Day 1: Prague → Salzburg via Karlštejn Castle, Český Krumlov
Day 2: Salzburg — Mozartplatz, Salzburg Cathedral, Festung Hohensalzburg, Getreidegasse & Mozarts Geburtshaus, Mirabell Gardens, Schloss Leopoldskron, Hellbrunn Palace & Pavilion, Nonnberg Abbey
Day 3: Salzkammergut — Hallstatt, Wolfgangsee, Schafberg cog railway
Day 4: Salzburg → Vienna via Herrenchiemsee Palace, Melk Abbey
Day 5: Vienna — Schönbrunn Palace, Hofburg, Stephansdom, Belvedere or Kunsthistorisches Museum, evening Vienna State Opera or Musikverein
Day 6: Vienna → Prague via Lednice Chateau, Kutná Hora

Private chauffeured tour

Six days, two cities, one private driver. This is the classic Central European cultural journey: Prague to Salzburg via UNESCO-listed Český Krumlov, two days based in Salzburg for the city itself and the surrounding Salzkammergut (with Hallstatt, Wolfgangsee, and the Sound of Music locations), one day's drive to Vienna with Melk Abbey en route, a full day in Vienna, and home through the Lednice estate and Kutná Hora. The route arcs across the southern half of the former Habsburg empire and pairs the most photogenic small town in Central Europe with the most architecturally consequential capital.

For Mozart and Sound of Music lovers, this is the right itinerary — Salzburg gets the depth it deserves, with two full days for the Mozart sites, the Festung, the Mirabell Gardens, and the cinematic landscapes around the Wolfgangsee. For Habsburg history, Vienna delivers everything you would expect from a single day at imperial scale.

At a glance

Duration: Six days, five nights
Cities: Prague (start & finish), Salzburg (3 nights), Vienna (2 nights)
Total driving: Approximately 1,500 km across six days
Languages: English-speaking driver throughout
Best for: Mozart and Sound of Music enthusiasts; classical-music travellers; Habsburg history travellers
Best months: May–June and September–early October. The Salzburg Festival (mid-July to end of August) is exceptional but requires advance hotel booking.

What this journey includes

Six days of private chauffeur service in a premium Mercedes vehicle (S-Class or V-Class depending on party size and luggage)
Door-to-door transfers between your Prague, Salzburg, and Vienna hotels
Two sightseeing stops on each travel day, included in the journey time
Full Sound of Music location route on the Salzburg-area day, with the driver moving you between locations rather than the standard coach-tour rush
Pre-trip planning with our customer support team to coordinate timing, restaurant suggestions, ticket bookings, and any special requests

What this journey does not include

Hotels — you choose and book your own accommodation. DriveCzech is a private transport service, not a tour operator. We are happy to recommend properties at different price points (see below) but the booking is yours.
Entrance tickets to attractions, palaces, or Salzburg Festival performances
Meals — your driver will recommend the right restaurants for lunch on the road and in each city

Day by day

Day 1: Prague → Salzburg via Karlštejn and Český Krumlov

Your driver collects you from your Prague hotel after breakfast. The drive south to Salzburg is around 470 km and takes about six hours of pure driving — but with two genuinely worthwhile stops along the route, the day becomes a tour rather than a transfer.

First stop — Karlštejn Castle: The Gothic royal castle founded by Emperor Charles IV in 1348 to safeguard the imperial regalia and the Bohemian crown jewels. About 40 km southwest of Prague. The standard guided tour covers the historic interiors in roughly 55 minutes; the exterior alone is one of the iconic images of the Czech lands. We arrive early to avoid the coach-tour crush.

Lunch in the village below the castle or at one of the inns along the route through southern Bohemia.

Second stop — Český Krumlov: A UNESCO World Heritage town since 1992 and the second most visited place in the Czech Republic after Prague. Late Gothic and Renaissance architecture preserved in unusually complete form, wrapped in the bends of the Vltava River. About 90 minutes for a walk through the old town and a brief look at the castle's exterior with its painted tower. The town gets its evening light around 17:30 in summer and earlier in winter — beautiful for photography.

