47.56° N · 13.65° E
A region of lakes and mountains east of Salzburg, linked since prehistoric times to salt mining. Hallstatt and the Dachstein massif have been a World Heritage site since 1997.
Part of Alps
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Funicular to the Salzberg high valley, Skywalk above the lake and a guided mine tour with slides; €49 with funicular, from age 4.
Cable car from Obertraun to the Dachstein Giant Ice Cave (–2 °C) and the 5fingers platform, above a 400 m drop; cave from May to November.
A rack railway of 1893 from St. Wolfgang to the Schafberg summit (1,783 m) in 35 minutes; €61 return, April to November.
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From May to October, with the ice cave, the mine and the Schafberg railway running. July and August bring more people to Hallstatt. In winter the mine is open and you can ski at the Krippenstein.
How you travel
The ways of travelling that suit Salzkammergut. We are writing a guide to each one: where to stay, how to get around and which services you will need.
By carCar-freeBy bikeOn footCampingBy campervan
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
The Salzkammergut has plans for every age within a short distance: a mine with slides, an ice cave, boats and flat walks beside the water.
With children under six, the Salzkammergut is best enjoyed in short stretches: a boat, a flat walk, a visit that does not last more than an hour.
Teenagers get hooked on anything with a touch of adventure: sliding down the mine's slides, leaning out over the 5fingers or going into a frozen cave.
Where to stay
Why we like it: Hotel spread across three old houses in the centre of Hallstatt, with the main one on the landing stage, a sauna with a view of the church and family suites with a lake view.
Why we like it: A guesthouse with a restaurant on the shore of the Vorderer Gosausee, facing the Dachstein glacier, with rooms with a balcony onto the lake. Closed until 29 January 2027 inclusive; reopens on the 30th.
Why we like it: Upper-range four-star hotel on the shore of the Wolfgangsee, in St. Wolfgang, with a heated pool in the lake itself, saunas and several restaurants.
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: the grilled Reinanke with parsley potatoes, the dish the house recommends.
What to order: a slice of Zaunerstollen or one of the buffet cakes with a Melange.
What to order: the fish from the nearby lakes, which the house suggests as its speciality.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
From the station, the Stefanie crosses with every train for €4. It is the best first view of the village.
Both take a long half day and both are cold.
The Hallstatt boat does not accept cards.
In the middle hours of the day the tour groups fill its streets. Go early or late in the afternoon and spend midday on the Krippenstein or in Gosau.
Fly to Salzburg, or to Munich or Vienna and continue by train. From Salzburg, regional buses run to St. Wolfgang and Bad Ischl. For Hallstatt, the train on the Attnang-Puchheim to Stainach-Irdning line stops at Hallstatt station, on the opposite shore, and the Stefanie boat takes you across to the village with every train.
With a car it is easier to combine Hallstatt, Gosau and the Wolfgangsee in the same day. Without one it works just as well, with trains and regional buses, but you need to check timetables. Hallstatt has restricted access for cars and the car parks at the entrance fill up: arrive by train or very early.
To have Hallstatt without the crowds, sleep in the village: the Heritage.Hotel Hallstatt spreads its rooms across three old houses in the centre, with the main one on the boat quay. On the shore of the Gosausee, facing the Dachstein, the Gasthof Gosausee is a simple house with a restaurant (closed until 29 January 2027). On the Wolfgangsee, at the foot of the Schafberg, the Romantik Hotel Im Weissen Rössl has a heated pool above the lake.
To eat in Hallstatt, the Seewirt Zauner, on the square, cooks lake fish (closed Sunday and Monday), and the Restaurant Seeauer, by the quay, is open every day. In Bad Ischl, the classic stop is the Konditorei Zauner, a pastry shop since 1832.
Hallstatt receives a huge number of visitors in a tiny village. Sleep there or arrive before nine, and leave the centre by mid-morning for the mine or the Krippenstein. Buy the mine and the summer Dachstein combined tickets online; the rest on the day.
Questions
Three: one for Hallstatt and the mine, another for the Krippenstein and another for the Wolfgangsee and the Schafberg.
Yes. Hallstatt has a train station and a boat; St. Wolfgang and Bad Ischl have buses from Salzburg.
Yes. The mine admits children from 4 years old, the ice cave is suitable for any age and the walk around the Gosausee can be done with a pushchair.
The ice cave closes in winter; the mine, from 7 to 29 January 2027; the Schafberg railway only reaches the summit from late April to early November.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/austria/upper-austria/salzkammergut
