The tiny village at the end of the small train-track was the last hope of adding a chapter in the journal, but it ended up becoming a novel. From the moment after getting off the train and lay eyes upon it, you need the cool gust of wind to remind that you are not dreaming. Look up, the mountains will offer you the calmness you seek. Look down, you’ll find all the peace in the white swans on the lake. Take a look through the window, the scarlet train wishes you a fresh morning. Look straight. The scene from the cover page of your drawing book is in front of your very eyes. Take a look beyond and you will find that amazed by her own beauty, nature has chosen silence as her best reply. Welcome to Hallstatt, a paradise on Earth
You know that you need to wake up early but you are not going to bed. How can you? It’s your first snowfall experience.. That too from the comfort of your Hotel balcony
You know the last bus to town has left long ago and the darkness ahead reminds you the end of the world but do you care? No. Because it will be a walk to remember.
You are in the middle of a snowy hike with no clear indication of the end point and going downhill looks more risky but are you scared?
Every move of you is planned but you suddenly notice that your bus to town is de-routed and riding mountains to reach ski resort. You want to know if you are in correct bus but the pilot doesn’t speak your language.
Your train is running late but you have a connecting train departing in less than ten minutes and if that’s gone, then your flight is at stake. Sounds tensed?
Our trip to Hallstatt, the quaint Austrian Alpine town, and Obertraun, its elder, sober but under estimated sister was so memorable that from the moment we boarded the regional train till we fastened our seatbelt in the return flight, we crafted stories. Stories that remain colorful in the grayest days of life, stories too fresh to feel like past and stories, even told thousand times, don’t seem to be repeating.
It was merely a weekend trip. Well, that’s normal you’d say. People even do a day trip. But the crazy part is our trip to Hallstatt was a weekend trip from Amsterdam 🙂 . Oh! And have I told you that I planned for eight months for this weekend trip? I have heard a lot that morning and evening are the prime time for Hallstatt as it’s far less crowded with almost no day trippers in place so we decided to stay near the city centre. However we haven’t found any suitable budget option so we chose Obertraun without much knowledge of what to expect there. Today, I can proudly say that’s probably the best thing we did and Obertraun really really deserves much more attention and in some cases, she really complements her exuberant little sister.
This blog post can answer many question of yours like “How to reach Hallstatt from Vienna?”, “Are shops/restaurants of Hallstatt closed in Winter?”, “Should I stay overnight?”, “How is public transport service (read bus/ferry/train) in Winter?”, “From where to capture the postcard angle photo?” and finally “Is Hallstatt worth it?”
Arriving Hallstatt/Obertraun
The most online articles explain reaching Hallstatt starting from Salzburg. But if this is your first or last destination of your trip and you are travelling via flight then it is absolutely possible to arrive at Hallstatt via Vienna or Munich. I myself traveled to Hallstatt on a weekend trip from Amsterdam via Vienna airport. One of my friend visited Hallstatt via Munich on a long weekend trip (3 nights stay) and combined it with Munich, Zugspitze and Neuschwanstein Castle which is also perfectly doable. But in this post I will be explaining the route from Vienna to Obertraun via Hallstatt and share some very useful travel tips
First thing first. The town of Hallstatt and the Hallstatt station are in the opposite side of the lake. So, you can’t simply arrive by train to the town centre of Hallstatt. Talking about the train, there’s only one regional route from an Austrian town Attnang Puchheim to the fairytale Obertraun dachsteinhöhlen (In short Obertraun). Whether you come from Vienna or Munich or Salzburg or any other major city, you have to come to Attnang Puchheim and continue onwards journey to Obertraun. The train service is run by OBB (Yes! that’s the train you are looking at the above photo). It’s very regular but not punctual. When we arrived at Obertraun from Attnang Puchheim, it was around 15 minutes late and when we reached Attnang Puchheim from Hallstatt Bahnhof (which is the train stop before Obertraun), it was around 13 minutes late.
Wait. You are saying that Hallstatt comes before Obertraun so why the hell do I need to go to Obertraun? Everybody talks about Hallstatt so there should be some way to reach the town from the station. Why spend some extra time in an already long train journey?
