Salzburg Hallstatt itinerary — The Hallstatt trip from Salzburg for 3 days in Austria

Have you heard of Austria? If so, you probably know a very worldwide famous figure of this country is the great composer Mozart right?! But Austria has more than just Mozart, pack your suitcase and explore Salzburg – the Mozart’s hometown – and Hallstatt – a picturesque village amidst magnificent and breathtaking natural scenery. So, what to do and how to spend 3 days in Austria perfectly on a budget? Let’s check out our suggested Austria itinerary 3 days with a very detailed Salzburg Hallstatt itinerary to explore the 2 most Austria’s beautiful destinations of Salzburg and Hallstall with Hallstatt trip from Salzburg (Salzburg Hallstatt day trip).

Salzburg Hallstatt itinerary — Day 1: Discover ancient Salzburg

Salzburg is a small city, so you only need more than 2 days to fully explore this city. I’ve put together a short list of 5 places I’ve visited and these are my selected places for you to not spend much time to visit too many castles, churches. These places will help you discover Salzburg’s lifestyle, culture, and architecture most specifically.

The road to the Hohensalzburg Fortress: This 11th century fortress is the symbol of Salzburg, you will find this structure at the highest point in the city, walk and stop by at this beautiful medieval fortress, the way up here is also very beautiful, especially in the fall.

Hellbrunn Palace: The beautiful architecture built in the 17th century during the Renaissance. A beautiful building to visit. Sometimes there will be classical concerts for you to listen to music in the place where Mozart was born. (Address: Fürstenweg 37, 5020 Salzburg, Austria/Hours: 9:30AM–7PM).

Get lost in the old town of Salzburg: The historic centre of the city of Salzburg is a UNESCO world heritage site, a must-visit place because you can see many famous tourist attractions with just a few steps. The entire city is really an old town but Salzburg Old Town is recognized in the area of ​​Salzburg Cathedral & the well-known Getreidegasse shopping street where you can admire the quaint architecture and make the most of your time to shopping lots of local products. Here you can also visit the Plaza de Mozart where there is a large bronze statue of Mozart.

Petersfriedhof: The Saint Peter’s Cemetery and burial place at Nonnberg Abbey monastery – the oldest cemetery in the Austrian city of Salzburg, located at the foot of the mount Festungsberg with the Hohensalzburg Fortress atop of it. It is one of Salzburg’s most popular tourist attractions, with its unique baroque architecture. If you on the way to visit Hohensalzburg, why not stop by?!

Strolling along the banks of the Salzach River: It is not like the Seine River, but it is the place to help you see the most complete Salzburg panorama. Crossing the beautiful Salzach river, there is also a love bridge that many couple locked their love locks, the bridge is very sturdy unlike Paris, so your love lock will not be removed. If possible, you should book a cruise tour to sailing along the river to see the whole city.

Salzburg Hallstatt day trip — Day 2: Lost in Austrian countryside in picturesque village of Hallstatt

Many of you will choose to go from Vienna to Salzburg, but I sincerely recommend that going from Salzburg will be more beautiful because you have the option of taking a bus that will help you admire the whole Austrian countryside.

Bus 150 from Salzburg will take you to the village of Bad Ischl then bus 542 will continue to take you to Hallstatt Lahn. When you come to Hallstatt, what should you do?

• Walking around Lake Hallstattersee to see nature, wooden ancient houses
• Get lost in the fairy-tale village of Hallstatt with its charming old houses
• Get on the cable car to go to the salt mine
• Or take the cable car to reach the Top of Hallstatt to have a panoramic view of Hallstatt from above

 

You can choose to spend a night in Hallstatt or return to Salzburg to stay because Salzburg will cost you less.

Hallstatt trip from Salzburg — Day 3: Salzburg again or climb Dachstein mountain

This time you can choose as you want, drop by cafes, delicious restaurants in Salzburg to taste local specialty or climb Dachstein mountain. But you should note a big thing is that Dachstein Krippenstein will be closed in November because it is the low season. I highly recommend you going to this place if you intend to spend a night in Hallstatt as it’s only a 10 minute bus or taxi ride away. If you departing from Salzburg, remember to go early to be able to explore both Hallstatt and Dachstein on the same journey. The bus fares is also quite cheap, less than 10 euros/trip.

You also can combine to visit Salzburg, Hallstatt and Dachstein in one day trip but it’s quite rush. However if you plan to visit in summer, it’s possible because European summer days are longer than in other seasons.

Salzburg Hallstatt itinerary: Which season should I go?

The fall from October to November is the best season to visit both Salzburg and Hallstatt because the weather is pleasant, not too cold and not too hot. Especially nature is dyed in impressive yellow that makes landscape look more splendid than ever.

Winter from December to February is also quite an impressive season, also a good time to come because you can see and playing with snow in the ancient village of Hallstatt and skiing in Dachstein. However, at this time, the temperature down to -10ºC will make you a bit uncomfortable.

Spring from March to May is the most pleasant season, you can still witnessing snow in Dachstein but you can’t skiing, but in return, this season has more sunny days. I will not recommend going in summer, because it is quite hot.

Salzburg Hallstatt day trip: Where should I stay?

I recommend staying in Salzburg if your budget is not very big. a&o Salzburg Hauptbahnhof (Agoda.com or Booking.com) is my favorite hotel because there is a dorm bed option for only $25/night, or a double room for 2 people is $65/night. Especially, it owns modern space, many amenities as well as located only 200m from Salzburg Hbf station.

However, if you like the feeling of waking up in a European village, staying in Hallstatt is not too bad, the cheapest price for a double room in Hallstatt is about $60/night.

You can find more, check rates, availability & booking for Hallstatt hotels on Agoda.com or Booking.com.

Getting around Salzburg

Salzburg is small so you can moving easily with… your feet. However, if you are lazy, you can buy a 24h pass O-bus and single bus tickets for only 4 euros/person/24h to getting between different tourist attractions. However, public transport starts operating at 5:30 am.

Salzburg airport is also very close to the center, if your flight depart too early, you can take a taxi for only 15 euros/way from Salzburg Hbf station.

Salzburg Hallstatt day trip: Getting from Salzburg to Hallstatt by bus

As mentioned above, from Salzburg to Hallstatt by bus, you have to travel by 2 different buses, transit at the village of Bad Ischl. Traveling time is about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Bus 150 from Salzburg to Bad Ischl

From Salzburg, at Central Station, take the bus 150 to Bad Ischl. Wait 20 minutes, there will be the next bus 542 to Hallstatt.

Bus 542 from Bad Ischl to Hallstatt Lahn

Take the bus 542 and Post Bus, when you get on bus 542, sit and waiting for the last stop, and the driver will ask you to transfer to the waiting Post Bus to Hallstatt Lahn, if you want to climb the snow mountain of Dachstein, just tell them to take you to Ice Cave. The last bus from Hallstatt Lahn back to Bad Ischl is at 5:30pm, so you have to watch time carefully.

You can buy tickets when you get on the bus, no need to book in advance.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Hallstatt you can refer to

• Hallstatt Day Tour from Salzburg
• Hallstatt Day Tour from Vienna
• Hallstatt Alpine Panoramic Day Tour from Vienna
• Melk, Hallstatt, and Salzburg Private Day Tour from Vienna

Are you looking for more Hallstatt travel guide. Let’s check it out here. Salzburg here and Austria here.