Two weeks in Austria

We (myself %26amp; my wife) will arrive in Salzburg from San Francisco on July 13 (Sunday)afternoon and plan to be in Alps area for 2 weeks.

Until July 19th we will be in Maria Alm and then we plan to stay in St Johann im Pongau till the 26th.

We hope some one can help to get some information on the following:

1. What is the cheapest way to go from Salzburg airport to Maria Alm. (In our previous inquiry in this forum we learn the way to take the train, thanks to Vertical). Please let us know whether any other low cost %26amp; easy way with baggage

2. Interesting places to see around Maria Alm

NOTE: We understand Zell Am See is a nice place to visit close to Maria Alm. How can we go from Maria Alm to Zell Am See

3. How to go from Maria Alm to St Johann im Pongau

4. Interesting places to see around St Johann im Pongau

5. How to go from St Johann im Pongau to Salzburg airport

Thanks in advance for your help.

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Most transport-related questions can be answered by this link of Austrian Railways (ÖBB) including a point2point tool named Scotty:

http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/en

Another poster requested information about the %26#39;Liechtensteinklamm%26#39;, a canyon that can be toured.

www.liechtensteinklamm.at

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The train bus connection I mentioned before is the least costly transfer.

The easiest is a dedicated taxi transfer- but not low cost

like

Pfeiffer taxi

www.taxi71713.at/eng

for information on Maria Alm interesting places etc.

bus and/or train connection 30-40 minutes

www.mariaalm.at

visit choices include ice caves, salt mines , of course the city of Salzburg

Your time share hotel should have various information or propaganda for many places.

easy way Maria Alm - Zell

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Davis - depending on budget I would consider hiring a car at least for part of the time you are in Austria. The public transport systems are reliable but services are not always very frequent away from the towns so a car gives you alot more freedom. The roads are rarely busy and distances are short so driving is very easy. St Johann is within a short drive of loads of great places to visit. Zell am See is ~30 minutes drive and the Grossglocknerstrasse starts close to Zell. You can visit the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun or the Dachstein Glacier above Ramsau. In the other direction, within about an hour%26#39;s drive you can get to Hallstatt, arguably the loveliest lake. There are wonderful walking paths suited to all fitness levels from every village in the area and some of the loveliest villages are more easily reached by car. Swimming in natural lakes or the all weather pool at Wagrain. There is golf at Radstadt. From Maria Alm, the main activity will be walking but you can reach Kitzbuhel quite easily from Saalfelden which is just down the road. Someone mentioned the Liechtensteinklamm, a stunning gorge close to St Johann, and the fortress at Werfen can be reached by train or car from St Johann in %26lt;30 minutes. The ice caves are also close to Werfen. There are also all the sights in Salzburg which you can get to by train from St Johann or by car in less than an hour. You will easily occupy your time but will need to plan carefully if you rely on public transport. If you are restricted to public transport, check with your resort in Maria Alm, you never know they may also a transfer service slightly lower cost than a taxi. Going back from St Johann should be easy as it%26#39;s on the line to Salzburg so you can travel by train to the main station and then take a 10 minute bus ride (or taxi) to the airport. For Maria Alm to St Johann - you will need to take a bus to Bischofshofen and then probably change to another bus/train to St Johann.

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Hello Everyone who responded to my request.

Thank you very much for your ideas and information regarding our trip. We greatly appreciate your inputs.

One more thing to clarify:

What kind of train tickets are suitable for low cost travel for 2 people (Male: 64 yrs %26amp; female: 60 yrs)

a. within Austria

b. go to Switzerland (If we go to Switzerland, is it possible to return the same day)

THANKS.

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