Hostel Salzburg-Wals
Free parking, sun terrace, on-site bar — the road-tripper hostel and the only sanity-priced bed during Salzburg Festival
Hostel Salzburg-Wals is the road-tripper and Festival overflow option — 7 km west of the Old Town in Wals-Siezenheim, a 25 min Bus 1 ride to the centre but a 5 min walk to Salzburg Airport. 8.0 over 612 reviews, with a sun terrace, on-site bar, garden and free parking — the rare central-Salzburg-priced bed when Festival season locks the city out.
Hostel Salzburg-Wals sits on Schulstraße in Wals-Siezenheim, 7 km west of central Salzburg and 1 km from Salzburg Airport. Bus 1 connects you to the Hauptbahnhof in 25 min (€2.20 ticket, €5.40 day pass). It's not central — and the staff are honest about that on check-in. What it offers in trade is what no central Salzburg hostel can: free parking, ground-floor private bathrooms with walk-in showers, and prices that don't double during the Salzburg Festival in late July.
The building sleeps around 80 across mixed and female-only dorms (4-bed and 6-bed) plus 12 private singles, doubles and twins. Ground-floor units have parquet floors and TVs; upper floors are simpler. Bathrooms are mostly private to each room, which is unusual at this price tier. The breakfast (€8 buffet, 7-9.30 am) is a proper Austrian spread — eggs, cold cuts, four kinds of bread, fruit, müsli — and reviewers consistently rate it the best hostel breakfast in Salzburg.
The ground floor has a small bar (open 5 pm-midnight, €4 Stiegl draft, €6 Aperol spritz), a sun terrace with garden seating, and a TV lounge. There's no party scene — by 10 pm it's families and road-trippers reading on the terrace. Wi-Fi is fast, parking is free for cars, motorhomes and motorbikes. Red Bull's HQ is a 5 min walk if you want to do the rooftop bar and arena tour. Reviewers come for road trips (Munich-Salzburg-Vienna), airport overnights, families needing private bathrooms at hostel prices, and Festival-dates travelers locked out of the central market.
- 01It's the airport-adjacent and road-trip option that doesn't exist anywhere central in Salzburg. 5 min walk to the airport, free parking, immediate A1 motorway access.
- 02Private bathrooms in shared dorms is genuinely rare at this price band. The 6-bed dorm has its own bathroom — you don't queue for the floor showers like at YoHo.
- 03The breakfast (€8) is the best in any Salzburg hostel — proper eggs, four kinds of bread from a local bakery, decent coffee. Worth the add-on. Worth a €4 day-tripper add-on too if you can.
- 04Festival-dates pricing (late July-August): every central hostel jumps to €70-100 a dorm bed; Wals stays at €40-50. The airport-overnight crowd ends up here by accident, then realises it's the smartest play.
- 05Family-friendly in a way the central hostels aren't — private bathrooms, parquet floors, free parking, 5 min walk to a quiet park. Reviewers with kids consistently rate it 9-10.
- Free parking for cars, motorhomes and motorbikes — unique among Salzburg hostels
- Private bathrooms in most rooms, even in 4-bed and 6-bed dorms — unusual at this price tier
- Best hostel breakfast in Salzburg: €8 buffet with eggs, cold cuts, four breads, fruit, müsli (7-9.30 am)
- 5 min walk to Salzburg Airport (W. A. Mozart) — the only walkable airport hostel in town
“We were passing through Austria and this was a one night sleep. Simple, clean accommodation, very close to the A1 highway. Affordable price, continental breakfast.”
“Very clean. The bus stop is right outside and buses 2 and 10 go to the airport then on into town. Very good breakfast. Parking was free.”
“Staff is nice. It's clean and have a good parking lot. Easy to drive in from the autobahn — perfect for a road trip stop.”
- Salzburg Airport (W. A. Mozart)5 min walk
- Red Bull World HQ and Hangar-7 museum12 min walk
- Bus 1 stop to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof and centre3 min walk
- A1/A8 motorway entrance (Munich, Vienna)6 min drive
- Untersberg cable car (8-min ride to 1853m peak)10 min drive
- SPAR supermarket Wals (groceries, deli counter)4 min walk
