Hallstatt and/or the Salzkammergut Region

We went to the Salzkammergut 4 years ago and had the vacation of our lives. Absolutely loved it there. We stayed in St. Wolfgang. There's several small towns in the area that border on lakes.

We stayed at a farmhouse there. I found it on the Austrian tourism website, www.austria.info. They listed different accomodations, and you can book directly through the owner. The tourism agency also has excellent brochures on the region that they will send to you. If you like hiking, there's lots of it in the area.

We stayed in St. Wolfgang instead of Hallstatt because we had our 3 year old son with us, and the area there seemed more kid-friendly. The region is a big vacation place for Europeans, mostly Germans and Austrians. There were 4 other families staying at the farmhouse, all either German or Austrian.

I've explored the area several times and it's a great place to visit. Hallstatt is sort of at the far edge of the region, so I'd suggest staying near the Wolfgangsee or Mondsee for a better central location. My favorite place to stay is St. Gilgen, on the Wolfgangsee.

As someone mentioned, Hallstatt is not the most central location for exploring Salzkammergut. St Gilgen or something on that lake would be more central. I don't know how much time you are planning to spend in this area, but you could spend a day visiting Mondsee, St. Gilgen, etc and then drive back to Hallstatt for the night and spend a full day or so exploring this area. If the weather is nice, look into some of the lifts that take you up high for wonderful views. There are some directions in the RS book for a fairly easy hike to a beautiful waterfall. ( up the Echern valley to Waldbachstrub) Helga Lenz's place is a steep, steep climb, but it is worth it when you get there. If it were me, I would probably still overnight in Hallstatt, but there are some other nice villages. BTW, we loved the luge ride on the way to Hallstatt (we went on the longer more expensive one...the views on the trip up were amazing) It was a great ride down...but my sister did crash on the second time. We were both trying to go down and not use the brake. (Our husbands didn't want to go a second time...sometimes when my sister and I get together we forget we are in our fifties and think we are still 20.)

stay in salzburg -pension elisabeth fairly cheap and close to train station. from here youi could visit bad ischl, hallstat,munich, and innsbruck. in hallstat i stayed in a 20 euro a nite room. but theres not much to do there. go to hallstat tourism website for better rates. www.hallstatt.net.

Gary,

Hallstatt is an incredibly beautiful location, but using it as a "base" for day trips via rail might be "challenging" unless you plan very precisely. It may be somewhat easier if you were to use a rental car, as you wouldn't be so dependent on rail schedules. However, I'm not sure what the parking options are?

Arrival in Hallstatt by train provides a fantastic view of the town from across the lake. The shuttle boat, "Stefanie" runs about every half hour as I recall (€1 each way~). If you arrive by road, you don't get the same view as the road is on the same side of the lake as the town.

My suggestion would be to spend at least one night in Hallstatt, to not only enjoy the ambience of the town at night but also to give you more time for the Salt Mine tour, the Museum or other attractions. Having a "cold one" on the balcony of Rudolfsturm (the Castle above town) in the afternoon sun is one of my most enjoyable memories!

There are a fairly good selection of lodgings in Hallstatt. Check Rick's book for the details. You might have a look at Gasthof Simony or Hotel Gruner Baum. Both are right at the main plaza, only about a one minute walk from the boat dock.

Happy travels!

These are all great thoughts and suggestions. One thing I see is that I'm becoming more convinced that if I can come across the lake on Stefanie it would beautiful. I will have a car and I'm wondering if anyone knows if there is parking where the boat launches by the train station? I'm wondering if it wouldn't make sense to drive there and park the car and then enjoy the boat.

Would it be safe there? Rick's book suggests that in Hallstatt, not all hotels have parking anyway, and I'd have to park the car up the hill from town in some public lots there are apparently there.

I would park in Hallstatt and ride the boat for fun. Depending on how much time you have, there are some beautiful areas that you can drive to, take a lift up and experience the views. Having your car handy may be nice. If you want to park right where you stay, you can stay at Gruner Anger or one of the pensions back that way. (The roads go right up to the houses,but it is a bit of a walk to the "main" part of town where most people prefer to stay.) We parked at the lot above town on our last trip and it worked out great. Of course, we were not driving a brand new car we just purchased (lol). You get a ticket to put in the window from where you are staying and the parking is free. The spots are not huge (my husband always managed to find one he was comfortable with, but he did turn up his nose at a few).

your better off driving into halstatt and taking a boat ride when your there. plenty of parking there.