Final Itinerary Question--HELP PLEASE!!!!

Hi Kristen, I'm looking forward to the other replies to your question. We just spent 6 weeks in Italy, 3 of them in timeshares. The day of our first timeshare reservation, a train derailed which put us on a later train which got us to our rental car pick-up within seconds of the rental car office closing. It was very stressful but it all worked out in the end. Have you contacted the timeshare reception about the 4:00 pm check-in? Our experience was that we couldn't check in before 4:00pm but had until 8:00 pm. I don't know how long your travel time is but I would suggest getting the earliest train departure that you can get in the morning. I would hate to give up a day in either Rome or Venice. I hope that someone on this forum can gve you better info. The train schedules should be of great help too. Ciao, Sherry

Kristen, If you check the detailed timetables on the German Rail site, you'll see that you cannot wait until Saturday morning to leave Venice. If you travel Venezia Santa Lucia-Verona-Innsbruck-Salzburg, the earliest you can arrive is 15:07. If you take the bus to Villach and a train from there to Salzburg, the earliest you can arrive is 15:48. The last bus you could take to Villach on Friday leaves at 18:40. If you take the direct night train on Friday that departs at 21:05, you will arrive in Salzburg at 04:09. That will give you a full last day and part of an evening in Venice. Only you can decide if it's worth it to lose some sleep to have a little more than two extra hours in Venice.

Hi Kristen, Just a heads up on the drive time from Salzburg to St. Martin bei Lofer... it's closer to an hour, not 20 minutes. Sorry to have to say this, but I think it's important to know before finalizing your plans. Also, if you'll use the highway, even for the shortest of time, be sure your car has the Austrian Vignette (toll sticker) on the windshield. If not, you'll have to stop and buy one. http://goeurope.about.com/od/austria/qt/vignette-austria.htm www.german-way.com/autobahn2.html Paul

So helpful; however, more questions now arise. I will check the German railsite, but if you already know, is there a train/bus to St. Martin bei Lofer from Innsbruck or Villach? That would make it much easier--we could transfer in either Innsbruck or Villach (depending on which route) and eliminate Salzburg stop since St. Martin is an hour away (not 20 min). I'd rather not have a car anyway. This is a surprise 50th for my husband and he'd be much more relaxed not drive (with 3 kids in the backseat) although not sure how accessible our timeshare is without a car. Has anyone visited Schloss Grubhof?

Looks like St. Martin bei Lofer is closer to Innsbruck than Villach so is that route from Venice advised? It sounds like it has a lot more stops than the Venice Villach route. So confused at this point. Just want to see enjoy Salzburg, Hallstatt and Fussen for a week. Sounds simple, right? What about late evening train Venice to Innsbruck, stay overnight there and morning train to St. Martin bei Lofer? But is there a train to St. Martin bei Lofer. Checked the german rail site and there are severl St. Martin...... places but none say bei Lofer. What about a bus? or maybe we should rent a car in Innsbruck?

Seems I remember some of this discussion before. There are no trains to St. Martin bei Lofer. There are some buses from St. Johann or from Saalfelden, both of which are on the rail line between Innsbruck and Salzburg. The German Rail website doesn't often show buses in Austria, but the Austrian Rail website, www.oebb.at, does. Put in, for example, From:Innsbruck To: "St. Martin bei Lofer" as the destination. That will show you connections. Unfortunately, on a Saturday, your transport options are somewhat limited. For Sept 22, I see a connection leaving Innsbruck at 9:28, making 3 connections, and getting to St. Martin Ortsmitte (town center) at 3:36 PM. Earlier than that, I see a connection leaving Innsbruck at 8:52 and getting to St. Martin at 11:36 with 2 changes. You can also leave St. Martin at 8:24, make only one change (at Zell am See) and getting to St. Martin (Ortsmitte) at 11:36. All these connections would assume you staying the night in Innsbruck. Leaving from Villach, assuming you spent the night there, there is only one suitable connection, leaving Villach at 9:14 and getting to St. Martin with one change at 13:49.

Kristen;
We stayed at a timeshare east of Saalfelden past Maria Alm. IMO need a car to see the area. Someone already posted that there is no train in St. Martin B Lofer.

I also seem to remember from the previous discussion that I found a bus connection through the Berchtesgaden area of Germany (Bad Reichenhall) from Salzburg to St. Martin. I'll try to find it again. That would probably require spending the previous night in Salzburg.

Hi, St. Martin/Lofer is about 30 miles/1 hour from Salzburg. The drive time is because it's mostly secondary roads. From Innsbruck it's 74 miles/about 1:30 with more highway driving. Villach is about 130 miles/2:30 from St. Martin/Lofer. Personally, I would like having a car in the St. Martin/Lofer area. While I'm not familiar with public transportation in Austria, I'd go with renting a car in either Innsbruck or Salzburg. Both drives are straight forward and pretty easy. Just depends which scenario works best for you. Paul

Its all finally coming together. Was able to change flight so extra day gives us night in Innsbruck where we will rent car for rest of trip. Thanks everyone.