Looking to take a "Sound of Music" tour while visiting Salzburg. My options seem to be with Panorama Tours or Salzburg Sightseeing (which I think is affiliated with Grayline?)
I would like some feedback about the tour(s) and recommendations for which company is preferable.
Many thanks for your help and observations!
We did Panarama. It was fine. They hit most everything. Plus, I used the RS guide and other sources and tracked down every sight in the old town area and we visited some of that on our own as well. Our favorite part of the Panorama Tour was the drive into the mountains and to Mondsee to see "the wedding church". A friend just did the bike tour (Fraulein Maria, I believe) and absolutely loved it, however they did not go to Mondsee which for me, was a top priority.
My library had an absolutely wonderful DVD for a crazy fanatic like me. It was called the Sound of the City and it was perfect for getting reading for Salzburg. I'll warn you that it is hard to fine.
We liked Bob's. They use a minivan, as opposed to a big bus. That was a big deal for us. We enjoyed seeing the sights out of town, like Mondsee, and the countryside, as well as in town sights. We got a discount by showing our Rick Steves book and paying in cash.
What Andrea says.
Yep, agree with Andrea on Bob's.
Agree with Andrea, we did a Bob's tour, highly recommend it.
Doug Spindler:
Rick's audio Europe tours are the absolute best.
Rick does not have an audio guide for a Sound of Music Tour.
My sister and I did the Panorama tour, and it worked fine for us. We sent our husbands to see the fortress, and enjoyed the scenery, and the kitschy-ness of it all. We are both singers and know all the songs by heart so willingly sang along. Our main disappointment was we seemed to be the very few that knew all the songs. But it was fun just the same.
Following this conversation as I am planning to do a SOM tour in October. For those of you who went on the Bob's tour...did everyone sing along? I am under the impression that the big bus tours encourage more of a sing along...anyone know if that is really the case? As silly as it may seem to some people, I think that would be great fun and part of the experience! Also, how far in advance to book the tour?
@Nancy... We did Bob's about 1.5 weeks ago. It think the max that can go in the minivan's is 8 but we actually only had 4 people on our tour, myself and my mom and then another couple. They did play the soundtrack but I think the sing-a-long probably depends on the enthusiasm for the movie in the group. My mom [who adores the movie] and I [who doesn't love the movie quite as much but I love my mom so I humored her] sang quietly under our breaths. It's probably a pretty varied experience from group to group.
I chose Bob's because I hate big charter buses and it's a lot easier getting 8 people unloaded/reloaded than 30+ and it was much easier setting to ask questions [and be next to the AC!]. Overall, it was a more enjoyable experience than I thought it would be and the Mondsee Church's beauty and ride through the Salzkammergut is what made it really worth it for me.
Our family did the SOM bicycle tour three years ago and it was the highlight of our vacation (only one of us is a SOM fan).
Assuming your family is healthy enough to bike for a few hours and the weather is good, it is a great way to see the SOM landmarks in Salzburg. You do not have to be physically fit to do the tour as I only remember one modest hill. The link to the tour group is:
http://www.mariasbicycletours.com/
Enjoy Salzburg
