Private Day Tour of Hallstatt and Salzburg from Vienna

Posted By : Dhaas45
Sam was a wonderful host and the trip hit all the right places. Hallstatt is out of a Disney movie and the ride through the mountains/Alps was serene
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Posted On : 2024-06-30 13:07:46

Posted By : TivanaArbiani_C
We are able to bring our suitcases and be dropped off at our hotel in Salzburg (not returning back to Vienna). Our driver Sam is awesome, he is super caring and very helpful. He also drove smoothly and safely, and gave us lots of interesting information. Hallstaat is very pretty, we love the village and the funicula at the Salt Mines. Highly recommend this trip!
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Posted On : 2024-06-29 17:36:48

Posted By : Kim_C
I refrained from posting this review in hopes that we could get this resolved with Viator support and/or the vendor. Neither was useful. Will definitely need to think again about using Viator for future travels...

The driver, Sam, was just that, a hired driver. Offered no actual tour with knowledgeable information about the sites. The car smelled of covered up cigarette smoke with an air freshener and cologne as well as it was very warm even after asking to turn on the air conditioner multiple times. When asked “what is that church?” At a stop on the drive- “oh it was built in 17th century, I think”. 

The drive was long which was expected but it was in dead silent. When we had almost already passed a site- I think it was the monastery, he pointed over and said oh that is the monastery. But he was driving so fast and unsafe we missed the opportunity to see it. 
We knew the car ride would be long to the destination and were prepared for that. Thankfully we brought a few snacks with us because we didn’t get to the lunch location until 3pm. The tour started at 8am.

We asked in the beginning when we got in the car, we were especially interested in the Sound of Music portion and learning about those sites. We instead got dropped off a site- not sure exactly what one, and told he would meet us in 45 minutes.

We got dropped off at the bottom of the hill in Hallstatt and told to go through and buy the tickets and he would meet us in 45 minutes. Nothing that it’s a UNESCO world heritage site- a detail that would have been lovely to know. Thankfully on the way in we googled this and found out. We paid for the tickets (side note- we feel this should have been included in the $800 dollars we paid for this “tour”) . He met us at the bottom and we meandered awkwardly about the town. Not many details about it just about the salt we could buy from the souvenir shops. It’s a salt mine. We could gather that information on our own. 

We were then shown for 3-5 minutes at a time the water bridges and stood there awkwardly looking at moving water before climbing many stairs to return to the car. My travel companion had two broken toes and this was difficult. 

We continued onto Salzburg in more dead silence. Finally arriving at the gardens. It was pouring rain at this point and he offered us one regular umbrella and a small children’s play umbrella (Disney princess and all). He said he would pick us up in 45 minutes go explore the gardens- “if you like flowers you will enjoy it”. This was one of the sites the Sound of Music was filmed. He made no mention. We wandered around unsure of what we were looking at and for. Very disappointed as with other viator tours in the past, the guide stayed with us to explain what we were seeing and looking at. 

Met again and he took us to the “love lock bridge”. Through reading the signs along the way it infact is NOT a “love lock bridge” it is a bridge in commemoration of Austrian history of the war. VERY DIFFERENT. He walked us across a busy street, almost getting hit literally by a bus because a cross walk was not used and dropped us at a restaurant and said to text him to pick us up in 2 hours. Vague directions on where to go and special things to see.

We had lunch which thankfully our waiter was a better tour guide. One that I would have expected from a viator tour guide that we paid almost $1000 dollars for. He told us about local spots, great museums, and even told us to go to this local little bar because the bartender was amazing.

We went about town, again, not knowing exactly what we were looking at. Stumbled upon another UNESCO World Heritage site. He text me about an hour and a half in asking if we were ready. Seemingly wanting to get going and this “tour” to be over. We continued on our self guided tour and when we were ready we text him. He came and picked us up and then another 3 hours of silence on the way back to Vienna. No music, no talking aside from me and my partner. Which eventually lead to us sitting playing games on our phones because it was so awkward.

