Salzburg holidays
There’s plenty more to Salzburg than Mozart and The Sound of Music, though both of those can be found in abundance of course. Waltz your way around a city chock full of stately palaces, Baroque squares, world-class concert halls, charming cafes and buzzing beer gardens. Salzburg is also a gateway to the Alps, which form a staggeringly scenic backdrop to this pocket-sized Austrian city.
Our cheapest holidays to Salzburg
The hills are alive
Take the funicular up to the imposing Hohensalzburg Fortress for 360-degree views of the city and mountains. Afterwards discover the ancient catacombs chiselled from the Monchsberg cliff face and visit St Peter’s Abbey, established in 696. Then call in at Mozart’s Birthplace to learn about Salzburg’s most famous son, before strolling through the beautiful gardens of the Mirabell Palace.
Check out the DomQuartier, home to the impressive cathedral where Mozart was baptised and the equally lavish Residenz Palace with its gallery chock full of Old Masters. Look out for the Sphaera statue of a giant golden globe, too.
Try not to get sprayed by the Trick Fountains in the extensive grounds of the Hellbrunn Palace where you’ll also find a mechanical theatre and hidden grottos. Catch a quirky rendition of The Sound of Music at the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, which is included on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Book your flights to Salzburg today.
Carefully selected Salzburg hotels
Best hotels in Salzburg for all types of traveller
We have a great range of quality hotels in Salzburg to recommend. The Sacher Salzburg has been welcoming guests for over 150 years. Rooms and suites are elegantly decorated, some having balconies. Overlooking the Salzach River, the hotel is just yards from Mozart's former residence and the Linze Gasse Platzl, a historic plaza and shopping avenue. The Holiday Inn Salzburg City is a budget-friendly contemporary hotel in the New Town area, a short walk from the main train station. Thinking of heading up into the Alps? A good option nearby is the Hotel Two Timez. Offering modern, spacious rooms, it’s ideally located between the lake and mountains. Its facilities include a rooftop bar and terrace with stunning views, and a sauna.
Salzburg holiday FAQs
1. Tunnel 400 metres underground at the oldest salt mine in the world, the Hallstatt Salt Mines. Ride the funicular train up the mountain and then plunge into a unique underground world first carved by hand over 3,000 years ago. State-of-the-art technology brings this site of Bronze Age industry to life.
2. Hitler’s summer residence the Eagle’s Nest (Kehlsteinhaus) was built for his 50th birthday just across the border near the German town of Berchtesgaden and enjoys a scenic location on a mountain top some 1,300 metres above the valley below. Enjoy a bite of traditional Bavarian cuisine at its on-site restaurant with panoramic Alpine views.
3. Straddling the German border, the rugged, 1,973-metre-high peak of Untersberg rises above Salzburg. Take a twice-hourly cable car to the summit to feast on views of the city, the Rositten Valley and the Tyrolean, Salzburg and Bavarian Alps. It’s busy with local skiers in the winter, replaced by hikers, climbers and paragliders come summer.
4. You can’t go far in Salzburg without encountering the city’s famous musical prodigy. As well as Mozart’s birthplace, housing 18th Century furniture, his violin and clavichord, there’s the Mozart Residence, where the composer and his family lived from 1773 until 1781. See Mozart’s piano, alongside many original documents and paintings and then pop into the Magic Flute House, the shed transplanted from its original Vienna home where Mozart composed his masterpiece.
5. There’s a brace of charming Christmas markets in and around Salzburg. The best and biggest on Residenz Square hosts regular music events in front of the cathedral, while the one at Hellbrunn Courtyard features a giant advent calendar. There are also smaller markets on Mirabell Square, the Hohensalzburg Fortress and the St Leonhard Pilgrimage Church.
- Hallstatt is a small, picturesque lakeside village complete with pastel-hued houses wedged between lofty mountains on all sides. Its key attractions are the ancient salt mine, an ossuary, boat rides on Lake Hallstatt, a Catholic church with its mountainside graveyard, the mighty Dachstein glacier and trips to the stunning caves of nearby Obertraun.
- You can drive just half an hour out of Salzburg to be within reach of three beautiful lakes in the Salzkammergut region. Many visit Wolfgangsee; it’s one of the area’s clearest lakes, and you can hire a motorboat to go out on the water. A cable car from the lakeside village of St Gilgen takes you to the top of Zwolferhorn – a green, pleasant hiking peak from where the surrounding lakes look like little puddles.