From Krumlov, the drive across the Šumava border into Austria takes about two and a half hours, putting you at your Salzburg hotel by early evening.

Day 2: Salzburg

Your driver collects you in the morning and the day's itinerary covers the historic centre of Salzburg, with the Sound of Music sites within the city walls included naturally rather than as a separate tour.

Morning walking circuit:

Mozartplatz and Residenz — the central square with the Mozart monument and the archbishops' Baroque palace
Salzburg Cathedral — Italian-Baroque interior, the font where Mozart was baptised in 1756
Festung Hohensalzburg — the medieval fortress dominating the city from its 119-metre cliff. Reached by the funicular from the cathedral square. The interior tour and the panoramic views are both worth the climb.
Getreidegasse — the famous shopping street with its medieval iron guild signs. Mozart's birthplace (Mozarts Geburtshaus, Getreidegasse 9) is open as a museum.

Lunch in the old town. Gablerbräu and Stiftskeller St. Peter (in operation since 803 — the oldest restaurant in Central Europe) are both reliable.

Afternoon: Sound of Music locations in the city

Mirabell Palace and Gardens — the iconic "Do-Re-Mi" sequence was filmed in the rose gardens, the Pegasus fountain, and on the Mirabell terraces. The palace itself is now municipal offices but the gardens are freely open.
Schloss Leopoldskron — the lakeside palace that served as the exterior of the von Trapp family villa in the film. Now a hotel; the lake-facing terrace can be visited from the public lakeshore.
Hellbrunn Palace and the Pavilion — the seventeenth-century summer residence of Salzburg's archbishops, with its famous trick fountains. The glass pavilion ("I Am Sixteen, Going on Seventeen") was moved here for film tourism and is open to visitors.
Nonnberg Abbey — the working Benedictine convent above the city where Maria, in the film, was a novice. The exterior courtyard can be visited; the convent itself remains private.

Your driver remains available through the evening if you would like to be taken to and from dinner — Salzburg's better restaurants are mostly walkable from the central hotels but a car is welcome in winter or for guests who prefer not to walk back uphill to the fortress-area hotels.

Day 3: The Salzkammergut — Hallstatt and the Wolfgangsee

A full day exploring the lakes and mountains east of Salzburg — the Salzkammergut, one of the most photographed landscapes in Europe and the home of the remaining Sound of Music locations outside the city.

First stop — Hallstatt: The UNESCO World Heritage village wedged between the Hallstätter See and the Dachstein massif. The salt mining here goes back to 1500 BC, making Hallstatt the oldest documented salt-mining settlement in the world; the modern village is about 800 people. The classic viewpoint above the village (from the parking area on the cliff road) is the photograph you have seen on every Austria postcard. Allow about 90 minutes for a walk through the village, lunch with a lake view, and the classic photograph.

Second stop — Wolfgangsee region: The lake of Saint Wolfgang, ringed by Alpine peaks and home to the Sound of Music opening sequence — Maria runs across the meadows above the Wolfgangsee in the film's most famous shot. If the weather cooperates, your driver can take you up the Schafberg cog railway from Sankt Wolfgang for the panoramic view from the summit (1,783 m, often called "the most beautiful view in Austria"). The railway runs from late April through October; in winter we substitute a drive around the lake to Sankt Gilgen, with views back across the water to the Schafberg massif.

Back at your Salzburg hotel by late afternoon. Free evening; your driver remains available if needed.

Day 4: Salzburg → Vienna via Herrenchiemsee and Melk Abbey

Check out from your Salzburg hotel after breakfast. The drive to Vienna is around 300 km, four hours of pure driving, with two genuinely impressive stops.

First stop — Herrenchiemsee (optional, weather permitting): The "Bavarian Versailles" — King Ludwig II's enormous Baroque palace on an island in the Chiemsee, modelled directly on the central section of Versailles. Reached by a 15-minute boat ride from Prien am Chiemsee on the lakeshore. The palace was never finished — Ludwig II died in 1886 with construction still underway — but the completed wings are remarkable. About two hours including the boat journey and the tour. If time is tight or the weather is poor, we can substitute the Eagle's Nest at Berchtesgaden (historically significant but often weather-affected) or skip directly to Melk.

