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Salzburg and Vienna

Are there any towns/villages outside of Salzburg and Vienna that may have more reasonably priced hotels with car parking?

Thanks!
Kim

Posted by
4756 posts

Cities? No. Small towns and villages? Perhaps. But why would you stay such a distance away from the places you want to see? And spend time and money commuting? Your other threads have already had multiple replies pointing out the pros of not using a car for city stays, and just renting for any day trips where a car is a necessity.

Posted by
84 posts

Thank you for your reply. I will edit my question to say towns/villages vs. cities.

We have chosen to rent a vehicle from the start of our trip to the end of our trip.

Kim

Posted by
1507 posts

For Salzburg, Wals has some amazing hotels at reasonable prices. Commuting time by car to Salzburg about 15 minutes; the down side is that parking in Salzburg is quite expensive.

Posted by
84 posts

Emily,

Thanks! Perfect! I appreciate the link!
Kim

Posted by
84 posts

@lachera

Perhaps if I stay in Wals that I could take our car near to Salzburg and take public transportation into the city itself.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Kim

Posted by
5362 posts

Honestly, it seems to me that you should rent a car in Munich, keep it for your Salzburg/Hallstatt time and then return it in Freilassing (in Germany, just over the border from Salzburg). You would then take the train from Salzburg to Vienna and then take the train from Vienna back to Munich. Honestly, there isn't much that is beautiful on the highway between Salzburg and Vienna. The only place of note is the Wachau Valley which is best visited as a day trip from Vienna by train.

You have noted that you are a travel novice to Europe. Many European travel experts (including myself, also a photographer) have tried to steer you away from using a car for your whole trip. I agree with those experts and think you really should consider my compromise suggestion above. Having a car from Salzburg to Vienna and then Vienna back to Munich will be such a drag for so many reasons. I haven't driven a car in Europe for 12 years and I get great photos all the time.

Posted by
84 posts

Hi Emily,

Thanks so much for the wonderful suggestion! There are two reasons that we are considering the car for the entire trip.
1) . From all of the Youtube videos we've been watching there are so many different parks, waterfalls, etc. (day trips) that we'd like to visit outside of the bigger cities that it doesn't appear that public transportation goes to, but I could be wrong.
2) . The drop off cost to another city seems to be very high drop off fee.
I'll talk it over with my husband (who will be doing the driving---he drove in London last year...that was challenging since it was the other side of the road...and all of those round abouts!!! Crazy!) . I appreciate you input, that sounds very doable!
Kim

Posted by
5362 posts

Point 1 - Everything is available by public transportation. This is not the US. Again, I haven't driven for 12 years and see everything. Also, I suggested that you do have a car for the Munich/Salzburg portion of your trip. There aren't waterfalls or parks of note around Vienna.

Point 2 - I have suggested that you rent the car in Munich and return it to Freilassing exactly so that you DO NOT have to pay drop off fees as these two places are both in Germany.

Posted by
84 posts

So sorry Emily. I didn't realize that your drop off location was the same as Munich. I need to familiarize myself with all of the cities and their locations.

Thank you!

Kim

Posted by
5362 posts

Yes, Freilassing and Munich are both in Germany.

Posted by
32512 posts

the drop off charge is low or zero if you pick up and drop off elsewhere in Germany. Freilassing is in Germany next to Salzburg. The drop off fees are very high when you drop off in a different country to the one where you get it.

If you rent a car in Germany and drive into Austria (unless you cross and stay only on minor roads) you will need to buy an Austrian Vignette for the windscreen and affix it properly or you will very likely attract a substantial fine. If you enter on an Autobahn, for example the one between Munich and Salzburg, it must be affixed before you cross the border - enforced by both automatic cameras and patrol cars, some unmarked.

You also are required to have an IDP if you don't have an EU driving licence, in addition to your home license.

Free car parking is relatively rare in both Germany and Austria.

Posted by
84 posts

Thank you Nigel for all of the helpful information!

Kim