- For a quieter stay, pretty Lake Fuschl (Fuschlsee) next door has a ban on motorboats and a reputation for hosting the rich and famous. The lake, home of the Red Bull HQ, is the site of choice for many fancy summer homes. The lake is one of the cleanest in the region with water pure enough to even drink.
- Between Innsbruck and Salzburg, in the province of Tyrol, lies the upscale medieval town of Kitzbuhel. Speed demons flock there in winter to take on the Hahnenkamm ski race. The steep slopes conjure images of James Bond fleeing down the mountainside – Ian Fleming was educated here after being ‘removed’ from both Eton and Sandhurst. Head out on the biking trails after breakfast in the local coffee shops. For dinner, famous Rosi’s Sonnbergstuben is a restaurant with tableside yodelling courtesy of local celebrity Rosi.
- Zell am See is one of Austria’s prime ski resorts offering spectacular views of Lake Zell and the surrounding mountains. The best skiing can be had on Kitzsteinhorn glacier above the village of Kaprun which shares a lift pass with the resort, while the sizeable town offers a lively apres-ski scene.
- There are several other prime ski resorts near Salzburg. Saalbach has 270 kilometres of runs and is ideal for intermediate skiers. Centred around a charming Tyrolean town, it’s renowned for its rocking nightlife. Obertauern has a wide variety of pistes spread across 100 accessible kilometres catering for everyone from beginners to daredevils. There’s night-time skiing here and a dedicated snow park, plus the charms of a mile-long apres-ski scene. The lesser-known gem of Hochkonig offers 120 kilometres of versatile slopes taking in six peaks. Enjoy superlative Alpine panoramas and ski huts serving superior cuisine. Another underrated resort is the Salzburger Sportwelt. It’s spread across seven distinct holiday towns and nine ski areas, so freeskiers and snowboarders get their adrenaline fix here, while novices learn in one of 25 ski schools. A new cable car connects up to 210 kilometres of slopes.
Why choose British Airways Vacations?
The British Airways experience is more than a flight.
We offer carefully chosen hotels, resorts and villas in the most amazing places, and car rental with no hidden extras. Our access to the extensive British Airways global network and oneworld® alliance puts us in a unique position to create packages with convenient flights across the globe. From start to finish consider your vacation taken care of.
Small deposits
Secure your vacation with a small deposit and spread the cost with flexible installments.
Baggage allowance
All of our vacation packages include a generous checked baggage allowance.
Earn extra Avios
Earn extra Avios and reduce the cost of your next vacation with Avios payment.
Pay with Avios
Reduce the cost of your next trip and pay for your vacation with Avios.
Customer reviews
Our customers’ reviews are independently moderated by Feefo. We're extremely proud of our verified ratings, satisfaction scores and the commitment we see, when our customers consistently choose to book with us again.
Other holiday destinations you might be interested in...
Andorra holidays
Austria holidays
Budapest holidays
Copenhagen holidays
Frankfurt holidays
Innsbruck holidays
Munich holidays
Oslo holidays
Prague holidays
Reykjavík holidays
Stockholm holidays
Vienna holidays
Terms and conditions
- Flight only prices are updated every 24 hours and are accurate when published. Flights at these prices are limited and may sell out quickly.
- Package vacation prices (flight + hotel or flight + car) prices are updated every 24 to 48 hours and are accurate when published and may vary upon reaching subsequent pages. Availability may be extremely limited particularly during peak periods.
- Return fares displayed are the lowest adult return prices in the cabin specified including taxes, fees and carrier charges, based on a 7-day return journey.
- Package vacation prices (flight + hotel and flight + car) shown are in USD per person based on 2 adults sharing one room or one car and prices include taxes, fees and carrier charges unless otherwise specified. Flight + car prices based on drivers aged 30-70 years.
- Additional charges will be applied for payments made using a corporate credit card.
- Advertised fares are available on ba.com. Additional charges may apply if purchased through British Airways outlets or travel agents.
- Combine and save on Vacations: Guaranteed savings are only available when booking a Flight + Hotel or Flight + Car booking including one land product, it does not apply to a ‘Customise your trip’ vacation including more than one hotel and / or car.
- Standard British Airways terms and conditions apply.
1. Vacation Sale offers can be booked online at ba.com or through the British Airways call centre from January 6, 2026 and January 22, 2026 at 23:59 EST.
