joannpadgett

Vienna/Salzburg/Hallstatt/Bertesgarden/Munich planned destinations
Length Flexible but maybe 12 to 14 including travel days
Weather I see different information online including statement that 3rd week in March is humid!
I'd like to go to Krems and and Melk and maybe Mauthausen--is there a boat trip on Danube to these destinations?
We can rent a car but I'd like to be able to enjoy wine and beer so think maybe train between points is better.
Does Austria have Uber from train stations?
Is it feasible pricewise to fly into Vienna and out of Munich? And is adding Munich too much.
I am happy to take tour but not sure how to find tour good tour operator that combines sightseeing along with free time.

Michael

You can definitely go to Wachau valley be boat

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-rea...-wachau-valley

I doubt that Mauthausen is included. Wilhering, also near Linz, is a Barque jewel, or maybe over the top:

bilboburgler

Weather...
Firstly Climate Change means that the weather is all over the place so no one knows
Austria will traditionally so pre 1980 be in the snow or rain period. If it is rain it will probaby be coldish rain
If I did this sort of plan I would have a Plan B for every day that allows you stay indoors and dry, one of the best features of Vienna especially is being indoors in a cafe.
trains, understand them from seat61.com
Austrian trains https://www.oebb.at/en/
easrly stage quick travel planning rome2rio (always check the details)
You will find taxi drivers can speak a fair bit of English, UBER not so sure

neckervd

Weather is just unpredictable in this area. Everything is possible.
There is usually one Wachau boat from Vienna and tons of boats between Krems and Melk.
https://www.donau.com/en
Both have railway stations.
Mauthausen can easily be reached by train, with a train change at either St. Valentin or Linz.
Journey time about 2 hrs.

joannpadgett

It looks from Rick Steves article you thoughtfully provided a link to that the boat is not running in March so maybe I am better off finding a tour that takes in the sights I want to see.
If anyone knows good small group tour operators please let me know.

lavandula

You can do Krems and Melk by train, but agree that a small group tour might be more efficient if your time is limited. We went to Melk by train by ourselves and spent most of the day there. Very impressive abbey and charming small town.

Lavandula

joannpadgett

Thanks for very useful train link
And also weather advice.
Much appreciated. If you have any favorite hotels in Salzburg and/or restaurants in Vienna or Salzburg would love to hear.
Do like to try local fare but not every dat.

sassy27

I really like Munich the best out of your choices. I don't know your home airport but for me Munich always has nonstop direct to my home airport which was cheaper than nonstop from Vienna. Munich is also easy to reach from Salzburg. I am a tourist so what I might suggest may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I stayed at Hotel Elefant while in Salzburg which I really liked. They treated me very well after I had been traveling all day. In Vienna, I bought a tourist card which gave me a dinner, dessert and transportation. The dessert was at Central Cafe, and I added on a meal which was nice as I didn't want anything big/heavy to eat. The staff was very nice, and I didn't make a reservation. It was nice to have a voucher as it was my first visit, and I didn't really know where to go.

If a tour is more your style and a lot of people don't care for it as they are just a 3rd party company but Viator is great to look at and offer suggestions. I've used them a lot and haven't had any bad experiences and no issues when having to cancel. They do list out the local tour company if you'd rather book direct so something you might want to look at. I don't always want to do everything on my own and the tours have all been in English with other English-speaking tourists if that is a concern.

joannpadgett

Thank you so much for your excellent feedback.

bilboburgler

Viator just take other people's tours and add their name and a margin to the top. If you find a Viator tour you like you should be able to find the underlying tour as well.

sassy27

I believe I was very clear about this. I also have booked direct and it was the same price.