Well ! You are partly correct. If you get down at Hallstatt station (Search for Hallstatt Bahnhof in Google), you have a very clear indication to the ferry terminal (1 minute downhill walk). The train and ferry timing are perfectly in sync. So, there is absolutely no chance that you will miss the ferry even if your train is running late because the ferry waits for the train to arrive (otherwise it will have no passenger to carry). Get down from the train, purchase ferry ticket, board the ferry and enjoy a 10 minute boat ride through fairytale. There is both indoor seating and outdoor viewing deck. Don’t worry, me and my wife enjoyed the outdoor deck even in freezing cold of January. The ferry is called Stephanie and it runs 365 days a year. It remains crowded but not too much. The only word of caution is that the counter takes cash only payment.
The other alternate is to travel till Obertraun (the last stop for the train which is 2-3 more minutes ride from Hallstatt Bahnhof) then you have the possibility to reach Hallstatt town by road. After getting down the train, you need to cross the train line and there is a bus stop. It is very much possible that you will not recognise it as a bus stop and get immersed in the beauty of the quaint town covered all around by high mountains (More to that later, Sorry I can’t keep myself from thinking how picturesque Obertraun was during our trip). The bus (#543) and the train timing are not in sync but if you reach the Bus stop then the timetable is there and you can plan your journey. The bus ride takes around 20minutes to reach Hallstatt town centre (A different place from where the ferry alights you but nearby). It’s also possible to walk from Obertraun to Hallstatt (A little less than 6km flat road) and I have tremendous experience of it so continue reading on 🙂
Is it necessary (and possible) to book tickets in advance?
For the Stephanie Ferry or the Bus from Obertraun and Hallstatt (and vice versa), it’s not possible to book tickets in advance. For the regional train from Attnang Puchheim to Hallstatt/Obertraun or vice-versa, it is possible but not necessary (unless you want to save time by not purchasing at the train station). Seat reservation is not possible but seat availability is almost guaranteed and if you are travelling in a group of 4 or less then most likely you would be able to seat together also. The most important factor (For me at least), does the price differ if you book on the same day or before? No, it does not.
The story is different for the train from Vienna (Same from Munich or Salzburg) to Attnang Puchheim or vice-versa. For these, it’s best to book as early as possible because of steep rise of fare as your date of journey approaches. Also, if you would like to seat together then it’s good to reserve seat. For us, we reserved one way but for the return journey, we got seat from the very beginning but not together. After sometime, we managed to seat together. The seat reservation comes with an extra cost and in the ticket, both coach number and seat number will be clearly displayed. The interesting part is that in the coach, on top of the seats (just below the overhead luggage compartment), you can see a yellow light with the reservation from and to station for the person who reserved the seat. If the light is off that means the seat in unreserved
I regularly use the service of trainline. The service is reliable, fast with a perfect mobile app. The reason I trust this company so much is that during corona virus pandemic, I got timely and to the point support regarding cancellation and refund for multiple train companies across Germany, Austria, Italy and France.
If you want to book directly, then OBB also has a wonderful website (also a mobile app). The price generally remains exactly same in trainline and OBB. If you want to travel from Germany then the ticket can be purchased via Deutsche Bahn website. Again, you can expect same ticket price but a point to remember is that when you are travelling from Germany to an international destination (outside Germany) then you cannot use your travel voucher for DBahn.
Obertraun - The Love at first Sight
The regional train journey is like turning the page of a fairytale. Secluded house in the middle of the woods, reflection of snow capped houses in sea green river, scenery contemplating the famous “bliss” wallpaper of Windows XP, endless lakes with a backdrop of majestic mountains will simply not allow you to get bored. When you finally feel that you have taken enough pictures and it’s time to enjoy the beauty, you’d be surprised to see that you have actually covered the hour long train journey in the blink of an eye.
Most of the tourists from the train got down at Hallstatt to catch the ferry. It was another couple and us who got down 3 minutes later at the terminal station at Obertraun around 3PM in the afternoon. Google Map showed our accommodation (put airbnb link later) is less than 10 minutes walk. There was a light drizzling but we still had a long day ahead of us. With little more than 2 hours of daylight, we needed to complete check in formalities, drop our luggage, catch the bus (the last one for the day) to Hallstatt and lay our very eyes upon the postcard angle which was our Monday inspiration as Laptop wallpaper for the last seven months reminding that each Monday brought us 7 days closer to walking the dream.
