Austria Itinerary - 14 nights - Your opinions please?

Hi, I%26#39;m planning on vising Austria arriving on 27Sep and departing on 11Oct.

I can do an open jaw so was thinking of arrival in Innsbruck for 4 nights, renting a car upon Innsbruck departure and staying in Hallstadt for 3 nights. I%26#39;d then drive to Salzburg, drop the rental car, and stay 7 nights in Salzburg, flying out of Salzburg.

I%26#39;ve been to Vienna and Melk so don%26#39;t plan to go to these locations.

Thought I%26#39;d take some day tours out of Salzburg and maybe 1 or so out of Innsbruck. And some driving around Hallstadt to other lake towns.

Does this itinerary make sense? Am I staying in any one place too long? Any other suggestions, please?

Thanks very much!

Kind Regards,

Joan

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While other travellers do too much in too less time, you should add another region or destination. If you would not have assigned some days in Hallstatt in order to the region from Salzburg, I%26#39;d say okay. But seven days in Salzburg are not necessary by far. Seven days are the timeframe for New York! :-)

What about the city of Graz in the Styria province or places like Zell am See with great Austrian atmosphere with mountains in the background?

Furthermore, what are you interested in?

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First of all i have to ask if you plan to go hiking -because if not, then you stay way too long in one place.

- 2-3 nights in Innsbruck and Salzburg will be enough

- in Hallstatt I would not even stay overnight as it is tiny, I would either visit the Salkammergut area as a day trip from Salzburg or stay at another lake like lake Wolfgangsee (in St. Wolfgang or St. Gilgen) for one night

What about:

- Zell am See

- Grossglockner (highest mountain of Austria)

- Graz

- South Styrian wine country, %26quot;Styrian Tuscany%26quot;(especilly nice at that time of the year)

with ist hills, wineries, the stud of the Lippizan horses and thermal spas and the castle route

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Thank you both for your replies!

I%26#39;m laughing because I am one of those who usually does 7 cities/towns in 14 days with not enough time to truly see and enjoy any one place!!!

I thought I%26#39;d take it at a more leisurely pace on this trip!

From Innsbruck, I thought I%26#39;d do day trips to Igls and Hall. And from Salzburg, am planning to do the SOM tour and Berchtesgaden tour.

Now you have me rethinking... would like to see Graz but thought it might be too far. Also, am considering Zell am Ziller and St. Gilgen or St. Wolfgang! I am also a wine lover so would love to see the wine country.

Back to the drawing board, I guess!!!

Thanks again! If you have any further input, I would truly appreciate it!

Kind Regards,

Joan

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Hi Joan,

First, where are you planning to fly in/out of?

With that amount of time I have a suggestion for an itinerary:

Stay in Innsbruck 2 or 3 nights (we prefer staying in Hall in Tirol though and visiting Innsbruck from there).

Get your car, drive south (Brenner Pass) with a stop in Sterzing/Vipetino, Brixen/Bressanone and stay 2 nights in one of the three villages (Ortisei, St. Christina and Selva) of Val Gardena amongst the spectacular Dolomites. Great cable car ride up to the Seiser Alm from Ortisei (closes end of Oct.).

Drive through the Dolomites and spend a night in Heiligenblut, Austria, at the start of the Grossglockner Road. You can easily drive the Grossglockner and spend a night or two in Hallstatt or go directly to Salzburg (although, again, we prefer staying in Ramsau (by Berchtesgaden, 20 min. drive to Salzburg). From here you could do your daytrips, as there is so much to see and do. Examples:

From Ramsau (Salzburg) Hallstatt is 1:30 min. drive.

Ludwig%26#39;s Herrenchiemsee is 1 hour drive.

Just some things to consider.

We have pic%26#39;s of these area%26#39;s at:

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html

www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/travel11.html

We%26#39;ve found that flying into/out of Munich works best for our trips to Bavaria, Austria and the Dolomites (7 so far and 5 in the last 7 years).

Hope this helps.

Paul

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Hi Paul,

Thanks so very much for your reply and sharing your photos! Your photos are fantastic!

You certainly throw a lot more into the mix for me to think about, don%26#39;t you? LOL! I certainly appreciate it and will look into your suggestions. Although... based on some of your photos, there are some roads that I don%26#39;t want to drive!

I%26#39;m using frequent flyer miles so I can do an open jaw ticket. My original thought was to fly into Innsbruck and out of Salzburg.

With everyone%26#39;s suggestions, I now don%26#39;t know where I will fly into or out of!

Thanks again!

Kind Regards,

Joan

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Hi Joan,

Sorry to add to your confusion! Just so you know, Salzburg and Innsbruck are about 2 hours drive apart. Also, and this is just my opinion, 4 nights for Innsbruck is too much and could be better spent elsewhere. Just about wherever you go in Austria, it%26#39;s all good.

Just a note, Mittenwald, Germany is about 45 minutes from Innsbruck and is probably the prettiest Bavarian village we%26#39;ve ever been to. Easy by car or train.

Paul

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We are going to spend a bit of time in Bavaria seeing as its just over the border in Germany when we go - maybe thats an option?

We are going to the lake at konigssee, which by all accounts its very picturesque

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Hi,

Thanks very much for your reply!

I was in Bavaria and along the Rhine last October for two weeks... one of my seven cities/towns in 14 days trips where I seemed to spend toooo much time in my car! It was beautiful and one on the reasons I don%26#39;t want to overbook myself this year. I%26#39;d like to be able to relax and enjoy it!

I%26#39;m now thinking of flying into Graz then work my way up to Hallstatt, St. Gilgen/St. Wolfgang (any opinions on which to stay for a night or two?), Salzburg and finally Innsbruck/Hall before flying out of Innsbruck. But... haven%26#39;t made the final decision on this yet!

Thanks again! And, have a wonderful trip!!!

Kind Regards,

Joan

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