Lauterbrunnen or Salzkammergut or both (6 days)?

Haven't been to Lauterbrunnen, but as far as needing a car in St. Gilgen, the town is small and easily walkable. However, the Salzkammergut is just dotted with tons of little villages that are easy to drive to. St. Wolfgang is really close to St. Gilgen. There's tons of hiking in the region. Don't know about St. Gilgen, but there is a tourist information office in St. Wolfgang with maps of all the hiking trails in the area. We did a nice one by St. Gilgen one day. There's also a great one leaving from outside of St. Wolfgang, going over a hill to the Schwarzensee, this pretty lake on top of the mountain, with the obligatory beer and brat place.

Greg, I want to make sure I'm understanding your proposed itinerary and question. You want to drive from Paris to Lauterbrunnen, spend a few days, and then drive to the Salzburg area, spend a few days, and then up to Frankfurt to fly home. That whole itinerary you want to do in 6 days, right? Also, what time of year are you going? I know I'm making you repeat yourself, however, I've been in that area several times, driving a car, and want to help you plan this out.

It would make more sense to drive to Switzerland and spend your whole time there... except for the fact that you'll be going in the shoulder season, when the hospitality industry in that part of the Alps almost completely shuts down. I'm not sure about the Salzkammergut region at that time of year.

All - Thanks for the insights thus far. Denise - The full itinerary is this: Flight to Paris Paris - 4 nights Lauterbrunnen and/or Salzkammergut - 6 nights Munich - 1 night Heidleburg - 1 night
Flight home from Frankfurt Paris/Munich/Heidleburg are mandates from my wife. The Alps schedule is mine. Priorities: Scenery, opportunity for day hikes, spending time in the Alpine natural areas (secluded = good) Questions: Should I try to hit both Lauterbrunnen and Salzkammergut - or just pick one or the other for the 6 nights. Could I drive through and stay in a different small town each night and meet my priorities? Some of the feedback above has helped (thanks all for your time and effort)

I have visited both areas in the fall...I am a little concerned about how much hiking you will be able to do in early May. As you get closer, I would research how much snow the alps had this winter and how "exposed" the trails will be. I could easily stay 6 nights in Lauterbrunnen, if the trails were available for hiking. You will spend a full day going between the 2 areas, but since you are going to Munich one way or the other, you will have to do the drive anyway. You might also consider the Ruette/Garmisch area. It is right on the way and has great hiking and sites. I have been to both areas, and they both are worth a visit. There are many cute Bavarian/Tyrolian villages in both areas. I love driving in this area, but I do like staying a minimum of 2 nights at any location. (You already have a couple of one night stays towards the end of the trip. Nothing wears me out faster than having to pack up every morning of a trip. On a month long trip, I will have a couple of one night stays, the rest will be anywhere from 2-4 nights) Given the time of year, I would probably try and stay flexible in my plans. If it were me, I would reserve a couple of nights in Lauterbrunnen and research other places in the areas I want to stay. Then I would just call ahead a day or two in advance and line up a place when I decided what I wanted to do. We did this on a trip where we wanted to hike. It was pouring rain in Lauterbrunnen, so we headed to Chamonix and hiked for 2 nights, then came back the Lauterbrunnen when the sun was out. From there, we called ahead and reserved a place in the Salzkammergut area for more hiking (we had a little longer) We had no trouble getting rooms in the fall (which is usually similar to Spring) but were able to be flexible. Obviously, if it is raining in Lauterbrunnen, being able to head somewhere else might be good. Have a great trip.

Greg, For such a very short trip, I'd suggest using a rental car strategically rather than for the entire trip. One other point to consider is that driving renting the car in Paris and dropping in Germany may incur huge fees. IMHO, using fast trains would be a far better idea for the majority of your trip, in order to minimize your travel time and maximize your touring time (no cars can travel as fast as the TGV!). Using the Itinerary in your recent post, I'd consider something like this: > D1: Flight to Paris > D2: Arrive Paris > D3-4: Tour Paris > D5: Train to Lauterbrunnen, via Interlaken Ost (Travel time 5H:33M, 1 change in Basel) > D6-8: Tour Lauterbrunnen Valley > D9-10: Train to Salzburg; pickup pre-arranged rental Car and drive to Hallstatt > D11: Drive to Salzburg, return Car; train to Munich (Time 1H:28M via RailJet) > D12: Train to Heidelberg (Time 3H:05M via direct train) - perhaps leave in afternoon and spend more time in Munich? > D13: Tour Heidelberg > D14: Flight home (depending on the time of your flight, you could go right from Heidelberg to Frankfurt Airport (Time ~0H:55M), as there's a station at the airport. You wouldn't have to waste any time returning the rental car. Lee or one of the others will be able to provide more specific information on the German trains. This is just one idea, and it could be "fine tuned" a bit. Just a thought.... Good luck and happy travels!

Adding to what Connie wrote. The Bavarian-Tyrolian Alpine towns don't go into hibernation to nearly the extent as some areas of the Swiss Alps. They are also better located for the overall flow of your trip. A big problem with only allotting a small amount of time to the Alps is that you can easily get rained or fogged out for your entire visit. In the spring (the rainiest season in the mountains), I wouldn't plan for anything less than 4 days at a single location.

I would split my time as well because as much as I love the Jungfrau area (including Lauterbrunnen) it will be too snowy to hike much in the alpine. The ski areas at Wengen and Murren (above Lauterbrunnen on either side of the valley) are open until the third weekend in April. So, I think after 2 or 3 days you'll be ready to move on to less snowy pastures (like the Salzkammergut).

Hi Greg: We've made the trip from Hallstatt in the Salzkammergut area to Interlaken (gateway to both Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald) several times in one day. But now prefer to stop over night approximately half-way (usually in Scoul, Switzerland). If you only have 6 days, you will have taken at least 2 days to get from Paris to the Salzkammergut, then another day driving to Lauterbrunnen. It's hard to decide which area to visit and so we usually try to plan at least a two-week trip so we can visit both areas. If I had to choose between the two areas, I would probably recommend Lauterbrunnen. While you're there, don't miss Grindelwald on the other side of the Lauterbrunnen valley as well as Murren, Gimmelwald, etc. Although a little pricey for a family of four, you can purchase public transportation passes and travel back and forth between the Lauterbrunnen valley and the Grindelwald areas (don't miss the Jungfraujoch).

A belated thanks to all of you! Two weeks away!!! Found that I have a relative in the South of France - so my time windows have gotten smaller. I'll post a report

I would do both. Hallstat, on the lake, is something out of a postcard. Such a pretty destination in the Salzkammergut. And Lauterbrunnen is spectacular for the alpine/mountain/hiking opportunities. As someone above states, in early May you may not be able to do some of the hiking that you would be able to do later in spring (and certainly in summer), but you could take the trip to the top of Europe; the Jungfraujock; and also the spectacular cable car ride up to Shilthorn; Lauterbrunnen is the perfect gateway for this. From top of Schilthorn, on the observation deck, you take is head-spinning, awe-inspiring views of the alps; nothing short of spectacular. Rick includes super-helpful, detailed descriptions of both of these excursions in the Bernese Oberland in his guidebook. If you do both, you're off to do phenomenal areas of Europe; enjoy.