“Wait! My dear” and the mountain echoed “Not so fast”
So we listened. Although very short, we made a pause. But the snow capped mountain surrounded petite village, with all its wooden chalets and unfrequented lakeside deserved lot more attention so we quickly left for our hotel with a promise to spend the morning walking around this quaint village.
The train station, bus stop and our accommodation all were pretty nearby and we had no problem catching the bus to Hallstatt and explore what we aimed for. If you are interested only in Hallstatt, You can jump straight to Things to Do at Hallstatt section. As always, there is a downloadable and printable infographic for this Alpine town.
Morning at Obertraun
Not sure if it was the whole night, but it snowed at least for 4 hours straight. For both Anna and me, it was our first snowfall experience and nothing could possibly beat the experience of enjoying the town getting dressed in white through a big glass window from the comfort of a cozy bed beside an optimally set room heater. Last evening when we came from Hallstatt, we were little disappointed. Not only because inspite of having a good snowfall prediction, in reality it was drizzling only but also due to the fact that we lost a hand glove (Luckily we carried an extra pair). But nature started preparing for the grand finale in the silence of the pitch black night.
We had our breakfast early (Self made of course) and started walking opposite to the train station. Hallstatt was crowded. Even after sunset. Even after the day trippers left. So, we were in search of a more peaceful lakeside stroll. Sitzbank (Panoramablick) in Obertraun seemed to be the perfect choice. Just beside the famous Hotel Haus am See Obertraun, you can find an almost perfect walking trail. There is simply nothing between you and the mountain lake. The lake is deep, calm and surrounded by mountains which experienced late night fresh snow. There is a nearby restaurant but it remains closed in Winter so if you are there in Winter then like us, you could win a good chance to get all the place by yourself.
Obertraun is known for Five Finger viewpoint and guess what, we haven’t gone there. People come from Hallstatt or Salzburg to pay a visit to this famous viewpoint but due to the overcast weather, we realised that the view would not have much to sell. Rather, we spent our time walking aimlessly across Obertraun. Five finger is no doubt a great place to visit and you will find numerous online articles about its accessibility and what to expect but remember to check weather condition and I repeat, it’s not in Hallstatt. The viewpoint in Hallstatt is called Skywalk (More on this below)
You can argue that the location near a train line would be noisy but there is a nostalgia in watching trains passing by. Especially, if the platform is right at the foot of a mountain which just experienced fresh snowfall and the red hue of the approaching train contemplates the first bloom at the advent of Spring. You can keep on walking beside the track and the mountain will accompany you. To your left, you have the urban Obertraun with Bus Stand, hotels, restaurant and pizzeria and to your right, the rural side with all the Chalets. When the red train passes trough it, it’s really a sight to marvel at. Here is a photo from the same Hotel where we stayed by one of my friend who visited Obertraun at the first week of November.
Keeping the station at your back, if you turn left then within a short while, you will reach a viewing platform with big white swans swimming nearby. You can walk up, close and personal to them, make some good photos into great ones or simply immerse yourself in enjoying the endless mountains and the majestic lake without all the crowds of a famed tourist spot. It started snowing lightly when we reached there and here are two photos one from first week of November and another from first week of January
If you travelling with kids, it’s good to know that there is a small park near the wooden platforms. You can keep your children busy while you’re into the mountains. The only drawback I would say is that there is no proper place to sit down and relax and with almost continuous snowfall, the grasses are no longer a safe place to sit.
We spend a little more than an hour walking random streets and as we did not experience Hallstatt in much daylight last afternoon, it was our time to go back to the Hotel, take bath, complete light lunch and check out for Hallstatt (Ye! the bus ride is still free 😉 )
Hallstatt - Things to Do
Many of you are here just to get an idea about what you can expect at Hallstatt. The answer is simple. It’s gorgeous. It’s incredible. It’s more beautiful than it is in pictures. It’s as aesthetic that it would bring the poet out of you. But it has a small problem. It’s crowded.
We happened to be in early January. Some popular attractions like the renowned Salt Mine remains closed in Winter. We don’t ski. We took a failed but memorable attempt to walk till the top of Skywalk. Thus we didn’t do much but read along to know about the city centre, about the postcard angle, about the experience of the Ferry and last but not the least, how to return to Obertraun after 6PM?
