Salzburg to Hallstatt

If it is on a Saturday or Sunday, you could travel by regional train with an early start for 43 EUR for the whole crew to and from with the Einfach Raus ticket. How old are the kiddos?

It will be a Thursday August 18th to be exact. Their ages are 18 and 12.

Thank you!

You could do it on a week day for as low as 69.40 EUR total with nonrefundable advance purchase tickets (Sparschiene). Leave at 6:12 am, return at 5:07 pm. That would give you 8 hours in Hallstatt.

If you go by train, you will first see Halstatt from across the lake, a magical view.
A small ferry meets each train to take people across the lake to town.

there are several travel vlogs on Youtube showing you a few ways to do this

I appreciate the quick responses. I will look into the youtube videos. TY!

From Salzburg to Hallstatt:

Train only: Salzburg - Attnang-Puchheim (express train), Attnang-Puchheim - Hallstatt (local train)
Bus/train: Salzburg - Bad Ischl (bus #150), Bad Ischl - Hallstatt (local train)

The bus ride is much more scenic that the express train ride. Not much difference in travel time between the two variants.
The second choice offers you the opportunity to visit Bad Ischl, a famous town important for Austria's history.

We just returned from Hallstatt, and if you wanted to use a rental car, it is a beautiful area to explore. There are 3 parking areas, and we did not have any problem getting a space. As approach Hallstatt, you will see electronic signs to direct you to parking areas: area P2 is closest to town, P1 is second closest, and P3 is further away. Area P2 is closest to the salt mine - this is certainly an enjoyable experience. Restaurants close up early (around 6 PM).

Definitely worth a visit, no matter how you get there!

We chose not to do the salt mine, because we thought it would use up too much of our limited time down a tunnel, in such a beautiful place.