We had about an hour and a half left of the journey and he began to pull off the highway into a truck stop. No verbal “I need to use the restroom” just pulled off. He parked and told us we could go use the restroom or get a coffee from the machine. I did not feel safe using the restroom as the men’s was being cleaned and men were in the women’s restroom. 

Moving on, we were getting back into town and while my head was down in my phone he mentioned “oh there’s the palace” and before I could grab my phone for a picture, it was gone. 

We were pulling into the hotel and he asked us to write him a good review. 

We got out and went back to our hotel exhausted, disappointed, and angry we spent that kind of money on this full day tour. I don’t know when or if we will ever be able to go back to Salzburg and this was one of my dreams to see. 

Very dissatisfied with our experience. Sam, nice college kid, but NOT a tour guide. Would recommend advertising this tour as a private driver versus tour. 

This is not what I have come to expect from viator tours
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Posted On : 2024-06-28 16:46:22

Posted By : Anna_S
We rode with Tarek who was awesome! He made sure we always had what we needed and customized our trip to what we wanted to see and do. The tour was long but that’s because there are a few hours in the car traveling. During the travel Tarek made sure we were comfortable. The tour itself is amazing, the sites are a must see. Tarek made us a lunch reservation with a beautiful view, he was knowledgeable about the sites, and he was very friendly. It was a fun day! Thank you!
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Posted On : 2024-06-23 04:20:13

Posted By : Meera_A
I highly recommend this trip if you have a day to spare during your stay at Vienna. The tour guide was there on time to pick us up from the hotel. We were 4 adults and the SUV was comfortable. The drive to Hallstatt was around 3 hours. We absolutely loved Hallstatt. The tour guide was very accommodating and made sure that we were comfortable during the trip. Salzburg was great as well and the tour guide did a great job explaining and answering questions we’ve asked.
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Posted On : 2024-06-21 04:48:25

Posted By : vani_s
Our tour guide Sam was very enthusiastic and patient. He answered all our questions and made sure the trip became memorable for us. He instantly offered us bottles of water, his car was comfortable and so was the drive. He offered to click pictures for us and even suggested a great place to have lunch at.
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Posted On : 2024-06-20 05:24:46

Posted By : J1901JXlauraj
Driver was fun, knowledgeable, reliable , great car and timed it perfectly. . Would highly recommend I’m glad that we have resources in so many places around the world to count on for these types of experiences
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Posted On : 2024-06-03 20:25:44

Posted By : charrenz
Sam, our guide was the best. Had an amazing experience exploring different cities in Austria. Sam was patient, punctual, and friendly. He went out of his way to make sure I made the most out of my experience. Will definitely recommend to anyone and will be coming back soon!
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Posted On : 2024-06-03 20:21:51

Posted By : Goutam_S
The local tour company (Lai Tours), who Viator is tied up with, provided a mid-sized SUV for a family of 4 full grown adults. Can you imagine? And that too for a 12-hour trip. Just crazy. That was ridiculous. I had mentioned in my booking to provide a bigger vehicle so that our trip is comfortable and memorable. But no, that never happened. The journey was not at all comfortable and we were all squeezed in the back seat for the entire 12 hours of the tour. People sitting in the back was always trying to bribe the person in front to take a turn to sit in the front (LOL) The driver was super nice, no complaints about him. He was polite, patient and showed us around. But unfortunately, the drive back and forth ruined the entire experience of the tour.
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Posted On : 2024-06-03 16:13:50

Posted By : CHRIS_L
Gotta book this tour! Mohamad was our guide/driver and he did an amazing job with the history, driving , and telling us where to go and what to do. He picked us up in front of the Park Hyatt at 8:00 sharp. The drive to Hallstätt is not short, but the long drive went smoothly and we were able to experience the Skywalk and the town without any hurry. Hallstatt is one of the most beautiful towns that we have ever experienced! He also made a lunch reservation for us in the town square with a table right beside the lake.

Salzberg was also fun and the drive back to Vienna was good. I’m sure it’s tiring doing all that driving and tour guide stuff, and we appreciate the day that we spent with Mohamad. This tour is a must-do!!
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Posted On : 2024-06-02 05:40:56