Hello All,
Solo traveler, visiting Prague this month end, planning to stay for 3 nights ..as my return flight is from MUC ..Bit confused either to choose Salzburg/hallstat or vienna in austria for another 2 nights .....Any suggestions on the best location to stay in salzburg preferably hostel near the train station or the City Center and also please suggest on choosing SIM card for data to use MAPS,location and to connect with family/friends..
Take the train from Prague to Vienna, stay there your remaining nights, skip Salzburg and Hallstatt. Eventually take the direct RailJet train from Vienna to Munich.
In Vienna there is free WiFi virtually everywhere (e.g. cafés, restaurants, etc.), even on the streets (provided by the city). So there is no need for a SIM card.
As much as I love Salzburg, if I had to choose between Salzburg and Vienna, it'd have to be Vienna. Vienna is quite a grand Europeon city with a huge variety of things to do. Unless you are looking for a smaller city experience after Prague, then Salzburg.
In Vienna, I like Hotel Austria near city center. They have some "economy" rooms that share a bath which make the hotel more budget friendly.
In Salzburg we stayed at an inn very close to the train station. It isn't a hostel, either, but it is very inexpensive, with a lovely breakfast and helpful staff.
It depends on what you're interested in, my preference is for Vienna because it was such a wonderful surprise and an underrated city. I like to think of it as "Paris on easy mode" - beautiful floodlit architecture, grand imperial history, world class museums, but everything is a bit easier to deal with there thanks to excellent English widely spoken and a bit more of a customer-service orientation.
That said, if you want the grand drama of the alps, Salzburg is beautiful. I didn't find that much to do in Salzburg proper since I wasn't interested in a Sound of Music tour. I wouldn't try to do Halstatt and Salzburg with only two nights - it would make more sense to go to the similar (and closer) Koeningsee right across the border, perhaps as part of an Eagle's Nest trip.
Unless you have logistics you haven’t mentioned, I think the choice depends on what you like best. I like Vienna just fine and it has plenty of great things to see and do, but I love the small town feel of Salzburg and surrounding nature more (have been to both 3 times).
If you wind up in Vienna, this is a second endorsement for Hotel Austria. In July, I stayed in a single room, fan but no air con, and bathroom down the hall - to keep the price down. It was very comfortable and I came to the conclusion the bathroom wasn’t shared - it was just not in the room. I’m not SURE that’s right - but no one else ever used it.
And if you really get bored in Salzburg with only 2 nights, I second Sarah’s suggestion of Koenigsee for the scenery and serenity. I had a half day tour to the Eagle’s Nest and found that a bit too rapid for my taste.
Given that fact that your return flight is from Munich, the logical choice would be Salzburg, as it's relatively easy and quick to get from there to Munich. However, with only two nights to work with, you'll probably have to skip Hallstatt. Two nights only provides about 1.5 days for actual touring and there just isn't enough time to see both. Hallstatt probably won't be too "lively" at this time of year. There's enough to see in Salzburg that you shouldn't have any trouble finding things to see.
We did both a few years back and took a few day trips from Salzburg (including Halstatt). If you like a smaller town feel and more natural scenario go to Salzburg and do the day trip to Halstatt. If you want that old, grand European city experience, go to Vienna. I loved both so it's just a difference in what you want out of your trip.
If you have T-Mobile, you won't need to worry about switching out your SIM card as text and data in Austria (and many other countries) are no additional charge. Otherwise I'd defer to other's recommendations.
