Transportation suggestions from Munich to Salzburg to Salzburg to Hallstat

We took the train from Munich to Salzburg and it was great; enjoyed the view as we went along and didn't have to worry about directions etc. And it is very inexpensive as I recall. No recommendation from Salzburg to Hallstatt as we were on a Rick Steves My Way Alpine Tour for that part.

Munich to Salzburg by train is easy; a Bayern ticket is cheap and is good all day.

You can get from Salzburg to Hallstat by bus and also by train/ferry. However, you might want to consider renting a car in Salzburg and driving. That will give you the freedom to explore the area. I spent two days and a night in the area, visiting St. Gilgen, St. Wolfgang, and Hallstat. I was constantly finding places where I wanted to pull off the road and just stare at the beautiful vistas. It's not a difficult drive (except in the little towns themselves, where the tangle of narrow and one-way streets was kind of daunting; I was always glad to find a place to park). Car rental agencies are just a couple of blocks from the Salzburg train station.

Munich is the pain in the a$$ to drive into, out of or through. And the autobahn route between Munich and Salzburg (A8), although very scenic, gets extremely congested quite frequently. Take the train, it's incredibly easy.

For more information on regional day tickets in Germany, click on this link. Click on "Bavaria" for the price of the Bayern-Ticket.

If there is only one of you, you are only going one way, want to leave before 9 AM on a workday, and don't mind making a commitment to a specific train, you can get a SparPreis ticket for one for as low as 19€ (with advance purchase up to 92 days). This ticket uses a long distance train (EC/RJ), which can be a little faster than the regional Meridian train (although the RJ might not be faster if you are coming from the airport, since you cannot board it at Ostbahnhof).

As for Salzburg to Hallstatt, if there is more (2-5) than one of you, the least expensive way is use the Einfach-Raus-Ticket and take a regional train from Salzburg to Attnang-Puchheim and another regional train from there to Hallstatt Bhf (across the lake from Hallstatt). It's like a Bayern-Ticket but for Austria, 33€ for two, 4€ each for travelers 3-5. It is not available for single travelers. Regional trains will take you about 3 hrs.

If you don't use the Einfach-Raus-Ticket, it takes about the same time (~2¼ hrs) to go by RailJet to Attnang-Puchhein, then by regional train to Hallstatt Bhf or to take a bus from Salzburg to Bad Ischl and a regional train from there. The bus goes by way of St. Gilgen, on Lake Wolfgang. In 2009, it cost me 13,20€ to go by bus from Salzburg Hbf to Bad Ischl with changes at Mondsee and Wolfgangsee. I took a slightly longer, more expensive route so I could check out the SOM wedding church at Mondsee.