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Salzburg Day Ticket: Fares, Passes and Validation

By The Travel FieldbookPublished on Updated on 5 min read
A train beside the platforms at Salzburg Central Station
A train at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, Salzburg’s central railway station. (Rosser1954 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited)

Before buying a Salzburg day ticket, find out whether your accommodation already provides a Guest Mobility Ticket. An existing Salzburg Card may also cover your city rides. If you need to pay, the choice turns on how many separate journeys you will make, not simply how long you spend sightseeing.

Do you need a day ticket?

Coverage
Unlimited public transport throughout Salzburg’s core zone
Validity
24 hours
Start
First use (validation), including digitally purchased tickets

Walking is the starting choice for central sightseeing, but transport is useful with luggage or limited walking ability. From Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, the walk via Mirabellplatz to Getreidegasse totals about 1.7 km and about 24 minutes. Mirabellplatz brings you to the palace area, while Getreidegasse is the old town’s historic shopping street.

WalkDistanceTime
Hauptbahnhof → Mirabellplatzabout 950 metresabout 13 minutes
Mirabellplatz → Getreidegasseabout 800 metresabout 11 minutes

Yes, you can buy a city day pass for repeated rides. Salzburg’s trolleybuses form part of the covered network. Before paying, consider the accommodation-issued Guest Mobility Ticket or a Salzburg Card you already hold.

A Salzburg trolleybus travelling along a city street.
A Salzburg AG trolleybus on the streets of Salzburg.
Ralf Roletschek ( talk ) – Fahrradtechnik auf · FAL · Edited

Single fares and day ticket prices

ProductFareValidity / purchase
Advance single€2.50 each; €12.50 packFive tickets; one trip in one direction per ticket
Advance core-zone day ticket€5.20Unlimited core-zone rides
Salzburg Card, 24 hours€35 / €38January–March and November–December / April–October
Salzburg Card, 48 hours€41 / €45January–March and November–December / April–October
Salzburg Card, 72 hours€44 / €49January–March and November–December / April–October
Adult fares. Salzburg Card seasonal prices shown for 2026.
  • One or two separate journeys: advance singles work out cheaper per ride, and two add up to €5. However, you must buy the €12.50 pack even if you only need one or two tickets.
  • Three or more separate journeys within the day ticket’s validity period: choose the €5.20 day ticket. Three advance singles cost €7.50, so the day ticket becomes cheaper from your third journey.

A single ticket allows transfers between buses and trains on the same one-direction journey, but no stopovers. Once validated, it cannot be passed to another person. A sightseeing stop followed by another ride therefore needs another ticket.

Over a few days, use separate day tickets for periods with repeated rides rather than treating spare singles as unlimited travel. Assess a Salzburg Card through the attractions you want to visit, not transport alone: its admission benefits are the reason to consider paying more.

Guest Mobility Ticket and Salzburg Card

  • If you stay overnight in accommodation in the Province of Salzburg, ask your host for the Guest Mobility Ticket at check-in, or arrange an emailed ticket before arrival.
  • Keep its PDF digitally or print it. A smartphone wallet pass is another available format. Use it throughout your accommodation stay.
  • For an existing Salzburg Card, validity begins on first use. Its transport coverage includes trolleybus lines 1–14 and Albus lines 20–28, 31, 34, 36 and 151.
  • The card also covers Postbus 120/121 to Elixhausen, 130/140 to Eugendorf, 160 to Elsbethen, 170 to Rif/Taxach, 180 to Großgmain and 181 to Walserberg.

The Guest Mobility Ticket covers public transport throughout the province, not just Salzburg city. You can use city transport, regional buses, S-Bahn, regional and long-distance trains, and small-scale local public transport services within that area. This is an accommodation-issued entitlement, not a pass you buy separately.

The accommodation mobility levy is €0.50 per person per night for guests aged 15 and over, in addition to the overnight accommodation tax. It rises to €1.10 from 1 May 2027.

The Salzburg Card excludes ÖBB S-Bahn journeys, but includes the local railway S1/S11 as far as Acharting. Do not confuse that railway exception with general rail coverage.

The card gives one-time free admission to all city tourist attractions and museums, but some additional attractions offer discounts instead. Its value depends on which admissions you will actually use. If your host already supplies transport, weigh the card’s sightseeing benefits separately from your rides.

City ticket boundaries and the airport

Salzburg’s core fare zone follows the city limits, and the core-zone day ticket covers the city-bus journey between Salzburg Airport and Salzburg Hauptbahnhof. Board line 2 at the Salzburg Airport bus stop and alight at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof: the direct journey covers about 5.8 km and takes about 22 minutes.

Name
Salzburg Airport bus stop
Location
5020 Salzburg Maps
Essential fact
The public bus stop serving Salzburg Airport’s terminal.

A regional day ticket covers unlimited travel within the regional area you purchase, starting with validation. If a regional single or day ticket starts or ends in Salzburg city, it also includes travel throughout the entire city core zone without an extra core-zone surcharge. For trips beyond the city limits, choose the regional coverage for your destination rather than relying on a city-only ticket.

Buying and validating your ticket

Buy before boarding: driver sales have ended on all trolleybus routes and most Albus routes. Advance options include online sales, SalzburgMobil, Salzburg Verkehr, Salzburg Verkehr 2GO and ÖBB apps, ticket machines, tobacconists or newsstands, and Salzburg Linien or Salzburg Verkehr customer centres.

At Salzburg Hauptbahnhof, buy a core-zone day ticket from the ticket machines or the ÖBB travel centre (Reisezentrum). If you arrive by train, deal with your onward city ticket here before heading to the bus stop.

Name
Salzburg Hauptbahnhof
Location
5020 Salzburg Maps
Essential fact
Salzburg’s main railway station, north of the old town.
The middle platform at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof beneath its listed roof.
The roof over the middle platform at Salzburg Hauptbahnhof dates from 1906–09.
Isiwal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited

Google Street View, 2018-12.

Do

  • Stamp an advance paper day ticket in a validator before use.
  • Keep the validated ticket and show it when an inspector asks.
  • For Salzburg Verkehr 2GO, keep the ticket record accessible in the app and your phone working.

Don’t

  • Rely on buying from the city-bus driver.
  • Travel with an unstamped advance paper ticket.
  • Assume a flat battery or technical failure excuses an unavailable 2GO ticket record: it counts as travel without a valid ticket.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: services and fares and charges.

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