If you are new to my website, for every blog I write, I give you a visually appealing downloadable free to use printable infographic about the place. Feel free to download, share and use this little piece of information.
The journey from Obertraun to Hallstatt is no brainer. Go to the Bus stop (Obertraun Abzw Bahnhof Dachsteinhöhlen) and take Bus 543. On Saturday afternoon, we were waiting at the bus stop with very little clue that from which direction, are we going to expect the bus. After boarding, we discovered that we are the only two passengers for the afternoon. The driver checked our pass provided by the Hotel and asked us if we are going to Hallstatt Centre and we nodded. It was a 15 minutes non stop journey and here is a compilation of mobile captured video snaps (Prepare and embed a youtube link) from the awesome journey. Due to the fact that we were quite late, we were little suspicious if we would actually make till Hallstatt that day but the journey was rather smooth.
However, the glamour town had a pleasant surprise for us next morning. Unlike last day, there were around 7-8 more tourists waiting for the bus so we were relieved that we are not late (Although we cross checked the timetable last evening, but still… 🙂 ). By default, we assumed that they are bound to Hallstatt city centre so when the Bus has taken a de-route and started climbing the mountain, we got surprised, rather little panicked.
It continued to be a breath-taking journey. All white at both the sides of the road and with every turn, it gained elevation and the view became more and more amazing. We decided to remain seated and wait to find where the bus was heading to. The logic is simple. If the bus brings us to an unknown destination then obviously there would be way to come back from where we started.
After 10minutes, the bus arrived at Obertraun Dachsteinseilbahn Talstation which is the cable car station at the Dachstein Mountain. It’s a popular ski resort area and visit this link to get more information about it. With suspension bridge, ice palace, skywalk and panorama gondola, it’s a fantastic base for winter lovers and . If you want to enjoy a piece of it from the comfort of your home, visit this link. Below is the advertisement image from the official website itself
It became clear why the driver asked us if we are going to Hallstatt last afternoon. The actual bus route from Obertraun to Hallstatt of 543 is via Dachstein Mountain only but as there were no tourists last day, he brought us straight to Hallstatt. The glimpse of the cable car station was enough to make us immediately decide that some years down the lane, this place needs a second visit (preferably again in Winter 🙂 ). The bus halted for about 2 minutes where most tourists got off and then with one more co passenger, it came downhill, back to our familiar route and in next 10 minutes, we are again at the Hallstatt bus Stop.
Hallstatt City Centre
The bus stop is not exactly at the centre but rather around few minutes walk. Coming from Obertraun, it could feel lot busier with many local buses, taxis, tourist bus and of course enthusiast photographers. The first thing that would catch your eyes are the amount of shops selling food items or woolen stuffs or local souvenirs. On your left will be the route to catch the funicular to reach the top of Hallstatt aka skywalk (more about that later in this post)
The town centre is pretty easy to cover in short walk. Everywhere you turn is another scene to be framed, whether looking at the mountains or the Hallstatter See. The center of the village has plenty of spots to sit and enjoy or simply watch the fellow travelers or locals, or the quiet reflection. With Christmas just passed (when the town gets ornated for its Christkindmarkt celebration), it’s still very charming and cheerful. After the sun sets, the colourful houses with fairy lights at both ends of the narrow street make it highly vibrant. In daylight, you would find the lovely little square surrounded by traditional Austrian chalets, some of which are shops (Yes! they remain open on Sundays)
Strolling through the old town centre, you will continuously have the Alps in the backdrop and pine trees along the slope. The houses are very traditional and with a lot of flowers hanging from their balconies (Yes, in Winter too). Unlike most European city-centre, this one is not square but rather a circular open space and there are quite some benches to sit down and give rest to your tiring feet. But, as I said before, your enjoyment will be continuously hampered by flock of tourists obstructing your view.
Hallstatt minus the crowd could really feel that Walt Disney himself came to design this village. No wonder this town at the edge of the lake has reserved its spot in UNESCO World Heritage. Don’t miss the opportunity to get lost in time here and bring home a piece of it through a fridge magnet or a snow globe or something of that sort.
From the moment you got down from the Bus, a tall church will draw your attention and if you manage to get past the town centre, quickly you will find a lakeside walkway beside a narrow motor road.