Lunch at a country restaurant along the route or in the small Austrian town of Mondsee, which sits on the route between Salzburg and the Wachau.

Second stop — Melk Abbey: The great Benedictine monastery on its rocky bluff above the Danube, with the library, the marble hall, and the abbey church described in detail in our Day 1 of the Vienna-Budapest itinerary. About 90 minutes for the tour and terrace.

Check-in at your Vienna hotel by early evening. Dinner in the Inner City.

Day 5: Vienna

A full day in the imperial capital. The standard rhythm:

Morning: Schönbrunn Palace — the Habsburg summer residence, with 1,441 rooms, the Grand Tour covering forty rooms in about an hour, and the formal gardens stretching back to the Gloriette. The earlier you arrive, the better; afternoon Schönbrunn is the busiest of any palace in central Europe.

Lunch in the Inner City; we recommend something traditional rather than ambitious — a classic Wiener Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel at Figlmüller or Plachutta is a more authentic introduction to Viennese food than the high-end Michelin places.

Afternoon: The historic centre — the Hofburg complex (the Habsburg city palace with the Imperial Apartments, the Treasury, and the Spanish Riding School), Saint Stephen's Cathedral, the Graben and Kohlmarkt for the famous shop fronts (Demel for coffee and cake, Augarten porcelain, Wagner-Werkstätten). Optional add: the Albertina (for graphic art and Klimt) or the Kunsthistorisches Museum (for the imperial paintings collection).

Alternative afternoons:

Belvedere Palace — for Klimt's The Kiss and the Austrian art collection
Parndorf Outlet Centre — 45 minutes east of Vienna, designer shopping at outlet prices
Spanish Riding School — Sunday morning performances (advance booking essential) or weekday morning training sessions

Evening: Vienna State Opera or the Musikverein for the classical concert that almost every visitor wants. We recommend coordinating tickets in advance through our customer support; opera and Musikverein performances book out months ahead in peak season.

Day 6: Vienna → Prague via Lednice and Kutná Hora

Check out from your Vienna hotel after breakfast. The drive back to Prague is about 330 km, four hours of pure driving, with two stops that turn the transfer into a proper final day.

First stop — Lednice Chateau: The Liechtenstein family's Neo-Gothic summer residence in the UNESCO-listed Lednice-Valtice cultural landscape. About an hour for the gardens, the chateau exterior, and the minaret folly that punctuates the formal park.

Lunch in the village of Lednice or at the nearby Valtice estate, with its excellent local wine.

Second stop — Kutná Hora: The medieval silver-mining city — Saint Barbara's Cathedral and the Sedlec Ossuary. About 90 minutes.

Drop-off at your Prague hotel in the early evening. End of the journey.

Recommended hotel categories

DriveCzech is a private transport service, not a travel agency. We do not arrange accommodation, but we work regularly with guests at the major five-star and luxury boutique properties in both cities and are happy to share a recommendations list when you book your trip.

In Salzburg our guests most often stay in the old town near the Mozartplatz, on the Mirabellgardens side of the river, or at Schloss Leopoldskron itself (now a small hotel) for an experience particularly suited to Sound of Music travellers. All of the major five-star properties are within ten minutes' walk of the historic centre.

In Vienna the Inner City near the Hofburg, the Ringstrasse, or the Burggarten / Albertinaplatz district are the most popular. The classic palace hotels (Sacher, Imperial, Bristol, Ritz-Carlton) all sit within a few hundred metres of each other in this district.

For specific recommendations matched to your preferences, contact our customer support team on WhatsApp at +420 603 427 002.

