Austria Road Trip Itinerary: Dachstein, Salzkammergut & Wolfgangsee

4-Day Austria Road Trip: Dachstein, Salzkammergut & Wolfgangsee

Back in June, we were thinking about where to go for a few days but didn’t really feel like flying anywhere. So, we packed the car instead and headed to Austria for a little road trip and a prolonged weekend away.
We’ve visited quite a few regions of Austria over the years, but somehow there’s always more to see. This time, we planned a route that took us to a few new places, mixed in some nature, sightseeing, and good food, and gave us enough time to actually enjoy each stop without spending the entire trip in the car.
In this post, we’re sharing our complete Austria road trip itinerary, including how many days we went for, where we stopped, where we stayed, what we saw along the way, and what you can expect if you want to follow a similar route yourself.

Austria Road Trip Map

Show the mapLoads the map from Google Maps, which may set cookies.Open on Google Maps

Our Austria Road Trip Itinerary

Our Austria road trip lasted 4 days and 3 nights, taking us from Slovakia to Ramsau am Dachstein and then across to the Salzkammergut and Wolfgangsee.

Day	Route	Main Stops	Overnight
Day 1 – 25 June	Slovakia → Ramsau am Dachstein	Ramsau am Dachstein · Rittisberg Coaster	Ramsau am Dachstein
Day 2 – 26 June	Ramsau am Dachstein & Dachstein	Dachstein Glacier · Dachstein Skywalk · Stairway to Nothingness · Silberkarklamm · Ramsau Beach / Badesee	Ramsau am Dachstein
Day 3 – 27 June	Ramsau am Dachstein → Salzkammergut → St. Wolfgang	Liechtensteinklamm · Vorderer Gosausee · St. Wolfgang	St. Wolfgang / Wolfgangsee
Day 4 – 28 June	Wolfgangsee → Slovakia	SchafbergBahn · Schafberg · Wolfgangsee Lake	Day 5: Morning: Drive home

Day 1: Slovakia to Ramsau am Dachstein

We started our Austria road trip in Slovakia and spent almost four hours on the road before reaching Ramsau am Dachstein. Our first stop was our guesthouse Glöshof Bauernhof Pension, where we checked in, dropped off our things, and were ready to start exploring.

Since we arrived later in the day, we kept our plans pretty relaxed. We first headed for a late lunch that slowly turned into dinner at a local restaurant Waldcafe Liftstüberl before exploring a little more of Ramsau am Dachstein. We also waddled part of the Märchenweg, a family-friendly themed trail through the forest, which was a nice way to stretch our legs after spending several hours in the car.

We didn’t try to squeeze too much into our first afternoon. With a full day around Dachstein planned for the next morning, we called it a day and headed back to our guesthouse to get some rest.

Day 2: Ramsau am Dachstein & Dachstein

Morning: Dachstein Glacier, Dachstein Skywalk & Stairway to Nothingness

We started our second day early with breakfast at our guesthouse before driving up towards the Dachstein Glacier. This ended up being one of the highlights of our entire Austria road trip.

We visited on one of the hottest days of our trip, so heading up into the mountains and finding snow still covering the glacier was a very welcome change. There’s also much more to do at the top than admire the views. We visited the Dachstein Skywalk, walked across the Suspension Bridge, braved the Stairway to Nothingness, explored the Ice Palace, and spent some time simply enjoying the snow and mountain scenery. We ended up spending a good part of the morning here, so give yourself enough time rather than treating the cable car ride as a quick stop.

We cover everything in much more detail in our Hoher Dachstein guide, including tickets, parking, the cable car, what to see at the top, how much time you need, and practical tips for planning your visit.

Afternoon: Silberkarklamm & Ramsau Beach

Once we came back down from the glacier, we still had plenty of the day left, so our next stop was Silberkarklamm Gorge. It worked really well as an afternoon activity because the walk isn’t too long. However, you still get waterfalls, wooden staircases, bridges, and plenty of time alongside the water. With the temperatures still high, even the sound of the rushing water felt refreshing.

From there, we finished our day at Ramsau Beach (Badesee). By this point, we had done enough waddling for one day, so we were more than happy to slow things down, cool off, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon by the water.

