Things to know before visiting Salzburg - Transportation, Tipping, Sim Card & etc

Salzburg, also known as the salt castle, is the fourth largest city in Austria. Salzburg used to be an independent state and was only annexed to Austria in 1805. The city was also the birthplace of Mozart and was the setting for the musical – The Sound of Music.

We stayed in Salzburg for 4 night and explore many of its attractions with Salzburg Card. The architecture is also one of the best preserved in the region. In this beautiful city, all we could hear were birds singing away. Read our 5 days 4 night Salzburg + Hallstatt itinerary here

Travelling in Salzburg is fun and easy! I hope to share with you some of the things we learned from the trip! Hope it helps!

Transportation from Munich to Salzburg

There are many ways to get to Salzburg. There is an airport in Salzburg. Unfortunately, there is no airline that flies from Singapore to Salzburg directly. Thankfully, there are many ways to get to Salzburg. We flew into Munich and took a train to Salzburg.  

DB Train

We book our tickets from DB and bought a 1 way ticket from Munich Airport to Salzburg for 16 Euro/ Pax. If you find the price of a ticket for DB train expensive, consider purchasing the Bayern Ticket. Read more about DB transportation here.

Get the Bayern Ticket

We didn’t know the Bavarian Card exist until we are here. The Card allows unlimited regional train ride in Bavaria from 9am to 3am the next day. Salzburg is one of the places included in the card. It works the same price for 2 of us but if you have more people, it’s a great deal!

*Do note that the Bayern ticket only starts 9am on a weekday and if you purchase the group ticket, it’s best to stay together as train conductor will check. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket machines at the railway station and most subway and suburban train.

valid for 1 person EUR 25,-*
valid for 2 persons EUR 32,-*
valid for 3 persons EUR 39,-*
valid for 4 persons EUR 46,-*
valid for 5 persons EUR 53,-*

You can read more about the Bayern Ticket here

Getting around in Salzburg

The cheapest way to explore the city is definitely on foot. The main attractions are all located in the old town and near to each other. Walking was our main mode of travelling we use up the 72 hour Salzburg Card! You can read more on Salzburg Card Review here

Alternatively, the easiest way to get around Salzburg is by public transport. Single tickets are sold at 2.70 Euro by the bus conductor or 1.90 Euro per trip (central region) if you purchase in a pack of 5 in advance. Unlimited day tickets are sold at 4 Euro per person. The Salzburg card includes unlimited public transportation. Do note that not all bus services are included.

For more information on public transport click here

Day trips from Salzburg

If you are planning a day trip to Hallstatt, St Gilgen or Lake Wolfgang, do check out the OBB for the best route. We used it to check for the earliest bus schedule while we were in Salzburg. Plus, purchasing from the app/online is cheaper than purchasing it directly from the bus conductor. You can use the app to purchase Train ticket too!

Read more about travelling to Hallstatt and itinerary here

For more information on OBB click here

Accommodation / Where to stay in Salzburg

There are many accommodation options available in Salzburg and we highly recommend to get one near the Salzburg Hbf Station. Staying near the train station also mean better accessibility for day trips. On top of that, supermarket SPAR will be open until 10pm for your convenience.

We stayed at H+ Hotel that was located next to the train station. The hotel is not the cheapest but the location is certainly the best. Although the room markets themselves as a 4-star hotel, I feel that they can do better.

On a side note, if you a fan of Sound of Music, consider booking a night in Trapp Villa. Although the location is not ideal, I think it’s definitely an experience!

Food & Drinks

The food in Salzburg is generally reasonable. The main dish in the restaurant has a price range from 12 euro to 16 euro. Drinks such as coffee, beer and coke cost 3 - 4 euro. In most restaurant accepts credit card but small café like sugar cube does not. Thus, remember to bring some cash with you.

Shopping in Salzburg

There are many local designers and Souvenirs shops in Old Town. Magnets, Postcard, T-shirts and everything with the word Salzburg. Unfortunately, nothing caught our eyes except for the stuff from the supermarket (Coffee pods, herbs & spices, smoke salt & stuff like this because these items are expensive in Singapore!)

The only stuff we got from the old town is the Confiserie Fürst Mozart Ball because we tried the Mirabell Mozart ball from the supermarket and was not to our liking. Plus, the Mozart ball was created by Paul Fürst and can only be found in Salzburg.

There are many luxury brands such as LV, Prada & etc in Old Town. If Salzburg is not the last country you are visiting, I suggest you skip these luxury brand. The price across Europe is pretty standard. Unless you are talking about limited edition or design that is hard to come by.

Sim Card

Most people use A1 sim card which cost 10 Euro/1 GB for its starter pack. You can purchase these sim cards in the supermarket, The post office or mobile phone shop. Check out more information here.

Instead of getting the starter pack, We purchased 1 European country sim cards that can be use in different countries throughout our 2 weeks in Europe. The orange sim card is selling at 10 GB for 40 euro/ 2 weeks. However, if you don’t use a lot of data, consider purchasing an individual sim card in various country. In most cities in Europe, it’s 10 euro for 1 GB.

Currency & Credit Card

Not all place accepts credit card. Thus, it is important to bring some cash with you.

Tipping in Salzburg

The tips are not included in your bill. Usually, we will give a tip of 10% if the service is good. Likewise, if the service is bad (I mean real bad! Like ignoring us even there is no crowd. Pretending to be busy if we tried to call him FOUR times), we will not give because there is no service provided. & Yes, I was referring to Cafe Tomaselli.

Weather

We were definitely under dress in Salzburg. I thought the weather was supposed to be cooling like in Paris and had forgotten to check the weather in Salzburg. It was spring but the temperature is close to 5 degrees. Like seriously?

How many days to spend in Salzburg

I would recommend you to at least spend 2 full days in Salzburg. 1 day isn’t enough for you to enjoy the best of Salzburg! Read more on our Salzburg Travel itinerary here 

Do you have any question regarding Salzburg? Let us know in the comment below! We love to hear from you!

Read more on One day Hallstatt Itinerary here  Read more on our Salzburg Travel itinerary here 
Is the Salzburg Card worth the money?