Itinerary

• Day 1
  Arrival to Salzburg

  Today is your arrival day in Salzburg, a city surrounded by snowy peaks of the Alps; it was the birthplace of Mozart, and the city of the Sound of Music. The enchanting silhouette of the fortress, the cathedral, and church steeples in this Baroque city north of the Alps are so beautiful that it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  There is so much to see and enjoy you may want to spend an extra day there.

  Overnight in Salzburg.

• Day 2
  Salzburg - Wolfgangsee - Schafberg - Gmunden (13 km / 8 miles, elevation gain 520 m)

  In the morning meet our representative/guide in your hotel. After your welcome briefing you will be transferred to Sankt Wolfgang at Wolfgangsee Lake. There you will board the cog railroad up Schafberg Mountain (1,783 m / 5,849 ft) to take in the breathtaking view of seven lakes and the surrounding peaks. Then descend by train back to Sankt Wolfgang, and take the shoreline walk “the Pilgrims’ Way” to St. Gilgen.

  Overnight in St. Gilgen.

   

• Day 3
  St. Gilgen - Strobl - Bad Ischl (12 km / 7.5 miles, elevation gain 210 m)

  Take the boat from St. Gilgen to the lake promenade of Strobl. Then you will follow a beautiful path downstream along the Ischl River until you reach the short uphill of Elisabeth Forest Trail, which will lead you to the magical Kalvarienberg church on the outskirts of the historic spa town of Bad Ischl, the cultural and geographic center of the Salzkammergut. After your walk you can spend a few hours in the relaxing therapeutic waters of the thermal baths, or visit the Imperial Villa, the wedding present of the Habsburg Emperor Franz Joseph to his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria – the famous Sisi.

  Overnight in Bad Ischl.

• Day 4
  Bad Ischl - Mt.Katrin - Bad Goisern (12 km / 7.5 miles, elevation gain 370 m)

  Begin the day with a short walk along the River Traun to the cable car station and take a ride up to Katrin Mountain (1,542 m / 5,059 ft) for stunning views of the surrounding mountainscape and lakes of the Salzkammergut, and especially the Dachstein glacier. You can ride or walk down to join the well-marked “Salzkammergut Brine Trail” and continue walking to Bad Goisern. This lovely place used to be the “Monarchy’s prettiest town”, and still hasn’t lost any of its charm.

  Overnight in Bad Goisern.

• Day 5
  Bad Goisern - Hallstatt (14 km / 8.5 miles, elevation gain 670 m)

  Before you leave Bad Goisern you can visit the traditional cobbler’s shop where the famous Goiserer hiking boots have been made by hand since the time of Empress Sisi. Then get back onto the famous “Brine Trail” that will lead you high above the Hallstatt valley and the Hallstättersee, with stunning alpine scenery and views of the glacier. Brine was transported from the Hallstatt salt mines to the salt works in Ebensee via the Brine Pipeline, the world’s oldest pipeline (established 1607). The trail to the start of the pipeline is undoubtedly one of the loveliest walks in the area, leading around the foot of the Dachstein. After you have toured the salt mine, you will descend into Hallstatt which gave its name to the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture and is a World Heritage Site.

  Overnight in Hallstatt.

• Day 6
  Hallstatt - Mt.Krippenstein - Bad Aussee - Hallstatt (21 km / 13 miles)

  In the morning you will take the ferry to Obertraun, and walk about 3 km to a cable-car station that will take you to an elevation of over 2000 m to Krippenstein. At the top you will explore the famous Five Fingers overlook, before riding the cable car back down. From here you begin your walk to Bad Aussee along the Salzkammer Way past the beautiful meadow Koppenwinkelalm and Lake Koppenwinkel. On the way a visit to the Koppenbrüller Cave offers an impressive insight into the underground waterways beneath the Dachstein. The 10km long trail leads from the cave to Bad Aussee through the romantic Koppen valley. Part of the trail has been built on the old railway embankment which runs alongside the babbling Traun River. At Bad Aussee you will board the train and return to Obertraun. From there the ferry will take you back to Hallstatt.

  Overnight in Hallstatt.

• Day 7
  Hallstatt - Ebensee - Gmunden ( km / miles, elevation gain m)

  Take a morning ferry ride to Obertraun and board the train to Ebensee where the brine pipeline ends and the Traun River meets with Lake Traunsee. From Ebensee take the cable car up to the stunning Feuerkogel plateau to get a spectacular 360˚ view with mountain peaks stretching as far as the eye can see, and lakes dotted around below. Then take about 3 hour walk down the mountain back to Ebensee where you take a boat to Gmunden, a town on the northern end of Lake Traunsee.

  Ovenight in Gmunden.

• Day 8
  Gmunden - Salzburg (Vienna)

  You can spend a half day sightseeing around Gmunden: visit the Lake Castle Orth, the Villa Toscana, or Castle Weyer that houses a museum of Meissen porcellaine.
  If you’re in for more hiking you can take the chairlift to Grunberg Mt. (984 m) and enjoy the mountain meadows and great views over Lake Traunsee before dropping back down to Gmunden.
  Take an afternoon train to Linz and Vienna or back to Salzburg.