we plan to leave salzburg as early as possible maybe 6 am. spend some time in hallstatt and leave for vienna late afteroon. We are a family of 4. Is the train or bus better. Or should we rent a car. Kindly help. We have to decide soon and its driving me insane.
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11333 posts
For questions like this on routes I have never traveled, I like to consult Rome2Rio.com. I have been to both Salzburg and Vienna but not on such an ambitious schedule. Rome2Rio indicates almost 6 hours of travel by train, driving about 5 hours. Either way that is a lot of travel time. Will it allow you enough time in Hallstatt? Depends on what you want to do and the amount of daylight, i.e., it is easier to do in midsummer than in March, perhaps.
Given this info from Rome2Rio, I would go look at train schedules for each segment, Salzburg to Hallstatt and then Hallstatt to Vienna and see if I would have enough time in Hallstatt to make it worthwhile.
Posted by
Green Bay
20135 posts
My way is to go to www.bahn.com. Put in Salzburg to Vienna and specify an 8 hour stop over in Hallstatt. You'll see you could leave at 6:12 and get to Hallsatt at 8:47, then leave Hallstatt at 5:07 pm and get to Vienna at 9:05 pm. Then go to www.oebb.at to check prices and buy tickets.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
so you suggest the train rather than renting a car? is there a place we can eave our luggage in hallstatt?
Posted by
1915 posts
is there a place we can eave our luggage in hallstatt?
Just ask: hallstatt@dachstein-salzkammergut.at
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
sen,
That's a very awkward trip to do in one day, especially by public transport. IMO, it's going to be difficult. The trip by train from Salzburg to Hallstatt is going to be about 2.5 hours, including one change in Attnang-Pucheim. On top of that you'll have to add half an hour or more for the trip across the lake in Stefanie. The rail station in Hallstatt is not staffed and I don't know if there are any lockers there for luggage (I've never looked)?
For the trip from Hallstatt to Vienna, start with the half hour or more for the trip back across the lake in the boat, and then a train trip of about four hours, including another change at Attnang-Pucheim.
A rental car would probably be more of a hassle. To begin with you wouldn't be able to drive into Hallstatt, but would have to park in Lahn and then walk into town. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving luggage in the vehicle, due to the possibility of theft. After arrival in Vienna, you'd have to get to the car rental place to return the car in an unfamiliar city possibly with heavy traffic. It may also be getting dark by that time.
Is there any way you could add some time to this part of your trip, and spend at least one night in Hallstatt? That would make things so much easier.
Good luck!