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Salzburg: Eagle's Nest & Hohenwerfen Castle 8-Hour Private Tour

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/16

Duration8h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · DE

PickupAt your hotel

Two castles, two countries, one morning: the Alps from inside the mountains

You're picked up at your Salzburg accommodation and driven through the Salzach Valley to Hohenwerfen Fortress, where you watch falconers fly native birds of prey. After time in Berchtesgaden for lunch and a walk, you take special buses and an elevator to the Eagle's Nest, with two hours to explore the summit and overlook the Alps. The entire 8-hour tour includes skip-the-line entry, a professional English-speaking guide, and return transport to your hotel.

Step-by-step itinerary

Meet driver-guide at Salzburg hotel
Drive through Salzach Valley
Visit Hohenwerfen Castle and falconry show
Arrive in Berchtesgaden for lunch and stroll
Explore Obersalzberg historical site
Access Eagle's Nest by bus and elevator
Stroll to Kehlstein summit for views
Return to Salzburg hotel

The Experience

The car pulls away from your Salzburg hotel while the city is still quiet. Your driver knows the Salzach Valley road by heart, and within an hour the landscape has tilted — the flat baroque streets behind you, the Bavarian Alps rising ahead. Hohenwerfen Fortress sits on a cliff so steep it looks painted on. You'll spend time here watching the state falconers fly native birds of prey in free flight, the same fortress that stood in for Eagle's Nest in the "Where Eagles Dare" film with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. It's not the real Eagle's Nest, but it's older, more dramatic, and the birds are real.

After that, the tour moves into Berchtesgaden — a small Bavarian town where you have time to walk around, grab a traditional lunch (your own cost), and just breathe. Your guide will explain the history of the Obersalzberg, the area's complex past, and what you're about to see. Then come the special buses and the elevator that take you up to the Eagle's Nest itself. You get two hours there, which is enough to walk to the Kehlstein summit nearby and stand in the actual space where the views stretch across both the Austrian and Bavarian Alps. If snow closes the direct road — which happens from November through May depending on conditions — you'll visit Rossfeld summit instead, a quieter alternative with the same panoramic reach and fewer crowds.

The whole day is eight hours door-to-door, and the private format means no waiting in entry queues, no coordinating with a group schedule, no figuring out how to get between these three stops on your own. Your guide is English-speaking and knows the routes, the timing, and the stories. The car is a luxury Mercedes-Benz V-Class or BMW 5 Series, so you're not crammed in. Bottled water is included. When it's done, you're back at your hotel.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in Salzburg.
private luxury transport in a Mercedes-Benz V-Class or BMW 5 Series.
professional English-speaking guide for the full 8 hours.
entry to Hohenwerfen Fortress with the birds of prey show.
access to the Eagle's Nest with special buses and elevator.
skip-the-line entry to both attractions.
two hours at the Eagle's Nest to explore and walk to Kehlstein summit.
bottled water throughout the day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by MCM Tours & Travel Salzburg, Austria

Is this one for you?This tour works well if you want to see both Hohenwerfen Castle and the Eagle's Nest in one day without arranging separate transport, entry tickets, or timing between the two sites — the private format and fixed schedule handle all of that, leaving you free to focus on the views and the history.