Renting a car

We stayed in St. Johann im Pongau on our first trip to Europe in 2000. You will love it! We spent a week there driving to: Salzburg, Hallstatt, the fortress and ice caves in Werfen, and Berchtesgaden. You could easily spend the whole week in this area.

You are probably best off renting the car at whatever airport you fly into. That is assuming you are returning the car in the same country. If not, you may find that it is VERY expensive to rent on one country and return it on another country.

We are a family of 4 and have rented cars in Europe (and elsewhere) several times. The prices are insane right now. If you can drive a manual, you can save ALOT. Make sure you get an estate car or larger, or pack very light (1 carry on size only per person). Cars are smaller in Europe (and elsewhere). We rented a small SUV in Costa Rica and barely fit 4 carry ons and 4 backpacks in the back.

You will have the best selection of vehicles in larger cities, and at transportation hubs (airport/train station). Automatics are not as common in Europe.

Do NOT fly into Munich and drive to St. Johann after an international flight (as we did in our naivety). If you want to see Munich, fly into Munich, take the train (or taxi) to the old town, spend a couple days. Then rent the car and drive to St. Johann. Or take the train to Salzburg, and rent the car there if you are flying out of Vienna.

Thank you Travel4Fun for your reply. I am glad that someone else was in St. Johann im Pongau! Did you do a time share exchange too? Yes, that`s what we were thinking too : to stay in Munich, take a train to Salzburg, then rent a car. Is it always better and cheaper to reserve a car several months in advance?

We also spent a week in St. Johann im Pongau and loved it. There is so much to see in the area and you’re correct, a car is a must. We arrived in Vienna from the Czech Republic and after a few days there we picked up a car and drove to St. Johann, stopping at Melk Abbey on the way. We went to Salzburg twice during the week we were there. The first time we drove and parking was very expensive. The second time we took the train from St. Johann. We parked at the station. We returned the car at the Salzburg train station and moved on to Germany, our next destination. If you are flying in and out of Germany you could get the car there. It’s very expensive to pick up a car in one country and return it in another country. I wouldn’t advise having a car while in Vienna or Munich.

I have stayed in an apartment in Hüttschlag in the Großarltal. I have my own car and would recommend one. There is bus service in the valley. The southern end of the Großarltal is beautiful on a clear blue-sky day. Easy hike from the small Talmuseum Hüttschlag to the Ötzlsee and back. If you are active, there are many Mountain Alm throughout the Großarltal... "Das Tal der Almen"

https://www.grossarltal.info/en/summer/hut-hikes/huts.html

https://www.grossarltal.info/pdf/postbus-fahrplan.pdf

Thank you all for the information. We also thought that we would go to Salzburg twice and its good to know ahead of time about the parking.
Those huts look very interesting! We cant wait to do some hiking!

I use Park + Ride Süd in Salzburg. Eur 15 for 24 hrs. to park and it includes the bus fare for 5 people. Easy to get in and out. Bus takes you right to the Altstadt. If you avoid the Austrian Autobahn, you don't need a Autobahnvignette. You can set some navigation devices to "No Tolls" (Maut) in route planning.

https://www.salzburg-ag.at/bus-bahn/stadtverkehr/park-and-ride-salzburg.html

OK, thank you Mchpp for this advise!