St. Wolfgang, Hallstatt or Český Krumlov?

Many people use private shuttle vans between Vienna and Cesky Krumlov and between CK and Hallstatt. (We used CK Shuttle, recommend it.)
Just finished visiting Linz, which is on the direct Vienna-to-Salzburg rail line. Lovely!

Thanks, Laura B! Yes, I've read on the forum that people seem to be happy with CK Shuttle. Where did you take it from?

I'm just having a difficult time choosing between the various villages. Český Krumlov looks like the most fun, but seems to be the trickiest to get to and the most out of the way. Hallstatt has always been on my bucket list, but from what I've read it is overrun with tourists now. I don't know much about St. Wolfgang, yet it look lovely and easy.

Hi Christine,

We haven’t been to CK, but the other two. We loved St. Wolfgang. St. Gilgen makes a good base also. Both are on the Wolfgangsee. A nice day out is to take the lake ship from town to town and do some exploring. We did this during the Christmas Markets in 2013. Had a great time cruising the lake and visiting the towns along it. To pick one, St. Wolfgang was our favorite. Hallstatt, wasn’t thrilled with it. We were the in mid October a few years back. No crowds the day we were there. It’s just so small, we got bored after a few hours and left. We did like the setting, but have no desire to return. Austria has so many picturesque towns and villages.

Paul

St. Wolfgang is as touristy as Hallstatt, but less beautiful. I would stay in Hallstatt as there are many things to do nearby such as the salt mine and the ice caves. I would also highly recommend a walk around Gosausee.

Christine, we took CK Shuttle from Vienna, spent an overnight in CK, took another CK Shuttle to Prague. Nice, relaxing way to travel with hotel-to-hotel transportation.
Hallstatt is still on our bucket list -- maybe in 2018 ??

Thanks so much everyone for the input. Any other favorite Austrian villages recommended that are easily reached while traveling by train between Vienna and Salzburg?

As recommended by others St Wolfgang, Hallstatt,Bad Ischl and Gmunden on Lake Traunsee with Lake Castle Ort worth visiting.
Mike

Thanks, Mike. I hadn't thought of Lake Traunsee and it looks lovely. I'll look into it further.