Salzburg hop-on hop-off bus from €31, ten stops, and whether bus 25 at €2.60 beats it, with the Salzach boat at €19

💡 The Short Version: Salzburg has one hop-on hop-off line, the yellow line, with ten stops and a 24, 48 or 72-hour ticket from €31, at the same price on the operator’s site and on GetYourGuide. The stop at Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz has not been served since 14 September 2026. The ticket is also a bus ticket in the city, on bus 25 to the Untersberg and on bus 151 to the Gaisberg. Bus 25 reaches Hellbrunn in 22 minutes for €2.60, and overnight guests ride free, so the bus buys a commentary rather than access. The Salzach boat is €19 for 40 minutes. The Salzburg Card takes 20% off the bus. Prices are in euros. Or book now: the hop-on hop-off ticketad is from €31 and the Salzach boat ridead from €19 (GetYourGuide).

The ticket

The operator is Salzburg Sightseeing Tours. Its yellow line runs from Mirabellplatz past the old town to Hellbrunn Palace, Leopoldskron Palace and the Hauptbahnhof.

A Salzburg Sightseeing hop-on hop-off coach on Mirabellplatz. Photo: -wuppertaler, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Scan the QR code on your ticket at the validator when you board. The voucher is valid for one year from purchase. The ticket includes free Wi-Fi on the buses and a McArthur Glen Golden Pass for the Designer Outlet Salzburg, collected with the voucher at Mirabellplatz 2. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before.

The stops

The operator lists ten stops, with the sights near each:

• Mirabellplatz / Mozarteum: Mirabell Palace and Gardens, the Mozarteum, Trinity Church, Mozart’s Residence
• Hanusch-Platz: City Hall, Getreidegasse, Mozart’s Birthplace, the Mönchsberg and the Museum der Moderne, the Haus der Natur
• Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz: the Horse Bath, the Festival Halls, St Peter’s Abbey, the Siegmundstor
• Leopoldskron Palace and its lake
• Hellbrunn Palace: the trick fountains, the Folklore Museum, the zoo
• Kleingmain / Gwandhaus: Frohnburg Palace and Hellbrunn Avenue
• Justizgebäude / Nonntal: Nonnberg Abbey and Kajetanerplatz
• Mozartsteg / Imbergstrasse: the Mozart footbridge, Steingasse, the Kapuzinerberg (the right bank walk ends here)
• Mirabellplatz / St. Andrä
• Hauptbahnhof

From 14 September 2026 the bus does not stop at Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz because of construction; it goes by Müllner Hauptstraße, Wartelsteinstraße, Aigelhofstraße and Moosstraße instead. For the Festival Halls and St Peter’s, get off at Hanusch-Platz and walk.

What the bus is good for

The line’s value is the stops outside the old town: Leopoldskron, the Frohnburg Palace and Hellbrunn, which are on the Sound of Music trail. Cars and buses cannot enter the old town, so its stop, Hanusch-Platz beside the Getreidegasse, is on the edge and the rest is on foot. Ride the bus out to Hellbrunn (the Hellbrunn guide has the fountain season and prices) and walk the old town. Sound of Music locations in Salzburg separates the real places from the studio sets.

Is it worth it?

Bus 25 runs to Hellbrunn and the zoo, and a 24-hour ticket covers every other city bus that day. The hop-on ticket buys a commentary and a fixed loop. Salzburg public transport has the fares and the Neutor tunnel diversions.

The Salzach boat

Adult €19 indoor, €22 Premium · child 4 to 14 €10 or €13 · about 40 minutes

Salzburg Stadt-Schifffahrt’s Amadeus Salzburg sails Tour 1 from the Marko-Feingold-Steg (Franz Josef Kai 1a), opposite the Hotel Sacher, past the old town to the villa district in the south, with the Hagen and Tennengebirge mountains ahead, and back. The boat holds 80 people, 62 indoors and 18 on a covered outdoor deck. Indoor Premium adds pre-boarding and your choice of indoor seat. The ticket counter, in the glass pavilion beside the bridge, opens an hour before the first departure; arrive 10 minutes before sailing. Dogs travel free on a lead, and from 10 kg with a muzzle. The Salzburg Card covers Tour 1 in standard seats once; collect an original ticket at the counter, since reservations are not possible (salzburghighlights.at).

The GetYourGuide boat ticketad is the operator’s own, from €19, rated 4.3 from 1,053 reviews. Tours 2 and 3 sail to Hellbrunn on set days. The operator’s amphibious Splash Tourad, on road and water, is from €42 for 1.5 hours and is rated 4.7 from 1,610 reviews.

The Amadeus at its mooring on the Salzach. Photo: Clemens Stockner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Before you go

• The one thing that ruins a ride: the stop that is not served. Herbert-von-Karajan-Platz is skipped from 14 September 2026.
• Which to take: the bus for the Hellbrunn and Leopoldskron end of the Sound of Music trail; bus 25 for the same at a fraction of the price; the boat for a view of the old town from the river.

Things to do in Salzburg ranks the sights the bus passes, and Salzburg walking tours covers the old town on foot. Is the Salzburg Card worth it? has the sums, and what to book in Salzburg lists the closed days. Where to stay in Salzburg compares the areas.