The Complete 3 Day Salzkammergut Road Trip Itinerary
Salzkammergut is what I would call Heaven on Earth! There is beauty and mesmerising views no matter where you turn, so much so that the Salzkammergut – Hallstatt – Dachstein region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I mean, if Beautiful lakes in combination with majestic mountains, delicious Austrian food and tons to explore aren’t enough, I don’t know what is.
So no doubt, I jumped at the first opportunity I got to visit this slice of heaven as soon as the borders opened.
Here you will find all the regulations and requirements to enter Austria, now that the borders have opened.
Moving on to the only itinerary you will ever need!
Day 1: Hallstatt and 5 Fingers
Hallstatt –
This picturesque village of UNESCO World Heritage, Hallstatt is best visited very early in the morning before the buses and ferries with tourist crowds start to arrive. And yes, tucked into the mountains of Dachstein-Krippenstein, it really is as beautiful as it looks in the pictures on Instagram.
And if you arrive early enough (or have enough patience to wait in line, you may even manage to snap a picture where it looks like you have Hallstatt all to yourself).
We have our Complete Guide to a Day Trip in Hallstatt here.
5 Fingers –
A few minutes drive away from Hallstatt is Obertraun. Here you will find the Dachstein- Krippenstein Cablecars that take you to the 5 Fingers Viewing Platform, The Giant Ice Cave and the Mammothcaves. (Alternatively you can also hike up Krippenstein). The cable cars aren’t exactly cheap (34 € up and down per person), but they are worth the views!
You can either drive here and park in the free parking lot at the base of the cable cars or take the Bus No 543 from Hallstatt, which will bring you to the parking lot in about 10 mins. However do check the bus timings.
The 5 Fingers viewing platform is one of the most popular (and picturesque) in Austria. It is called so because of its shape – 5 bridges built to look like the 5 fingers of a hand “hang” over an abyss at an altitude of 2100 meters. You can visit the platform for free, but you will need to pay for the cable cars and entry into the Ice/ Mammoth Caves.
NOTE : You can pay only for the cable cars and skip the caves, in which case, skip the first stop of the cablecars and go on the second and last stop. Get down and walk to the 5 Fingers.
You will find all actual information (prices, opening times) here.
Day2: Loser Panorama Road and The Dachstein Glacier
Loser Panorama Road and Loser Alm
Start your day with an early morning drive up the Loser Panorama Strasse. It’s about an hour from Obertraun and offers some breath taking panoramas along the way.
You will need to pay a toll to enter the Panorama Road (which was 10 € when we went at sunrise, but was 18 € later in the day). Drive up all the way to Loser Alm Berg Restaurant at 1600m above sea level, where you can enjoy a fabulous breakfast!
Alternatively you can also catch a bus (Postbus No. 955 or 9675) from the Bad Aussee Railway Station up until the Panorama Road Tollbooth and then take another smaller shuttle bus / taxi to Loserhütte. A train ride from Attnang-Puchheim to Bad Aussee takes about 1hr45m. In the winter, there are ski lifts (Loser Bergbahn) that will take you upto Loserhütte.
Here you will also find an Instagram popular motive of Salzkammergut – The Paragliding ramp with a breath-taking mountain panorama over the Altausee.
Here’s the location link. Alternatively you can either type in Loserhütte, 1600m or Drachenstartrampe2, 1600m Loser Panoramastrasse.
For full details including the toll prices and entry times click here.
With full tummies, drive back down the panorama road and towards the Dachstein- Glacier Cable Cars (Dachstein Gletcherbahn / Südwandbahn).
The Dachstein Glacier Experience – The Stairway into Nothingness and the Dachstein Hanging Bridge (Treppe ins Nichts and Dachstein Hängebrücke )
The Dachstein Glacier Cablecars will you take you up the Dachstein massifs in the town of Schladming. What awaits here is made to make your knees shake and test your stomach – beware this is NOT one for those afraid of heights!
We drove from Loser to the cable car station at Dachstein Türlwandhütte in about an hour and half. Alternatively you can hop on Bus Line 960 at Schladming which takes you from the station Planet Planai to Türlwandhütte in about an hour.
With a sheer drop of more than 1300 ft (400 meters) the “Stairway to Nothingness” tests the nerves of all that visit. After having walked across a suspension bridge high above the Dachstein massif, you are then challenged to walk along the side of the rock face and down 14 steps onto a clear glass platform perched above an abyss. So just for a moment you can hover above the mountains like a bird and experience a feeling of pure freedom.
There was a sort of mini snowstorm when we visited and there was nothing but clouds, a thick fog and snow with the tiniest brief whiff of the mighty Dachstein peaks.
There is also an Ice Cave Palace that you can visit and enjoy some intricately carved pieces of art – ALL MADE OUT OF ICE!
There is a Glacier Restaurant on top that offers some stunning views of the Dachstein, amazing food and little souvenirs.
The Cable Car brought us back and we drove back to Obertraun for the night.
Day 3: Gosau and Lammerklamm
Gosau and the Gosausee Lake
Visit the idyllic village of Gosau that looks straight out of a painting and offers some stunning views of the Dachstein Glacier from pretty much every corner. It’s one of those scenic routes you don’t want to miss when visiting Salzkammergut.
After a heartwarming breakfast at our hotel ( Hotel Seerose offers comfortable, clean budget accomodation with some beautiful alpine views ) – in Obertraun, we checked out and drove to Gosau.
Alternatively, Bus No: 542 runs from Bad Ischl to Gasthof Gosausee via Hallstatt and Obertraun.
Visit the Gosau Lakes – there are 3, the Vorderer Gosausee, Gosaulacke and the Hinterer Gosausee.
There is a free parking lot close to Vorderer Gosausee Lake.
You can hike around all 3 lakes in case you have the time, the total hike around all 3 lakes takes about 4 hrs one way. From hinterer Gosausee you can even do the 3 hour hike to Adamekhütte.
At the Vorderer Gosausee, there are also cable cars that take you up Dachstein for beautiful views and even hikes or climbs involving the infamous Austria Sky Ladder.
We just visited the Vorderer Gosausee and did a 45 minute round hike around the lake and ate lunch at the Gasthof Gosausee. Totally recommend the Faschierte Laibchen (which is veal) that was to die for and a glass of Radler!
Lammerklamm
After lunch, we continued on our way back home, but not before a quick stop at the Lammerklamm.
This beautiful gorge is certainly a wonder of nature and takes about an hour to explore. The narrow valley was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age (approximately 15,000 to 30,000 years ago), while the masses of water released by the melting ice left behind a narrow gorge flanked by steep cliffs.
The Gorge is open to visitors in the summer between 9am and 5pm and the entry tickets cost 6 € per person.
You can find the opening times and prices here
With this we ended our 3 day roadtrip to Salzkammergut.
However if you have more time do check out some of these beautiful lakes –
Wolfgangssee , Fuschlsee , Mondsee and Traunsee.
Do leave a comment down below if you liked our recommendations or if you have any more beautiful spots to add to this itinerary.