Postcard Angle Viewpoint
If you make till the Hallstatt city centre, it would be a real shame to miss the Postcard Angle Viewpoint. To reach there, you need to walk towards the Church and actually cross it which many people skip. What additional view I would get. It’s just a matter of seeing the same thing from the opposite angle. But trust me, you are completely wrong. Google map recognises it by “Classic Village Viewpoint / Postcard Angle” and that’s for a reason. The position of the church nestled within the Alps surrounded by colorful houses and a pretty steep curve at the edge of the lake makes it too dreamy to be true.
When I first heard about Hallstatt, I found online a photo from this angle. Later, I downloaded a great shot from Google and made it my Desktop Wallpaper for seven straight months until I finally came here and changed the wallpaper with my own capture 🙂
The place is magical. Even after the Sun has called it a day. Unfortunately at the viewpoint, it’s not possible to sit back and enjoy. It’s a residential area and you would find signboards saying not to make noise because you are actually walking past local’s houses there. And again, there is an invisible queue among the tourists trying to get a perfect instagram shot. It’s really really hard to enjoy the view without running into tourists (Yes I am talking about late afternoon as well, not sure how it looks like in early morning). As soon as you step out of the edge, within fraction of seconds, you will find the place the spot has been captured by someone else. 🙁
But it’s fully worth it. So, I repeat, keeping the lake to your right, remember to cross the church. From the town centre, it’s about 4-5 minutes uphill walk after which you will cross the church. When you look back, you can immediately understand that you have made it. Continue walking because the further you go, the better the view becomes. Find a suitable vacant spot and enjoy the view. Keep on enjoying (In case you are not keen in photographing, there are plenty of images available online). Though you can feel the silent anger of the traveler waiting for you to step aside so that they can come in, learn to ignore it. Only come back when you feel that you have had enough (Or there is a train to catch 😉 )
Hallstatt Skywalk
The Skywalk is the perfect place to watch this petite town from a drone view. The semi circular view is really unique and nice (If the weather not cloudy). Moreover, it is very easy to reach the Skywalk from the Bus Stand/Taxi Stand/Ferry Terminal of Hallstatt. There are two ways the top can be reached. First and the preferable one is to take a short funicular ride to the top. It operates year round. You can buy a both-way or one way ticket at the starting point. The other option is to walk till the top. When I visited in January 2020, if I remember correctly, the one way ride was 10Euro whereas the both way was 18Euro. Walking of course is entirely free. The funicular takes about 10minutes to reach the top whereas walking is something we have a fearful experience (More on that later).
Keep in mind that from the city centre, the postcard angle and the ticket counter of Skywalk are not in same direction. Keeping the Bus stand to your back, the postcard angle is a straight walk. On the other hand, you need to turn left, cross the road and then continue straight to a narrow street and then turn right to reach the entrance. Remember that the entrance to this funicular and the famous Hallstatt Salt mine (Salzwelten) are ascend from the same spot. From the centre, you will find many tourists walking this direction because no matter you take the funicular or choose to hike, you need to come to the exact same spot. Once you reach the entrance (which is pretty clearly marked), you can see that it states the Hallstatt Taxi Stand is 10 minutes apart.
When we arrived at the entrance, we had around 4 hours with us before catching the ferry back to train station. As usual, we chose to save the money for Schnitzel and muffin and hike to the top for free. As per our online knowledge, we thought 3 hours is sufficient for a round trip with several photo halts.
We were wrong. Very wrong.
The start of the ascent looked perfect. As we started hiking, an almost perfect scenery started unveiling before us. Powder like snow at the side of the narrow trail overlooking the lake with a backdrop of mountains all around seemed great at first. And then, we saw that as we are hiking up, snow is actually starting to cover the walking place. After few more minutes of walk, it’s a full snowy hiking trail and we don’t have walking stick or snowshoe.
Still we moved on. The view was getting better and better as we move on. Same for the trail which was getting slipperier as well. After sometime, we understood that we are actually walking very slow and in this pace, it would take maybe more than an hour itself to reach the top. We saw a person coming from the top and we tried to ask how far the top is but unfortunately he couldn’t speak our language. After some more minutes of struggled hiking, we decided to let it go. The weather also was cloudy so anyway it seemed not worth the effort and risk to go till top. We turned around and started to descend.