We then headed back to Glöshof Bauernhof Pension, where we stayed for our second night as well.

Day 3: Ramsau am Dachstein → Salzkammergut → St. Wolfgang

Day three meant saying goodbye to Ramsau am Dachstein and moving on to a different part of Austria. We had over 100 km (62 miles) to cover as we made our way towards Wolfgangsee, but instead of driving there in one go, we turned the journey into another full day of exploring.

We started early again with breakfast at our guesthouse, checked out, packed everything into the car, and hit the road. Our first stop was Liechtensteinklamm Gorge, where we waddled through the gorge, climbed plenty of steps, walked through tunnels, and, of course, tackled the impressive Helix staircase. It was a great way to break up the drive and one of those places where the journey itself becomes part of the road trip. You can find all the practical details, including parking, tickets, opening hours, and what to expect from the walk, in our full Liechtensteinklamm guide.

From there, we continued towards Vorderer Gosausee. Instead of making it just a quick photo stop, we waddled the entire loop around the lake. The trail is relatively easy and gives you different views of the lake and the Dachstein mountains as you make your way around.

With another two stops ticked off, we finally continued towards Wolfgangsee and checked into our hotel Hotel Försterhof. By then, we were definitely ready for food, so we headed to a local Alm restaurant for a late lunch that pretty much became dinner. We finished the day back at our hotel and made the most of its private beach at Wolfgangsee. After a day of driving, gorge walking, and circling an entire lake, sitting by the water and doing very little was exactly what we needed before our final day in Austria.

Day 4: Schafberg & Wolfgangsee

Day four turned out to be the highlight of our Austria road trip. Once again, we started early with breakfast at our hotel before heading to the SchafbergBahn to make our way up Schafberg Mountain.

And the views? So far, these are easily the best views we’ve seen anywhere in Austria. From the top, you can look across the surrounding mountains and several lakes of the Salzkammergut, including Wolfgangsee far below. We spent a couple of hours up there, walking around, taking in the views, and simply enjoying being at the top. This is definitely not a place we would rush.

Eventually, we took the SchafbergBahn back down to St. Wolfgang. It was another seriously hot day, so instead of immediately jumping into more sightseeing, we headed back to the hotel and took a little afternoon nap. Sometimes that’s exactly what a road trip needs.

Later in the afternoon, we headed back out to explore St. Wolfgang and Wolfgangsee at a much slower pace. We wandered around the town, checked out some of the main sights, enjoyed a little local food, and spent more time around the lake before returning to our hotel for our final night.

Day 5: Driving Back Home

There wasn’t much sightseeing planned for day five. We had one last breakfast at the hotel, packed our bags, checked out, and started the drive back home to Slovakia.

And with that, our little Austria road trip came to an end; four packed days, four nights (if we count the last one before driving back home), two very different regions, plenty of mountain views, lakes, gorges, and more than enough reasons to come back to Austria again.

Where We Stayed During Our Austria Road Trip

For this road trip, we kept accommodation simple and stayed at just two places, each for two nights. This worked really well because we didn’t have to pack up and change hotels every morning, while both places gave us a good base for exploring their respective regions.

Nights 1 & 2: Glöshof Bauernhof Pension in Ramsau am Dachstein

We spent our first two nights at Glöshof Bauernhof Pension, which was a convenient base for exploring Ramsau am Dachstein, the Dachstein Glacier, and Silberkarklamm. We also received the Schladming-Dachstein Sommercard with our stay, which was a nice bonus. You can read about the rooms, breakfast, location, price, and our experience in our full Glöshof Bauernhof Pension review.

Nights 3 & 4: Hotel Försterhof in St. Wolfgang, Wolfgangsee

For the second half of our road trip, we stayed two nights at Hotel Försterhof in St. Wolfgang. The location worked perfectly for exploring Wolfgangsee and Schafberg, and having access to the hotel’s private beach was especially welcome during the hot June weather. We also wrote a full Hotel Försterhof review, where we share more about our room, breakfast, private beach, parking, location, price, and the pros and cons of our stay.

