Hi,
We will have a car for a few days while in Salzburg. Two trips we plan on doing is going to Mauthausen and the Eagles Nest. We are not doing this on the same day.
I'm sure these won't take us all day to do. Any suggestions on where to go after seeing these things? This will be toward the end of our trip, so we are looking for more relaxing things to do.
Thanks,
Wendy
You can't drive your car to the Eagles' Nest. Access is via buses which go up a private, closed road. There is a parking area for cars in Obersalzberg at the base of the Kehlstein (mountain on which Eagles' Nest, actually called Kehlsteinhaus, sits). A RT ticket for the bus and the elevator from the bus parkplatz to Kehlsteinhaus will cost you €15,50 per adult.
In Obersalzberg there is a museum, called the Dokumentation Center, about how the Nazis gained control. There you can also tour the remains of the extensive bunker system that used to connect the SS base there with the vacation homes of all the top Nazis in Obersalzberg. It's easy to spend more time in the museum than at the Eagles' Nest.
Or, if you have had enough of Nazi history, drive down to Schönau am Königssee and take a boat ride on the lake.
If you've never been to Hallstatt, it makes a great day trip. Takes about 1 1/2 hours each way by car, from Salzburg.
Either Hallstatt or anywhere in the Salzkammergut region around Salzburg is just lovely. Cute little villages on lakes surrounded by mountains, can't beat it. There's lots of hiking in the area if you're interested in that.
I seriously question your need for a car in Salzburg.
For the trip to the Eagles' Nest, for €9 pP, you can get an RVO Tagesticket (purchased on the bus in Salzburg). This is an all day pass for the buses in the area. With it you can go RT from Salzburg Hbf to Berchtesgaden Hbf and use all of the buses in Berchtesgaden, including the buses from the Bahnhof to Obersalzberg or to Königssee (the special bus from Obersalzberg to Kehlsteinhaus is not included).
You can take regional trains from the Salzburg Hbf to Maulthausen in a little over 3 hours each way for €28 for up to five persons with an Einfach Raus ticket.
The day you go to Eagles Nest, you could also consider taking the boat on Kongisee, visiting a salt mine, or taking a luge ride (all of these are in the area) On the day you go to Mauthausen, I would recommend stopping in Mondsee or St Gilgen for a visit. (There are also luges by St Gilgen) These towns are in the lakes district which is beautiful. If you do decide to go to Hallstatt, you will go through that area. However, Hallstatt would probably require its own day to make it worth the trip.
Hallstatt is great for wonderful scenery and relaxing. Melk is closer to Mauthausen (toward Vienna) and has a magnificent abbey. I agree that you won't need a car for Salzburg, but the drive to both Mauthausen and Hallstatt is across very pretty countryside once off the Autobahn. If you like driving, it's very easy and worthwhile.
Halstatt has a cult following among RS folks. Personally I think its over-rated, unless walking down streets and thinking what a wonderful view of the lake the people in the houses blocking your view from the street must have. If you're going for a drive, thru what is beautiful countryside, I would recommend instead going to Mondsee which has just as pretty a lake but it a larger town with more to see and do, lakeside cafe's, etc.
