Salzburg to Hallstatt day trip – a complete guide

A day trip from Salzburg to Hallstatt is one of the most popular excursions in Austria. But trying to figure out how to get from Salzburg to Hallstatt turns out to be harder than anticipated. This detailed guide provides you with all the information to take the frustration out of planning your day trip to Hallstatt. It also tells you what to do and see once you get there.

How to get from Salzburg to Hallstatt by train and bus

The distance from Salzburg to Hallstatt is only 71,7 km but this doesn’t mean you can travel there in under an hour. Public transport mostly requires at least one change and often a combination of bus and train travel. If you prefer to drive, the scenic road route via the Wolfgangsee and Bad Ischl also takes well over an hour.

Salzburg to Hallstatt by train

I searched many different options to find the quickest, cheapest and best-timed train from Salzburg to Hallstatt when I visited recently with a good friend from South Africa. We were looking to depart around 09:00 and coming back in the late afternoon, leaving enough time to see all the Hallstatt attractions.

Although not the fastest way to get to Hallstatt from Salzburg, the train turns out to be the easiest if you’re dependent on public transport. Besides, the journey is so scenic you won’t mind it taking a bit longer. But while the ÖBB (Austrian Railway) trains are very clean and punctual, their website is surprisingly hard to navigate when you land on it for the first time.

To search for connections I suggest you go to the ÖBB website and click on the search for route link. It will take you to this route planner where you can enter your departure and destination details. Click on the tickets and prices link on the right next to your preferred connection to get to the booking site. It will spit out a few options with prices. Follow the steps from there. (If you’re unlucky like me, it will take you to the German version. If this happens, go back to the English tickets page and enter the details manually.)

The other option is to book through GoEuro. My frustration with them is that they take you to Obertraun-Dachsteinhöhlen, the station after Hallstatt when you search for a Salzburg to Hallstatt train. I will keep on monitoring this until it’s fixed.

Salzburg to Hallstatt by bus AND train

This turned out to be the option we took. Our main motivation was that the first part of the journey, by Bus 150, takes you on the scenic lake route. And it was a full 3 minutes quicker than the above train only connection! (And did I mention cheaper?) Find the Salzburg Bus 150 timetable here.

Okay, so there are 54 possible calling points on the 1,5-hour bus journey from Salzburg to Bad Ischl but if you’re a curious traveller like me you’ll find it interesting to watch people get on and off the bus. Try and get to the bus early to increase your chance of getting the front right seats from where you have panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. We weren’t early enough but we were fortunate that the occupants got off quite quickly and we jumped to take their place.

Taking the Hallstatt ferry from the train station

If you think the Hallstatt train stops in the centre of the village (like I did before I started doing research), you are wrong. Instead, it drops you on the other side of the lake from the village. However, this turns out to be a huge advantage.

I don’t know what I expected of the Hallstatt train station, but it wasn’t the small unmanned building in an idyllic setting in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, it is easy to make your way to Hallstatt from here. In my opinion, it’s also the best way to approach the town. Most of the pretty pictures you see of the town were probably taken from the Hallstatt ferry.

Once you step off the train, just follow the footpath leading to a small lakeside building where the Hallstatt ferry awaits. Someone will sell you a ticket just before you get on board. The cost is €2,50 one way or €5 return. You might as well buy the return ticket right away if you plan to return to Salzburg by train.

The Hallstatt ferry goes 365 days a year. The timetable is conveniently set up to coincide with the arrival and departure of trains. The crossing takes about 15 minutes. The Hallstatt Market docking station, where you disembark, is a 5-minute walk from the Market Square with its colourful houses against a green mountain backdrop.

Tip: Don’t waste time to get to the ferry after leaving the train. Get on the boat as quickly as you can to secure a spot on the open front deck for the best position to take pictures of the idyllic setting.

Note: The Hallstatt ferry is operated by Hallstättersee Schifffahrt who owns four boats cruising Lake Hallstatt. The bigger boats do sightseeing round trips in summer. For €19, you can buy a combi ticket which gives you access to all the boats for one day.

Read more: Find out what the Sparschiene ticket is and other tips for cheaper and better train travel in Austria

Bus only to Hallstatt from Salzburg

Of course, it’s also possible to travel all the way from Salzburg to Hallstatt by bus. In this case you have the follow options:

Salzburg to Bad Ischl on Bus 150, as mentioned above.