2. Vacation sale offers are valid on travel between January 6, 2026 and September 30, 2026. All travel must be completed by September 30, 2026. For travel from all British Airways operating airports in the US.
3. To qualify for the up to $400 discount per booking offer certain booking requirements must be met.
4. The savings are $50, $100, $200 or $400 and apply to new Vacation Package bookings only where a minimum spend is met:
a. Vacation Package bookings with a total cost of $8,000 per booking can save $400 per booking.
b. Vacation Package bookings with a total cost of $5,000 per booking can save $200 per booking.
c. Vacation Package bookings with a total cost of $3,000 per booking can save $100 per booking.
d. Vacation Package bookings with a total cost of $1,500 per booking can save $50 per booking.
5. The savings are per booking.
6. A Vacation Package booking means any booking including round trip flights and either a hotel, car or combination of both for the duration of the travel period. Hotels/cars added to flights only after a flight has been selected or booked will not be eligible. To be eligible for savings, we invite you to choose ‘Flight + hotel’ or ‘Flight + car’ when commencing a search. Quotes in our ‘Create your trip’ booking tool will not include this offer and are discounted in a different way.
7. Flight + car Vacation Package savings are applied before any Extras (insurance waiver, car seats etc.) are added to the booking.
8. Prices advertised on ba.com include the additional discount where applicable.
9. Vacation sale lead-in prices include all airline-related taxes, fees, and carrier charges.
10. Economy flight and hotel package lead-in prices are based on 2 adults traveling on the same itinerary, round trip in Economy Class, pricing per adult person, based on 5 nights for double occupancy accommodation.
11. Economy flight and car rental package lead-in prices are based on 2 adults traveling on the same itinerary, round trip in Economy Class, pricing per adult person, based on 7 days Avis or Budget car rental in a ‘Group A Economy Manual’ car. Prices are based on drivers aged 30-70 years. (Automatic car rental available at higher prices).
12. Car rental prices do not include fees charged locally such as airport charges, additional driver, insurance, navigation aids and similar options.
13. All prices are liable to change at any time and are subject to flight, hotel and car rental availability. Availability is strictly limited.
14. Offers are valid for new bookings only, made during the promotional period. Valid only when combined with British operated flights or BA code share flights departing from a US gateway.
15. Prices are based on travel during dates and board basis stated.
16. Limited availability of flights at these prices. Individual travel dates are subject to availability. Promotional travel is subject to availability and capacity control, and availability may be limited over holidays and peak periods. The number of seats available on each flight at a particular fare may be restricted and it is possible that seats allocated to a particular fare on a particular flight may be fully booked even though seats are still available for sale at a different fare or booking class in the same cabin.
17. Deposits can only be paid for bookings created as flight + hotel or flight + car packages. All flight only, hotel, car and experience only bookings, and any hotel, car or experiences added to a flight only booking are excluded from this offer. The following deposit levels apply based on the total spend per booking:
I. Flight + hotel and flight + car vacations between $1000-$1999 - pay from $198 deposit per booking
II. Flight + hotel and flight + car vacations between $2000-$2499 - pay from $250 deposit per booking
III. Flight + hotel and flight + car vacations between $2500-$2999 - pay from $300 deposit per booking
18. The deposit balance will be due 28 days prior to your departure date. The actual payment date will be displayed on the payment details page. You can pay the balance in as many instalments as you want. This allows you to spread the cost of the vacation over a longer period. You will have full flexibility of when you make the payments and how much they are, the only requirement is that you must have paid the full balance by the balance due date.
19. British Airways holidays standard terms and conditions and conditions of carriage apply. For full terms and conditions please refer to https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/legal/package-booking-terms-and-conditions
20. All travel on BA operated flights is subject to BA's General Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage (see ba.com http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/legal/british-airways/general-conditions-of-carriage) and the notice and conditions of contract contained on each ticket and itinerary. Passengers carried by code share services are subject to the ticketing carrier's conditions of carriage.
21. British Airways is not liable for the reproduction of this offer or indirect access via third party websites of these terms and where such reproduction misstates or omits any of the information or terms and conditions connected with this promotion.
22. Normal booking conditions, including amendment and cancellation charges, of a hotel purchase apply.
23. Normal booking conditions, including amendment and cancellation charges, of a car purchase apply.
24. Cannot be combined with any other offer.
25. This offer may be withdrawn or limited by British Airways without notice.
26. Other significant restrictions may apply.
We reserve the right to cancel any bookings that violate any of these terms and conditions.