Salzburg Trip planned in early October 2009

I have searched the topics listed and haven%26#39;t found complete answers to my questions so hope no one minds if they happen to be duplicated.

We are flying into Salzburg, but we are staying at Alpenland hotel in St, Johann im Pongau, We want to see Dachau and Neushwanstein Castle along with Salzburg tours of Sound of Music, Mozart, and Salt Mines.

1. Will we be able to purchase tours to these sites once there or do we need to purchase ahead off of internet?

2. Can we get a train to St. Johann and to make day trips into Salzburg?

3. Will we need to rent a car to get to Neuschwanstein? One post on the forum said that both the castle and Munich was too far for day trips, but 120 miles didn%26#39;t seem that far, howbeit a long day.

4. We are staying there 6 full days. Is is possible to train over to Switzerland just to see the Alps further and back in a day?

5.My husband is an experienced driver in cities but is it really different to travel in Europe. Many have told me just don%26#39;t do it, but keep wondering if we will be better off with a car staying in St. Johann.

Thank you and hope someone can help with some of my concerns.

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Ad 1) I would not prebook any tours far in advance. Browse the website(s) of the operator(s) and see/ask what kind of acquistions are available.

Ad 2) St. Johann has its own train station with frequent services to Salzburg.

http://fahrplan.oebb.at/bin/query.exe/e

Ad 3) Neuschwanstein is basically feasible on public transportation, if you stand up early enough and don%26#39;t mind sitting on trains for hours. But a car would save you a lot of time. Go for the car as you could additionally stop in interesting towns along.

Ad 4) Well, where do you wanna go to in Switzerland? Switzerland does not only consist of one impressive valley where the train accidently runs through. Moreover, the mountains in Switzerland are majestic either. I would not waste your precious time by going that far towards the West.

Ad 5) Traffic in Europe is faster and ruder. Lanes are more narrow. I don%26#39;t see any problem in driving - you guys would doubtlessly survive. I only see difficulties when it comes to parking in cities as space is limited and fees are high.

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Correction of answer 4:

I meant that the mountains in TYROL (and not Switzerland) are majestic either.

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