Hi there, does anyone know the easiest way to travel from Cologne Germany to the town of Hallstatt Austria. I assume a train to begin with then possibly a car, but not sure on the best route as well as where is a good place to stay in Hallstatt. Thankyou very much
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
To find routings, use the German Rail website and the Austrian Rail website, www.oebb.at.
The train will take you from Köln to Salzburg, with possible changes in Frankfurt and Munich.
From Salzburg, it is very easy to get to Hallstatt entirely by train with a change in Attnang-Puchheim, then a train via Bad Ischl to the Hallstätter Bahnhof across the lake from Hallstatt. (I think Rick describes this route in his guidebooks).
It's a little faster to take a bus from in front of the Salzburg Hbf directly to Bad Ischl rather than go roundabout through Attnang-Puchheim.
Last August, I took the bus from Bad Ischl to Hallstatt, because the bus stop is at the south end of town, in Lahn, and so were my accommodations.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
I never thought I'd say this, but I don't like the routes that German Rail is giving for the entire trip, Köln to Hallstatt. Most seem to be around 13 hours without going through Salzburg. And yet you can do Köln to Salzburg in less than 7 hours and Salzburg to Hallstatt (on Austian Rail's website) in 2-2½ hrs. I think I'd put together a schedule using both websites.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19275 posts
On second viewing, I see that those long trips start later in the day and involve an overnight trip/stayover. If you leave early in the morning, you can do it in 8½ hrs.
I personally never leave before 9 AM (it's uncivilized), but as long as you leave before 9, you can get to Hallstatt by dinner time. I see, for instance, an 8:55 train out of Köln, with a change at Frankfurt airport, via Regensburg and Passau (no change), to Wells, Austria, then a connecting train via Attnang-Puchheim and Bad Ischl to Hallstatt around 17:30.