Day trip from Vienna to Mauthausen then Salzburg

In 2008, my husband and I did Melk Abbey and Mauthausen in a day and spent the night in Salzburg. My notes from that time indicate the following: We ate breakfast and went right to the abbey. We were there fairly early in the morning. We left Melk at 11:45 and drove to Mauthausen. I don't show in my journal what time we arrived there, but we left there at 4:00. I felt a little rushed in Mauthausen. We arrived in Salzburg about 5:00-5:30 where we spent the night. It was a busy, full day. The problem is you need to get to Melk from Vienna (we were already in Melk) and travel back to Vienna the same night. I think that is probably a little ambitious for one day. We really "kept moving" throughout the day to get it all in. Just not sure it is worth trying, but it is up to you.

Thanks so much, Connie. I am now thinking maybe we would just go to Mauthausen first, then spend the afternoon sightseeing in Salzburg at a more leisurely pace. We only have two days in Austria and the first has already been allotted for Vienna. Salzburg definitely stole my heart when I visited Austria in 2006. Did you spend time in Salzburg? Any recommendations? Many thanks,
Faith

Mauthausen is a bit off track. It's north of the Danube and just east of Linz. If going by train, you'd have to catch a bus or taxi from Linz or Enns. By car it's entirely possible to visit Melk and Mauthausen in that order and then proceed to Salzburg. But flying out of Vienna the next day? Not a good move - it takes 2 hours of freeway driving from Vienna to Salzburg. Trying to pack in that much of Austria will just leave you exhausted and dissatisfied.

Faith: We just got back from visiting all the places you mention...although trying to do it in one day, then flying out the next day from Vienna, is a bad idea. May I suggest what we did one day as a day trip? The train sells a ticket that includes rail travel to Melk, entrance to Melk Abbey, a boat cruise down the Danube to Krems, and train back to Vienna (but we got off in Durnstein and loved it! Then took the bus to Krems and completed our trip back to Vienna.) Just a great day and I think you'd really enjoy it!

Thanks, Roy, and Martin, for your thoughts. I agree- I was trying to fit in too much in one day. My colleagues and I are flying into Vienna, where we'll be staying two nights before heading to Switzerland. I am planning the Vienna portion, and hoped to do a day trip to Salzburg area. We will be flying out of Vienna into Zurich on the 3rd day, so we would need to return to Vienna. One idea I had is to go to Mauthausen in the morning (train or rent a car) then on to Salzburg in the afternoon, to spend a few hours with several options (SOM sites, Mozart's birthplace, the fortress.) Do you think this is doable? The other idea, as Roy suggested, is to go to the Melk Abbey instead of Mauthausen. I have already been there, but could go again if the others prefer that plan. The river boat cruise down the Danube definitely sounds wonderful. It sounds like doing one or the other, with a more relaxed afternoon, is more doable. If you have other thoughts, or if anyone else wants to chime in, I welcome the feedback. Again, thanks for the information and ideas that have been shared. Sincerely,
Faith