How Much Did Our Austria Road Trip Cost

Our Austria road trip came to €1,214.94 for two people. This covered our accommodation, transportation, attractions, restaurants, snacks, drinks, souvenirs, fuel, and parking. That works out to €607.47 per person.

Here is exactly where our money went:

Expense	Cost for 2 People
Accommodation	€662.00
Transportation	€12.80
Attractions	€197.80
Restaurants	€192.20
Groceries & snacks	€43.83
Drinks	€36.00
Souvenirs	€23.80
Fuel & parking	€46.51
Total	€1,214.94
Per person	€607.47

Accommodation was by far our biggest expense at €662 for two people. This included €274 for Glöshof Bauernhof Pension and €388 for Hotel Försterhof. Food was another bigger part of the budget, with €192.20 spent in restaurants plus €79.83 on groceries, snacks, and drinks.

One thing that helped keep our costs down was the Schladming-Dachstein Sommercard, which was included with our stay at Glöshof Bauernhof Pension. We used it for several activities that we would otherwise have had to pay for separately.

Included with Sommercard	What We Saved
Dachstein cable car	€122.00
Dachsteinstraße toll road	€26.00
Rittisberg Coaster	€19.00
Total value	€167.00

So, based on the prices we tracked, we received €167 worth of activities and transport benefits through the Sommercard. Without these savings, the same road trip would have cost us around €1,381.94.

Driving in Austria: What You Need to Know

Driving is one of our favorite ways to explore Austria, especially when your itinerary includes smaller towns, lakes, gorges, and mountain areas like this one. The roads are generally easy to navigate, but there are a few things to know before setting off, including the Austrian motorway vignette, speed limits, parking, fuel costs, mountain roads, and additional toll roads and tunnels. Some mountain routes can also be quite steep and winding, so allow a little extra time rather than relying completely on the estimated driving time.

We cover all of this in much more detail in our Austria by Car: The Ultimate Driving Guide, including everything we’ve learned from our own road trips around the country.

Best Time to Do This Austria Road Trip

The best time for this Austria road trip depends on what you want to do. Still, for this particular itinerary, we’d recommend late spring to early autumn, when the mountain attractions, gorges, hiking trails, and lakes are accessible.

We did our road trip at the end of June, and somehow managed to hit some seriously hot days. While the snow at Dachstein was a very welcome escape from the heat, next time we’d probably plan this route a little earlier in June. You still get those long days for exploring, but hopefully with more comfortable temperatures for all the walking.

What We Would Do Differently

The biggest thing we would change about this Austria road trip is simple: we would stay longer. Four days gave us enough time to see quite a lot, but both the Dachstein and Salzkammergut regions have so many hiking trails, lakes, mountain viewpoints, and small towns that we could easily fill an entire week.

Next time, we would probably plan at least seven days, giving ourselves more time for hiking and a few slower days in between. We would also consider visiting in late spring or autumn, when the temperatures should be a little more comfortable for spending the whole day outdoors.

Still, as we always say, a short trip is better than no trip at all. Four days might not be enough to see everything, but it was definitely enough to make us want to come back.

Buy Us a Ko-fi

Although our road trip in Austria was short, it was absolutely worth it. In just a few days, we went from snowy mountain views at Dachstein to walking through gorges, around alpine lakes, and finally enjoying what are still some of the best views we’ve seen in Austria from Schafberg. There is so much more to explore in both the Dachstein and Salzkammergut regions, and we could easily spend a week or longer here next time. You also don’t have to follow our itinerary exactly; use it as inspiration, add an extra hiking day, stay longer at Wolfgangsee, or pick the stops that sound best to you. This road trip gets big penguinies from us, and if you love mountains, lakes, hiking, and beautiful views, it’s an easy one to recommend. Save this Austria road trip itinerary for later, pack the car, and start planning your own Austrian adventure.

Travel Bold. Eat Well. Waddle Wild.

---

Save This Pin for Later!

This post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, I might earn a tiny commission, enough to help a penguin keep up its globe-trotting lifestyle. No extra cost to you, just more fish for me. Thank you for supporting the adventure!