Salzburgerland is the region around Salzburg in Austria. Famed for its beautiful mountains, rivers, and lakes (and The Sound of Music), Salzburgerland is perfect for outdoor adventures. Here’s my itinerary for a week in Salzburgerland, Austria.
For my first trip overseas in two and a half years, and my first trip overseas with my partner who I met during that time, it felt tough choosing where to go.
I was desperate to visit a new country, but in March 2022 we were still nervous about travel due to Covid. We both enjoy the outdoors so we were looking for somewhere to mix a city break with with some hikes.
We settled on Austria as we could fly from our closest airport to Salzburg with a budget airline. Years ago I read a National Geographic Traveller insert about Salzburgerland and was inspired by the beautiful scenery. It seemed perfect – and it was!
Here’s my itinerary for a week in Salzburgerland.
Itinerary for a week in Salzburgerland
Days 1-3 Spend 3 days in Salzburg
Salzburg is a beautiful small city set against a backdrop of mountains. The Castle oversees pretty streets and a large river.
It’s a pleasant spot to spend a few days exploring the castle, walking up the surrounding hills for views of the city, and sampling the traditional and modern eateries that Salzburg has to offer.
We spent three nights in Salzburg which was enough to explore and get a good feel for the place.
For more detailed information on things to do in Salzburg read my post: A Weekend in Salzburg, Austria – Things To Do
Day 4 Travel to Bad Ischl
We hired a car to travel between locations for our week in Salzburgerland. This was a fairly expensive option but worth it to explore places a little off the beaten track.
We found Europcar to be the least expensive and the prices are cheaper the further in advance you book the car. Though not in the centre of the city, it was a short bus ride from Mirabell to pick up the car.
We chose to stay in Bad Ischl for our second stop because it’s about a 30 minute drive from Hallstatt, which was firmly on our bucket list. Bad Ischl is a cute town with a small river running through it and a view of the surrounding snow-capped mountains.
The drive from Europcar in Salzburg took about 1 hour.
Where to stay in Bad Ischl
The hotels in Bad Ischl are cheaper and have more availability than those in Hallstatt itself. We stayed at the Hotel Goldener Ochs, right beside the river. Our room was fairly basic but had a pleasant private courtyard attached. The location was good with a secure underground car park.
Salzkammergut Thermal Spa
On the day we arrived in Bad Ischl we visited the Salzkammergut Thermal Spa on a bit of a whim. We were glad we did as it was lovely. Lay back in the warm waters outside and relax with a view of the mountains. A single Adult ticket for up to 4 hours costs 19.50 EUR and is absolutely worth it.
The drawback of visiting Salzburgerland in off-season (winter) is that many restaurants are closed until April, so our choices for dinner were rather limited. We ate in the hotel on our first night and the food, whilst only basic Austrian fare, was nice enough for a schnitzel.
Day 5 Visit Hallstatt
Breakfast at Hotel Goldener Ochs was included and was a very good buffet with very pleasant staff. We were happy to eat here both mornings we stayed.
We drove the 30 minutes to Hallstatt along the winding mountain roads in our hire car. I found it tough driving here in our manual rental car on the opposite side of the road to the UK, but we made it ok.
We did get no less than three speeding tickets this day though! I’m a careful driver, however the speed limits are not very clearly marked on the way – so be careful, particularly in Bad Ischl itself. We never received the fines from the Austrian authority, but we did have to pay two 30 EUR admin charges to Europcar.
Still, Hallstatt was completely worth it and surpassed our high expectations. Hallstatt is a UNESCO World Heritage site and it is absolutely stunning. Wander the small town, and hike (or take the funicular) up to the viewing platform for spectacular views of the town, lake and mountains.
I loved Hallstatt so much that I’ve written a separate post about it. It was the highlight of our week in Salzburgerland. Read How to Spend a Day in Hallstatt.
For dinner we ate at Restaurant Weinhaus Attwenger in Bad Ischl once we had returned from Hallstatt. We had a steak and a burger, with beer and wine, and it was really very good. We had planned to eat here on the first night, but found it closed, so were pleased to see it open on day two.
Day 6 – Stop at Wolfgangsee and Travel to Bad Gestein
After breakfast at the hotel and a quick walk into the town to buy some lebkuchen for snacks and gifts (it was close to Mothers’ Day) we drove towards Wolfgangsee.
Ultimately heading to the larger mountains in Bad Gestein, Wolfgangsee was a 17 minute detour. We had driven through on the way from Salzburg to Bad Ischl and it looked so beautiful that we were compelled to go back to explore.
Wolfgangsee didn’t disappoint and it ended up being our favourite location on the trip. We stopped there for a couple of hours to walk around the stunning lake and grab a snack for lunch.
There is an easy hiking trail along the edge of a lake, which is partly boardwalk, and has a short woodland trail up a hill which makes for spectacular views.
The crystal clear water with mountains in the background was well worth the short detour on our journey. After this we drove on to Bad Gestein, marveling at the huge mountains on the way. This journey took about 1 hour 45 minutes – the longest of the trip.
Day 7 – A hike and a thermal spa in Bad Hofgastein
Where to stay in Bad Gastein
The last stop for our week in Salzburgerland was Bad Gastein. We stayed in an Airbnb, Haus Seidl, which was in a lovely quiet location close to a supermarket and a very good restaurant. The host was lovely and helpful, and gave us a discount card for activities in the area.
We hadn’t realised that she also lived in the apartment block and communication about how to let her know we had arrived wasn’t very clear. Nothing that couldn’t be solved by asking for clarity before you arrive.
Hike from Bad Hofgastein
We used Kamoot to find a hike in Bad Hofgastein. There are plenty to choose from with different lengths and difficulties. We chose a short hike (a couple of hours) starting in the town and heading up the mountain. There was a cafe at the top, but we sat at a nearby bench instead, taking in the view of the snowy peaks.
We chose a short hike this time as we were only in Bad Hofgastein for a couple of days, and we needed to allow time for lunch and the spa.
Have lunch at Hotel Blu
After our hike we went into Bad Hofgastein for lunch and found Hotel Blu. The food was great, staff were friendly, and it was a cool atmosphere to relax and recover either inside or out in the winter sun.
Visit Alpentherme, Bad Hofgastein
We went to Bad Hofgastein because I’d seen a picture of the outdoor thermal spa, Alpentherme, with the snow-capped mountains in the background.
We spent the afternoon here and it was a complex of indoor and outdoor thermal pools. Most of the walls were glass so, even when inside, there are beautiful views of the mountains. You can see a few ski slopes from here too.
From the website we had thought that the two large swimming lakes were heated. We were disappointed to discover that they are not, and are not open in the winter – so the outside area was a lot smaller than we had anticipated.
It was still worth a visit though!
Day 8 – Travel home
All good trips come to an end and on day 8 we ended our week in Salzburgerland and drove the 1 hour 15 minutes to Salzburg Airport. We had arranged to drop off the car at Europcar at the airport, so things were nice and easy.
Salzburg airport is quite small, with just one area to wait in for all gates with one cafe. Ideally not somewhere you’d want to be stuck for hours, but everything you need while you wait for your flight home.
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