My husband and I are traveling to Salzburg in late September and really wanted to see the Eagle's Nest/other Nazi sites. The online Viator/Trip Advisor tours are booked, or don't run on the specific day we'll be able to make a day trip out of it. Do we HAVE to book this through a tour? Or is it possible to get bus tickets/entrance to the sites on our own?
Posted by
Vienna, Austria
5858 posts
Of course you can do it on your own.
Posted by
1 posts
Hi,
Rather than start a new thread, I thought I might hijack this one. As I'm planning a similar trip and need advice too.
To help the OP, I believe you can get to Eagle's Nest from Salzburg by bus.
Catch the 840 from Salzburg to Berchtesgaden.
Catch the 838 from Berchtesgaden to the ticket office for the shuttle bus up the mountain. If you are after Nazi stuff, the documentation centre is also here.
What I'm not sure about is how the bus tickets work. Can anyone with more experience help here?
I'm told there is a day ticket for 840 bus. Does anyone know if this covers the 838 from Berchtesgaden?
Is the BGL-TagesTicket Bus & Bahn worth buying? I don't plan to use the train but it sounds like this would definitely cover both buses.
Many thanks.
Posted by
Racine, WI
75 posts
Just did this last week. You definitely do not need a tour.
From Salzburg, buy your bus tickets directly from the bus driver. Cash only. They have limited change so don't give them a €50 for a small fare. We went one way and stayed a night in Berchtesgaden but you can easily do it as a day trip. Make sure to tell the driver exactly what you need, day pass or one way.
The all day pass covers the bus to Berchtesgaden and the bus to Obersalzburg and back to Salzburg. It does not cover the bus from Obersalzburg to the Eagles Nest.
Get started early as possible. You can reserve Eagle's Nest bus tickets ahead of time (we did.) If you arrive earlier than your reserved time, the ticket agents can easily change it to the next available bus at no charge. Or, just buy tickets when you get there. If you show up past about 1pm on a busy day, they may be sold out. If I recall, the last bus down is 430pm.
We did a two hour difference between going up and down and that was plenty. If you plan on lunch or drinks at the top, budget more time.
Bring your passports as you are crossing a border... They will be checked.
The museum in Obersalzburg is pretty good but I'd describe it as "reverse propaganda" if that makes sense without getting too controversial. The highlight is the bunkers. The admission is included with your eagles nest bus ticket. Budget at least an hour. It includes an audio guide but honestly we were only interested in specific things and there are enough English explanations throughout.
It was incredible as we had postcard perfect weather and this had been on my bucket list for some time. Really enjoyed it. Stunning scenery the whole way.
Posted by
11 posts
Suggestion - we recently reserved a spot on David & Christine Harper's tour - Eagle's Nest Historical Tour. We gravitated toward this tour as is it "more of an educational opportunity than simply sightseeing" - per RS's guide book. We have reserved a spot during our travels coming up in late Sept.
www.eagles-nest-tours.com
Posted by
AZ 🌵
3349 posts
Here’s a 1/2 day tour from Salzburg to the Eagle’s Nest if you haven’t seen it.
https://www.panoramatours.com/en/salzburg/tour/tour-4-eagles-nest-tour-42/
I know there was another company operating tours a few years ago but don’t remember who. Maybe check Google?
Be aware that Viator is a third party consolidator and not the tour provider.