Posted by
7 posts

Hi Vishal, I assume you've gotten your plans in place by now. I'm also going from December 16-January 1, but we're flying into and out of Frankfurt and hitting more spots along the way. 2 nights Rothenburg, 2 nights Nuremburg, 3 nights Garmisch, 3 nights Salzburg, probably 4 in Munich before heading toward Frankfurt to leave. My first trip - we're going over to visit a son teaching near Salzburg - so I'm trying to see a variety of places and hit several Christmas markets. My concern was finding places open around Christmas weekend, so we decided to spend the 23rd - 26th in Salzburg. Their Christmas market runs through the 26th, so I figured if everything else was closed, we could grab food there! We're staying just outside the downtown area.

I'm sure you've made your plans by now, so hope you have fun! We're certainly intend to.

Posted by
14507 posts

Since you list Bad Ischl above, you can go there from Salzburg as a day trip by taking the bus from the depot in front of Salzburg Hbf (main train station). If you're interested in Austrian history, Bad Ischl was the Emperor's summer residence at the Kaiservilla., ca 25 min. walk from the train station. I like Bad Ischl, have been there twice as day trips.

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