Train or Bus from Munich to Hallstatt?

The all rail route is two trains, Munich to Salzburg to Attnang-Puchheim, then by another train from Attnang-Puchheim to Hallstatt via Bad Ischl.

You could also take a longer but more scenic route from Salzburg to Bad Ischl or all the way to Hallstatt by bus(es). The bus station for Hallstatt is actually in Lahn, which is 4/10 mile south of Hallstatt on the pedestrian road, near the base of the funicular to the salt mine.

I'm not finding schedules through DB with only one connection, whether with faster trains or regional trains; they show connections at both Salzburg and Attnang-Puchhiem. However, the train is still so easy that bus options are rarely discussed, and Lee is indicating that bus would also require some connection(s). Halstatt is a lovely tourist destination because it's not a major destination or route for anything else.

In 2009, I started at the Salzburg Hbf and took a bus to Mondsee to see the wedding church from SOM. From there to Hallstatt (Lahn) was a series of 4 buses, with changes in St. Gilgen, Bad Ischl, and somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The bus came into the bus station in Lahn. Without the stop in Mondsee, there is a bus directly to Bad Ischl, so it would be only three buses from Salzburg to Lahn.

The train from Bad Ischl stops at the Hallstatt Bahnhof, which is across the lake from the town; you take a little ferry across the lake to the town. You can also continue by train on to Obertraun and then take a bus to Lahn.

I was staying in a farm house about a half mile up the Echerntal from Lahn, so coming to the Lahn bus station made more sense for me.