Bad Ischl to Hallstatt Lahn on Bus 543. This leg of the journey takes about 40 to 45 minutes.

To go back to Salzburg from Hallstatt by bus, you will take Bus 542 from Hallstatt Lahn to Bad Ischl.

My personal opinion: While the bus is somewhat cheaper, take the train or the bus and train combination I describe above. Why? If I’m struggling to figure out the busses, you may find it even harder. However, you are welcome to try your luck here. Just remember to enter Hallstatt Lahn (at the edge of Hallstatt) as your destination.

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Getting back to Salzburg from Hallstatt

The Hallstatt to Salzburg train

The best connection for the return journey to Salzburg after a rewarding day in Hallstatt is the 16:32 train. This means you must take the 16:15 ferry back to the Hallstatt train station.

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Salzburg to Hallstatt by car

Getting to Hallstatt by car from Salzburg is possible via 2 main routes.

As you can see there’s not much difference in distance and driving time. The first route is probably the more scenic one, passing through the beautiful Salzkammergut lake district.

The second one takes the A10 highway for which you need the Austrian vignette (toll sticker) before turning off onto the B166 where you will soon travel over the Gschütt mountain pass. Get the full directions with maps for both routes here.

Hallstatt Parking

The Hallstatt historic centre and waterfront is traffic free during normal daytime hours. However, there are three big parking areas on the outskirts of town to accommodate visitors arriving by car. They are well marked and even have big electronic information boards indicating the number of free spots available. Car Park P2 is the most convenient for day visitors. Find more information here.

Hallstatt Parking Prices

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Salzburg to Hallstatt Tours or Shuttle Bus

A shuttle service or tour is a good option for a Hallstatt day trip if your time is very limited, you are travelling in a group or you just don’t want to be bothered with public transport or renting a car.

Fact or fiction?

The Chinese like Hallstatt so much they built an exact replica in China.

FACT

Fortunately, the original version of Hallstatt is still very much intact. The name Hallstatt means salt settlement. Salt has been mined here since the 2nd millennium BC. Today, visitors are simply in awe of the beautiful lakeside and mountain setting of the village where, for some part, time stood still. The remarkable Hallstatt-Dachstein Alpine landscape of which it is part has a well-deserved spot on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

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Top things to do on a day trip from Salzburg to Hallstatt

1. The Hallstatt Skywalk

To visit Hallstatt and not enjoy the UNESCO World Heritage view from the skywalk 360 m above the historic centre would be a travesty. The panorama of Lake Hallstatt, its lakeside villages, and the surrounding Alps will be forever etched in your memory.

The Hallstatt skywalk is in front of the Rudolfsturm (Rudolf’s Tower) on the Salzberg (Salt Mountain), home to the oldest salt mine in the world. The tower dates to the late 13^th century and was used as living quarters of the mine manager until 1954. Today it is a restaurant.

There are two ways to get to the top of the mountain – walking or taking a cable car. On a day trip, I will suggest taking the Salzberg cable car. The bottom station is not even a 10-minute walk from the Hallstatt tourist information office.

Hallstatt Cable Car Prices — Roundtrip

When you exit the cable car, you can walk the remaining (short, but steep) distance to the Hallstatt skywalk or take the Panorama Lift to the top. Use of the lift is included in the cable car price. Have your camera ready when exiting the lift, because you will cross a little bridge spanning a deep gorge from where you will get a taste of the views awaiting you on the skywalk.

Standing on the Hallstatt skywalk is not for the fainthearted. It helps to look into the distance instead of straight down. Plus, if you’ve made it this far, you might as well go right to the front to take the compulsory picture.

Tip: Consider visiting the salt mine if you have an extra 2 hours to spare on your Hallstatt day trip. This is where it all started 7,000 years ago. The tour through the mine is fun, interactive and informative. The oldest wooden staircase in Europe, one of the more recent discoveries in the prehistoric section of the mine, has been incorporated into a Bronze Age Cinema 400 metres below ground.

2. The Hallstatt Market Square

From salt miners, fishermen and food merchants to 500,000 tourists per year – the market square is the heart of Hallstatt and witness to an unfathomable era of ancient and modern history.