It’s then we understood that we already made a mistake. The road is so slippery with melted ice then it became too much challenging to hold balance and walk straight. It really looked impossible at first and I was thinking to sit down (I had a rain-pant on so getting wet was not the problem) and come downhill. But, considering we have a good amount of time and can afford to walk at the speed of a tortoise, we started climbing down very very slowly and I don’t remember exactly but at least we took double the time than what we took to climb up.
Don’t get me wrong though. I would still say if you come outside Winter season and you don’t have a time crunch then take this hiking. It’s beautiful. It’s completely worth it. The funicular always remains crowded but the hiking trail is pretty private throughout. It’s even wheelchair friendly. Even in Winter, it’s still possible to take this hike and to be honest, we saw 2-3 more pair were actually hiking but if you choose to do so, make sure you know how to walk up and downhill on thin layer of muddy ice. Maybe it snows more and the layer is thick, it’s easy (Which we experienced in Tromso, Norway – Later add the Blog link here)
Here are some pictures taken by my friend from the top of Skywalk who visited at the first week of November so you know what to expect at the top. Take a closer look because one of these photos is an award winning one.
While coming down, I took a snap of the backside of the Entrance with a descending Funicular. It’s easy for you to understand which one is the ticket counter and which one is the start of the walking trail.
The Ferry Ride - Stephanie
After spending some time in the town centre and walking one more time to the postcard angle, it’s almost time to bid Hallstatt a good bye. Coming to the Ferry Terminal is a no brainer. If you reach Hallstatt from Hallstatt Bahn via the Ferry then you already know where the terminal is. Otherwise, Google Map has a very clear indication of it. The ticket counter is exactly at the spot (Again ti accepts only cash – at least that was my experience in Jan 2020) and beside the counter you will see a Blue signboard stating Markt1. The ticket counter is not always open. You can see the timetable affixed in a printed paper at the counter and it also states which train it is connecting to. So, it’s actually not possible to miss the train if you already have boarded the ferry.
The ferry terminal is itself offers some fantastic photo angles to both the lakeside and the mountain side. In our case, the cloudy weather was started getting replaced by beam of sunlight and we managed to catch of glimpse of it. Also, when you look back to the town centre, you would see the colorful buildings, church and the mountain (Snowy if you are in winter) in the backdrop.
The ferry came around 10 minutes before the scheduled departure. The passengers got down first before we were allowed to board. Just before the boarding, our tickets were being checked and torn to mark as used. It’s crowded but at least we got good seats indoor. It left on time and we were little sad thinking our trip has come to an end.
Again we were wrong. yes, again Very Wrong.
The short ferry ride itself is a treat. Stephanie offers you indoor seating as well as an outdoor standing area (Yes at least 10-14 people can easily stand there). If your legs permit and you are not feeling too cold, then come out in the open space and watch the city moving away from you. With snowy mountains all around and the colorful township slowly fading away, it’s an sight you will cherish for a very long time. I apologize that I don’t have enough photo evidence to convince you but it’s truly a memorable journey and even though you have a train to catch, you will not be happy to come to the other side so soon.
As you reach the train station side of Hallstatt, it’s just a minute of climb to the train station. If you already have a ticket, simply wait at the platform. If you don’t, the counter is exactly at the place where you arrive after climbing up and it doesn’t take long to get a ticket.
Best Time to Visit Hallstatt
The two word answer to this question – It depends.
To my opinion, Hallstatt is a year round destination. For me, Eastern India being the hometown, Hallstatt in a fresh blanket of snow looked lucrative. But if you want to enjoy fresh Sun in an Alpine town and you are bound to European school holiday then July-August may be your bet. Depending on what you want and you can expect, there are four categories you can broadly refer
Dec – Mar:– Ski and Snow. If you love Winter and looking for a Winter wonderland and some Christmas lighting then this is your time. Remember that may attractions remain closed (Some funiculars and Salt mine) but a winter in Alpine town is definitely worth it. A small number of cafes will remain closed in Winter but that’s actually not a problem. In Obertraun, it’s pretty silent in Winter. So if you are looking for a quite gateway with killer ambience, Obertraun in Winter would be your best bet.
April-May:- Probably the best season to beat crowd at busy Hallstatt. Ski is almost finished. Snow at the town is no more an option. Business are back in operation. Days are much longer and European school holiday season has not started (Although I found more Asian in Hallstatt)
June-September:- For some, it’s not a choice to choose other months because of School Holiday. But if you cam, it’d be better to choose a different month. It’s super crowded and to be honest, I studied the weather reports for past few years and in my opinion, it’s hot. Very hot if you call it a town surrounded by mountains. On the other hand, your choice of trekking is endless.
