The Way to Altaussee by Car
From Munich: Take the highway to Salzburg and pass Salzburg with direction to Vienna. The ride from Munich to Altaussee will take an average of about 2.5 hours, depending on traffic on the highway which can be intense on the weekends.
From Salzburg: Altaussee is about 80km east of Salzburg, on the road from Salzburg to Graz (the capital of Styria). The drive from the center of Salzburg or Salzburg airport takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
From both Munich as well as Salzburg, take the highway to Vienna and exit at “Thalgau”, about 14km after Salzburg. Turn right at the exit and go towards Hof, then after about 4km leave at the first roundabout direction to St.Gilgen/Wolfgangsee. Drive through the village of Hof and keep following the country road. On the left side you will soon see Lake Fuschl (Fuschlsee). Always follow the main road.
After crossing a little pass you drive down into St. Gilgen, taking in the gorgeous view of Lake Wolfgang (Wolfgangsee). At first roundabout keep driving right, along the lake, through St. Gilgen towards Bad Ischl. As you drive, Wolfgangsee is always on your left until you reach Bad Ischl.
From Vienna: The ride from Vienna or Vienna Airport will take about 3 hours. There are two ways to get to Altaussee. You can use the A1 (Westautobahn) or the A2 (Südautobahn) to start the journey. We describe here the approach using the Westautobahn, the highway from Vienna to Salzburg.
On the Westautobahn, exit at “Steyrermühl” about 230km after leaving Vienna, and take a left onto the country road towards Gmunden. The general direction you have to follow are first “Gmunden”, then when you reach Gmunden it is “Altmünster” (do not go into the center of Gmunden!), then “Ebensee” (all three villages are on the Lake Traun (“Traunsee”)) and finally “Bad Ischl”. At Bad Ischl your way merges into the approach from Salzburg and Munich.
Where all approaches meet: Bad Ischl
From Munich and Salzburg: after passing Wolfgangsee, as you approach Bad Ischl never take an exit into the center, but keep going along the main country road. Right after the first exit to the right into the center of Bad Ischl you reach a tunnel. 200m after the tunnel you have to take the middle road of three possible ones, on the correct road “GRAZ” is painted on the tarmac, the signs on the roadside will say “Bad Goisern” and “Bad Aussee”.
From Vienna: as you approach Bad Ischl along the Traun River (to your left) you avoid taking any road into the center of Bad Ischl and take a right exit towards “Bad Goisern” and/or “Bad Aussee”. The road will take you upwards into a right turn and then you see a merging road from the right, where the people from Salzburg/Munich are coming in.
After Bad Ischl: All approaches have merged, it is only 25 minutes to Altaussee
Keep driving along the main country road, passing Bad Goisern, and crossing the Pötschen Pass, at a maximum elevation of 1000 meters. Coming down on the other side of the pass, you are rapidly approaching the exit on the left to “Altaussee”. All this happens at about 25 minutes after you pass Bad Ischl.
Take a left where the big overhead sign reads “Altaussee”. Drive down the mountain. Take a left at the T junction direction to Altaussee. After the sign “Altaussee” on the right hand it is about 400 meters when on the left there is a little hill with a big house with two towers. You drive by that house up the main country road and take the second first little access street to the left. You pass the entrance of a large garden, and after about 100m on the left is the driveway into Apartment am Rosengarten …
Have a safe journey!