Sound of Music Tour

I went on Bob's Tours. I liked it because it's just a van, so it was a small group (actually, there were only 5 of us the day that we went!) Also, because we were in a van as opposed to a bus, we were able to park much closer to all the sights. Plus, as any small group, you were able to speak to the tourguide the whole time and ask questions. My only advice, go on a day when the weather is CLEAR! It rained our entire time in Salzburg unfortunately, and I had to go on a crappy weather day. Although it was neat to see all the Sound of Music sights, I missed a lot of beautiful scenery due to fog and rain. They take you to the Lake District, and if it's a clear day, the Alps should be AMAZING. We could barely see them... Oh yeah, another great thing about the van. He took us through the small roads as opposed to the highway to the Lake District. The bus never could have gone on the roads because some of them were literally one lane. If you love the movie, you'll love the tour!

We did the Panorama big bus tour. We have 2 kids who had recently seen the movie. I read (in RS book) that it's not a bad way to get an easy, yet brief, tour of Salzburg and the Lake areas so we went for it. I guess it depends on your tour guide. Our guide was pretty good. Like all bus tours, it is a little rushed and you feel somewhat herded. But we did see some beautiful scenery and the kids appreciated the sitting down aspect.

Bob's was terrific. Only 4 of us in the van. The driver took us by seveal non-SOM sights, including a nice drive through some beautiful country-side. The small group made our stops quicker in that we didn't have to wait for a bunch of straggers to board the bus. And, as already mentioned, we were able to park closer than the bigger buses. I highly recommend Bob's.