October-November:- A fantastic time (Probably I will choose this period in my next visit) considering the fall color. The reflection of the trees with their red and yellow leaves on an overcast day is a bliss to the eye. All business are still in operation. In early October, I still hear people complaining about busy streets but from late November, situation becomes quieter.
Where to Stay?
Read carefully to save up some bucks
Staying at Hallstatt is dreamy. Everywhere you look from your balcony is a piece from fairytale. The picture postcard church in the quaint town with all attractions in walkable distance is a key factor. Plus, you would get the opportunity to catch the first light of the Sun from the Postcard angle viewpoint. It’s costly but still if you plan your trip and save up, it’s still affordable. The one and only hotel I would recommend for Hallstatt is Weisses Lamm. The rest of the choice are either too pricey or too far from the centre. For our trip, we even booked this property but had a free cancellation so cancelled around 3 months before the trip. During our visit, we saw this Hotel and the location is too damn perfect.
But do you really have to stay at Hallstatt?
I would stress again. Give Obertraun a chance. Hallstatt will be yours till 10AM. After that, crowds will swarm. Be it the postcard angle or the city centre or the top of Hallstatt at the Skywalk or the Salt-Mine, you will always be surrounded by lots and lots of people. On the other hand, if you love nature, Obertraun is equally eye soothing minus the crowd. Yes, you will miss the church and the postcard angle but it’s only a 15 minute free Bus ride, isn’t it?
Watching the red trains passing through the balcony of your hotel (or even from the bed itself) is a treat on its own. Walking the lakeside with almost no tourists will surely give your vacation a new meaning. The train station is walkable so reaching your hotel after a long train ride is pretty easy. You don’t have to think of loading large luggage in the Ferry. Wherever you are in the town, clicking a picture will guarantee the mountains in the background.
One other nearby town you can consider is Bad Ischl. It’s a half an hour Bus Ride (#542). The town is very pretty in pictures but if you have only one night then visiting Hallstatt will be kind of day trip only because if you decide to visit Five Finger Viewpoint, you need to go towards Obertraun and considering the Bus frequency, you would be actually in quite a rush to cover all the things in a single day. However it’s still doable and much better than a day trip from Salzburg.
Hallstatt to Obertraun at Night
That’s the fun part. The Real Fun part. Before my trip, I was searching online what to do after 6PM when there is no Bus Service from Hallstatt to Obertraun. Is there any other means of transport like taxi or maybe some small city bus which runs at odd hours? But I could not find an article clearly stating what can be the options. Then, I contacted my AirBNB host and understood that either I have to walk around 5-6KM or can take a taxi from the Hallstatt Taxi Stand which would cost around 12 Euro for the two of us. Fair enough!
When we reached the Taxi Stand around 7PM, it was dark. Suddenly all the business seemed to disappear like magic. There was not a single parked vehicle. Standing at the Taxi Stand, we were in a dilemma whether to wait or start walking back because 5-6KM of walk for us is not a problem at all. After around 5 minutes of waiting, we decided to start walking.
It was quite a Walk. A True Walk to remember. The good part is that there is a clear walkway. At no point, you need to walk on the motor road so it’s not risky in that sense. But the bad part is just after around a KM walk from the town, there is no light. Not a single street light. Not a single soul walking. All you can see that vehicles speed past you in both directions and their head and back lights are the only light source and of course your mobile flashlight. It’s so dark that we couldn’t even feel the lake just beside us let alone the mountains in the backdrop. Everytime a car passes through us, we were hoping if someone stopped and offered us a lift till Obertraun station but alas. However, with little courage and two pairs of strong hands, we survived the journey but don’t know how, lost a single glove (slipped from hand) on the way.
So, if you are wondering if it’s possible and advisable to walk from Hallstatt to Obertraun then yes it is of course possible. The road is straight and flat and separated from the motorway. In summer, I would not think twice to walk this road but in Winter, probably I won’t take the second chance.
