Salzburg Card Discounts and Value

I don't have experience with it, but have looked at it since we will be in Salzburg this summer, also. If you have the Rick Steves Germany book with info on Salzburg, he mentions the card in his section "Tourist Information" and says it could be a good deal if you intend to visit several of the places offered. He has negotiated discounts for many places, also. So for example, his discount on the Mozart Dinner Concert is 9 euros on a 59 euro ticket.

On the www.salzburg.info website, if you click on "hotels/offers", then on the Salzburg card, information comes up. One of the picture/links says 'Free with card" and one says "Discounts." When you click on an offer, such as the Mozart Dinner Concert, you can click on price. It shows a 10% discount and something about 'advance.' The Panorama Bus Tour has a 20% discount. You can check the discounts for other things against what Rick offers.

First, I will figure out what we want to see, and see if the card matches up with that. I haven't sat down to figure it out yet myself, but will have to include the cost of the card in my calculations.

Maybe someone else with experience will chime in here.

A friend and I spent a week in Salzburg in 2014. We got the 72-hour card, which was cheaper then than it is now. We lined up all the things we wanted to do that the card covered during the 72 hours it was active. We each got around 80 euro worth of "free entries" on the 30 or 35 euro we payed for the card. We used it more for free entries than for discounts on events/tickets.

As an aside, one of the favorite things I did with the card was the "Festival Halls" tour, which provides a tour of the performance halls used for the Salzburger Festspiele. The performance halls/buildings have a nice history (including art that was painted over/taken down by the Nazis and art that details battles with the Ottomans). I think this tour is also the only way one can see the Felsenreitschule, the performance venue for the von Trapps the end of the Sound of Music. Obviously, you don't need the card to do the tour; just go to the ticket office at the Großes Festspielhaus.

Also, here is the link to the PDF version of the flyer that details all the discounts.

Our experience was similar to Dave’s. After we purchased the card, we sat down and planned our stay around it. Includes transportation too. We did many things we had not planned to do, nor even realized existed, and had a great time. We saved a ton of money and explored sights we would not have otherwise seen. Fond memories of the Salzburg Card as one of the best value for dollar buys we have made while traveling. P.S. We also like the Hotel Weisse Taube for location, comfort, cost, and friendly staff. Safe travels.

Just for curiosity, what was you three day itinerary with the card....we are two years out from our trip but starting some basic planning. Oberammergau 2020 is in our plans then on to Austria.

We will be in Salzburg March 30-April 1, 2018. There are 2 adults and 2 kids in our group. We plan on getting the 72 hour cards, which costs 114 Euros total. By my calculations, seeing the Hohensalzburg, both Mozart houses, and the boat cruise would cost 143 Euros total. There's a good savings right there--and that doesn't include the bus transport plus the savings at Hohenwerfen and Hallein Salt mine. Depending if your trip is in the off season, your savings may not be as much since some things (like the boat cruise) aren't open. I also like the flexibility it gives if we have more time than I have initially figured to see "extras." It appears to be a good deal for us, but I'll be sure to report back!

Back to report--it was a good deal for us! We saved around 20 Euros per adult and 8 per kid, so 56E total. We used it at Hohensalzburg, Mozart's birthplace, the Salzburg Museum (which was an impulse-my son saw a billboard for a special exhibit and in we went), the Mozart dinner concert (10% discount), and Hohenwerfen--plus the bus lines, which we used constantly. While our cards were never asked for on the city bus, it was nice to just be able to hop one without worry. The website says that they offer a discount at the Hallein salt mines, but they do not. There is a big sign at the ticket window. The mine offers other family discounts, but I bought my tickets as a package with the train & bus fares from the OBB desk in the train station. Hope this helps!

We used the pass on a trip to Salzburg several years ago and broke even -- boat ride was supposedly included but the boat didn't run while we were there (October) BUT we went out to the mountain lift and got a marvellous view over the Alps, which we would not have done if it had not been included.

Like with any pass, run the numbers! (FYI, we have been back to Salzburg twice since, no passes.)

We also bought the Salzburg Card three years ago. I looked up each of the items on the card ahead of time to determine which ones were “must do”, “could do”, or “skip”. Some of the “could do”category that we would have skipped if we didn’t have the card nicely added to our overall experiences during our stay. A few in that category were the Trick Fountains (also enjoyed the park next to it, and seeing the SoM gazebo in that park), and the quaint Christmas museum.

That was our second time to Salzburg, and we saw so much during those three days - very enjoyable!