AUSTRIA - Best of Europe 2014 - page 129

noon tours leave from Bob's office along the river just east of Mozartplatz at Rudolfskai 38,
tel. [phone], mobile [phone], www.bobstours.com ) . Nearly all of Bob's tours
stop for a fun luge ride when the weather is dry (mountain bobsled-€4.50 extra, generally
April-Oct, confirm beforehand). While the afternoon tour leaves promptly, you'll waste up
to 30 minutes on the morning tour doing the hotel pickups.
For a private minibus tour consider Christina Schneeweiss, who does an S.O.M. tour
with more history and fewer jokes (€220, up to 6 people, see “Local Guides,” earlier).
Big-Bus Option: Panorama Tours depart from their smart kiosk at Mirabellplatz daily
at 9:30 and 14:00 year-round (€37, €5 discount for S.O.M. tours with this topic if you
book direct and pay cash, book by calling 0662/874-029 or 0662/883-2110, or online at
www.panoramatours.com ). Many travelers appreciate their more businesslike feel, roomier
buses, and higher vantage point. As they do not pick up at hotels, you won't waste any time
making the rounds before starting the tour.
Bike Tours by “Fräulein Maria”: For some exercise with your S.O.M. tour, you can
meet your guide (likely a man) at the Mirabell Gardens (at Mirabellplatz 4, 50 yards to the
leftofpalaceentry).Themainattractionsthatyou'llpassduringtheeight-milepedalinclude
the Mirabell Gardens, the horse pond,St. Peter'sCemetery,NonnbergAbbey,Leopoldskron
Palace, and, of course, the gazebo. The tour is very family-friendly, and you'll get lots of
stops for goofy photo ops (€26 includes bike, €18 for kids ages 11-16, €12 for kids under
age 11, discount for adults and kids with this topic, daily May-Sept at 9:30, June-Aug also
at16:30,allow3.5hours,reservations requiredonlyforafternoontours,tel.[phone],
www.mariasbicycletours.com ) . For €8 extra (€20 per family), you're welcome to keep the
bike all day.
Beyond Salzburg
Both Bob's and Panorama Tours also offer an extensive array of other day trips from
Salzburg (e.g., Berchtesgaden/Eagle's Nest, salt mines, Hallstatt, and Salzkammergut lakes
and mountains).
Bob's Special Tours offers two particularly well-designed day tours (both depart daily at
9:00; either one costs €90 with a €10 discount if you show this topic and book direct, does
not include entrance fees). Their Sound of Music /Hallstatt Tour first covers everything in
the standard four-hour Sound of Music tour, then continues for a four-hour look at the scen-
ic, lake-speckled Salzkammergut (with free time to explore charming Hallstatt). Bob's Bav-
arian Mountain Tour covers the main things you'd want to do in and around Berchtes-
gaden (Königssee, Hitler's mountaintop Eagle's Nest, Obersalzberg Documentation Center,
salt mine tour).