I went on the Rick Steves Paris tour a couple years ago and loved the approach and pace, deciding to always go to a country for the first time with a Rick Steves tour. Since my daughter will spend Fall 2011 studying in Salzberg, we'd like like to join her in December when her classes end and tour the area, but there are no Rick Steves tours around there that time of year. Is that a bad time of year to visit Austria? Any ideas of other approaches to take? I've planned trips to Ireland, Scotland, and England and want to take it easy this trip and not have to do that.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Lots of years ago I was a student in Salzburg myself, though mine was the spring semester. I can tell you that winter in Austria is probably a lot like winter in Seattle, only with more snow. Of course, if you want to do a lot of indoor things, you might be fine visiting Vienna or Munich, but otherwise the weather will be a big impediment. For one thing, during the winter you generally have NO view of the surrounding Alps - it's just too overcast/foggy. I remember being astonished one clear morning in April to see how Salzburg is surrounded by many mountains. Of course, I knew it from the map, but had never seen them. In addition, many places will have boarded up fountains and statues for the winter by then.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8948 posts
If your daughter has been studying in Salzburg, let her help with the tour planning. She has probably got tons of ideas from friends, and she is going to be familiar with how things are in Austria. I doubt if you will need a tour.