Day Trip or Overnight? Or Maybe more
If You have come this far then probably you already understood that it’s not possible to enjoy the beauty of this town in few hours so a day trip from Salzburg or nearby towns are possible but not recommended. It’s not only that you will be in Hallstatt when the crowd is at the fullest but also that you will have to rush a lot to cover things which deserve more quality time. Even though I always provide information about covering more places in less time and money but still I would stress on the fact that you should spend overnight at Hallstatt or a nearby town. Gift yourself some quality time idly watching the ferry arriving the town or the train coming at the foot of the majestic mountain or simply watch people at the colorful square of old town. Don’t just go to a viewpoint for the drone view but enjoy the journey because perhaps, it’s more beautiful than the destination.
Do you have more days? If you ask me, spending more than a night is not my recommendation because of my style of travelling. Austria has many offerings for you (many of which are lakeside). If you happen to come from Munich or Vienna then Salzburg would the very best choice. From thereon, you can visit Innsbruck and then to Zell am See both of which are jawdropping. And again, don’t do a day trip. Neither to Innsbruck nor to Zell.
Leaving Hallstatt
Does the Train Go Straight to Vienna Airport?
No. You must come at the Vienna Central Station which is the main train station of Vienna. If you read this post from the top, you already know how to reach Vienna from Hallstatt. However, keep one thing in mind which is very very crucial is that DO NOT BOOK A CONNECTING TRAIN if the gap between both the trains is less than 15 minutes. The regional train from Obertraun in my and my friend’s experience always runs late and the Express train going to Vienna central (Wien Hauptbahnhof) leaves Attnang-Puchheim sharp on time. To be on safe side, give yourself at least half an hour because you must change platform and to do so, you need to climb down and then upstairs. Worse, if you are carrying perambulator or in wheelchair (or super bulky luggage) then two elevators are involved in changing the platform.
When our return train arrived Hallstatt 12 minutes late, we thought it would make up during the journey but it didn’t happen 🙁 . But the first part of the journey was so beautiful that at first you might think that after a long day, you have actually fallen asleep and the scenery you are witnessing is actually from your dream.
Tension grew as we found out that we are running late for the next train to Vienna Central. If we miss, then our return flight to Amsterdam is in stake. It’s only 2minutes left when the train started reducing speed as the Platform approaches. We then realized that we are not alone. Almost all the passengers will be catching the connecting train.
As soon as the door opened, people ran. Literally it was the run for life. When we started climbing down the stair, we saw the next train coming in the other platform. By the time we reached the correct platform, it’s about time. We didn’t care which coach it was and whether we could actually reach our alloted coach but we boarded the very coach we saw in front of us. And, we were not the only one. Several people followed us. After passing a first class coach and pantry 😛 , we finally reached our coach and luckily got seat as well.
The super easy guide for the journey between Vienna Airport and Train station could be found in this link. I believe the prices are up to date.
When we travelled from the airport to the train station, we walked to the train counter. They accept Cash (Euro) or card and the service is very prompt. In no time, we got ticket in our hand and the lady clearly told us which platform we need to go. I am not sure if the ticket is timed but it’s better that you catch the immediate next train and do not book ticket in Advance. During the return journey, we chose to buy the ticket from an automated ticket machine. The interface is exactly same as you normally see if you open the OBB website in your phone. The machines, as usual accept coins (No cash) and cards. You need to choose a specific train for your journey so again, it is timed.
Is Hallstatt Worth it?
No!
Surprised? You have heard so many good things about Hallstatt and suddenly a No?
If you heard such good things already then my question to you is what makes you doubt that it’s not worth it. Of course, I repeat, of course it’s worth it. Hallstatt is very very worth of all the hype it has. Even after taking the crowd into consideration, it’s a place from your drawing book. A place that boasts imagination. A place that helps keeping your dream alive.
Some say Hallstatt in the most romantic lake in the World”. I would not agree that (To know why, read my blog about Dolomites, Italy) but yes, Hallstatt and Obertraun will always reserve a special spot in our heart. After a lots of talking, let me ask you – What do you think? Have you already been to Hallstatt and want something to share? Do you think my information are still accurate or do you have any suggestion for improvement? Are you planning to visit Hallstatt but have some questions to ask? Or are you not sure from where to start? Feel free to use the comment box below. Let me know your thoughts. Let me ask questions and I will be happy to respond. Till then, thank you very much for your time and attention. Auf Wiedersehen