We booked an all day adventure which gave us two tours during an eight-hour period. We combined the Sound of Music tour with a visit to the beautiful little town of Hallstet. Our tour guide/driver Rosa Marie picked us up at our hotel promptly at 9am and at the end of the tour at 5pm, we were dropped off at Mirabell Palace. I may have known we would not be returned to our hotel, I don't remember, but that is something to take note of in case you have mobility issues.
The first 40-minutes of the tour was in and around the town of Salzburg and was some of what we'd seen on our own the day before. Rosa Marie did have some interesting stories she shared with us and gave some information on the city that we may not have known.
One of the really great things about the tour was that there were only six of us guests in the van. The small number of fellow-travelers makes everything so much easier and more enjoyable. There were only six of us to climb in and out of the van at photo stops and only six of us to gather together when it was time to leave. Plus, we got to know our fellow travelers a bit, which was nice.
Our first stop was along a lovely lake to see the back of a mansion across the lake -- the famous back where much of the action in the Sound of Music movie took place, including the boat scene with the children falling from the boat and the gate the Captain threw open for them. We saw it all from across the lake. We also saw a couple of beautiful swans sail in and land on the lake - a nice bonus. Rosa Marie told us a great story about the filming of the boat scene.
Helbrunn Palace was next, for a 15-minute stop to see the famous Gazebo (and bathrooms were very nearby as well). On the way, Rosa pointed out the yellow house used for the front of the Von Trapp house, and yellow wall along the walkway where Maria sang the "Confidence" song. We rode some gorgeous countryside and along a long lake on the way to a beautiful photo opt. We stopped above a town on a lake with mountains across the lake. The church spire helped us recognize the town as the one used in the opening credits of the movie.
Our next stop was Hallstet, an absolutely beautiful little town perched along the shore of a lovely lake, at the base of a great mountain. It's like a picture postcard, it's so charming - and easily walkable as well. We had 2.15 hours in this little town and enjoyed every minute of it. There are two churches you can go inside, lots of picturesque houses and buildings to admire, and some shops to browse through. There are a couple of restaurants and one little sandwich shop. We got a kebap and fries so we could eat quickly and continue our sightseeing of the town. It is a slightly uphill walk through the town, but not bad. The town has been known for its salt production for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, so a souvenir of salt from their mines is a nice thing to get from the gift shop.
I believe there is a tour one can take of the salt mine, but we didn't feel we had time to try it. That would have been nice. We did go into the Charnal House which only took about 5-10 minutes (see separate review).
After we left Hallstet, we stopped in Mondsee where the church is that was used for the wedding of Maria and the Captain. It's quite ornate and the town is charming. Our guide told us stories about the filming and things about the church. I had a wonderful piece of cake from the bakery in a restaurant very near the church. It is called "housecake" and was the best pastry I had on our entire trip.
We ended at Mirabell Garden where Rosie told us various spots used in the movie - at least four places were used in the filming. I would recommend Bob's Special Tours. Another bonus was that we got 10 euros off the price of our tour if we had a Rick Steve's book (which we did). Rick Steves recommends Bob's. Hope you enjoy Salzburg - we sure did!