Practical notes

Currency: Czech crowns (CZK) in Prague, Krumlov, and Kutná Hora; euros (EUR) in Salzburg and Vienna. Cards work essentially everywhere.
Borders: The entire route is within the Schengen Area. No passport checks.
Languages: Your driver speaks English. In each city, English is widely spoken in hotels, restaurants, and major attractions.
Dress: Smart-casual works almost everywhere. Salzburg restaurants in the old town are slightly more formal than equivalent Czech places; a jacket for men at dinner is normal in better restaurants. Sturdy walking shoes essential for Hallstatt's lakeside cobbles and the Salzburg fortress paths.
Weather: The Salzkammergut region is significantly cooler and wetter than Prague or Vienna; allow for an extra layer and a rain jacket even in summer.
Salzburg Festival: Mid-July through end of August. Hotels and restaurants book out months in advance; if you want to travel during the festival, contact us by January or February at the latest.
Sound of Music tour buses are everywhere in Salzburg in season — a key advantage of the private-driver version is that you avoid them entirely, arriving at each location either before or after the coach crush.
Vehicle: Mercedes S-Class for two guests with moderate luggage; Mercedes V-Class for larger parties or for guests with significant luggage.

Why DriveCzech

Salzburg without a car is genuinely restrictive — Hallstatt and the Wolfgangsee both require either a coach tour with a fixed schedule or a private driver. The coach tours skip the better viewpoints, rush through Hallstatt at midday when the village is fullest, and never reach the Schafberg summit. With DriveCzech, you arrive at Hallstatt at 9:30 before the coach groups, you have the lakeside viewpoints to yourself, and you decide whether the Schafberg railway is worth the time on the day based on the weather. The same logic applies to the Sound of Music locations in Salzburg — a coach tour does the route in three hours; with a private driver you can spend a meaningful 20 minutes at each location instead of the four minutes the tour buses allow. We have built routes like this for guests of the leading five-star hotels in Prague for nine years, with the Liftago group since 2025. Discretion and comfort come standard.

To begin planning, send your dates to our customer support team on WhatsApp at +420 603 427 002 or use the booking form on this site. We typically reply within an hour with a draft itinerary, hotel recommendations, and a confirmed price.

About the destinations

Salzburg

Salzburg sits at the confluence of the Salzach River and the salt-trade routes that gave the city its name and its wealth. It was a sovereign archbishopric within the Holy Roman Empire from 798 until 1803 — over a thousand years of rule by prince-bishops who governed an independent territory roughly the size of present-day Salzburg state. The architectural legacy of that long ecclesiastical rule is what gives Salzburg its distinctive Italian-Baroque character: the cathedral, the Residenz, the Hellbrunn palace, the Mirabell, and the dozens of churches and convents that fill the old town were all commissioned by archbishops with the income of a small sovereign state.

Salzburg gave the world Mozart (born 1756 at Getreidegasse 9, christened in the cathedral the following day) and was the birthplace of one of the most successful films of the twentieth century (The Sound of Music, 1965, filmed largely on location in 1964). It remains, three hundred years after the Baroque building program, an unusually complete period city — UNESCO listed the historic centre as a World Heritage site in 1996.

Vienna

For five centuries Vienna was the capital of the Habsburg empire and the political centre of Central Europe. The Habsburgs ruled from the Hofburg in the heart of the Inner City from 1273 until 1918 — over six hundred years of nearly continuous rule by a single dynasty, the longest in modern European history. The architectural result is a city built layer on layer in the styles of every European period from Gothic through Baroque, Biedermeier, and the Ringstrasse historicism of the late nineteenth century. UNESCO listed the historic centre as a World Heritage site in 2001.

The Salzkammergut

The lake district east of Salzburg, named for the imperial salt monopoly that operated here from the early medieval period until the twentieth century. Salt was the white gold of medieval Europe and the source of the Salzburg archbishops' wealth; the Hallstatt mines have been in continuous operation since the Bronze Age, making them the oldest industrial site in continuous use anywhere in Europe. The dramatic Alpine landscape — lakes carved by glaciers below limestone peaks — was rediscovered as a tourist destination in the early nineteenth century by the Habsburg court, who built summer palaces at Bad Ischl and Sankt Wolfgang. UNESCO listed the Hallstatt-Dachstein cultural landscape as a World Heritage site in 1997.