Most of the colourful houses surrounding the Holy Trinity statue on the market square were built after a devastating fire in 1750. This is where the residents celebrate age-old traditions such as the annual Corpus Christi procession. If you are lucky, you will hear the Saline band perform.

Even if nothing officially is happening, there is something happening on the Hallstatt market square. Find lunch or something to drink in one of the cafés or restaurants, buy a souvenir to remind you of your visit, or watch your fellow tourists from a quiet spot on one of the benches while licking on an ice-cream.

3. Explore the Hallstatt waterfront

A highlight of a day trip to Hallstatt is a walk along the waterfront. The walk is compulsory if you want to get from the market square to the Salzberg cable car or vice versa. However, this is one compulsory walk you will even take voluntarily. Simply follow the signs to the tourist information centre (where you will turn away to the cable car station). Or you can continue a little bit further to Hallstatt Lahn, another ship docking station, from where you have another beautiful photo angle.

Keep your eyes open for the tightly stacked timber houses on the water’s edge. The architectural masterpieces were built for the former residents to have direct access to the lake.

The photo opportunities are endless, especially if you are lucky enough to find some swan close to the water’s edge. If you don’t see a real, live swan you may see some bigger ones with people in. These are popular pedal boats that are for rent together with a few other options.

4. The Hallstatt Bone House and Catholic Church

You simply must make time to walk to the Catholic church and adjacent St Michael’s chapel on your day trip from Salzburg to Hallstatt. It’s easy to find to the right of the market square (facing the mountain). The short five to ten-minute walk weaves between the homes of the locals and is well sign-posted.

Many people skip the parish church (dating to 1505) and head straight to the Gothic chapel. Why? Because of its unique, if somewhat gory, contents – the exhumed bones of more than 1,200 people, including over 600 painted skulls.

The reason for all the human bones isn’t a mass murder or some kind of plague but rather a lack of space in the cemetery around the church. To make room for the “new dead” the “old dead” were dug up and their bones moved to St Micheal’s from as early as the 1100s.

Flowers were originally painted on the exhumed skulls to symbolize wreaths. The paintings later became more elaborate when the names and dates of birth and death of the deceased were added. Check out this link for a 360° view of the bones inside the chapel.

An entrance fee of €1,50 to the bone house is charged. The opening hours are daily from 10:00 to 18:00 from May to October and 11:30 to 15:30 (closed Mondays and Thursdays) from November to April.

Read more: How we made the most of our Salzburg Card to explore the city of Mozart and the Sound of Music.

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Where to eat and drink in Hallstatt

Rudolfsturm

The Rudolfsturm Restaurant is an excellent spot for lunch after you’ve plucked up the courage to stand on the Hallstatt skywalk. And for a restaurant with a World Heritage view its prices compare well to that of the average Austrian restaurant.

We shared a typical Austrian Jausenplatte (snack plate) consisting of bread, cheeses, cold meats, hardboiled eggs, and bread spreads. It was more than enough for two. Other traditional Austrian dishes on the menu include schnitzel, knödel (dumplings) and Apfelstrudel (apple strudel).

Braügasthof

The Braügasthof has been brewing and serving beer since 1504 when it first got its license from Emperor Maximilian I. Today, it is a small hotel with a guest garden/restaurant on the water’s edge opposite the road. You can’t miss it on the way between the market square and the tourist information centre. Try the fresh fish from the lake!

Café Derbl

You can’t miss Café Derbl in the big yellow building on one corner of the market square. They literally serve everything – from cakes and pizza to schnitzel and salads. They also brew and serve their own craft beer called Hallstatt. Das Bier.

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Read more: Visit the Eisriesenwelt in Werfen on another day trip from Salzburg

Practical Tips and Information for your Salzburg to Hallstatt day trip

• Keep your €0,50 coins for the public toilets in the historic centre. They are on your right on a little side street off the main pedestrian road just after the market square (direction tourist information office).
• There is a wi-fi hotspot on the market square.
• Make sure you have enough cash on you because many restaurants and shops don’t accept credit or debit cards. Alternatively, ask about card facilities before you order or buy.
• If you visit Hallstatt in June you may have the chance to witness one of the age-old traditions when the locals celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi or Fronleichnam on the Market Square and beautifully decorated boats on the lake.

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Map to get around Hallstatt

 

Read more: If you liked Hallstatt and Salzburg, you will love Innsbruck. 

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