Traveling to Schafberg in Austria took me to a pretty incredible place to visit and was well worth it. If you are looking for a peaceful area around a lake to watch a prominent mountain, I would go. It offers several hikes and is a destination that most travelers don’t have on their radar. That’s why I wanted to share with you. Here, I inform you about the experience I had and the important things you should not forget when reaching the peak.
How to get there ?
Depending on where you come from, Salzburg is the first stop. From the central station you must go outside where all the buses depart. Hop onto the bus Salzburg – St. Gilgen (150), Stop: St. Gilgen (ca. 7 USD / one way) – it runs quite infrequently. The bus drops you off on the main road, so then you walk down towards the Wolfgangsee Lake; and from there you can either walk to the valley or catch the ferry tour that drops you off. From there catch the Schafbergbahn to go up to the summit or you can hike for 4-5 hours. The easier and probably better option to get there would be by car because the bus and the ferry can take a lot of time.
WHY IT WAS INCREDIBLE AND WHY IT ALMOST WASN’T ?
Wolfangsee Lake
It was pretty amazing to walk down to Wolfgangsee Lake through St. Gilgen – a very cute little village, which took about 10 minutes. That day the marathon was on and the weather was wonderful; so I thought, wow it would be amazing to run along the lake. Chilling on top of the landing stage was incredible and I felt so relaxed. Wandering around the lake is also really, really nice.
Wolfgangsee Lake Ferry Cruise
I was really happy my girlfriend and I did the ferry cruise on Wolfgangsee Lake because it was really beautiful to see nature and the glory of the colorful tree leaves; plus it was nice to relax. The trip going up to the Schafberg can include a ferry trip and may be booked here: Schafberg Bahn – Wolfgangsee Schifffahrt
Schafberg
We got off the ferry at the valley of Schafberg mountain. From here we had to change to the Schafbergbahn train to take us to the mountain. Yes, we were very lazy to hike up, but sometimes it just suits your mood better. The view going up slowly was really beautiful because you get amazing views over Mondsee and Wolfgangsee Lake and the mountain range.
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Experience
Slowly arriving to the summit at Schafbergspitze at 1,732 m after about 35 minutes, it was really nice to wander around and have a drink and snack. Unfortunately, the queue to get food or drink was really long and apparently – somebody we met told us – it takes a long time to be served. That’s why I would recommend bringing your own snacks and enough to drink. However, we found a stall that sold drinks and ice cream, so we left happy and went to sit down.
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Very important
Very important: know that when you arrive at the peak, you better go and get a number to reserve a ticket to catch the mountain train to go down. Nobody made us aware of it in advance, so we didn’t know, and later on almost ended in a disaster because waiting times can be 2-3 hours.
Check the Schafberg website at www.schafbergbahn.at to see when they are open, as they close during winter.
Blah Blah Car travel disaster
It was really amazing day, and I don’t want to keep this experience secret as the trip might interest you, especially if you are considering arriving by public transportation.
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Experience
We kept ourselves flexible about what time to head back to Munich; we only booked something when we were on our way on the bus from St. Gilgen to Salzburg at first. I found a liftshare and booked us two seats. I text messaged with the driver who told us where to meet. I didn’t have the best feeling after I booked it and read reviews about him. However, we had to catch a taxi (ca. 12 USD) to arrive at the location where he told us to meet. We waited and when I called him, he was really aggressive. He had already left because he was there 20 minutes prior to our meeting and didn’t wait because we weren’t there. Wow, this almost ruined the day, but we just took another taxi to the central station in Salzburg and hopped on a bus again. This is the dark side of traveling. I still had to pay for the car that never waited for us! So let’s see if I can solve this dispute through the Blah Blah Car website – shocking experience !
Feel free to read about my preferred public transportation when traveling around Europe.
I TRAVEL FOREVER’s VIEW & RECOMMENDATION
I totally recommend to go there because the scenery around the lake is very relaxed and we felt so good surrounded by very fresh air. A nice getaway place for a romantic trip for two I would say. Also, there are a lot of accommodations along the lake, and I noticed some traditional places where an old lady would do everything to help you have an amazing stay. The next time, I would definitely book a room to stay for at least two days. Also, a local shared with me that there is an apparently amazing event in St. Gilgen / Wolfgangsee Lake – the advent market from 1st advent to 4th advent in December. Very important as already mentioned is to get a reserved ticket when you arrive at the peak to avoid any trouble such as missing buses or trains.
Amazing day traveling in a lesser known place.
#TW
